Hi TT's
Firstly thank you so much for the tips on this thread it has been so helpful. But still.. i have more questions :)
Due to a very short time in Vietnam (8 Days), besides doing everything in a rush, my partner and i need to do the halongbay and sapa back2back. Here is our rough itnry so far:
Day 1 Saigon PM
Day 2 Mekong Delta
Day 3 AM dept Hanoi
Day 4 AM Halong Bay Handspan "Dragon Pearl in Maintenance in June"
Day 5 AM RTN Halong - DEPT PM Sapa
Day 6 ARRSapa Vega/Handspan/MountainView?
Day 7 DEPT PM Sapa
Day 8 Arr AM Hanoi Dept BKK PM
return Saigon - Tunnels - 0.5 day SinhCafe
Day 1 Saigon PM / Day 2 Mekong Delta
Q1. Recommendation on Accomodation "HCMC" & "Hanoi" with balcony, city views & with lift ?
Q2. "Mekong Delta - 1 day trip" - would like to hear responses from ppl who have done this with DeltaTours, how many ppl in the group?
HalongBay & Sapa Leg:
If done by ourselves
Q3. Where can we store our luggage while we take our backpacks to HalongBay and Sapa? If i store at the hotel, will they mind? how much will they charge? (this is the reason why we chose to stay in Hanoi on the first night)
Q4. My concern is with Day 5 - we have a transit period - between arrival from Halong Bay and then our train to Sapa, around 4 hrs- is there a place where we can freshen up (relax/shower)? Is there a hotel that charges half day rates ?instead of the standard one night?
Q5 I have read several ppl have done this bak2bak with Vega & Handspan etc? Would like to hear your comments. Name of tour group? Name of accomodation? What was your experience like?how much was it? How did they handle the "transit period"? Any recommended treks? :)
N.B unable to go to www.vega-travel.com is there an alternate site?
Halong Bay
Q6. We are undecided with handspans "Dragon Pearl" or "Lagoon Explorer" We would like to know with the amount of ppl on the DP (max of 16pp) was this too many ppl? Is there a extra charge for handspan to collect you from your hotel or part of the package?
Q7. Dragon Pearl will be in maintenance in June - replaced with "BAI THO DELUXE JUNK" any news on what this junk is like?
Sapa:
Q8. Any experience with The Topas eco lodge in sapa? Any disadv like is it far from the markets or far from suspension bridge at Coc Ly?
Is there any other place that is close with large rooms, balcony mountain/scenic views? Like from a post (sorry forgot the posters name)- "Pinochio Guest House" ." Huge double room at USD 5 with two double beds and hot shower. The plus was, we got a huge balcony with mountain view and beautiful sunset."
Q9."Mountain View Hotel" have they got a website?
We know its a tight schedule and probably crazy but we are counting on the overnights stays and transit for our time to unwind. We want to experience and see the the cultural side of vietnam as much as we can. We know what we want to do but due to the short time, we are contemplating if it will be easier for us to go to a reputable tour guide and would like to hear ppls experience with this.Since we are not sure which tour companies to use. We are trying to avoid doing tours with a large group, and understand that we may have to pay a premium for it, but im not talking about signing up for the Emeraude :)
So any responses will be greatly appreciated
Apologies in advance for so many questions.
thankU .
solittletym
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U want 2 know a secret?? .... im running away! :)
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I am sorry but this is a difficult trip!
I assume this is your visit to Vietnam. Vn is far more than a few sights. Most people on this forum will tell you the best part about Vn is its astonishing ambience and charm. I could spend eight days in Hanoi alone. (In fact, I have)
Yes, the tourist sights are important but are you going to enjoy this? At this breakneck speed you will taste but not savour.
Slow down. I hope you have not finalised all this. Just do a part for now. If you enjoy Vn (and indeed mainland SE Asia in general) the chances you will wish to return.
I can't be bothered reading past
Day 2 - Mekong Delta, Day 3 Depart Hanoi AM
If you let me know how you are going to be in the Mekong Delta for a day and get to Hanoi the same day, find somewhere to stay in Hanoi, get up early and depart for Halong Bay and still have some enjoyment it might be worth continuing. Seriously this is way too much to attempt to achieve in 7 days.
Concentrate on one area. The distances are longer than you seem to think.
Ok I'm bored and so i kept reading. I also realise that you meant depart FOR Hanoi the morning of Day 3. Apologies I stand corrected. You say you are going to bangkok from hanoi. Do you fly from there to HCM? Because leaving bangkok I would just stick with Hanoi and surrounds on an airasia flight direct. If you are coming from say Cambodia into the south then I would only stay around HCM and if you really wanted maybe a flight to Danang and check out Hoi An.
As a side note I would avoid CentralStars Hotel in Hanoi for various reasons, but especially if you are looking to go to Sapa and Halong by yourselves.
I have not yet be to VN (i'll be there in two weeks) but I had to make the difficult choice that I wasn't going to see everything in my short 10 days there.
I'm doing Hanoi, Halong, and Sapa and now as I've done more reasearch, I even feel like I don't have enough time for these three places!
Your itinerary seems like you'll be spending more time enroute from one place to the next than actually experiencing anything meaningful.
no need to race through it (there's no $1million at the end, or is there??)
OK THANKS for the REALITY CHECK! :)
Although it was obvious, I just didnt want to accept it. We have now decided just to concentrate in one area and spend that time in SAPA. Having said that, it has now made arranging my itinary alot easier :). ..The things that i put myself through...:) Maybe i was just overwelmed with all the facinating and interesting info about VN and got too carried away. As for the other beautiful parts of VN, well this will give us the reason to return.. to explore, discover and to SAVOUR :)
Thank you once again for the reality check and spending the time to respond.
To a beautiful journey
OP:
It is always appreciated when an OP bothers to respond. Thanks.
From Sapa, you could spend some time in Hanoi. If you have not been to Vn before, Hanoi is well worth it. And not just the Old Quarter
trusted partner
