Vietnam itinerary - Phong Nha Farmstay or Hoi An?

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jugurtha
jugurtha

Hello,
We would appreciate any advice regarding our proposed Vietnam itinerary (as part of our Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos trip in January) in consideration of making it as enjoyable and rewarding for kids (aged 9 and 10) as possible. In particular, would you choose 4 days in Phong Nha Farmstay (visiting caves, rice fields, bike riding etc) or Hoi An?

Day 1-3: Phnom Penh - to Mekong Delta/Ho Chi Minh with Sinh Cafe (the orginal one) - 2 nights and 3 days standard
Day 4: Full day in Ho Chi Minh (possibly Cu Chi tunnels)
Day 5 - 8: Phong Nha Farmstay (Fly SGN to Dong Hoi) OR [if choose Hoi An - Fly SGN to Dan Nang.
Day 9: Hanoi - fly Dong Hoi to Hanoi. OR [fly Da Nang to Hanoi].- Afternoon in Hanoi.
Day 10 - 12 (3 day/2 night junk tour of Halong Bay) - Evening in Hanoi.
Day 13: Fly to Luang Prabang for 10 days in Laos (Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng and fly out of Vientiane).
Thanks

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DinHo
DinHo

When are you going to visit Phong Nha? October or November is not a good time for Phong Nha - Flood. 2 nights in Phong Nha is enough but I would prefer Hoian (3 or 4 nights).

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jugurtha
jugurtha

We are going in January.

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bigal1
bigal1

If you are going to do the tunnels then combining it with Tay Ninh might be a good idea and make it a full day out

It is hard to say between the homestay and Hoi An - I do not know this homestay myself but these can be very rewarding if you "click" with the host family and great for kids. Hoi An is beautiful but 4 days may be too long

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Mp63
Mp63

You can ride bikes around rice fields in both places, so for the kids I would think the real question is caves and rivers versus beach. As there are lots of caves and rivers in Laos, I think I would choose Hoi an over Phong na, as there is more variety of things to do there. If you choose Phong na, you could always have a beach day in Dong hoi, before your flight north.

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jugurtha
jugurtha

Thank you all for the advice. The beach vs more of the same we will be doing in Laos has definitely helped. Much appreciated.

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JuliaLuther
JuliaLuther

Phong Nha and Hoi An are very different, the former with stunning caves and the latter with ancient town and beach, butboth are worth visiting. What about cutting down 2 days in Laos and spend more time in VN to visit both?
I've been to Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng. LP is my favorite place, 4-5 days there is fine, and 3 days for Vang Vieng is ok to do kayaking, swimming, tubing, hot-air balloon...

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