Vietnam travel tales and tips

Vietnam travel tales

Our customers share their travelling experiences in Vietnam. Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation. Also, you might want to read our Central Vietnam city guide, Halong Bay city guide, Hanoi city guide, Ho Chi Minh city guide, and Phan Thiet city guide.

J Lee	16 February 2004
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
From the hotel, my wife and I basically did a lot of walking. The main tourist areas in Saigon are easily accessible by foot, but if you get tired, hop on a scooter if you're not too nervous. The scooters were actually quite safe in Saigon, as we didn't find the drivers to go very fast, and they were cheap, cheaper than the cyclo...stay away from some of these guys. Agree to a price and go. We usually paid about 30000Dong/person (about $2US) for a ride anywhere, when we got tired of the walking.
K Timothy	12 February 2004
Stayed at Hoi An Hotel - Hoi An, Vietnam.
Delightful place--in danger of becoming over touristy, but well worth visiting. Brothers' Restaurant is truly excellent both for food and ambience--reserve a table next to the river.
A Pfaff	11 February 2004
Stayed at Best Western Chancery Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Only a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel is the backpackers' quarter. There one can find offices which offer everything from a day trip trip to the Mekong delta to bus tickets to many destinations. It's definitely time and trouble saving to book there even if one usually avoids "organized" stuff.
N Roy	11 February 2004
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Comments from other travelers that they were being ripped of by cyclo's and taxi drivers in Hanoi may be somewhat unfounded. After renting a m/cycle for a week we found that the one way system in the city is limited with regard to a-b travel, also travel around the central lake area is limited for cyclos. We never paid more than we wanted to. Food was ok. Some CDs turned out to be a bit jerky. Handspan travel rocks. Hoi-an, Halong Bay and Sapa treks are great. We made up a small conversion chart for Dong/$US/Yen that was invaluable to both of us in those tight bargaining situations or at a glance shopping. Be polite in your refusals. No, means, no thank you. Anything you have made will be of poor quality, in the end be prepared to throw it away and you won't be disappointed. Kids collecting coins for their school etc...is a scam, they resell them. On that happy note, we'll be going back again nice people and a great place and you don't need to spend a lot to enjoy yourself. Oh, stay away from the night cludb on Cat Ba Island, met a traveler who was drugged there, and we saw a guy phasered there for what seemed like trying to dance with the wrong person, then taken to the alley for.
D Chow	03 February 2004
Stayed at Empress Hotel Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Beware of rip-off taxi drivers outside war-memorial site, go for cabs owned by a registed company with name stated on the taxi - usually these are newer taxis.
D Bryan	02 February 2004
Stayed at Empress Hotel Ho Chi Minh City - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
To see the city you must take a tour with a Cyclo rider (a bike with a passenger seat on the front). It's just the best way to see the real city. I came across a guy called Teo who has been doing the job for 22 years & is just excellent. He'll show you anything you want to see & will take you for food/coffee/beer where the locals go - much better than a taxi! You can find him at a noodle bar (ask one of the waitresses) called Noodle 2000 (or something very similar - it's on the first roundabout on the way to downtown HCMC). A couple of other tips: 1) go to the War museum (it's very biased against the Americans but a sobering advert against war). 2)Get out of the city on a tour or two (Mekhong Delta is excellent) but don't be shy to ask how much a tour will cost.
S Burger	31 January 2004
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hanoi is a wonderful city. The atmosphere,the people, the food, the art galleries, the shopping, wonderful!! Going through the art galleries was like wandering through museums, the more you saw, the more you fell in love with the Vietnamese artists' work. There were many great restaurants catering to any budget if only there were more meal times in a day! All of the coffee shops we went into were good. The Vietnamese drip coffee served at 'Au Lac'was to die for. The restaurant at the De Syloia hotel was excellent as was a restaurant called 'Nam Phuong'. Going during Tet was not a major problem. The streets were quiet and we were able to wander all over the old quarter without any hassles and visited many art galleries. Many places were closed though, so if you want an action-packed holiday, it may be inconvenient at Tet. The only place we did not like was a place called 'Hoa Lu', it was an old temple area. Unfortunately the hawkers and beggars make it very difficult to walk around and after a short time we gave up and left. It is a pity that they harrass you so much as it left us feeling really upset and not willing to visit what should have been a relaxing and beautiful place.
E Chan	26 January 2004
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Stayed at New World Hotel, good location, friendly staff, rooms spacious & clean. Would recommend anyone visiting Ho Chi Minh to book hotel rooms & air tickets thru internet & join their local tours which is great value for money. Many travel cafes along De Tham, just across New World Hotel separated by the park. Whole day daily tours start from US$4 to US$6 with free lunch for some tours according to distance. There are so many tours to choose to up north of Ho Chi Minh & prices are very cheap compared to joining from hotels or from your own country. No tipping to tour guides or drivers as none expect it but when you join tours organised in your country, agents make it compulsory for everyone to tip. Must try their pastries & french loaves, excellent. Crossing the road is chaotic but after few tries, you will get used to squeezing through. Relatively cheap & very clean non-stinking public toilets which caught me by surpise. So far a safe place, hardly saw beggars in the city & they hardly hassle tourists. Enjoyed our 1st trip to Ho Chi Minh & will definitely be more adventurous to try Hanoi & provinces southwards in our next planning.
J Schmies	26 January 2004
Stayed at Swiss Village Resort And Spa - Phan Thiet, Vietnam.
Best Restaurants around are Luna del Automme ( itlaien food ) and the Beach restaurant of the Coco Beach hotel! Good service and great food and drinks.
L Hodes	25 January 2004
Stayed at Best Western Chancery Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Beware of the traffic. The best way to manuever is just to walk; the mopeds and cars will go around you. A sidetrip to the Mekong is nice way to get out of the city.

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