Advice for Vietnam

[Cheese]

Vietnam is my absolute fave place! I knew you would love it. Great people and great food along with a beautiful country!

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Cheese

Vietnam is my absolute fave place! I knew you would love it. Great people and great food along with a beautiful country!

Thanks. Totally. Would love to come back again.

[Snuffleupagus]

I have family in Quy Nhon, great place to visit, nice people for the most part, great beaches but I have to say I wouldn't want to live there. It's like Rio, a new hustle on every corner.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

I have family in Quy Nhon, great place to visit, nice people for the most part, great beaches but I have to say I wouldn't want to live there. It's like Rio, a new hustle on every corner.

Woah, had no idea you were Viet!!

[bluejays]

I came back a couple days ago. Thanks to all for the advice once again. I happened to be there for the 80th Independence Day but didn't wake up for the 6am military procession, but I did see the street craziness later on. I really liked Vietnam. Not as warm people as Thailand but also not people totally gouging you and trying to rip you off. I really got along with a bunch of people I met at the hostels along the way, and really wish the work environment day-to-day had the same camaraderie and authenticity. I found myself helping others during tough times and that really helped me too. It's hard to say if I want to go back to work soon or travel more. So I'll probably think about it the next month or so and decide if I leave for a couple more months in November or so, or get back into the workforce. Just not sure where else I'll meet other people, where my money will go far, and where there are cool environments to be around? Bittersweet coming home after a couple months but such is life.

[activeStick]

Welcome back! I highly recommend China, maybe Shenzhen or Guangzhou or Chongqing. I was there in April. Literally millions of kind people and a lot of English-speaking folks in these cities too. PM me if you it's something you're curious about! Money will go far in China as well!

[TheKiprusoffResurrection]

Thought I would bump this thread, as I'm looking for a bit of Vietnam advice.

I've got my trip fairly well planned, but am unsure about the Hoi An/Da Nang/Hue region.

This region is one of the main reasons I'm taking this trip and I am very interested in seeing all three of these places.

I'm wondering how to best organize my accommodation. Initially I thought of staying a few nights in Hoi An and a few more in Hue. I've also considered finding a good spot in Da Nang and using that as a homebase to visit the surrounding cities.

Looking for a bit of advice from CP on what makes the most sense.

Also, any other random nuggets of knowledge (re: Vietnam) will be accepted with gratitude!

[Hemi-Cuda]

Hue is very cool, but it's also quite small, so I wouldn't spend multiple nights there myself. We only walked around it for half a day and it felt like we saw everything. One night would be the most I would do, or even a day trip from Da Nang since it's about a 2 hour bus ride. Hoi An is even closer to Da Nang, so I'd probably just make that my base to save on planning logistics

[TheKiprusoffResurrection]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Hue is very cool, but it's also quite small, so I wouldn't spend multiple nights there myself. We only walked around it for half a day and it felt like we saw everything. One night would be the most I would do, or even a day trip from Da Nang since it's about a 2 hour bus ride. Hoi An is even closer to Da Nang, so I'd probably just make that my base to save on planning logistics

Thanks, Hemi. Exact type of on the ground info I was hoping for. I'll look into finding a nice homebase for Da Nang. All told, how long would you suggest for Hue/Da Nang/Hoi An?

[Hemi-Cuda]

Depends on what you want to do and how long your entire trip is. Da Nang is big with amazing beaches and excellent nightlife, I could easily spend a couple of weeks there alone if the weather is good. If it's more about just sightseeing then I'd schedule 1 day for each of Hue/Hoi An, and 2-3 for Da Nang. One thing I highly recommend doing though is renting a scooter as soon as you get in Da Nang. They're dirt cheap to rent for a week, and it's the best way to get around in any Vietnamese city. Then you can drive yourself to Hoi An, and maybe even Hue if you're adventurous

[TheKiprusoffResurrection]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

Depends on what you want to do and how long your entire trip is. Da Nang is big with amazing beaches and excellent nightlife, I could easily spend a couple of weeks there alone if the weather is good. If it's more about just sightseeing then I'd schedule 1 day for each of Hue/Hoi An, and 2-3 for Da Nang. One thing I highly recommend doing though is renting a scooter as soon as you get in Da Nang. They're dirt cheap to rent for a week, and it's the best way to get around in any Vietnamese city. Then you can drive yourself to Hoi An, and maybe even Hue if you're adventurous

Thanks again, I really appreciate the tips and I think I'll take your advice re: renting a scooter.

[bluejays]

IF you don't want to rent a scooter but get a tour around there's an app called GetYourGuide. If the guide had their number I'd just whatsapp them and get a discount by paying them in cash. In any case I echo Hue is a day trip or just one night. I'd hit up Hoi An first just to get suits made, then keeping the itinerary flexible depending on that. I didn't stay in Da Nang, but did a day trip there and the beach was really nice which made me wish I'd stayed there for a couple days. I'd kinda say if you're into relaxing in any way, any of those places are really good for chilling, and all affordable.

[GirlySports]

I echo that Hue is pretty boring (unless you're a historian on Ancient Vietnam which nobody is) except for 2 places, the imperial palace (vietnam's own forbidden city and shopping/eating in the HUGE Dong Ba Market.

Where else are you going in Vietnam?

[Scrambler]

I'm heading to Vietnam with my wife and kids during Spring Break Mar 2026. Ho Chi Minh just for a night as that's where we fly into, then fliy up to Hue for 2 nights (jkust the one full day essentiall), then Lang Co (Banyan Tree Resort beachfront with private pool ) then Hoi An but staying on the beach side then make trips into the Ancient Town. Flight from Da Nang to Hanoi for a couple nights, then 2 nights Ha Long Bay / Lan Ha (to get away from crowds). Final night Hanoi then onto Seoul.

Pretty stoked. With October pretty much a write off school wise I almost wish we'd planned to do something now instead. Even last year, kids missed a couple months Oct//Nov as we returned to Japan for a bit. Doing that now would be perfect, lol. Can't plan for these types of situations though.