Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh & Hanoi – travel planning:
For the round trip Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh & Hanoi from Beijing I planned in total 10 days.
In order to keep the flight times relatively short, the starting point of the tour is in Da Nang.
The city is roughly halfway between Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. From Da Nang I flew further south to Ho Chi Minh City before returning to Beijing via Hanoi in the north of Vietnam.
Entry to Vietnam:
Entry to Vietnam is uncomplicated because many countries do not require a visa for a stay of up to 30 days. Only the ticket for the return flight has to be shown as confirmation of the planned departure.
The currency in Vietnam is the Dong. You can either get it from a bank before you start your trip or change as needed on arrival at the airport. Alternatively, you use ATM´s in cities, although not all accept foreign cards.
Travel time:
The coastal city of Đà Nẵng:
The starting point of the tour, the coastal city of Da Nang can be reached by plane from Beijing in about five hours. Most hotels offer a pick-up service from the airport. Alternatively, you can take a taxi to the booked accommodation.
Accommodation in Đà Nẵng:
I spent 4 nights in Da Nang in the Eco Green Boutique Hotel which is located a good five minutes walk from the beach. The accomodation is a good starting point for sightseeing in and around Da Nang.
Excursions (to Ba Na Hills Resort or Hoi An) and sightseeing tours in the city can be individually arranged and booked in consultation with the hotel staff.
The breakfast included in the price is rich, mostly typically Vietnamese, fresh and very tasty. Some western dishes are also offered.
What to see in Đà Nẵng:
After a long walk in the morning on the beach and visiting the small shops along the promenade, a sightseeing tour through Da Nang was on the agenda in the afternoon. An afternoon is also enough to visit the most interesting sights of the city.
Small market stalls can often be found on the streets of Da Nang. You can usually buy fresh fruit there at very reasonable prices.
Another attraction is the Catholic Church of Da Nang. It is one of Vietnam's most unique churches due to its striking color and the tower with the weathercock on top.
Day Tour to the Bà Nà Hills – Resort Đà Nẵng:
Despite or precisely because of the special weather, the excursion was nevertheless a great experience, because there were significantly fewer visitors than expected on the way. In addition, the fresh air and the tropical warm rain have been a special experience.
Normally known from pictures under blue skies, on this day the golden bridge, carried on gigantic hands, was barely fully visible. Too dense was partly the cloudiness and too heavy the rain.
Beautifully landscaped, pleasant to linger and relax – the park of the Ba Na Hills – Resort in the mountains outside the city of Da Nang, designed with countless flowering plants.
In the valley, too, the Ba Na Hills Park offers a very well-kept, tropical garden with a South Asian design that should not be missed when visiting the facility.
Day Trip to Hội An:
Boat trip through the coconut forest:
The trip to Hoi An began under fantastic conditions after the rainy weather the day before. Ideal for an adventurous boat trip through the coconut forest.
You drive passing small fishermen's huts on the calm river towards the coconut forest. The closer you get to the actual forest, the more of the small boats are on the way.
Arriving in the forest is really busy. The small boats crowd through the narrow canal endlessly.
Beyond the forest, it is finally over with the peace. Wild activity and partying on the water are the order of the day. A crazy show of Vietnamese music, dance and show should lure the tourists one or the other dong out of the bag.
The local fishermen also use the opportunity to earn a little extra income from the tourists. Integrated into the party, they show their skills in bringing out and hauling in the fishing nets from their small, old-fashioned fishing boats.
The historic old town of Hội An:
After the boat ride through the coconut forest, we continued to the old town of Hoi An. For me, one of the most worth seeing old towns on the trip. Hoi An is known for the mostly handcrafted and hand-painted, brightly colored lanterns that can be found all over the old town.
It is simply a pleasure to stroll through the streets of Hoi An in wonderful weather. There are little shops everywhere selling goods. The ingrown houses and the flowers on the trees and bushes make the flair of the old town somehow unique.
Everywhere there are small, ornately furnished cafes that invite you to enjoy typical Vietnamese coffee specialties.
If you want and have enough time, you can also take a boat through the old town of Hoi An and watch the hustle and bustle on the shore from the water.
When dusk falls, the old town becomes full of atmosphere. The lanterns are illuminated everywhere and create the individual atmosphere of the city of Hoi An.
Almost every historical building has countless ornately designed lights and lanterns on the facade.
If there is still room in your luggage, you can choose your personal Hoi An lantern in a lampion shop and take it home.
Ho Chi Minh City:
The second main location, Ho Chi Minh City can be reached from Da Nang in 1.5 flight hours. Here, too, you can reach the booked accommodation either by hotel service or by taxi.
The accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City:
I spent two nights in Ho Chi Minh in the Silverland Yen Hotel. It is very centrally located and you can walk to most of the sights in the city center.
Excursions to the Mekong Delta and many more can be booked at the hotel.
In addition to the excellent breakfast buffet, which is included in the price, the hotel also offers free tea and coffee in the afternoon.
What to see in Ho Chi Minh City:
Within walking distance of the hotel in the direction of the Mekong bank, you will first pass the Notre Dame Cathedral.
If you cross Notre Dame Square in front of the church, you will reach the next attraction in the city, the Central Post Office of Ho Chi Minh.
After visiting the post office, the literary continues on Saigon Book Street. Here you can browse in small, nicely furnished bookstores in countless books and of course enjoy a cup of delicious Vietnamese coffee.
Passing the pink Tan Dinh church, we continue towards the Bitexco Financial Tower, facing the target of watching the sunset over Ho Chi Minh from the Skydeck on the tower.
Crossing the intersections in Ho Chi Minh is a special challenge every time. Hundreds of mopeds race off like frightened flies, making life difficult for pedestrians.
From the skydeck of the Bitexco Financial Tower you have a really great view over the city. It is certainly one of the best places to watch a sunset over the lively metropolis in South Vietnam.
Back on the ground, we went to the Saigon Street Food Market on the banks of the Mekong. Here are two old junks, converted into restaurants, festively lit at anchor.
Day trip to the Mekong Delta:
On the second day in Ho Chi Minh, a boat trip to the Mekong Delta was on the agenda. From the city, down the river to the delta, we took a speedboat.
The delta of the Mekong is characterized by coconut cultivation, on small islands there are always small factories that concentrate on processing coconuts into oil, snacks and other specialties. Special honey from a special type of bee is also produced here in the Mekong Delta.
Meanwhile, the arms of the Mekong have become significantly narrower and the boats to continue on have become significantly smaller. We continue downstream in small, rocking wooden boats.
It is a real adventure to go down the Mekong in the small boats. If the river has not enough water in the dry season, it is no longer possible to travel through the delta. Sometimes you can walk where the boats normally run.
Parks, coffee and street life in Ho Chi Minh City:
The onward flight to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, was planned for the late afternoon, so there was still enough time to relax and visit some of the nearby parks and visit one of the recommended cafes before departure.
Beautifully landscaped parks, as well as small sales wagons, on which fruit and fruits as well as hats and basket goods are offered, are also part of the cityscape of Ho-Chi-Minh.
One of the many cozy and partly specially furnished cafes, the Workshop Café in Ho Chi Minh City.
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam:
Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, can be reached from Ho Chi Minh City in around 2 hours by plane. Many hotels in Hanoi also offer transfers to and from the airport. Alternatively, taxis are also available here for the drive to the accommodations.
The accommodation in Hanoi:
I stayed in Hanoi for two nights in the Alisa Hotel & Spa that is located very central and yet in a quiet area.
Most of the sights in the city center can be reached in a short time by rickshaw, by walking or by taxi.
Excursions to the famous Halong Bay or sightseeing-tours with a traditional rickshaw can be booked directly at the hotel.
Attractions in Hanoi:
The rickshaw ride is the most relaxed way to discover Hanoi's Old Quarter, and it also gives you the best impression of daily life in Hanoi's streets. Again and again you come across people who offer their goods, mostly fruit or vegetables, for sale from their bicycles or shoulder baskets.
The Trấn Quốc Pagoda is the oldest Buddhist temple complex in Hanoi and a place to visit. Beautifully located, you can find peace and relaxation here on a tour through the complex.
Sometimes on the tour through the streets of Hanoi you come across one or the other, rather special type of transport - the main thing is that it is able to drive.
Faith plays a big role in Vietnam. Everywhere in the temple complex you can find ornate ovens in which incense sticks are burned.
Happy children on a class trip to one of the temple complexes in the historic center of Hanoi.
The end of the sightseeing tour by rickshaw is St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Past historic buildings and modern shopping centers, the journey leads to the cathedral forecourt before continuing on foot towards the famous Train Street.
The Hanoi Train Street:
Hanoi Train Street is for sure the most special attraction of the Vietnamese capital.
If there is no train on the timetable, there is a hustle and bustle here. Numerous cafés, shops and tiny restaurants with roof terraces invite you to linger here.
Train Street is an absolutely unique place to enjoy one of the typical coffee specialties here, the egg coffee.
Until the next train is announced, everything stays calm. Only shortly before the train passes through, everything that could be in the way is busily cleared up, because the trains do indeed pass you very closely here.
If you want to see trains, you should find out about the current timetable in advance. Sometimes the trains only run in the evenings and sometimes only on weekends.
For me it was a special experience and it was worth it to adjust the daily routine according to the train schedule.
Vietnamese coffee specialties in Hanoi:
If you want to enjoy the Vietnamese coffee specialties authentically, you should make a detour to Cafe Dinh that is a little tricky to find. Simply furnished and a bit old-fashioned, you will be warmly welcomed here by the friendly staff. The quality of the coffees offered here is outstanding.
Day trip to the Ha Long Bay:
That morning it was time to get up early. The bus picked you up from the hotel right in time and the tour towards Ha Long, the starting point for visiting Halong Bay, began.
The Halong Bay is just 170 km away from the capital Hanoi. Since 1994 the bay is UNESCO World Heritage.
It covers an area of over 40,000 hectares and consists of more than 1,600 islands and islets. Most of them are uninhabited, untouched and unaffected by human hands.
Over the millennia, a breathtaking karst landscape was created here in the Gulf of Tonkin, which can be viewed by boat from Ha Long.
The excursion boats are lined up in the small harbor of Ha Long and wait for the visitors. As soon as you have left the port you are in the middle of a surreal karst landscape.
The boat takes you along bizarre rock formations that seem to float here in the Gulf of Tonkin.
One or the other shore leave is also on the program. Visiting the islands, some of which are crisscrossed by spectacular caves, is a great experience. From the islands there is a wonderful view over the bay.
Despite the cloudy weather in the morning, the sun fought its way through the clouds in the afternoon and offered an unforgettable sunset over the bay.
In the late afternoon the boat left the island and continued the journey back to Ha Long. In the early evening you can reach the port in the city.
From there we went back to the hotel in Hanoi and directly to the airport. The flight back to Beijing was scheduled for very early in the morning, therefore the VATC Sleep Pod Terminal 2was a suitable choice for staying the last night. This hotel offers small rooms directly in the terminal building.
Conclusion:
I hadn't known Vietnamese cuisine or the different coffee specialties in this form before and I have to admit that I immediately became a fan of it.
After a relaxed stay in Da Nang, the rainy experience in the Ba Na Hills, the drive through the coconut forest and the visit to the old town of Hoi An was a wonderful day.
From busy Ho Chi Minh with a trip to the Mekong Delta, we went to the north of Vietnam, to Hanoi, the country's culturally and historically marked capital.
The trip was rounded off with the scenic highlight, the boat trip through Halong Bay.
Overall, this was a trip that wasn't lacking for anything and I can only recommend it.
I am happy to pass on tips and suggestions.
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