Vietnam
27 february - 17 march 2010

ITINERARY

The map & itineray

VISA
We bought the visa online from http://visa-vietnam.vn/, withdrawing it on the arrival in the airport; good service and price.

WHEATHER
SUD: Very warm and damp.
NORD: pleasant during the day, fresh in the evening, to Sapa a sweater was necessary.

FOOD
Excellent, I found a very various cousine with delicate tastes and interesting approaches; excellent the baguettes and particular the coffee (of which the Vietnam is a big producer) that is created with a coffe-maker similar to the italian napoletana . Practically anywhere cousine courses are organized.

COSTS
Quite low, almost all the tourist services are quoted in US $ and in case converted in the local coin; the € is changed without problems; the ATMs are very diffused as the use of the credit cards.
Middle costs (1 US $= 19000 Dongs):
lunch or dinner to the restaurant = 5 US $
double room in the pension-hotel = 20 US $
city journey in taxi = 3 US $

COMMUNICATIONS
We bought a local SIM, useful for the bookings, confirmations of hotel and services and above all with good rates for the intercontinental calls; the internets connections are good, practically every cafe, restaurant and hotel has WiFi connections.

Dangers & annoyances
Quite good safety, the greatest danger is represented perhaps by the crossing of the city roads seen the abnormal scooter traffic, the first days it was a little bit shooking  to cross the roads, then we entered in the vietnamese optic (the biggest has always the precedence).

TRANSPORTS
We reached the Vietnam from Bangkok with Air Asia, asian low cost company.
For the long transfers we choose the airplane, also for the good rates; we preferred the national carrier Vietnam Airlines  to the low cost Jetstar whose fly are thick a little punctual and/or canceled without warning.
The road transports are capillary but very slow, very diffused the open tour: bus for tourists (also equipped with berths) that connect the main tourist places, but the times of trip are very long and the a little safe nighttime transfers.
The taxis are very convenient but especially in the big cities it is essential to pretend the use of the taximeter verifying that is not put make up on, for this, when possible we used the very reliable company Mai Linh also for the bus transfers.
We reached Sapa by train (berth) booked by the Hanoi hotel.

TOURS
For the visit of the float markets of the Mekong delta we are turned there to a girl that we have met walking for Khan Tho, in alternative all it takes is contacting the boatmen directly to the dock.
To Sapa, the owner of the pension has made us contact a French boy that lives from those parts (he has married a local woman) and that manages the agency Sapatrek organizing excursions of all the types; we have done a one day pleasant trekking  for the mountain villages the outskirtses of Sapa.
We visited the Halong bay with a 2 days tour booked by the hotel Golden Sun of Hanoi, the boat Marguerite Junk has revealed a good choice.

LODGING
Discreet pensions and good hotels are found  to moderate prices; we had some problem to find lodging to Hanoi and to Phu Quoc, for this last the prices are higher that in the rest of the country.

Ho Chi Minh City
Orient Hotel: sufficient hotel in the central-tourist zone of Pham Ngu Lao; double room with bath and breakfast 19 US $.

Giant Dragon Hotel: of level similar to the precedent; double room with bath and breakfast 25 US $.

Can Tho
Kim Tho Hotel: super relationship price/quality, with services from 4 stars; double room with bath and breakfast (excellent) 40 US $.

Hoi An City
Thanh Bình III: hotel in the seed-central zone; double room with bath and breakfast 18 US $.

Hanoi
Golden Sun 2: the best accomodation of the trip, even if the first night they hijacked there in another hotel, the personnel  is revealed kind and efficient, they have also offered the afternoon free use of a room before the nighttime trip to Sapa even  in the booking of the excursions to guard us the baggages during the excursions; double room with bath and breakfast 25 US $.

Sapa
Friendly Hotel: sufficient pension in the central-tourist zone; double room with bath and breakfast 14 US $.

Phu Quoc
Thai Tan Tien: bungalow with varied prices and services a few away from the beach, in a position more isolated in comparison to the other lodgings; double bungalow with bath (cold water) 20 US $.

Nhat Lan: bungalow dipped in a tropical garden with varied prices and services to shelter of the beach; double bungalow with bath (cold water) 25 US $.

LINKS
 

The vietnamese experience has been pleasant but has not thrilled me neither under the cultural aspect neither under that naturalistic; between the varied visited places, the Mekong delta, Sapa and Halong bay I have liked a lot. The sea is decidedly disappointing in comparison to the near countries.

Copyright © 2010 Giuseppe Ruperto. All rights reserved.