Review of our trip to Vietnam

What did travelers say after their holidays in Vietnam

After a little less than a month of traveling to Vietnam, we shared our assessment of this road trip from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. Of course, as always, we remind you that this is just our feeling related to the experience of the last weeks.

We invite everyone to make their own opinion and experience theirs. As proof, we had some acquaintances who visited Vietnam, they gave us their impressions. Today, our tours in Vietnam are over, we can tell you that our impressions are very different from their ...

Vietnam, a country with two faces

It was one of those highly anticipated countries on our World Tour. The idea of ​​descending from Vietnam from north to south, crossing its different landscapes over its regions, enjoying its beaches and its sun, getting to know the different populations, tasting its delicious cuisine, here you could glimpse a pleasant tour of the city. Holiday tunes For the rest, in fact, this trip to Vietnam gave us a country with two faces.

Sumptuous natural riches

Despite the excess pollution present in major cities and related to the massive use of scooters / motorcycles, Vietnam has spoiled us with its landscapes. At this point, we were not disappointed! We expected beautiful landscapes, and Vietnam has really fulfilled all its promises. From the famous Halong Bay (with its thousands of karstic peaks), to the rice fields and the northern reliefs (which unfortunately we have not seen), to the central caves, the southern beaches and the exuberant and exotic vegetation of the Mekong Delta It is certain that Vietnam is a country with an incredible natural wealth. We could see it and enjoy it for almost a month without ever getting tired of the beauty of its landscapes.

Disappointing exchanges with the population

But Vietnam also offered us another less animated face. There are exceptions in our trip, but we are here to take stock and highlight the highlights of our trip. And unfortunately, we must admit that the exchanges with the Vietnamese population have been disappointing. We often find ourselves in an exchange where only financial interests count, even to do everything (lie, cheat) to sell us something. And without any scruple to scam consciously, without thinking that there could be repercussions for your business in the medium / long term (bad opinion, negative publicity ...). We have several examples in mind (cruise through Halong Bay, cruise and family stay in the Mekong, virulent exchanges for places on the bus or because we found the price too expensive for an object in the Ho Chi Minh market, etc. .) This is also the first country where we were robbed of money from one of our hotel rooms. All this put from end to end, leaves us in a true shared feeling about Vietnam and it is a pity...

Vietnam, tips and practical information

Vietnamese cuisine, a multitude of flavors

On the side of Vietnamese food, we discovered some delicious flavors. Vietnamese cuisine is famous for its richness and delicacy, we were able to verify and enjoy very good dishes. Our culinary favorites are: Hanoi bun cha, meat skewers, real spring rolls, banh mi (local sandwitch), bành xéo (pancake seasoned with Vietnamese salty omelette) or fried rice.

Where to stay in Vietnam?

We have remained faithful to our wishes and habits since the beginning of the world tour, by favoring housing with a bedroom and private bathroom. In hotels or guest houses, we regularly pay around $ 10 per night, or 225,000 VND (the cheapest room negotiated at $ 7 per night in Mui Ne for a small bungalow next to the beach with fan). Do not hesitate to seriously negotiate your home, we have almost always managed to earn $ 1 or $ 2, especially if you stay several nights.

What has evolved in Vietnam, however, in the way we travel, was the fact that we did not necessarily book our hotels before arriving in the city. The reason is that we noticed that the prices published on Booking.com or Agoda.com were sometimes much higher than the price that we could get directly at the hotel reception. On the contrary, sometimes it has caused us long walks before finding a hotel available and respecting our budget. We can not have everything;)

What are the means of transport in Vietnam?

We do not know how many kilometers we have traveled on foot, but we would like to know. As always and whenever possible, we have privileged our legs to move (particular memory of the 2.5 km traveled at noon by 40 ° C to reach Vinh Long ...)! But to cross all of Vietnam in a month, we also had to use different means of transport. We detail them here:

- Cycling: our legs have also served us well in Vietnam. Practical and pleasant to visit the countryside or access remote places a few kilometers. It can be easily found for a price that ranges from $ 1 to $ 2 per day.

- Taxi: in Vietnam, there is no tuktuk on the horizon, only a few rickshaw bikes in Hanoi. To move, you must take the taxi with a billing per kilometer (present in major cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City). However, be careful to inform yourself about the distance of your trip and monitor the meter to avoid getting carried away immediately and make you pay dearly (travelers' testimonies are known!).

- Motobike: ubiquitous in Vietnam, the "taxi bikes" replace the usual TukTuk. Of course, you can also rent or buy a scooter / motorcycle to be more autonomous in your travels. For our part, we have avoided this means of transport as much as possible, too many accidents and injuries that have been seen in tourists.

- Local bus: we take them a couple of times for trips of 2 hours maximum. To our surprise, we found small comfortable buses (often without air conditioning cons) and especially very cheap. We recommend!

VIP Bus "Open Bus": in Vietnam, it has a bus network called "open bus", which has grown enormously in recent years. Many companies travel several times a day between the main cities / tourist destinations of Vietnam, between the north and the south. In a classic day or night seat at night, they are very practical and less expensive than the train. We strongly recommend that you avoid going directly to your hotel to reserve them (they will take you to +/- garbage or even dangerous companies (example: Cuc Tung) and a commission of passage.We strongly recommend the company TheSinhTourist (they have an office in almost all the main cities, very good rates, possibilities to choose your place, checked luggage).

- Minibus: they are often sold by hotels for trips or excursions of medium distances. We do not particularly appreciate them in the few times we take them because comfort is basic and the driver clearly does what he wants in the schedules.

- Boat: from the boat, canoeing, small cruise to the ferry, we take some boats during our four weeks in Vietnam, mandatory to visit the natural wealth of the country.

- Train: we did not use it during our stay due to the excessively high prices compared to the bus.

Amazing natural sites to visit

At the level of visits and points of interest, Vietnam is a magnificent country that has beautiful landscapes. With its reliefs (karstic cusps), its blue waters, its rice fields, the Mekong delta and its impressive caves, Vietnam is a natural wealth in itself that deserves to be visited. From this point of view, we can only recommend a trip to Vietnam, so the landscapes are impressive and different from one city / region to another. Nor do we forget the many museums that tell the history of this country.

Regularly complicated communication

It was not always easy to communicate with Vietnamese. If some speak 2-3 words of English (with a pronounced accent and difficult to understand), even in big cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, we meet many people who do not speak a word. This is the first country in which we have encountered so many difficulties to communicate and make us understand. But we assure you that, in the end, we have never been blocked by the language barrier, sign language is still very effective in these cases;)

Side of the weather: medium gray, medium sunny

Like our overall impression of our trip to Vietnam, the weather was much more varied than we had imagined. The grayness and the rains of the North and the center have pushed us to change our program to become faster in the south, where we find a great sun and temperatures close to 30 degrees.

What is the cost of living in Vietnam?

As for each country, we have calculated our budget for Vietnam according to the survey and the information collected by the site tourdumondiste.com. The average daily cost per person that we found was 23 euros for housing, food and travel locally. On this basis, we procure a budget of € 36 per day for both Vietnamese 846,000 (VND). Yes, with your local currency, we have been millionaires regularly in Vietnam! :) Do not be surprised if prices in hotels are shown in dollars, it is a commonly accepted currency. However, after a few weeks of crossing the country, it was difficult to maintain our initial budget. The cost of living on a daily basis is not necessarily higher, however, museum / cruise tickets are much more expensive than we could have imagined. Also, ultimately, it took many buses down (the train is too expensive) and the costs have not had problems to be absorbed into the daily budget. For future travelers from all over the world, know that we validate the reliability of this calculation base. Having said that, we recommend that you live a day for around € 24 (for a couple it is quite playable) and you pay € 12 for the remaining tickets and large transport.