2 weeks in Vietnam – the perfect itinerary

Vietnam offers a lush and beautiful nature with rice fields and big rocks and of course one of the natural world wonders; Halong Bay. You find good Pho (noodle soup) and spring rolls (you also find bad and tasteless ones).
It’s a country worth visiting, especially if you are able to ride a motorbike or a scooter since that’s the perfect way to discover the backcountry.

However, obviously, Vietnam can not keep up with all the tourism. There is a lot of dirt and trash everywhere, which casts a bit of a shadow over the beauty. Therefore, I feel that now that I have been there, I don’t have to go back.
If you are planning to go, I recommend you do it soon, while nature is still half way intact or wait many years until they might have caught up with healthy tourism.

Here is our itinerary for 2 weeks in Vietnam with some more suggestions:

Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi. We stayed at the Golden Charm Hotel.

Day 2: Sightseeing and massages in Hanoi. Click here to read more about the sights of Hanoi.

Day 3-5: a trip to Mai Chau or Sapa. We decided to go to Mai Chau because it’s less touristy than Sapa. It was wonderful. Read more here. You really should spend 3 days there to fully be able to appreciate and visit the rice fields, lakes and waterfalls. My highlight was a whole day scooter tour.
The night of day 5 we spent back in Hanoi.

Day 6-8: Halong Bay with a visit of Amazing Cave, and Lan Ha Bay. The environment is still pretty, but the water is very dirty. Here is our experience with Golden Sun Cruises.
And a story of what could happen if you are stuck on Cat Ba, due to a typhoon (click here) 🙂
Travel on to Ninh Binh/Tam Coc on the 8th day.

Day 9: Go hiking to Pagodas in Tam Coc and do a boat ride through caves and between the beautiful rock formations. You can easily do it in one day (read more here) and then you can take the night bus to Phong Nah.

Day 10: Rent a scooter and enjoy the landscape in Phong Nah Ke Bang. Visit the caves. We only joined in for the adventure at Dark Cave, since we didn’t feel like visiting more caves. We stayed at Mountain View Hotel. They were kind enough to let us check in early at 5am. I could have stayed there another day and just done another trip on the scooter to drive through the scenery and swim in clean fresh water rivers. But one day is ok, as well, and so we took the only available bus to the south, which leaves at 4.30am.

Day 11 and 12: relax at the beach in Hoi An and get a custom made dress at one of the shops. If you need time to decide what you want, you might even have to spend 3 days here which can easily be filled with just relaxing in cafés. We stayed at Little House homestay. It was exactly half way between the beach and the town, which is ok, thanks to the free rental bicycles. Then take a night bus to Nha Trang.

Day 13 and 14: Nha Trang is the best place to get all kinds of beauty treatments, have fun with kids on Vinpearl island and shop for souvenirs. Click here to read more. Then take a night bus to your next destination. If you have time, go to Mui Ne and visit the sand dunes. If you get a streak of clean water, it’s said to be incredibly beautiful. Just be careful in case you ride a scooter. The police there likes to fine tourists for nothing.
Or, take a bus to Da Lat. There you will encounter a more agreeable climate and see coffee plantations and waterfalls.

Day 15 and 16: We took a direct night bus from Nha Trang to HCMC. I didn’t like Saigon too much and therefore would suggest that you fly out after one day or at least do a tour to the Mekong Delta on the second day. I heard that the Cu Chi tunnels are also interesting but a bit far away. But if you want to see something for little money, a day at the tunnels only costs $6.

 

After HCMC, I took a night bus to Phnom Phen. A taxi to HCMC airport should be 200k VND.