So, China Wife is revisiting the idea of going to 'Nam as part of a family trip at Xmas and to go somewhere tropical since we now live in the wet Pacific Northwest. Not sure if we will actually go but I always hate to be the naysayer.
Me, I am not overly thrilled with with another trip across the Pacific and jet lag, and it a “vacation”. And it’s going to be 3 flights since we will go via Taiwan to Hong Kong, hang with relatives in nearby Shekou, then Viet Nam and a couple of days in Taiwan on the return.
I’ve been to Saigon. Nothing really special there for us - it looks like Shanghai’s riverfront from the 1980’s or Hong Kong - both places we’ve lived. I see no reason to back with my family but open to idea.
I would really like a warm resort on the beach and things to see in Hanoi, if there is anything that you’d recommend for a family with a 14 year old, 10 year old twins (on xmas eve) and one twin on the autism spectrum? Or any other places that you think would be good to do. Ideally, it’s a one flight from Hong Kong and minimal in country travel once we are actually in Viet Nam.
As always, thanks in advance for any tips, tricks, advice, etc.
And of course on preview I see an inadvertent typo in the title owing to a crappy keyboard or my brainfart. It should be ‘Charlie Country’
I notice that I didn’t highlight that a beach resort would be great. My kids love the beach as do I. My wife, in laws and sis in law all love a message or spa kinda treatment (and wouldn’t say no to shopping). A win win is probably a nice resort on the beach with sun shine and great food. And I know from my previous visit to Saigon that Viet Nam has great food, both local and French influenced. I forget what 5 star hotel I stayed at in Saigon 5-6 years ago, but it was freakin’ great and only about $90/night. My cappuccino at the included breakfast buffet came with fern art and was awesome. Randy Andy stayed their the same time and his body guards did fit the bill of looking the “hard man” image (note: “hard man” in England English means a true tough guy).
I just spent 4 days on Phu Quoc island in the south of vietnam. Its a short (and cheap) 35 minute flight direct to the island from Saigon.
Relatively undeveloped compared to surrounding countries (e.g. Thailand), but nice white sand beaches and you can also do snorkeling, scuba diving etc. Very cheap rooms and food as well. There are plenty of Spas and massage places scattered around the island. Not so good for shopping, do that back in Saigon.
Ms Hook and I were there two years ago and really enjoyed it.
The Danang/Hoi An area was very nice. Hoi An has a great ‘old town’ with plenty of character and low prices. China beach in Danang is awesome. Miles and miles of beautiful sand and water. They had a couple of nice looking resorts already built and were working on more.
Cam Ranh Bay’s beaches are even more beautiful. There is a lot going on there that you and the children would enjoy.
Both are cheap.
There was a lot of interesting things to see all over the country but these two were the best in my opinion.
I just got to work and spoke with a couple of guys. They said you should look into a resort area called “Dragon Bay” (evidently that’s how it translates directly into English).
I know that flying over the Pacific with the whole family isn’t fun, but for your wife’s sake, make it happen. You know the accumulated daily stress of living in bizarre foreign places and your kids need more exposure to their Asian side of their roots.
For the love of all things holy, do skip Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, or whatever else they call it now.
I really loved Ha Long Bay and poking around the net, there are a few resorts there. This one on Catba Islandlooked interesting, with lots of water activities.
How long will you be in Taiwan? Any schedule? Let me know if you come and have time to get together with or without the families.
I can recommend Hoi An in central Vietnam. Wonderful place. A Unesco World Heritage Site. Nothing really kid-specific but it’s pretty as a picture. You can fly into Danang, then it’s a half-hour drive to Hoi An, and many of the hotels there will pick yuo up at the Danang airport or train station for a small fee. The An Huy Hotel, which I can heartily recommend, did that for us – picked us up from the Danang train station and then took us to the Danang airport for our flight to HCMC.
If you want a scenic spot for Christmas, this would be a good place. We haven’t been in Vietnam at Christmastime, but there should be something going on, as Vietnam has the second-highest proportion of Catholics in Asia after the Philippines, something like 7-10%, and the fifth-highest in total numbers. And IMHO, central-Vietnamese cuisine is the best.
And there’s a beach a mile or so from the town, but we didn’t go take a look.
As for beaches and the Hanoi area, I agree with others that Halong Bay is a good choice. There is a great little travel agency in the Old Town of Hanoi called Ocean Tours. We’ve used them, and they’re quite good.
For those of you that have done it, how easy is it to fly into say Hanoi, pop over to Halong Bay and maybe Hoi An (or Hue)? I’ve got the kids in tow, jet lag, love a relaxing stay at a beach and relatives that think if you don’t visit 8 cities in 7 days then you haven’t been in the country. Trying to balance having a relaxing time versus a whirlwind tour.
Popping over to Halong Bay, no problem. Two or three hours from Hanoi, IIRC. Make arrangements with the aforementioned Ocean Tours and they’ll take car of everything including transportation from Hanoi. They even have their own boat and their own resort on an island in the bay. (As with many places, “resort” is a loose term here, but the place was okay. Also, there are a lot of dodgy scams related to Halong Bay, so I really would make arrangements first with a reputable agency. Your hotel or guesthouse will be able to help you too, but even then it’s not foolproof, as they’ll be getting a commission from one outfit or anther that may or may not be reputable.)
Getting to Hoi An is a little more problematic. If you don’t fancy an overnight train ride to central Vietnam, you’ll have to fly from Hanoi to Danang. Not a long flight, but the time can add up with airport wait etc.
You mention Hue. If you do go there, I heartily recommend the Orchid Hotel.
What about south? Nha Trang or Danang? Any recommendations?
I’ve got people who only know “Viet Nam is fun” trying to make arrangements. All they want is a spa and people waiting on them hand and foot.
I’ve been to Saigon and the colonial architecture is nothing special compared with Shanghai or Hong Kong. I didn’t find Saigon as all that interesting and there is no beach. There are some nice restaurants…
From what I can tell, Danang is nothing special. Businessmen there on business seem to account for the vast majority of visitors. If you’re going to be in the Danang area, I would say it’s best just to go to Hoi An or even Hue (Hue is about three hours from Danang by train, IIRC.)
Not been to Nha Trang, but I do know it’s a popular beach destination. (When you live in Thailand, you don’t really care about spending time at other people’s beach destinations when there’s more to see, so we passed it up.)
There seem to be a lot of Vietnam War-themed tours near the old DMZ, often with old South Vietnamese soldiers as tour guides. We never checked these out though. Heard they were pretty much a yawn except maybe for old soldiers who had served in these places. Nothing much preserved, as that was three wars ago to this country. Just the odd pile of rocks or two that may or may not have held a gun emplacement.
Thanks for the replies all. Looks like China Wife has had a change of heart (14 hour economy for a family of 5 to Hong Kong at xmas is going to run over $12k alone). We might take the trail to LA instead and then fly back to Seattle.