Anyone been to Vietnam?

[Zonda_]

Looking at going in August next year. We want somewhere close to a beach and looking for recommendations.

[Rich B]

Vietnam is a place for travelling around, it’s cheap and full of beautiful places. I wouldn’t go there to go to one place with a beach.

I flew into the south (ho chi min) and out of the north (Hanoi) and would definitely recommend doing something similar.

[GG.]

Rich is correct but if you do want to spend part of your time on a beach Da Nang and Nha Trang are supposedly the places to go I think (stayed in and around Hanoi when I went so I don't have personal experience).

[Jimmy Choo]

Drop a message to Kathryn on the Book of Faces. She's been there a few times.

[Pete_]

Nha Trang is like a jumped up Benidorm full of rich Russians. I didn't go to Da Nang. I've heard good reports of the beach near Hoi An, but I didn't go to the beach myself when I was there.

[robin_cox]

Da Nang area when I was there 9 years ago was being portioned up between various western resort companies barricading off miles of coastline to build exclusive golf / beach / spa complexes - I would imagine those are mostly in situ now if that is what you fancy. I based my trip on Hanoi with various 3-4 day out-trips (Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi-An, highlands etc) - one of which was shared with some American volunteer medics. Their recommendation for beaches having travelled around a bit was to forget the central belt and to go instead for somewhere like Phu Quoc - group of islands off the bottom end of Vietnam somewhere that they said was like Thailand in the 80/early 90s - not as many people, unspoilt sand and so on.

[V8Granite]

Charlie Sheen tells me it’s a mother fucker of a place to visit.

Dave!

[JLv3.0]

Vietnam is nice. Walk around and see stuff. End.

[dinny_g]

Charlie Sheen tells me it’s a mother fucker of a place to visit.

Dave!

His old man wasn’t too keen either...

[Rich B]

I went back in 2010 and one of our night buses stopped briefly at Nha Trang. We didn’t get off and we’re glad to have not chosen it as a place to get off, because (what we saw) just looked like another “resort” type place. That said, you don’t have to stray too far from the main roads to find amazing places anywhere there.

Then again, even back then places like Hoi An had already been Disney-fied to the Max - though still nothing as far as Thailand.

Best place I went was a day trip to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. We went mega early and went for a bike ride and boat ride that was probably the most beautiful and most peaceful morning I’ve ever experienced.

[240PP]

Vietnam is nice. Walk around and see stuff. End.

Yeah just walk around Gav. It’s not that big a place.

[JLv3.0]

I just think people should experience countries, rather than asking for a checklist of must-dos as if it's a theme park or something. It also seems like a very long way to go for a beach holiday

[240PP]

I get the ‘do your own thing’ thing but he’s probably going for a couple of weeks. Why do you not get that people might want advice on how to make it the best experience possible?

[GG.]

In any event Thailand is more famed for its beaches than Vietnam so he appears to be going to the wrong country.

Is that helpful advice?

[JLv3.0]

edit - can't be bothered. Whateva.

[NotoriousREV]

I get the ‘do your own thing’ thing but he’s probably going for a couple of weeks. Why do you not get that people might want advice on how to make it the best experience possible?

Crazy talk.

[Mito Man]

In any event Thailand is more famed for its beaches than Vietnam so he appears to be going to the wrong country.

Is that helpful advice?

I’ve heard the ladyboys are better too.

[Rich B]

Maybe a week or so at a beach resort then a couple of days to somewhere like Ha Long bay? It does seem a waste to be so close to somewhere so genuinely spectacular and sit on a beach.

I can recommend staying on a junk boat and going on a canoe trip in the bay.

Crap photos, but genuinely amazing day:

[DaveE]

I loved Vietnam when we went we.

We did Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh over a period of about 4 weeks.

it does strike me a long way to go just for a beach (and to not take in all that it offers while there) - although, personal preferences etc.

I remember Hoi An being stunning - a really lovely place (a nice little cycle out to an incredible beach too).

I keep hearing reports of how it's changing and what's becoming and it breaks my heart.

Although I do acknowledge that what that really infers is "I preferred it when half the country was peasants and lived hand to mouth" - we can't deny progress, even if it takes a form we don't like...

[Rich B]

I thought Hoi An looked stunning at first, but the longer I was there there the faker it seemed. Like it had been neatened up and managed to be a Disney image of what it was for a western audience. Little details like every shop sign being the same colour/font, everything being organised and tidied, it just didn’t feel like the other cities I’d been in that were gloriously unorganised and hectic.

Give me somewhere mental like Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi every time.