How to Vietnam for Two Weeks

Introduction

To be frank, two weeks was nowhere near enough. I barely just about did everything I wanted to in the 15 days I had there. And that was me going at 100mph everyday. I have no doubt that you'll be wanting more at the end of your trip in Vietnam, because that was me, reluctantly boarding my flight back to London.

It was nothing like what I had in mind, and if you were wondering what I had been expecting, I was half expecting similar things I had experienced in Thailand. Up until then, Thailand was one of my favourite countries and favourite trips. But I was so wrong. I had no clue about what Vietnam offered. Admittedly, writing this makes me a little sad, as I really wish I was there right now.

You're absolutely right, if you're thinking I've put Vietnam on a pedestal. It is there, and it ain't coming down.

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‍My Itinerary

Let's cut to the chase. My 16 days went a little like this:

• Fly into Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
• Day 1, 2, 3 in HCMC
• Morning flight from HCMC to Da Nang, then bus to Hoi An
• Day 4, 5, 6 in Hoi An and nearby areas
• Day 7 in Da Nang (could have done with another day)
• Morning train to Hue
• Day 8, 9 in Hue
• Overnight train to Ninh Binh
• Day 10, 11 in Ninh Binh
• Morning bus to Hanoi
• Day 12, 13 in Hanoi
• Day 14 in Ha Long Bay (could have done with an overnight stay)
• Day 15 Hanoi
• Day 16 departure back to London

I never made it to Sapa and the Ha Giang regions. I was gutted as I watched fellow long-term backpackers head off to their motorbike adventures. I really was full of envy, but also admiration as I've still not plucked up any courage to ride on a motorbike myself.

Yes, I completely avoided riding a motorbike, despite being a "backpacker" for two weeks (though I was more a suitcase kinda person). Unless it was a Grab Bike, aka Ubers but not cars - just locals on bikes, and they even come with passenger helmets(!), I steered well clear of hiring on my own after watching numerous YouTubers warn me of the weird and gruesome crashes they had once witnessed.

I also had to skip out on Mui Ne and Dalat, which were a few sad compromises. The thing with Vietnam is that it's just too "long" of a country. The travelling between places was often super time consuming, even by air. So with bus and train journeys, which is usually the popular choice for most backpackers, you'll likely end up spending at least 2 hours between "nearby" places - Da Nang to Hue for example, and 6+ hours for trip like Hanoi to Sapa, or Hue to Ninh Binh.

That said, I was very pleased with my itinerary. The places I did manage to visit were completely and absolutely amazing. As I vlogged my way around the country, I was in awe everywhere I went, and I didn't want to leave.

Anyway, starting oppositely to most blogs, let us begin with the South.

The South - Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City

Starting with the capital of Vietnam, I arrived into HCMC. Immediately upon landing, I called a taxi and soon found myself in the midst of countless motorbikes. I knew I had arrived.

Nothing will prepare you for the crazy amount of motorbikes you'll see when you find yourself in Vietnam. Not even Bangkok. But that was exactly what gave me the buzz. The sounds and sights of the seemingly chaotic but simultaneously orderly traffic is both mesmerising and terrifying to watch as a fresh tourist in this city.

But trust me, it's OK. You just need to walk into it, and the bikes will dodge you. It wasn’t long before I mastered the skill of road-crossing in Vietnam.

Pro tip: always walk with confidence and at a maintained speed. Don’t run, because otherwise motorists can’t predict whether or not they will crash into you if you sudden speed up and down.

Depending on where you stay, you’re most likely to have a completely different experience. Many backpacker hostels are close to the main drinking street in HCMC. As night approaches, you’ll see the streets become more and more crowded and bars fill up with lots of locals sitting on tiny plastic chairs in the streets drinking.

Central - Hoi An, Da Nang & Hue

Hoi An

Hoi An, to me, is Asia's answer to Venice. It is ridiculously beautiful. Within minutes of arriving, I immediately fell in love.

Due to Vietnam's elongated shape, it was an estimated 12-hours by bus to get to Hoi An, so I opted to fly from HCMC to Da Nang instead. Perks of being a fake backpacker (aka one that is on the road for a few vacation days) is that budget wasn't really a problem! The aerial views from the flight were also absolutely stunning and one that many don't see if you stick to transportation on land, which for me was a definite win.

From the airport, I was picked up by a shuttle bus arranged by my hostel to get to Hoi An. This bus left on the hour and the bus journey was approximately 45 mins. Not bad for Vietnam.

You can of course stay at the many resorts and hotels in Hoi An, but I stayed at the popular Tribee Bana hostel, and there are a chain of different Tribee hostels dotted around Hoi An. Definitely recommend these hostels, as they organised fun and interesting activities, and provided lots of tour options for your stay. You can find more on all my accommodation choices in this complete list here.

Hoi An's Old Town is dotted in beautifully handcrafted lanterns

Walking through the streets is like walking through time, with lots of old heritage temples and residences open for visiting, and every corner you turn is another picture perfect shot to showoff on your Instagram feed. The little boats on the river, and the palm trees and cute wooden bridges, the entire place is a painting, and I couldn’t help but stop and stare at the views every five minutes.

And if that wasn’t enough, when night falls, the town comes alive with all the lanterns that are lit up everywhere you go. The atmosphere is incredible. It's magical, dreamy, and stupidly romantic. It was literally one of the places that made me really want a boyfriend, just so that I had someone to hold hands with as I wandered through the town, rubbing shoulders with all the couples. Haha!

Da Nang

Reluctant and sad to leave Hoi An, I packed up and was ready to leave for Da Nang. Having adjusted to the cost of living in Vietnam by now (read: unconvinced on spending more to call for a taxi, even though it’s considered cheap when converted to GBP), I decided to walk to the local bus station to get the very very *very* local bus to Da Nang.

Very local means being shoved on to an old and packed vehicle with too many locals and their luggages, slowly stopping at every stop possible along the hour-long route. Mind, this bus also continuously honked every two minutes and when I eventually made it to Da Nang, I was grateful to finally be able to get off.

The most picturesque sunset I've ever seen on a "city beach"

Da Nang really took me by surprise. I had only budgeted one night for this city but boy I wish I had stayed longer. When I arrived it was already early afternoon so I only managed to catch the sunset on the beach. Strolling along the beach at golden hour with the waves washing over my feet was pure bliss. Watching people frolicking in the sea and a few paragliding in the distance, that beach quickly became a highlight for my time in Da Nang.

It wasn’t long before it was evening and I went food hunting. The city is of a decent size, hopping on a Grab was definitely the most efficient way to get around for me. Whizzing in and out of the traffic at high speed with the air blowing through my hair, crossing the Dragon Bridge at night gave me such a rush. Life was at an all time high.

To be honest, the Dragon Bridge wasn’t really that big of a deal during the day, but at night it became a major attraction - the Da Nang evening skyline isn’t shabby at all, and the bridge was the star of the show amongst all other buildings with their neon lights

Besides that insanely beautiful beach, the city is a foodie heaven! I had one of my favourite and best meals her, but more on that later... in my list of food spots in Vietnam.

Hue

The train from Da Nang to Hue was an experience in itself.

Somehow I was caught in Vietnam's national holiday week, so there were local tourists everywhere I went. It was unusually crowded, and my train to Hue ended up with me being on the top bunk of a 6-people cabin, with the rest of the five beds filled entirely by this Vietnamese family, and then me tucked in the corner.

Yep. It was pretty entertaining, to say the least.

Despite the weird train arrangement, it was one of the most scenic train journeys I've ever experienced. On one side it was the views of the famous Hai Van Pass, and the other side offered views of untouched nature, with mountain scapes, green fields, and buffalos grazing along rivers and streams.

Needless to say, I didn't say in my cabin for long - I was way too excited about the sceneries that I was passing through. I also befriended the little boy of that family in my cabin. He followed me around as I vlogged excitedly about the journey, and we high-fived as we parted at Hue when we eventually arrived late afternoon.

Hue isn't a huge place, and the town was pretty quiet the night I stayed. Though my hostel was close to the street of bars, I spent the evening chatting with fellow travellers over the family-style dinner cooked by the hostel (Freedom Hostel).

Usually you'd hire a bike for touring this city, but I had only budgeted one day for Hue, so I hopped around the city on multiple Grab bikes (my favourite things ever), and visited:

1. The Imperial Citadel - an ancient imperial city, which reminded me very much of the Forbidden City in China.
2. This bo bun hue shop near the Citadel - the noodle was so good I had two bowls!
3. Thien Mu Pagoda - a bit far away but a picturesque touristy spot.
4. The Tomb - very out of the way, and one of many tombs of past emperors, with majestic and intricately decorated halls. Definitely worth checking out.

There were a few other spots in Hue I wish I had time to visit, including the other tombs, but most importantly the abandoned waterpark that everyone raved about. But before I knew it, I had returned to Hue train station after dinner to catch my overnight train to my next destination - Ninh Binh.

The North - Ninh Binh, Hanoi & Ha Long Bay

Ninh Binh

The journey from Hue to Ninh Binh is approximately 12-hours, so as you'd imagine, I tried to optimise my trip by doing this train-ride overnight.

Admittedly, I was rather apprehensive about this overnight train business, having heard some horrible tales but then also some better reviews, I had booked myself the most premium cabin.

Fresh off the overnight train with somewhat decent rest, I arrived into Ninh Binh bright and early.

Golden hour over Tam Coc. Unreal views

Ninh Binh consists of two main areas - Tam Coc and Trang An. These are the areas with the majority of homestays and attractions. My homestay was located a 20-mins taxi ride away from the train station in Trang An.

As we approached my homestay, I realised that this was the real rural countryside scenes of Vietnam. Think incomplete and unconstructed roads immediately next to ponds of various sizes and lots of potholes threatening you a grand fall into them. (Not kidding, I had pictured that scene way too many times as I biked around this place.)

That said, the scenery here is simple unreal. Untouched areas of land, the real beauty of Mother Nature at her finest, literally an arms length away.

During my two days here, I had walked, biked, hiked an insane amount and I had definitely left with some serious leg and booty gains… 

Views at the top after hiking up the Hang Mua Cave

Hanoi

Ah Hanoi, you little beauty.

Being one of my last stops, I was glad to finally have made it to Hanoi following a 3-hour minibus journey from my homestay in Ninh Binh. And first things first, after checking in, I went seeking for my first egg coffee - a must, I was told, for whenever you're in Hanoi.

As you'd imagine, by now I'd already become fully localised and not afraid of any sort of Vietnamese traffic., so navigating Hanoi's Old Town, despite how hectic it was previous described to me, was a breeze, especially after having come from HCMC.

Ha Long

Last but not least. Ha Long Bay.Whatever you do, disregard all the shit reviews of Ha Long Bay. Take at least a day trip, because this place is magical and if you don’t I will personally be mad at you.

I can’t even put into words how unbelievable that day was. Lucked out with the weather when it turned from cloudy to blue skies, and cruised into the Bay which then became one of the highlights of my two-week solo adventures.

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