My partner and I will be travelling to Vietnam in June 2016. The only other country we have been to is America, so I know we are in for a culture shock. We have only just decided to go there so please excuse my questions if the answers seem quite obvious, we really have no idea.
So far we will be flying into HCM, spending a few nights doing the tunnels and what not, then we have 8 nights in danang/ hoi an, and then we fly to Hanoi for 5 nights.
I'm hoping someone can please assist with my below questions, and also give some advice on where the best places to go/see are?
I know that it is quite safe if you are observant, and this is a weird question, but as girl, is it safe to carry a handbag? Would I be better with something over the shoulder?
I have heard that foreigners can be given a hard time when they arrive in HCM by the customs guys, and ask for "coffee money" in order to be released or for a smooth transition?
Do you need a visa?
Are there really separate lines for men and women going through customs?
How do people travel there so cheaply? The nice hotels I have been looking at are upwards of $300 AUD a night? We have also been recommended to stay in a resort called the Nam Hai in Danang which is $1200 AUD a night?- This is our honeymoon so I would like to stay somewhere nice, but I thought this was a bit expensive?
How do you haggle with someone? And how do you know if they are ripping you off?
Should we be getting something from the pharmacy in case we get sick from the food? I have heard not to eat things that aren't cooked in front of you when it comes to the street food, and also the pho or soup is always quite safe.
General tips and advice would REALLY be appreciated- I want to be as best aware of everything as I can, and we are so super excited to go there for our honeymoon.
Thanks Guys!!!
If you go to phu quoc. Stay on long beach. Its stunning and close to town. Also one of the main attractions. Plenty of nice hotels there. The nicest is probably la veranda however it's pricey.
If you want to go diving. There's a place called flipper in the centre of town. Its run by a lovely French bloke called willy. They are by far the best on the island. I did my padi open water diving course with them.
Spend a day in the south at sao beach. As I mentioned before; you can pay a taxi driver $40 to drive you round as your own tour guide if you wish. Otherwise bikes are perfectly OK there as it is not anywhere near as hectic as ho chi Minh or Hanoi. Dirt roads are still fairly common there however there are a couple highways recently finished connecting the north and south of the island.
Spend a day in the north. There are some stunning resorts up there you should have lunch and a swim at such as mango bay (owned by prime ministers nephew), chez Carole (run by a sweet Viet american lady) and gio bien which is quite far north but worth the adventure. The thing with this area is that you need to leave early because even though its like 30-40 minutes drive. When the sun goes down. It gets dark really quick as there are few street lights out of duong dong.
Go see some of the islands many waterfalls. I can't describe how nice it was to trek up this little mountain river to a basin, have chicken wings, eggs and beer organised and brought upto you while you enjoy the fresh clean mountain water and the warm sun on your skin. To top it off and have the Vietnamese equivalent of Michael Jackson breakdancing on a rock at the waters edge with his boombox for your entertainment. Bloody brilliant day.
Get some pearls there. The quality of them are that of the pearls you get in Broome. For about a third of the price might I add.
Go to a bar called Rory's bar. This is a must do and I should of mentioned it earlier. Rory (whose an Aussie bloke) will sit down with you and draw all over a map that he will give you with advice on where to go and what to do and recommend tours. Tell you what's bs and what's not. He will take care of you. Additionally Rory's bar is one of the go to destinations on the island. The bars shaped like a boat and separate kitchen too. It has beautiful cocktails and overlooks the sunset and they run a campfire by night. Its quite lovely. They also rent out long boards and stuff for pretty cheap. Worth getting as the water is dead flat and you can go out for miles. Just don't cross into the Cambodian waters as phu quoc is closer to Cambodia than it is Vietnam (it used to be Cambodian).
Make sure you get pho at first Saigon one morning. You have to get there before 8.30-9.00 as they only do a breakfast and afternoon period. All the locals go there.
There's a couple markets in the small city. Go for a stroll through and take in the sights and sounds.
Do not get sucked into squid fishing tours. They're a joke.
Don't go to the old gaol. Really not worth the time.
There is a Swedish guy (Chris) and a Vietnamese dude (bin) who spent years building a gokart track just north of the main city if that interests you.
There is a multiple hundred hole golf course under construction. Not sure if its complete yet but even its existence has been kept top secret. Planned to be the biggest in the world so I've been told. Might be worth investigating if that's something you or the hubby is into.
There's also a water park in the north that no one goes to because there aren't enough tourists yet. It is operating and you can get in and enjoy a whole water park to yourself and a handful of others which is pretty amazing.
There's an American burger joint called Winston's that's worth checking out. The owners; mike and Winston are great to have a chat and a beer with.
Finally there's an upmarket Spanish tapas restaurant that's really beautiful and serves really amazing food called itaca. The owner; mattais is a Spanish chef.
There's so much there, its hard to stop typing. I'd provide more names of these places and businesses if I could remember them all. The thing with phu quoc is that business owners know its going to be a big thing and numbers going there are increasing but it hasn't quite got there yet.
Let me know if you have any questions. I've spent quite some time there.
Regards,
Resin