14 Days Travel from North to Central Vietnam and Where to Go
So finally I quit my job to join my friends on a journey of stepping out of safe zone and discovered my country, Vietnam. It was 14-day travel going from Ha Giang to Quy Nhon, and it was the 14 most memorable days to me in 2016.
Instead of 3-week travel as planned before, the whole trip was occurred in only 14 days due to heavy rains and floods in some provinces in the central Vietnam. In that short length of time, we have been to Ha Giang, Sapa, Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Quy Nhon. I’m going to update all the detail of places on the journey later in other posts. At first, let me show my trip’s schedule:
We (me & my friends) departure to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City on 9 Oct in the late evening. Right after arrival, we took a night sleeper bus (a bus with beds inside) to go to Ha Giang. I wouldn’t call it my first day of the trip because we spent most of our time in sitting boringly on plane and bus from HCMC to Ha Giang. And our journey was truly started on the next day …
Ha Giang Province, Oct 10 – 13, 2016
– Day 1, 10 Oct:
Arriving in Ha Giang City, Vietnam at 4:45AM, we had breakfast and rented motorbikes to wander around Ha Giang province. Our first destination was Dong Van which was about 150km away from Ha Giang city. To get there, we had to go through Quan Ba town and Yen Minh town where we could take some rest and have something to fill our empty stomach. As we could not take our eyes of beautiful scenes on the way to Dong Van Town, we arrived at 6 p.m., later than expected.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLn0WdihXjR/?taken-by=khoingn&hl=en
Along the way Dong Van town, there are many marvellous and picturesque landscapes that are worth to see once in your life. Ha Giang province is famous for with Buckwheat flower, which can be easily found every corner of the province.
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- we came to Ha Giang city’s bus station at 4:45 a.m. ..
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- .. had our breakfast, Bun Cha Ha Giang ..
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- .. and rented motorbike to wander around Ha Giang province
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- just left Ha Giang city and start our journey
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- first scene on the way
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- on my way to Dong Van
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- at Quan Ba, we crossed this field and then come back after we found an interested scene 😀
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- Scene 1: the kids are playing with the straws
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- scene 2: a woman is cleaning the straws
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- at one of the common rest stop at Quan Ba, there is a heart-shaped grass in the hill so anyone can notice 😀
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- ethnic kids playing beside the roadway, I took this photos while riding at 40km/h
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- Dong Van City
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOPJnuchqAe/?taken-by=khoingn
– Day 2, 11 Oct:
Our plan was to visit H’Mong King’s Palace, and Lung Cu – the Northernmost point of Vietnam, then moving to Meo Vac town.
About 2km away from Dong Van, there was an intersection which led to H’Mong King’s Palace in one direction and to Lung Cu in another way. We firstly went to the Palace, about 13km from that intersection, then went to Lung Cu, 26km from the Palace. In the afternoon, we crossed Ma Pi Leng, one of the most beautiful passes in the northern mountainous region, to Meo Vac which is about 50km far from Lung Cu.
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- scene alongside on my way to H’Mong King’s Palace
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- a market place in front of H’Mong King’s Palace
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- ‘fast foods’ for energy to continue the journey
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- Lung Cu flagpole – the northernmost point of Vietnam
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- a scene around the northernmost point
Meo Vac was a small town which could be called a recommended stop on the journey from Dong Van town to Ha Giang city. It had many must-try foods that we could not miss.
Meo Vac has many good foods that must be tried, especially this street shop
– Day 3, 12 Oct:
It was a long day coming back to Ha Giang City from Meo Vac, about 150km. Except the good breakfast we had at Meo Vac and the enjoyable, memorable experience of riding motorbike on the passes at night without lights, we just were on the road all day long. Ahh, we visited Lung Khuy Cave at Quan Ba in the middle of the day but found nothing excited.
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- the way which takes us to Ha Giang city
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- at Quan Ba, the location’s just appeared when the sun rises
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- Lung Khuy cave, one of the most beautiful caves in Ha Giang
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- another corner of Lung Khuy cave
Finally we arrived in Ha Giang City around 9PM and directly went to a homestay in Tuy village to spend the rest of the night. The highlight point of the 3rd day is delicious foods and special wine at our homestay. That’s all for the third day in the journey.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPoXCHzgJdZ/?taken-by=khoingn
– Day 4, 13 Oct:
Last day in Ha Giang, we had breakfast after wandering around the village. Then we took a bus to go to Lao Cai at 11:55 a.m.
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- Bun Vit Lang, our breakfast at Tuy village on the last day at Ha Giang
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- view while wandering around the village
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- view while wandering around Tuy village
Sapa, Oct 13 – 17, 2016
At Lao Cai city, Vietnam
It was a long day sitting on the bus. We were at Lao Cai territory at about 3 p.m. and arrived at Lao Cai city at about 6 p.m. The owner of the bus had helped contacting a van to take us to Sapa, 1 hour away and we were there at about 7 p.m. Luckily that we met Tung, a very friendly manager at the hotel that we stayed. He took us to the market for a very first delicious dinner in Sapa.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPtBeUXAXKw/?taken-by=khoingn
– Day 5, 14 Oct:
The journey of traveling Sapa, Vietnam started this day at 6:30 a.m. We came to Ta Van village at 8 a.m. and had breakfast there. We went to a cool homestay to find some foods but they just had instant noodle and crepe.
Ta Van is one of the three popular villages that many tourists visit. We played as the ethnic minorities to take photos and visited the ancient rocks there, then back to Sapa at 1 p.m.
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- we played as the ethnic minorities
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- an old house on the way to the ancient rocks
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- the ancient-rocks field with the stream
We travelled to the Waterfall of Love at 2 p.m. There is Fansipan Legend – the station with cable cars that take you to Fansipan peak, on the way. And if you want to trek to the mountain peak, the entrance at Waterfall of Love is also the starting point to hike to Fansipan.
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- we are hiking to the waterfall
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- the Love Waterfall
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- the Golden Stream
We then left the waterfall in the afternoon to go to Ta Phin, 1 of 3 most popular villages in Sapa and also the one that’s less affected by tourism. We stayed at a homestay of a Red Dao family, the ethnic people in Sapa. They served us the most memorable dinner with their iconic liquor, paddy wine, and local foods. Especially the Red Dao herbal bath, my body is inundated with the herbal hot water in a round wooden tub; it’s one of the best ways to relax after a long day wandering around. Those are the best memories of me in the trip 😀
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- Mrs. Phau, the owner of the homestay, is making the herbal water for us to bath
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- Her children are making dinner
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- we are preparing for our party of the night
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- remarkable dinner with delicious foods
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- the knocking paddy wine at 45 degrees
– Day 6, 15 Oct:
It’s a whole exploring day at Ta Phin village. We went to the silversmith’s house of the village. I intended to buy some souvenirs there but he wasn’t at home 🙁
We then strolled through 10 hills to visit the fortune-teller of the village. Beside telling the future, in Red Dao’s culture, the fortune-teller can also affect the marriage of people in the village. The Dao people need the fortune teller to see if a couple are suitable in age or destiny so they are able for wedding. Unfortunately, there was some problem with him so he didn’t see our future. Instead, he invited us to enjoy lunch at his home. That lunch was so remarkable with the super-delicious carp fish that the teller had fed in 10 years and the 50 degree spirit he made.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ_pOvfjVgH/?taken-by=khoingn
One special food of the village was the grilled and boiled sweet potato. We were invited to Van’s home, the son of the homestay owner that we lived, to enjoy the food.
The day end after we enjoy dinner and drinking a whole big jar of paddy wine, the really needed drink for the cold weather outside.
– Day 7, 16 Oct:
We were invited to join a wedding in the village. That was a very lucky opportunity to enjoy and learn more about the culture of the Red Dao as it’s quite rare to see a wedding there. The celebration of the wedding had so many steps following the tradition of Red Dao people. It was so interested for me to see the wedding and the foods were delicious.
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- the bride is led to the wedding hall
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- a guest at the wedding :”>
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- ethnic kids at the wedding
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- with Red Dao people, they appreciate the value of silver. The more silver a person has, the richer that person
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- villagers are helping the bride and groom to celebrate the wedding
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- how Red Dao people put the bowls and chopsticks on the table at the wedding following their tradition
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- the shaman is blessing for the couple
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- the shaman is doing the ceremony
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- main people of the stage, the groom and the bride 😀
We then said goodbye with Ta Phin village to go back to Sapa at noon. Did take some rest and go shopping at Sapa market, it had many good brocades and handmade stuffs.
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- Sapa market
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- brocades and handmade items sold at the market
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- jewelry and silverware sold at Sapa market
The night ended with a lot of grilled foods around Sapa, the must-try cuisine at the city.
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- Sapa’s central lake at night
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- we called it the western town at Sapa. A lot of foreign visitors stay at the road
– Day 8, 17 Oct:
We said goodbye to Sapa at 7 a.m. and arrived at Hanoi at 12 p.m. by Camel’s sleeper bus, phone number (+84) 98 569 4914.
Hanoi – Ninh Binh, Oct 17 – 19, 2016
It was a food day because it seemed like I put everything that I can I could put into my mouth, it had problem right at that night :(( We then strolled around the old town at Hanoi and had to say goodbye with one member in the team :((
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- Hanoi old town
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- the thinnest houses in the old town
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- big lunch that hurts my stomach 🙁
We went to a nice acoustic cafe at night for some music but because of my stomach, I can’t enjoy the whole beautiful night :((
[few bad things happen in the day] :((
– Day 9, 18 Oct:
Our destination for this day was Ninh Binh, a famous spot for cultural travel in Vietnam. We left Hanoi from Giap Bat bus station at 9 a.m. and reached Ninh Binh at 12 p.m. We arrived at noon so we did not have much time to visit many places as wanted. The ticket at Trang An is 150k VND/ person for 3 hours sitting in a boat and the ferryman will take visitors going around the area.
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- 3 hours sitting in the boat and the ferryman took us around Trang An, Ninh Binh, Vietnam
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- as tour 1 has closed for maintenance, we chose tour 2 at Trang An
We travelled back to Hanoi at 6 p.m. then had some foods and drank throughout the night to end up the day.
And my stomach still had problem 🙁
– Day 10, 19 Oct:
A full day of strolling around old town for foods and visiting some popular places in Hanoi.
Menu of the day:
. Bun Doc Mung (rice vermicelli with colocasia gigantea and meatballs) at 10 a.m.
. Pho Cuon (grilled meat rolled with pho) at 11 a.m.
. Miscellaneous foods in the afternoon.
. Xoi Man (steamed sticky rice with meats) at 6:30 p.m.
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- Bun Doc Mung
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- Lunch with many types of Pho Cuon and foods
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- Pho Cuon
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- Xoi Man
We spent the noon visiting Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum, Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, and Bat Trang Pottery Village which is about 10 km away from Hanoi’s old town.
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- Uncle Ho’s Mausoleum
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- One Pillar Pagoda
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- Bat Trang Pottery Village
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- a temple at Bat Trang village
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- a pottery painting found at the temple at Bat Trang village
The flight to Da Nang city would take off at 5AM in the early morning, we did need to go to sleep early.
Da Nang – Hoi An, Oct 20 – 21, 2016
– Day 11, 20 Oct:
On a taxi that took us VND 415k, and 2 strange guys we just met at the airport, we went straight to Hoi An, Vietnam after had arrived to Da Nang. The noon at Hoi An that time was boiling hot, I was like a meat in a burning pan! Unfortunately, our homestay did not have AC which was the most wanted stuff for us at that time. We ran around the town to find a coffee shop with AC and luckily, Hoi An Rostery had a cool room (the only place that we could find AC at the old town) so we can stay there till afternoon.
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- the coffee shop that has AC, +10 point for Hoi An Rostery 😀
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- a corner of the ancient town
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- Japanese Covered Bridge at Center Hoi An ancient town
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- Hoi An center market at the ancient town
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- how romantic!!
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- Hoi An ancient town in the afternoon
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- caption for the pic: the pier 😐
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- Hoi An’s river in the afternoon
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- view of the ancient town from the central bridge
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- Hoi An river at the sundown
And what to do when the night come? We strolled around the old town to take pictures and enjoyed the foods, and sat on a boat propelled by a ferry man to go around the river along the town and dropped the paper lantern.
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- we strolled around the oldtown ..
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- .. took pictures of the lantern ..
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- The shop that sell ‘Nước Mót’. Just somewhere inside the town, you may find it easily. Only sell at night.
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- Rau Muống Xanh, a restaurant with delicious foods at the town. Price may be expensive but varied foods in the menu.
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- a coffee shop at night
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- we sat on a boat and a ferryman took us around the river
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- dropped the paper lantern and wished
– Day 12, 21 Oct:
After having breakfast, we went to a handmade leather workshop to visit some friends. The workshop was really nice, it had classes for people to learn on how to work with leather and create products. It also had some finished products for sale with very good price. Furthermore, the second floor of the workshop was a nice homestay that visitors can rent for staying.
at the leather workshop having Soa Soa, a very good drink at Hoi An
We then hitchhiked a bus to go to Da Nang at 1:30 p.m. The time that we spent in Da Nang was short. It was just enough for eating some Da Nang pancakes, lemongrass skewers, grilled girdle-cake, and visiting Linh Ung Pagoda.
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- Da Nang pancakes, lemongrass skewers, grilled girdle-cake
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- Da Nang city at night, view taken from Linh Ung pagoda
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- The Dragon bridge at Da Nang
Quy Nhon, Oct 22 – 24, 2016:
– Day 13, 22 Oct:
We left Da Nang at 8:45 a.m. By taking Son Tung Bus we arrived to Quy Nhon, Vietnam – the city of cheap foods at 3 p.m. Even though there were many nice places at Quy Nhon that we could visit, we mostly enjoyed the foods around the city. So this day menu had Banh Beo (bloating fern-shaped cake), Oc (many kinds of clams), and cocktail at the beach after dinner.
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- Banh Beo Or Bloating Fern Shaped Cake? Not sure if the English name is right. The legendary meal at Quy Nhon that cost ~$3 for a dinner of 5 people. Streetfood. Delicious.
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- different types of clams/snails on selling on the street but it’s really good
Especially, I love lying on the beach at night. And our accommodation, O.M.E hostel was really nice!
– Day 14, 23 Oct:
We started the day by going to a nearby mountain of the city to enjoy the dawn. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day so we couldn’t find the sun. Then, as planned, we went to Xep Beach, a nice and quiet beach, to enjoy the sea.
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- this is Xep Beach (or Bãi Xép in Vietnamese)
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- .. and another corner of Xep Beach, very nice ..
But first, here is the foods of the day:
. Banh Hoi Long Heo (soft thin vermicelli noodles with congee and pork offal) for breakfast.
. Nem, Cha Nuong, and Banh Cuon (grilled meat roll, grilled chopped meat, and steamed rolled rice pancake) for lunch.
. Banh Canh (rice spaghetti) and coffee, juice for dinner.
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- Bánh Hỏi Lòng Heo. Don’t know how to call in English. But it’s really good and also one of my love foods.
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- Cha nuong, Nem nuongor in English – grilled chopped meat, and grilled pork roll
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- Banh Cuon Maybe call it steamed roll rice pancake good sauce
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- Banh Canh rice spaghetti? or cake soup? don’t really know the English name but it’s cheap and good also. Eaten with fried chopped fish meat.
– Last day:
We went to Phu Cat Airport which is 35 km away from Quy Nhon to go to Saigon. Luckily, we could enjoy the most cheap and tasty bread with patê for breakfast at Quy Nhon before taking the flight back to home and end our dream journey.
We take the flight back home and end our dream journey!
It’s about 2 months from the day we plan the Vietnam trip to the last day of the journey. There are a lot of beautiful memories stored in every members. Even it’s the end of this 14-day travel Vietnam, it’s not really an end to us. Furthermore, it’s only the first chapter of our long journeys together in the future.
Us in our glory days
Essential Items
Don’t forget to bring the travel medicines, as well your necessary travel kit.
Find Your Flight and Transportation to the Destinations
Here you can read my travel tips to find cheap flights. You can also use 12Go to book buses, trains, ferries, or transfers to Asian places.
Book an Accommodation
I mostly use Booking.com to find a place for my trip. Sometimes I tried to get free credits on Airbnb to book homestays.
Driving Yourself Will be More Enjoyable
You can easily compare prices and find great deals on Discover Cars.
Protect Yourself and Your Trip
My cousin got problems in Vietnam, and she was supported a lots by having travel insurance. Please don’t forget that for yourself and your trips!
YOU LOVE THIS VIETNAM ITINERARY? DON’T FORGET TO ‘PIN IT’ NOW!
READ MORE RELATED VIETNAM POSTS
I hope you love this itinerary. Here are some related posts of places in this article that I believe you would love reading too:
Khoi Nguyen
Khoi Nguyen builds The Broad Life with a desire to inspire people go exploring the world and live a more interesting, experience, and adventurous life. This blog shares the stories, pictures, and experiences at destinations where he has traveled to.
47 Comments
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khoinguyen
Hi there,
Sorry I don’t know your name, may I know your name?
and thank you for your comment 😀
I’m going to have more posts about Vietnam with many destinations so hopefully you can have more info for your next trip going back to Vietnam 😀I just checked your ‘about’ and was surprised that you come from Canada 😀 I’m currently studying in Toronto, Canada too and gonna go back there this Sep to finish my study 😀
Nice to e-know you! 🙂
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Aditi Sharma
We haven’t visited Vietnam yet but it is on our bucket list. Thanks for sharing this informative post that is sure to help a first-time visitor to Vietnam plan a great trip around the country. The amazing photographs and all the practical details make this post a great read. Will refer to it for sure when we plan our Vietnam trip.
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Khoi Nguyen
Glad that my post really help you travel. I also have many articles with guides and itineraries about Vietnam. You can always check it here – https://thebroadlife.com/travel-vietnam
Happy to see you come back to the site! 😀
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Brittany Harris
Vietnam seems like an awesome place to visit! The mountains in your pics remind me a lot of the Karst mountains in China. Were there a lot of sunny days on your trip?
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Khoi Nguyen
Yeah Vietnam is truly an amazing place to travel!
It was sunny days in the beginning of my trip. Unfortunately, I faced many rainy days later. It turned out to be a storm around some provinces 🙁 That resulted to my trip shortened.
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Kuntala
Thats quite a lot of information. I have heard lots about Vietnam never knew there are so many interesting places
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Khoi Nguyen
Absolutely, Vietnam is one of the top attractive destinations I have ever been. Visiting there once, I’m sure you will agree with me! 😉
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EDWARD
Looking at the photos, Vietnam is so much like the Philippines, very Oriental and awesome
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Khoi Nguyen
I believe you will love Vietnam more when visiting the country 😉
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ktlexius
This 14-day trip looks amazing. I appreciate the daily break downs and it looks like you were really able to absorb the culture!
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Khoi Nguyen
yeah actually I’m a Vietnamese so it’s not so hard for me to absorb the culture of other provinces 😀
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204park
Vietnam is so wonderful.. It was a nice idea to travel for weeks after quitting your job.. 😊Thanks for sharing pictures.. Love it.. 😊
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Khoi Nguyen
Yeah it was truly the best idea I have ever had. It then turned out to be one of the best trips in my life. Thanks for the comment!
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Sincerely Jackline
Vietnam seems so great! I would definitely visit here someday, thanks for sharing your experience and tips.
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Khoi Nguyen
I’m sure you will love the country when visiting it. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
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minimalistmiri
Vietnam looks incredible, and I love all the information you’ve provided! My husband and I hope to go in coming years, as we’ve been to several countries in the surrounding area, but just haven’t had a chance to visit Vietnam. Definitely saving this article to refer back to!
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Khoi Nguyen
Glad that you like my post, it supports me a lot in providing more great articles. I’m sure you will like Vietnam when traveling around the country 🙂
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Khoi Nguyen
You’re welcome! 🙂
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Lian Wright
This is a beautiful journey throughout Vietnam. The scenes and the food looks amazing! I can’t wait to plan an adventure there.
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Khoi Nguyen
I’m sure you will love your adventure in Vietnam 😉
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Amanda R
WOW! How stunning! I love all of your photos. Definitely on my travel list!
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Khoi Nguyen
Thanks for the comment! 🙂
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Crystal Gempko
I pinned this for later! Vietnam is on my list after I graduate graduate school, and I love all of these awesome ideas you shared here!
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Khoi Nguyen
Thanks a lot for your comment! I’m sure you will have the best trip ever when traveling to Vietnam 😀
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Heather Barber McMechan
It seems as though everyone had a great time in Vietnam. I’d like to try a two-week trip myself.
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Khoi Nguyen
You should, and you will then love to stay in Vietnam, I believe 😉
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Joanna
I love your off the beaten path Vietnam itinerary. I have been to Vietnam in January but started from the South and only made it as far as Phong Nha, before taking a flight back to Europe, after 3 weeks. I would love to come back and do some of the North as well.
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Alysa
Vietnam has long been on our list and this is one I will be coming back to! We’re planning on traveling in Asia next year for an undecided amount of time, and I have to say this itinerary is perfect!
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Khoi Nguyen
Thanks for your complement! I’m glad that this itinerary really help travelers when coming to Vietnam. I’m sure you will have great time traveling around the country 😉
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arun
Wow, such a beautiful country. I would love to travel here soon. The scenery is so beautiful and calming. Also the food looks so sober, yummy and full of ethnic culture.
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Khoi Nguyen
You definitely should travel to Vietnam! 😉
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Gian and Sheila
Very nice! The trails and mountains look very much like the wilderness that we usually “play” in here in the Philippines. How’s the weather there? I know it’s hot and humid, but I do hope that it’s not THAT hot so that trekking around these wonderful places will be hell.
This is actually a good 7-day itinerary, although we would most likely extend it to 2 weeks as we usually want to stay longer in a certain place. Nice reference—we are planning to have our first SEA trip during the 2nd half of this year.
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Khoi Nguyen
In Vietnam the weather is only rain or sunny. So you should check the weather carefully to not facing the rain and the sun also.
I believe Vietnam is a good destination for your SEA trip. You can always contact me on this blog for any info if you need. 🙂
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Monique Starks
The mountains of Vietnam are breathtaking. I’ve had Vietnam on my list of travel places for a while and cannot wait to visit!
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Khoi Nguyen
Glad that this post support your decision traveling Vietnam. Hope you will have a great trip!
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alexandra cook
what nice place to come and visit, I wanna go travel as much as I can, having to read this article and see this makes me want to go for it even more
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Khoi Nguyen
Will you plan going to Vietnam? 🙂
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Geraline Batarra
Vietnam is so wonderful..! These itineraries are so awesome, I would definitely love to visit one day. 😊
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Khoi Nguyen
You should! I’m sure you won’t regret with your decision 😉
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Bindu Thomas
I’ve never been to Vietnam, so this was quite an interesting read for me. Such beautiful pics.
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Khoi Nguyen
You should put Vietnam on top of your bucket list, I’m sure you will make the best decision ever! 😉
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Erin
Sapa is such a beautiful, dreamy and peaceful place! Although it can be a bit touristy but still worth visiting!
Thank you for your informative and amazing blog post!-
Khoi Nguyen
Thanks a lots for your comment!
Yes nowadays Sapa could be a little bit touristy but there are still many spots that you can visit for beautiful scenes 🙂
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Peter
I love your article. Hoi An is the best place in your list. From Hoi An, traveller can visit danang or Hue imperial city via Hai Van Pass. It’s really beautifull
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Khoi Nguyen
Thank you for the comment!
It sounds like you had a great trip in the Middle of Vietnam, particularly in Hoi An. How was your experience?
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backalleyorchids
Thanks for the interesting post Khoi! I was in Vietnam very briefly last year and would love to go back, now I really do looking at your pictures!