Both I and my wife had had mixed experiences of backpacking in Vietnam.
Several decades back when tourism was in its infancy you’d get a lot of hassle to buy stuff, even if you were sat in a cafe. It felt like many locals just viewed you as a walking wallet.
So it took us a while to go back. Wow, are we glad we did!
We loved our family Vietnam holiday. Much of it was still very recognisable, but everyone was so much friendlier. The tourism sector has come of age, offering decent jobs for people who want to work in it. Hotels are great value and good quality, restaurants are too, many people speak English and everyone is super helpful. Brilliant!
We crammed in as much as we could in three weeks and wished we'd booked to stay longer. Next time.
Here's our three week Vietnam family holiday itinerary:
Hanoi - 3 nights
I was delighted to find Hanoi's old town remains as atmospheric and interesting. A warren of small streets jammed with little shops and cafes, it's great for wandering.
Day one was all about Uncle Ho. Sadly the mausoleum where his embalmed body lies in state wasn't open to the public, but we spent a couple of interesting hours in the museum dedicated to Vietnam's most famous leader. The deification of the great leader is kind of fascinating in a weird way and the museum lifts the lid on lots to do with the War and Vietnam's history too.
The place in Hanoi that's all over Instagram is Train Street - where cafes line either side of a narrow train track. We stumbled upon it by accident. Better still a train was about to come. I figured it would be a bit of a letdown, but actually it's a wild experience being sat right there as the train clatters past so close you could touch it.
Day two we explored further. We visited Hoa Lo Prison - aka the Hanoi Hilton. It was constructed by the French in colonial days, but is most famous as the place where many captured US GIs were kept during the Vietnam War.
We then hung out in a cafe overlooking St Joseph's cathedral and tried our first bowl of Pho - the infamous Vietnamese noodle soup. Sorry, it looks great but I always find dull. It was Saturday which meant the roads around famous Hoan Kiem Lake at the centre of Hanoi were closed to cars in the evening. Rather than two lanes of honking traffic, kids played, couples strolled arm in arm and people munched candy floss and ice creams. It was wonderfully tranquil. There were even people dancing on the streets!
Trang An Eco Park - 3 nights
We used Grab to book a car and driver to get us here from Hanoi. It took around 3 hours and cost around £30 or USD50. It would have been a complicated route by bus.
This fairytale landscape of karst mountains, deep green lakes and peaceful pagodas is a World Heritage site. As protected land, there's little of the crazy development you see in some of Vietnam's cities. For now this area – whilst popular with Vietnamese – is not that busy with foreign tourists.
Day One
We borrowed bikes from our eco lodge. Our destination was the little town of Hoa Lu, an ancient capital dating back to the 10th century. There are lots of peaceful pagodas to explore here. They’re spread out – so you do need a bike to see far flung ones. We pedalled in the sultry heat along little roads fringed with paddy fields and lakes and visited three or four. Then we randomly found a busy restaurant for lunch and ate surrounded by tour groups of Vietnamese tourists. It was fun but hectic.
Day Two we hopped on the bikes again and headed down to the boat wharf at the Trang An Landscape. Here a host of little ladies await in wooden canoes to paddle you through the amazing lakes and grottos, surrounded by soaring limestone mountains. It’s well organised – you buy your tickets from booths on the other side of the road.
Our lady was so sweet. She had sweets for Joe and umbrellas for us to keep the heat off. You choose from four different circuits for the same price. Ours took us right under one of the mountains – paddling slowly through the limestone caves with the roof really close to our heads. You hop off at pagodas along the way. Top tip – take soft drinks with you. They’re super pricy at the little shops along the way.
Day three we relaxed by the pool and read books. It was great to have a little down time!
Overnight train to Hué – 1 night
The main north-south railway – the Reunification Railway stops at Ninh Binh, the nearest city to the Eco Park and we’d booked berths on the night train. It’s essential to book several months in advance. We had time for a pizza and a drinks before we boarded the train at around 11pm. The four-berth compartments in second class are quite adequate. We arrived in Hué at around 8.30am next morning and hopped in a cab to our hotel.
Hué – 3 nights
Hué had been one of our favourite spots decades ago and we found it just as lovely now. Day One we hung out by the pool as we were tired after our train ride. There’s a great backpacker area for eating and drinking which is busy but not too crazy. We supped local Huda beer and watched the world go by outside a shop on a street corner on Chu Van An. Then we ate a platter of local specialities at Quan Hang Me Banh Taste of Hué.
Day Two we chugged down the Perfume River on a little family-owned boat watching the scenery glide by. Our destination was Thien Mu Pagoda, about 40 minutes down stream. It’s set on a little promontory with nice views across the river. The stepped tower of the pagoda is easy to spot. The gardens and palaces inside the complex are really peaceful. WE spent a hot but very pleasant hour here then jumped back on our boat. They dropped us on the other side of the river so we could walk to the Imperial City – the complex of palaces surrounded by moats and walls at the centre of Hué.
A bunch of cyclo drivers convinced us to take a rather pricy tour. It was really not worth the money as they can’t actually pedal you around inside the complex – which is big. You need to take your time as it’s hot. There are airy pagodas with Buddhas and prayer gongs to explore. It was really tranquil. My favourite palace is the most recent – the Kien Trung Palace was built for Vietnam’s last emperor. It’s an Italianate palace with Vietnamese styling. Destroyed in the Vietnam war it was rebuilt between 2019 and 2023.
Day three did a DMZ tour with Mr Trung. It wasn’t cheap at USD 150 but for three of us with a private driver for around 5 hours it felt fair.
Mr Trung fought with the South Vietnamese (aka the ‘losing’ side) so his perspective was particularly interesting. He wasn’t the only War Vet I met who grumbled that whilst the north Vietnamese soldiers who fell are feted as heroes the South Vietnamese are ignored and marginalised.
We visited a church ruin pockmarked with bullets along the Highway of Horror, walked across the Hien Long Bridge at the Be Hai river which marked the line between north and south. Then visited the Vinh Moc tunnels where communities of Vietnamese lived below ground during the War. Few other tourists get here and the complex is large and well preserved. One of the tunnels exits on the beach. Right under the Americans’ noses the Viet Cong were bringing in supplies by boat at night! Our guide’s mother was even born down here!
HCMC/Siagon – 3nights
Plane flights within Vietnam are cheap and reliable and given our lack of time we decided to hop on a flight to Saigon from Hué. It takes around an hour and we paid around USD70 each including hold luggage. Bargain!
Saigon is immediately striking as being a far bigger modern metropolis than the capital Hanoi. Lots more traffic, glittering high rise buildings. Choose your hotel location carefully to make sure you can walk to the main sites. A new Metro has recently opened which should make getting around easier.
I remembered the War Remnants museum of as a run down colonial ear houses with crumbling weaponry in the garden and lots of anti-American propaganda. It’s been redeveloped and features a large square aircon building. Less quirky, but far better laid out. It provides a great insight into the war and its aftermath, The exhibition about Agent Orange and its legacy is gruesome and moving. We also visited the Independence Palace where the President of South Vietnam lived and worked before the fall of the south to the communists. There’s still a Huéy helicopter on the roof top heli-pad and his personal rooms are particularly interesting.
We also did the Cu Chi Tunnels which are bit of a rite of passage for any tourist to Saigon. There are two different sections of tunnel. We did Ben Duoc which is supposed to be less busy. There were a few other groups there it didn’t feel crowded and we had plenty of time to squeeze down the tiny passageways below ground which were far smaller and tighter than the ones in the DMA at Vinh Moc. There are some gruesome but quite smart mock ups of the man traps the VC made in the jungle to trap GIs. Wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty!
We really enjoyed our family holiday in Vietnam. Right now it feels like it’s in the perfect stage of development. It’s organised and easy to get around, restaurants and hotels are decent quality and amazing value.
We are already thinking about going back!