Tips Travel To Hanoi

[whoppe78]

Going to vietnam and any info would be appreciated.Any recommendations on hotels in the city. Want to go to HaLong and probably do a tour on a junk.Do I need to get a visa here in Thailand or do they give a tempory one at airport, I'm only going for 7-10 days.I'm going with my TGF so going to be a pretty respectable trip , sight seeing, biking , shopping and good eats.I know pretty vague post but just looking for a few tips.Last thing what about the currency, do you walk around with a couple million Dong on you. Do they have big notes?How much should I expect to pay for taxi to center of town, 40 min? is every thing on bargain system?

[smokie36]

Give us an idea of your budget for the trip and we can better advise you. The jun ks are not all the same....from cheap to luxury...same with hotels.

[pomchop]

Lot of info here:

http://www.travelfish.org/location/vietnam/hanoi_and_surrounds/hanoi/hanoi

[AyG]

There are plenty of websites out there that will answer your basic questions about visa, money, &c.. For example http://www.travelfish.org/country/vietnam

One tip, though: the travel agency business in Vietnam is a racket, with lots of different agencies basically selling the same (very poor) package with Sinh at wildly varying prices. There's only one independent travel agent in Hanoi that I would consider doing business with, and that's Kangaroo Cafe. Don't be put off by their pretty dreadful website. I've done their Halong Bay trip twice (2 years and 8 years ago). Both times I was very happy with what they provided - apart from the food, which wasn't great.

http://www.kangaroocafe.com/

[PattayaParent]

I was looking at hotels in Ha Noi myself yesterday as my flat has just been rented out. Check out Agoda or Hotelscombined and there's lots of good hotels from $20 to $60. I'd recommend looking in Hoan Kiem Lake area or the cathedral area. Hang Hanh St. is a great location and handy for everything, otherwise Lo Su St. or anywhere in the Old Quarter.

July is not a good time to be gong to Ha Long Bay weatherwise. It's rainy and if the weather is too bad the trips will be cancelled. There's plenty of junk boat trips available online direct from the operators. I was thinking of doing one for a couple of nights myself but won't look for anything until I actually get there due to the weather.

Make a day trip to Huong Pagoda, and another to Ninh Binh called Ha Long Bay on land.

Go to the Water Puppet Theatre.

Biggest notes in Dong are 500,000.

The taxis are fixed price from the airport, 310,000 Dong last time I went, driver pays the toll fees. Come out of the terminal and cross to the rows of columns and they are to the right with a sign up showing the current price.

Edited July 1, 2012 by PattayaParent

[PattayaParent]

Visas you have to get in advance, either from the Embassy in Bangkok, prices vary depending on whether 1 day or 4 days processing they will assume you want 1 day, or online which cost $25 in advance for a letter to present on arrival where your pick up your visa and pay another $25.

Your GF will get 30 days on entry.

Actually price from Embassy depends on nationality as well and some nationalities are visa exempt like Korean, Japanese and Scandanavian.

Edited July 1, 2012 by PattayaParent

[AyG]

Go to the Water Puppet Theatre.

But don't sit in any of the front rows unless you want to get soaked. (It really is great fun, though.)

[theoldgit]

We went earlier in the year, it was a bit cold but we had a great time.

We stayed at The Ruby Hotel in the old Old Quarter, very good location, nice tourist hotel booked at an excellent price through agoda. Hotel rooms were of a good size and clean, breakfast was ok but they were overwhelmed. Outside the hotel was a crossroads where a lot of people sit to chat people and people watch, not very fancy but with beer at under 10 baht a glass who cares.

We booked local trips with an organisation called Hanoi Kids, they are a group of students with an excellent knowledge of Hanoi who want to improve their English skills whilst showing off their city. They were great and will do the tour to suite your needs. There is no charge but are happy to receive a donation to support their work, which they acknowledged. If you book them just be aware that there a couple of dodgy travel companies using similar names.

We did a day trip to Ha Long Bay, most enjoyable though doing it in a day was hard going.

It was my third trip to Hanoi and my girlfriends first and we both enjoyed it, like any tourist destination most locals are fine but there are a few that will try and rip you off.

I got a visa at the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok, painless procedure and live fairly near there. I was aware that you can book a visa on arrival but was advised that there is sometimes a scrum on arrival at Hanoi, when we got there the VOA desk had no queue.

I personally don't like the Water Puppets, seen them twice and bored to tears both times, others rave about them.

[PattayaParent]

^OG, I found a Hanoikids.org and a Hanoikidstours.com, which is the real one?

[theoldgit]

Hanoikids.org is the proper one.

The other one has a better website, but is a travel agency.

[WaywardWind]

HanoiKids is a great service, and a lot of fun. Some decent food at reasonable prices can be found at KOTO, a restaurant staffed by ex-street kids, right across the street from the Temple of Literature (also worth a stop - oldest school in Asia). Best seafood I ever found there was at Hai Sang Ngon, out on the dike road in Nghi Tam. A touch more expensive than in town, but worth it. Another upscale place is Madame Hien's on Chan Cam Street - restored French colonial mansion with great food.

Ha Long Bay overnight can be great or a nightmare. At night, most of the boats anchor close to each other. If you want a quiet evening with cocktails up on deck, Murphy's Law says that you will get a boat full of loud partiers on each side of you. Conversely, you may want to party and find that your shipmates are a group of grandmothers who think bedtime is 8 PM. It really is a crapshoot when booking a tour.

One pleasant thing to do is have a few drinks on the deck of the restaurant at the northwest corner of Hoan Kiem Lake at sunset. Legend has it that if you see the turtle, you get good luck for a year. I cannot for the life of me remember the name of the restaurant, but it is really obvious.

Any night at any of the cafes across from St Joseph's Cathedral there will be hundreds of students chatting and having a good time. They would l;ove it if you would sit down and chat with them a bit.

Money - don't carry a lot of cash - ATMs abound.

Visa can be had in Bangkok, or you can get one on arrival through one of the agencies online. They will meet you at the airportand (hopefully) expedite you through getting the visa, as it can be time consuming otherwise. They charge for their service.

I lived there for several years, so ask away or PM me if you have any specific questions.

Edited July 1, 2012 by WaywardWind

[WaywardWind]

Just found it: the name of the restaurant on Hoan Kiem Lake is Nhà hàng Thủy Tạ.

Edited July 1, 2012 by WaywardWind

[el jefe]

When I have to be in VN (I'd prefer to be elsewhere), I always try to stay in one of the Hanoi Elegance Hotels -- http://www.hanoielegancehotel.com/

Rates are $35-50 and you won't find a more modern, clean hotel with an efficient staff for a better price or with more amenities. If you want to stay in the old town, the Elegance Ruby is quiet too.

Edited July 1, 2012 by el jefe

[AyG]

For a really memorable meal, I'd recommend Bobby Chinn's restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere, well, a little eccentric (rather like its proprietor). It's not cheap, but the set menus are good value for money. If you do go, make sure the taxi driver takes you to its new location. (It moved a couple of years ago or so.)

http://www.bobbychinn.com/?page_id=938

[WaywardWind]

For a really memorable meal, I'd recommend Bobby Chinn's restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere, well, a little eccentric (rather like its proprietor). It's not cheap, but the set menus are good value for money. If you do go, make sure the taxi driver takes you to its new location. (It moved a couple of years ago or so.)

http://www.bobbychinn.com/?page_id=938

We disagree. Bobby Chinn's is overpriced, with a very limited menu, or at least it was when I lived there a few years back.

Might be OK for a one time visit for a tourist, but with repeated visits it got tiring very quick.

Many more and better options available.

[el jefe]

For a really memorable meal, I'd recommend Bobby Chinn's restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere, well, a little eccentric (rather like its proprietor). It's not cheap, but the set menus are good value for money. If you do go, make sure the taxi driver takes you to its new location. (It moved a couple of years ago or so.)

http://www.bobbychinn.com/?page_id=938

We disagree. Bobby Chinn's is overpriced, with a very limited menu, or at least it was when I lived there a few years back.

Might be OK for a one time visit for a tourist, but with repeated visits it got tiring very quick.

Many more and better options available.

Bobby Chin's original location on Hoan Kiem Lake made it a great spot for a drink and people watching. I never thought the food was good value. I haven't been to his new location.

[WaywardWind]

For a really memorable meal, I'd recommend Bobby Chinn's restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere, well, a little eccentric (rather like its proprietor). It's not cheap, but the set menus are good value for money. If you do go, make sure the taxi driver takes you to its new location. (It moved a couple of years ago or so.)

http://www.bobbychinn.com/?page_id=938

We disagree. Bobby Chinn's is overpriced, with a very limited menu, or at least it was when I lived there a few years back.

Might be OK for a one time visit for a tourist, but with repeated visits it got tiring very quick.

Many more and better options available.

Bobby Chin's original location on Hoan Kiem Lake made it a great spot for a drink and people watching. I never thought the food was good value. I haven't been to his new location.

I spent many a Sunday afternoon sitting at the kiosk in the park (across the street from Chinn's) with a few beers - great spot for people watching. In the 80s, there would be a constant stream of beauriful young women in their white ao dais, but sadly those days have passed - they now cruise the narrow strip of road between West Lake and White Silk Lake on motorbikes.

I have not been to the new place either, but at the other end of Xuan Dieu (nearest the Sheraton) is a great place - The Vine. Pricey, but with a spectacular wine selection, and a wide range of great dishes.

[Cleveland]

For a really memorable meal, I'd recommend Bobby Chinn's restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the atmosphere, well, a little eccentric (rather like its proprietor). It's not cheap, but the set menus are good value for money. If you do go, make sure the taxi driver takes you to its new location. (It moved a couple of years ago or so.)

http://www.bobbychinn.com/?page_id=938

We disagree. Bobby Chinn's is overpriced, with a very limited menu, or at least it was when I lived there a few years back.

Agreewith that 100%. We were there a couple of months ago and thought the menu limited, the food very average and very overpriced, especially when compared to the fantastic meals we had enjoyed at the Sofitel Metropole hotel that were truly memorable and only a little more expensive with no taxii ride needed.

The resteraunt is also so dark it is almost impossible to see the menu, or the food, which may be a good thing as our starters were truly dire. A ceviche that should be a light spicy marinated fish dish was cooked and almost inedible, and the chicken coconut soup insipid and flavorless

Plenty of better places out there without "celebrity" chefs running them who are not even in the kitchen.

[PattayaParent]

Go to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and One Pillar Pagoda.

I only went once but remember being impressed by the Ethnology Museum.

If you fancy Czech Pilsner and Budweiser http://www.hoavien.vn/webapp/home.php

At the top of Hoan Kiem Lake there's a place called Legends Beer which brews it's own German style beer like Tawang Daeng here and looks out over the Lake. The original Legends is better though (where the brewing is actually done) and has live bands / shows.

Some info on Viet foods http://www.cnngo.com...se-foods-217572

At the West side of the Lake there is a Vietnamese nightclub the name of which I don't remember. It has a big green sign with writing in Vietnamese and is just past the alleyway that is the entrance to Intimex supermarket. Live singers and dancers nightly, weekends it's busy. It's upstairs so is not obvious from the doorway, if you get to Air Asia office you've past it.

Go see the B52 Lake in Ngoc Ha which contains the wreckage of a B52 shot down over Ha Noi, and of course visit the famous "Ha Noi Hilton" prison.

Edited July 3, 2012 by PattayaParent

[SaNim]

I stayed at the Metropole a few weeks ago, fantastic.

The Sunday brunch is really good , a bit pricey though.

We had great Vietnamese food at Quan an Ngon.

And Jacksons Steakhous was good.

Don's by the West lake was overpriced.

Really nice city to visit and I will be back when it cools down.

Edit,

The Water Puppet Show was good fun and the food on the side of the street was just as good as Thailands except they have stools made for people not more than 5 years old.

Edited July 3, 2012 by SaNim