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Hi my dreamers,

Before writing an article about my trip to Vietnam in 2016, I will first give you some tips for traveling there (when the pandemic will be behind us of course).

Visa

First of all, find out about visas on the website of the Vietnamese Embassy in your country.

Health

To find out the recommended vaccines to take before going to Vietnam, I invite you to inquire about them as early as possible on your trip.

Personally, in 2016, I took precautions so that my trip was not ruined due to my negligence not to get vaccinated. I got up to date with my DTPP vaccine (Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis-Poliomyelitis) then I had done those against rabies (3 injections spaced 3 or 4 days apart at 50€ each, hence the importance of doing it well before departure) and typhoid, plus prevention against malaria. I paid about 300€ for all the vaccines but at least I have relaxed afterward!

Then, you have to be careful with anything related to water in Vietnam. Avoid ingesting any water from the tap, so avoid ice cubes and foods washed in water. Always use bottled water. If you forget these instructions a few times, you may not necessarily get sick, but be careful.

Equipment

Apart from of course a mosquito repellant, bring earplugs! I tell you this because they would have been useful to me when a rooster started crowing at 3 a.m. when I slept in Sapa or when a merchant had shouted into her microphone all evening when I was in my hotel room in Hoi An. It is difficult to book a hotel knowing in advance that you will not be disturbed by noise or by street vendors so earplugs seem essential to me ˆˆ

Planning

If you don’t know how to plan your stay or if you don’t have enough time to do it, I advise you to seek help from professionals (if you don’t mind that it costs you more than if you plan everything yourselves). I experienced it and didn’t regret it.

In 2016, I wanted to visit Vietnam as much as I could for a month but couldn’t find the time to do in-depth research or to plan my entire trip from north to south on my own. Indeed, I was very busy because of my intense and exhausting internship, and the writing of my final thesis. That’s why, for the first time, I left the planning of my trip to a travel agency. 

I found Vietnam Unique Tours, a travel agency located in Hanoi and specializing in tours in Asia. It was cheaper than all the other agencies I had found on the internet but in addition, an essential point for me, I was able to completely customize my tour, something that I could not do elsewhere! My interlocutor was called Anna and she was wonderful because she was friendly, responsive, professional and she met all my expectations with a lot of patience so that my tour fully corresponded to my wishes and that it was planned from A to Z so that I do nothing but enjoy on the spot. 

So, my tour including the airport-hotel shuttle, high-end accommodation, meals, guided tours, activities, and transport, including an internal flight with Vietnam Airlines, all for 10 days, cost 1,140 USD (just over 900€). It was not cheap but I had saved up for it and was very satisfied. 

Currently, I think the agency is closed because we can do nothing on their website, I hope this is only temporary … :/

Security

If you ride a motorbike, be very careful with your bags and your valuables, hide them as best as possible because you will not be safe from theft there!

Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh-City? 

I saw far fewer tourists in Ho Chi Minh-City than in Hanoi, which I find more typically Asian and more charming. Ho Chi Minh-City is much bigger, wealthier, modern, westernized, and therefore less exotic (the French have left their mark on architecture a lot), there are plenty of places to go out and spend money. We more or less appreciate one or the other depending on the aspect we like the most and what we are looking for when going to Vietnam. 

Concerning myself, on one hand, I like to be in a country totally different from what I already know, even if the first day in Hanoi was a shock for me because I have found that there were too many people and that in general, it was dirty and old. That’s what I immediately thought, but afterward, Hanoi charmed me. On the other hand, I also like being in a modern city so I like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh-City even though they are opposite.

If you are interested in Vietnam, wait for my next article where I will tell you about my long trip there starting with Hanoi!

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