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Hello
Vietnam Liga 2 We’re going for times. We will be there in July. I just discovered your website. I think everything I’m looking for is here.
You have done an excellent job. I will write to you again. Wishing you a wonderful day. 💐
Hi Caglar,
Thank you. I hope you enjoy your trip to Vietnam.
Best,
Tom
Hello Tom,
My brother and I, and our two sons are planning a trip from Saigon – Vung Tau – Mui Ne – Pham Rang – Nha Trang. Do you think this is a reasonable trip over five days? We plan on hiring 125cc scooters. Will these be OK for the roads etc? I’ve read your Saigon to Mui Ne trip, and we will use this information as the backbone of our trip. Any advice would be appreciated. A fantastic site you have developed.
Regards,
Rick
Hi Richard,
Yes, 125cc bikes are absolutely fine for that route. 5 days is OK too, but of course the more time you have the better, because it gives you the freedom to stop whenever and wherever you want.
For the exact route between Saigon and Nha Trang following the coast the whole way and avoiding busy highways as much as possible, please see Section 1 and Section 2 of my Beach Bum Guide.
Best,
Tom
Hey Tom :))
I’m using your Guide as a basis to my adventure. I’m 20 and just sorting out buying a bike to go from Hanoi to Thailand through Cambodia over two months. If you want to follow along I’m uploading things on my insta @adventures.w.chella . Thanks for your awesome guide!
Hi Sichella,
Thank you. I hope you have a great road trip, sounds like a lot of fun!
Best,
Tom
Dear Tom,
Long time ago, Joe and Catherine shared Christmas with your parents and you in London at your parents place.
Those Christmas are happy and lovely memorie
All the best for your beautiful travels in Vietnam
Love
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
Great to hear from you!
Yes, I remember that Christmas and it was certainly a lovely time.
I hope you are well.
Best,
Tom
My wife and I will be in Ha Giang Feb. 12 – 15. Can you recommend a company that provides car & driver/guide for day trips out of Ha Giang, but returns to Ha Giang at the end of the day ? Sincere thanks, Peter
Hi Peter,
Please take a look at my Ha Giang Loop guide and go to the ‘Overview & Details’ section of the guide, then scroll down to ‘About The Loop’, then look for the sub-heading ‘Motorbike Rental & Tours’. Many of the suggested services listed there can provide you with a car and driver.
Best,
Tom
I am the Cambodian people, i love history. Great to see your text. Good luck
Thank you. I’m glad to hear you like it.
Tom
Just great and comprehensive content.
Could you recommend local guides in Mai Chau / Pu Luong area?
Thank you very much.
Hi Boris,
Sorry, I can’t recommend a specific guide, but it will not be difficult for you to arrange a good guide once you get to your accommodation in Pu Luong or Mai Chau.
Best,
Tom
Is there guides or brochures. If so could me and my girl be sent 2 by mail. Christy Fugate. 820 Riley Branch Rd. Clayhole Ky, 41317.
Hi Christy,
Yes, you can get a selection of my guides & maps on my Shop page.
Best,
Tom
Hello om! I have just come across your page and it’s super useful – thank you! I’m trying to plan a trip for March 25 and would lie to head to the Con Dau islands. I would prefer to avoid flying if at all possible so was excited to read your reports on the ferries from either Vung Tau or Con Tho – however, having tried various links, I am getting absolutely zero success in trying to see schedules or do a test run booking (looking, say for in a couple of weeks rather than in March). Are they definitely still running/ will be running in March? Any ideas on how to check? Thank you. Julia
Hi Julia,
There are currently three different ferry links to Con Dao Islands: from Vung Tau, from Tran De (in Soc Trang Province) and from Can Tho. However, the Vung Tau and Can Tho routes are a bit unreliable in the ‘rough’ season, which is usually October-March. The most reliable connection is from Tran De.
By late March, I would expect both Vung Tau and Tran De routes to be operating regularly.
For full details, please see my specific guides to each route:
Tran De-Con Dao
Vung Tau-Con Dao
Can Tho-Con Dao
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom!
Great read here, thank you so much.
Here’s a question for you. Thinking of a 3-4 day trip to Pu Luong on January 23rd to the 27th. Do you think this is a mistake and that the fallow season will stull be in full swing and not also the start of spring to be beautiful?
Thanks! Cat
Hi Cathy,
The weather conditions and colours in the landscape definitely won’t be as good or as vibrant as they are between March-October, but Pu Luong is always a beautiful place to visit. See my Pu Luong Travel Guide and Vietnam Weather Guide for more information.
Best,
Tom
Hi
Myself and two adult kids will be riding the Northwest (Sapa to Ha Giang then Ha Giang Loop) the end of September and curious if there are any updates to the road conditions on DT177 and DT178. Thanks in advance for any info.
V/R
Hi Wayne,
See the comments section of my Sapa to Ha Giang guide for updates about the condition of roads DT177 and DT178.
It is likely that by the end of September, large portions of the road will be finished, but still with some sections of construction, which could be tricky, especially if conditions are wet.
For the Ha Giang Loop, see this guide.
Best,
Tom
Do you or your team know of any operators of a one night cruise out of Cat Ba (everything seems to be from Halong)?
Many thanks.
Hi Ewen,
On Cat Ba Island, you can go to the Ben Beo port – see my Cat Ba Island Guide for more details.
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom,as a retired Canadian I was just wondering about rules for long term stay in Vietnam?Is that your status?
Hi Terry,
It’s best to check with the consulate or embassy about that. I live and work in Vietnam legally so I have a work permit and temporary resident visa.
Best,
Tom
ok thanks Tom
Hi Tom,
We will be first time travellers to Vietnam this coming December/ January for 4 weeks.
Flying into Hanoi, staying 5 nights in the old quarter and then heading to Hai Giang to do the 3 day two nigh Hai Giang loop, any information on this would be great. Neither of us ride so we will need a tour that provides rider/guide.
From there back to Hanoi for a few days, then we plan on doing a 3 day 2 night Halong Bay Cruise.
Again any recommendations would be great.
From there to Hoi An for 6 nights, then onto Ho Chi Minh. We have been told by friends that we should do a 3 day Mekong Delta tour, any thoughts on this would also be appreciated.
Kind Regards
Rick and Mary
Hi Rick,
For the loop, please refer to my Ha Giang Loop Guide.
For Ha Long Bay, it’s better to pay more and get more, rather than pay less and be disappointed – search online for some mid-range to luxury cruises for 1-2 nights.
For Mekong Delta tours, I don’t really have any recommendations because I generally write about independent travel rather than tours.
Best,
Tom
Start by saying thankyou for all your efforts I’ve had many hours of viewing!!!
I am going to explore the north west departing Hanoi
Can u please recommend a route up thru Mai Chau
To down bien Phu and sapa, my cang chai
It’s hard to know which would be a more scenic less traffic route, any help is appreciated mate
Even a general idea would help me a lot
Thanks again and you are appreciated!!!!
Rob
Hi Rob,
For the northwest, take look a the following guides and stitch them together as you like with some extra link roads: Limestone Loop, Harvest Route, Extreme Northwest Loop, Sin Ho Loop, and section 4 of the Trans-Northern Belt Road.
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom,
Thank you for answering me back! We talked to our tour operator who lives in Saigon. He thinks March is the best time to go for dry weather throughout most of the country. We scrapped outside Sapa ( too much time on the loop), Con Dao (not right time of year)and we are starting in Hanoi-3 nights, then on to Ninh Binh for 2 nights, then on to Halong Bay on the Ylang luxury cruise 3 days/2nights on lan ha bay and cat ba. Explore cat ba National park. Return to Hanoi and fly to Dong Hoi to Phong NA National park. Our tour operator told us to stay inside the park as the town is crowded and a lot of back packers and tourists.
He recommend we stay at Phong Nha lake house which I see you have for upscale home stays. While the property looks nice it is a pretty boring view of a lake. Was wondering if the other upscale properties like the victory villa’s, etc are just as nice, good food on the Son River with a view of the limestone karsts? If not, we will stay with the lake house. From there we go to Hue and Hoi Ann and then Saigon/Delta with a wrap up at Amanoi luxury property for R&R. We have 3.5 weeks and are older adults so this seems reasonable Any advice would be great on the Phong Na home stay! Have gained such valuable info from your site!
Sandy
Hi Sandra,
Sounds good. Yes, March is generally a good time of year to travel the whole country, however there is still the possibility of grey, drizzling days in the northern half of the country.
Yes, I would say that Victory Villas is better than Lake House because of the views across the river and limestone karsts.
Best,
Tom
Thanks Tom! We will have our tour operator look into Victory Villa’s
I just met a gentleman in Starbucks, and we talked of travel. He wrote down your website on a scrap of paper. Any hiking trips throughout Cambodia. I’m due for an adventure.The temples and jungle there look interesting.
Thank you. Stephen Hedman
Hi Stephen,
My website is only about Vietnam, not Cambodia, so I can’t offer you any advice about hiking there.
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom, absolutely delighted to find this site through Lonely Planet, but my only complaint it makes it even more complicated to book my trip as you have so many amazing recommendations that i would love to see !! I am therefore having difficulty in finding information on a Ha Giang Loop tour, by open top 4 wheel drive and private driver. Can you suggest ? We are at the mature stage in life and would therefore prefer private room and homestay rather then dormitory/hostiles. Any suggestions?thanks SO much. Amanda
Hi Amanda,
Firstly, go to my newly updated Ha Giang Loop Guide. In the guide go to Overview & Details > About This Loop > Motorbike Rental & Tours. In this paragraph there are recommendations of tour companies, such of which will be able to assist you with your request. For open-top car tours, you might want to contact Style Motorbikes and Flipside Adventures.
Best,
Tom
Hi Tom,
I stumbled on you blog on trip Vietnam TA site. What a fantastic source of information about everything Vietnam!! We are seriously planning on going to Vietnam for the 1st time. We would be using a high end trip advisor/tour operator (Asia Desk) we have traveled with them before to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos for 3 weeks 6 years ago in Nov/December and it was fantastic.
We are “older travelers” who are luxury travelers. We are thinking of 3-3+ weeks in Vietnam and would like to see the whole country as we are from the Charlotte,NC, so it’s a very long trip, and we are only going once.
We hate crowds, but realize Vietnam has crowds of tourists, will sacrifice that for the beauty of the country, food, people, etc.
Questions:
1) We have been to India and one of our friends who just came back from Hanoi said it was incredible polluted and it was hard or them to breathe, similar to Mumbai/Delhi. Is that only a certain time of year?
We are thinking of starting our tour in Hanoi, the north looks beautiful) Sapa, Dalat, Ninh Bin, Tam Croc, Hue, Hoi Ann, cruise on luxury boat for 3 days in Halong Bay to kayak, see caves, etc. then HCM and the delta. we are looking to finish our trip for about 5 days to relax in an uncrowded beach w/beautiful water-we were thinking of Can Dao at the Six Senses resort or Song Saa in Southern Cambodia. My hubby’s only request is that there is snorkeling, kayaks and a hobie cat. We saw that was not a good time to go to Con Dao from your blog. We need calmer seas and less wind. If the Maldives were closer we would have flown there (been there before) but it is very far away from Vietnam. Is there anytime that most of the country would be nice and very little rain and not sweltering.
I am sure I missed some areas that are very nice (sorry for any misspellings) and would greatly appreciate your thoughts on destinations in ietnam (we love nature, culture, etc) and what time of year would give us the best option of exploring the country. By the way, we looked at Pho Quoc also for a relaxing beach destination.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thank you,
Sandy
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for your message.
Before deciding on where to visit and what to do in Vietnam, you should familiarize yourself with Vietnam’s complex and little understood climate. What time of year you visit will determine where you go in the country. See my Weather Guide.
For example, choosing between Phu Quoc and Con Dao will be determined almost entirely by the time of year.
The same is true with northern and central Vietnam – those areas have some of the most spectacular landscapes, but also some of the wettest, coldest weather at certain times of year.
Hanoi is very polluted. But it is also very charming and interesting. With 2-3 days in the capital, pollution shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
If you really what to avoid touristy areas and crowds, you will want to skip places like Hoi An, Sapa and Ha Long Bay, which are among the most popular destinations in the country. However, a luxury cruise on Ha Long Bay is still a memorable experience; and almost everyone enjoys Hoi An despite the crowds; and Sapa town is a tourist-trap, but beyond the town are good hikes and villages and amazing landscape.
It’s best if you either: decide what time of year you are visiting and then plan your destinations accordingly; or decide which destinations you want to visit and then play your time of year accordingly.
Try using the subcategories on my site, typing key words in the search box in the top right corner on any page, and browsing my Vietnam Coracle Map to get more of an idea of what there is to see/do in Vietnam. Then you can email me with more specific questions.
Best,
Tom
bonjour Tom, voici 2 ans que je prépare notre road trip moto au Vietnam, et vos multiples articles, cartes et conseils, m’ont beaucoup aidée, nous partons à 5 motos, 10 adultes (HONDACB500 louées chez TIGIT) du 27/02 au 15/03/2024; notre parcours avec vos meilleures routes !!!!
– HCM/CHAU DOC 2 nuits
– CHAU DOC /CAN THO 1 nuit
– CAN THO/ PHU MY 1 nuit
– PHU MY/MUI NE 2 nuits
– MUI NE/DALAT 2 nuits
-DALAT/LAK LAKE 1 nuit
– LAK LAKE/TU NHAM 1 nuit
– TU HAM/T’măng Đeeng Homestay 1nuit
– T’măng Đeeng Homestay/ HOI AN 3 nuits
– HOI AN/HUE 2 nuits
– HUE/DANANG 2 nuits RETOUR MOTIOS
5 nuits à PHU QUOC
merci encore
marielle
Hi Marielle,
Thanks for your message. It’s great to hear you are about to go on your road trip. I hope you enjoy it.
Best,
Tom
do you know about the guac fruit which grows on a vine? What zones does it grow in? Do you have seeds?
Hi Al,
I think you’re probably referring to the Gấc fruit. It is a large, slightly spiky, orange fruit. In general, it is not eaten but used as a dye for other foods. For example, xôi (sticky rice) is often coloured orange by using the gấc fruit.
Best,
Tom
Thanks Tom for putting together such incredibly helpful information! I’m planning to do your Golden Loop tour but I can’t find anywhere to reserve the guesthouse you recommended in Prao in advance. Would you typically just show up? Is there risk to not having a place to stay?
Thanks for your information!
Regards,
Taylor
Hi Taylor,
Unless you’re travelling on a public holiday (or maybe a weekend), there shouldn’t really be any need to book the guest house in Prao in advance. There are several guest houses in the town now.
Best,
Tom
Hi team,
I’ve been using Vietnam Coracle for 5 years now and keep recommending it to others because the content is so good, although the website itself was a bit hard to navigate sometimes. But I must say it has become incredibly professional now! The design is beautiful, it’s easy to navigate, it shows the vast amount of the content and it invites further reading. I’m very impressed.
Cheers.
Hi Gerb,
Thank you so much for your kind words about the website, I’m very happy to hear that you enjoy it and can see that we are always trying to improve it.
Best,
Tom
Hi there, firstly I want to thank you dearly for putting all of this together I am in ho chi Minh City now just bought a motorbike and will be living out of your maps for the next 3 months but I had a question I know it sounds stupid but when I follow your “route” on Google maps is it possible to get following turn/route directions to stay and “lock” on the route itself??
or
do I just follow with the Google maps “blue circle” at road junctions?
I apologize if I’m not asking correctly.
Thank you in advance.
I will definitely donate!!
Hi Don,
My apologies for the slow reply.
To get my google maps to show the route offline, please follow the directions below:
1. Install the MAPS.ME application on your mobile device from the app store
2. Download the country map for Vietnam
3. Get the KMZ file for the Vietnam Coracle map you want to take with you offline.
4. Open the KMZ file on your mobile device
5. Locate the KMZ file on your mobile device using the “Files” app and open it. If your device asks you to
select which app to open the file with, select MAPS.ME. The map should now appear in the “Favorites” tab
in the MAPS.ME app
Please note, that I will be releasing an offline maps instruction manual+guides package for certain routes and destinations is the next couple of weeks, so look out for that if you’re interested.
Best,
Tom