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North Vietnam Tips
Travelling to North Vietnam can be an incredible experience filled with diverse landscapes, rich history, delicious food, and vibrant culture. North Vietnam fast became one of our favourite destinations and we can’t wait to return to do more. Here are some North Vietnam Tips to help make your trip great.
Our experience was in Hanoi for 9 days, with a day trip out to Ha Long Bay and another day trip to Ninh Binh Provence.
North Vietnam Tips In Hanoi
Hanoi is CRAAAAZY! We arrived at 11 pm thinking we would be ushered in to sleep in a quiet hotel. No. We were chucked out of the taxi into a street party where the hotel worker met us to drag us through the Old Quater near Beer Street.
To most that means nothing. To us now that means this late-night street party that goes on until 2 am filled with all sorts of sights and sounds.
I mean people dressed up as frogs, balloons being sold, unrecognisable food, plastic kids’ chairs to sit on, motorbikes trying to push through jam-packed crowds and every kind of language going on with music too. It’s insane… and it’s like this every night.
My first thought was that I had made a huge mistake when booking our hotel because now I’m somewhere noisy like this every night. However, as time went on, the Old Quarter was just really convenient for walking around, shopping, getting food and getting up to Lake Hoam Kiem. So this leads me to North Vietnam Tips number 1!
Tip 1
Research where you want to stay and what suits you. Although Beer Street was vibrant and fun, I can’t say I would book there again. It was pretty funny at the time, but we are generally quiet people. I don’t know if I could have tolerated spending much longer.
The buildings in the old quarter are quite old and we had some plumbing problems. However, the further you stay out, the more you spend on transport to continually get in to shop, see the lake and be at the heartbeat of Hanoi. Find your balance of what suits you.
Tip 2
Second, on the list of North Vietnam tips is to be careful with the ATMs! In some countries in South East Asia, the money comes out first THEN your card last. This is the opposite of what happens in Australia. I was at an ATM where I lined up behind someone, they took their money walked off into a car and left. They left their card in the machine.
Use ATMs that you can see are being used and not eating people’s cards and NEVER use your actual bank card. Use travel cards and take multiple travel cards like WISE, Monzo or Revolut. These cards can easily load some money and transfer it out if you lose your card or get skimmed and need to stop your card.
Ha Long Bay North Vietnam Tips
Did you even go to North Vietnam if you didn’t go to Ha Long Bay? This place will stay in my dreams forever. It really is as beautiful as the pictures look. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and well worth the travel time from Hanoi which is roughly 170km (105 miles) to see.
The travel time is approximately 2 hours by bus one way. We debated staying overnight on a boat as many people do, but decided it wasn’t for us. Next time I wouldn’t mind, just to reduce the driving. Here are some useful North Vietnam tips we wish we knew.
Tip 3
You can’t take plastic water bottles into Ha Long Bay as it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They told us this just before getting on the boat which we were annoyed about, as we could have taken our reusable water bottles. They sell water in a can on the boats and they are very small. Vietnam is HOT! and it’s a full-day trip on the boat doing activities and sightseeing.
Carrying water in a reusable non-plastic container is a little tip just to save on buying about 15 cans of water. While plastic is a huge problem in this world and I fully support plastic-free environments, it would have just been nice to plan. On a lighter note, the drinks aren’t more than a few dollars each so it doesn’t break the bank.
North Vietnam Tips for Nihn Binh Provence
Nihn Binh Provence was not something I expected to thoroughly enjoy so much. It far exceeded any of the thoughts I had on North Vietnam and what it would be like. There were beautiful mountains and lakes, buffalo, rich history, friendly people and food that was delicious. North Vietnam tips in this regard is to use your time for what you love most.
Tip 4
We did a day trip but I regret this because there was so much to see and experience. The number one thing I want to do is go back and spend more time in this area and similar areas such as Sa Pa.
If you have a lack of time and a day trip is all you can manage then YES, do the day trip, but I didn’t realise just how much there is to see and do here and I regret not staying longer. So the North Vietnam tips for Ninh Bihn is to spend a few days.
Tip 5
The Trang An Landscape Complex is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous for its system of limestone karst peaks, valleys, and caves. Visitors can take a scenic boat tour through the complex, passing by temples, pagodas, and natural grottoes.
I would highly recommend doing this because it’s stunning. However, the company we booked our tour with put 4 people on a flat row boat and all my photos and videos had 2 tourists in high visibility vests plastered in front of it.
Either book the boat for yourself and pay more or get in quickly to sit at the front of the row boat. Having tourists block your view for 2 hours in front and only being able to look side to side was a bit sad for me. It’s just very difficult to take photos with you in it when the person next to you is at your shoulder distance.
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