Vietnam for 2 weeks or...

czz on 19/01/2017 - 10:34

Hi I am planning a trip to vietnam for two weeks but having second thoughts maybe I should do 1 week and 1 week in south Korea or taiwan?

In Vietnam I will be just exploring the south region if I do only 1 week and if two weeks i will probably make the journey all the way to north region doing the recommended sightseeing and eating :)

I am considering the other countries for the second week cause maybe I might get bored of VN as I have already been to Thailand and they share some similarities. I chose Taiwan and south korea mainly for the food and night life.

What you guys think?

Your help will be much appreciated :)

Cz

Travel

Comments

  • Skramit on 19/01/2017 - 10:39
    +3

    I did 2 weeks in Vietnam and wish I had a third week. I would definitely do 2 weeks there and do Korea another trip.

    The North is great, we loved Hanoi - don;t miss it!

    • czz on 19/01/2017 - 10:42

      Thanks, what did you love about Hanoi?

      • Skramit on 19/01/2017 - 10:49

        The vibe, it's really pretty to walk around. The shopping is great and lots of yummy food as well.

        The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum is a tourist attraction worth seeing IMO if visiting Vietnam. It's also a gateway to Ha Long Bay if you want to do the junk boat thing.

    • SkMed on 19/01/2017 - 11:27

      I did 4 weeks in Vietnam but wish I had 6! I still skipped quite a lot.

  • dasher86 on 19/01/2017 - 10:54

    Two weeks isn't nearly enough to see all of Vietnam.

    Mekong Delta, Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang & Hoi An - that will be a good two weeks.

    You'll need another week or two up North

    Tam Coc, Hanoi, Sapa, Cat Ba / Halong

    • czz on 19/01/2017 - 12:29

      I will be skipping places if I do the south to north journey - saigon, NHA Trang, Hoi an, hue, hanoi, halong bay on the itinerary

      • dasher86 on 19/01/2017 - 12:39

        6 places in 14 days. not to mention transit times.
        very rushed.

        • czz on 19/01/2017 - 13:13

          Haha ok! Maybe pass on halong bay?

        • kolorijo on 19/01/2017 - 13:58

          @czz: halong bay is the highlight of my visit to Hanoi :)

        • czz on 19/01/2017 - 14:38

          Haha ok! How long you stayed in Halong?

  • aloha on 19/01/2017 - 11:05
    +1

    1 week definitely won't be long enough

  • Heracles26 on 19/01/2017 - 11:14
    +1

    I was in Vietnam for a month and it wasn't long enough!

    Hanoi was amazing! HCMC, imo, is good for a couple of days at a time, its very overwhelming!

    Try and get to Ninh Binh!

  • spacemansam on 19/01/2017 - 12:45
    +1

    Have been to Vietnam about 6 times now and its never enough! Like everyone said, spend the whole 2 weeks there. There is so much to do!

    Some of my top picks are
    - Ho Chi Minh City - amazing food & markets, crazy traffic
    - Mui Ne - beaches and sand dunes
    - Nha Trang - beaches and awesome seafood
    - Da Lat - great for abseiling down waterfalls
    - Hoi An - beautiful historic town
    - Hanoi - again great food, completely different vibe to Ho Chi Minh City
    - Sapa -mountain villages - beautiful place

    There are heaps of other places to go to as well but you will definitely have more than enough to do!

    • czz on 19/01/2017 - 14:07

      Thanks noted!

    • Marcsie on 19/01/2017 - 17:41

      Don't forget Phú Quốc and Côn Đảo islands :)

      • lgacb08 on 20/01/2017 - 11:44

        Don't know about con dạo but phu quoc is meh, don't waste your time there. It was good 10-15 years ago but now rubbish is every where, crowded, dusty,food has always been crap compared to other place. 10 years ago it was still dusty but you get some sort of tranquillity, short walk on the dirt road took you straight to the beach, now you'd be careful not being run over by a motorbike.

        • Marcsie on 20/01/2017 - 17:50

          When did you go to Phú Quoc ? I was there last month,it seem ok to me,still haven't been to Con Dao Island yet :)

        • lgacb08 on 20/01/2017 - 20:48

          @Marcsie: almost 10 years ago, then 2 year ago, changed a lot but in a sad way.

  • NancyCat on 19/01/2017 - 13:38
    +1

    Definitely Vietnam. We went there last year for 2 weeks, not enough. Already planning to go back for more. (Could easily stay in Hoi An for a week!)

    Went to Taiwan (Taipei only) few years ago, hated it, never again.

    South Korea, never been before, but it's on our 'to-do-list' (after Vietnam)

    P.S. I'm not a 'foodie', but I think Vietnam has great food…very cheap too!

    • Wampus on 19/01/2017 - 13:48

      Was thinking of a trip to Taipei as I'd never been and saw a great doco on it. What didn't you like about it?

      • NancyCat on 19/01/2017 - 14:13
        +3

        I'm originally from Hong Kong, my family and I go back to HK at least once a year (so I could be bias.) We thought Taipei is a bit like HK 30 years ago, except Taipei is a lot more chaotic and dirty. Shopping in Taiwan…not as good as HK. Food…ok, but you can get most Taiwanese delicacies in HK anyway! (Even in Melbourne/Sydney.)

        Both Taiwan & Vietnam are 'old' cities, and both countries are chaotic in terms of roads/traffic, motor scooters/bikes are zipping everywhere. But for some reasons, Vietnam is a lot nicer…Vietnam has a nice vibe, that Taiwan doesn't have.

        • czz on 19/01/2017 - 14:36

          Ow is Melbourne / Sydney Vietnamese restaurant equally good as in Vietnam?

        • Wampus on 19/01/2017 - 14:57

          @czz: I think NancyCat was referring to Taiwanese

        • Marcsie on 19/01/2017 - 14:59
          +1

          @czz: I tried some of the good Phở in Saigon like Phở 2000,Phở 24,Phở Pasteur,Phở Lệ,Phở Quyền,Phở Quỳnh,and the best one I found was the one right in Springvale,Melbourne :)

        • Marcsie on 19/01/2017 - 15:04

          Totally agree with you,went to South Korea,Japan,Taiwan and Vietnam for 5 weeks in November,my least favourite country was Taiwan :)

        • rambutann on 19/01/2017 - 15:13
          +2

          @Marcsie:

          I'd agree that Pho is better in Melbourne than Vietnam haha

        • dasher86 on 19/01/2017 - 15:29

          @Marcsie:
          By far the best Pho I had was in Saigon - but not from a chain.
          Can't even remember where. I was taken there by an expat on his bike.
          The second best Pho I have had was in Warsaw.

        • czz on 19/01/2017 - 16:04

          Which is better? Spring or Saigon?

          How about the banh mi?

        • czz on 19/01/2017 - 16:14

          @Marcsie: is 1 week enough in Seoul?

        • Marcsie on 19/01/2017 - 17:06

          @czz: of course not,but I was in a group tour so kinda cover most of the major tourist attractions in South Korea,love South Korea,so clean,street food so yummy and the people are so nice and friendly :)

  • mskeggs on 19/01/2017 - 13:44
    -5

    This is the travel equivalent of the post about getting out of parking fines. It hurts my head.
    Why would you visit a country if you aren't interested in checking it out?
    Skipping Ha Long Bay so you can cram in travel to another destination where you will also be rushed, FFS!
    I found Thailand and VN drastically different, so I can't conceive you would consider trying to see the place in a week to visit (and be rushed) some other complex destination.

    I suppose if I was in stage 4 cancer with weeks to live I might try short changing these destinations, but why not try having a good experience rather than a long list of sites?

    • czz on 19/01/2017 - 14:05
      +2

      Gtfo then! If I had more time I would love to stay longer.

    • Lukian on 19/01/2017 - 14:50

      It's nice to know you have unlimited annual leave. Thanks for sharing.

      I'd hate to see your comment for my 3 week itinerary in Western Europe coming up.

      • mskeggs on 19/01/2017 - 15:10
        +1

        I don't have unlimited annual leave, but OP has booked 2 weeks to travel Vietnam, and is considering dropping world heritage sites like Ha Long Bay to cut that short so they could visit Taiwan and Korea in the second week 'in case I get bored'. It's nuts.

        Seeing anything much of western Europe in 3 weeks is going to be challenging too. Any Western European country (perhaps not Lichtenstein or Luxemburg!) will have plenty to occupy a 3 week itinerary. My first trip to Europe was a month across Southern England, Paris and central Italy, and we were rushed and missed many, many great experiences.
        The cost of getting to international destinations is high, so it doesn't make any sense to me to try and cram so much into an itinerary that you can't spend very long anywhere.
        The added costs of flying between Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan (not to mention the chunk of vacation time eaten by transit, getting to and from airports, queuing, waiting, customs etc!) just make it worse.

        • dasher86 on 19/01/2017 - 15:35
          +3

          I've done both quick paced and slow paced travel.
          Hell one of my first trips was a Contiki.

          Cramming destinations is good if you want get a taster for a place.
          Majority of places I have been to I have gone back again to do 'properly'

          OP is probably young and wants to tick off countries from bucket list - having visited them.

  • pebee47 on 20/01/2017 - 15:19
    +1

    Vietnam full stop.
    Just don't "do" too many temples (unless you're really into that stuff).
    Can Tho, Cu Chi, Hue, Da Lat (pls pardon misspelt places).
    And that's before you get to the North.
    Terrific culture, lovely people, great prices, fantastic food. All good.
    Wish I was back there

    • Marcsie on 20/01/2017 - 17:48

      Hang on,there's more,Hoi An,Nha Trang,Da Nang :)

    • czz on 20/01/2017 - 18:28

      Yeah will probably pass on temples as I've seen too many in my past Japan trip :D

      • Marcsie on 20/01/2017 - 19:22

        Same same but different :)

      • pebee47 on 21/01/2017 - 12:23

        do some, but not all. One has about 14 kings/emperors, another Chang dynasty. All different due to different invading rulers over the centuries.
        (Get your clothing at Hoi An)
        ;)

        • czz on 21/01/2017 - 16:11

          ok:)

    • KupoHo on 21/01/2017 - 22:27

      Omg I've been back to Vietnam so many times and can't say I've visited any temples?? Hahahahaha how terrible of me!!!

      • voteoften on 22/01/2017 - 18:45

        Laos has some visibly interesting temples. Chiang Rai has the white temple which is a privately run amusement park of sorts and worth a visit. I like visiting the temples in Thailand and taking photos of the virtues that are generally written in both Thai and English.

  • KupoHo on 21/01/2017 - 22:23

    I've been to all these destinations and it would be a really tight squeeze to do all 3 in 2 wks…You would not be able to see what they each offer in that timeframe. I don't think Thailand and Vietnam share enough similarities that you would skip on some of the experiences the country has to offer..

    Not sure where you're flying from but you would lose a few days in travel given they are slightly spaced out…So maybe 2 countries max for 2 wks.

    Korea was a destination I really looked forward to but it was probably my biggest disappointment…The food tasted way different to what I'm use to in Perth! It was much more expensive than I expected too (food and shopping wise). If you are into makeup, then this is where you wanna go! Be mindful of what season you travel there as we went during the beginning of spring and it was Freezing!!! And we did not pack any winter clothes!

    In terms of shopping, Taiwan is my goto destination (if you are a relatively young chick..Or just super trendy). The markets offer amazing quality clothes all for $10-20!!!! There is also a massive wholesaler area where there are blocks of clothing stockists! I quite liked the food there too. The best thing abt Taiwan is they aren't really tourist focused so you can do your own thing and not be bugged by ppl trying to sell you stuff. No one speaks English and if you u ask for directions, the general answer is "down there" lol

    Vietnam is a place I visit every few yrs as my rellies live there. How long you spend here depends on what you wanna see and do? If you just want the nightlife and food, a week in HCM would do the trick. If you want to experience the more untouched Vietnam, then a week to the countryside is in order! I always travel to the far south to visit family but Hoi An is on my list to visit. Food is delicious and affordable but of course is most exxie in HCM. The Banh Mi on the St r truly the best, but be careful how they are kept, as I've gotten food poisoning before…Not that that stops me from eating St food!!

    They all have clubs and pubs to experience the Nightlife…Just depends on what you are after? What music you like etc. Generally in Asia, it's always easier and cheaper to get into these places if you are a girl or with a girl. Don't hesitate to PM me with any questions you may have :)

    • voteoften on 22/01/2017 - 18:50

      Interesting that you say Korea is expensive. I met a Korean girl and spoke to her about a Korean bath I've been to a few times in Chatswood. I always use a scoopon and it's 99aud. You soak in various baths then an old lady in a bikini lays you on a bed and scrubs the hell out if you with soapy water and what they call Italy cloths (you can buy these on eBay). I asked her how much it cost her for the same experience back in Korea and she said $5us approx. the whole thing lasts about two hours.

      • KupoHo on 22/01/2017 - 20:14

        Oh, I'm not sure how much such treatments would cost there as it wasn't something I looked into but as we stayed in a hotel across from the main tourist strip (myeong dong) I would assume everything is more exxie in that area (much like HCM). I guess for me when I go to another country I get super excited when clothes etc are cheaper than in Australia. Most things I picked up in the famous market strip cost more than in Australia :( I think like Japan you just need to know where to goto..Which we didn't! I enjoyed the few tours we went on though! The DMZ tour was great :) I think all countries are worth visiting once as we all have diff experiences but can't say it's on my list of places I'd like to go back to…Japan on the hand..I could keep going back to!!!

  • czz on 22/01/2017 - 13:57

    Yes that's the plan 2 countries for the 2 weeks.. second week either Taiwan or SK.

    Lol, was the food to spicy? Friend said food is rather cheap in SK if you eating street vendors and recommends Busan over Seoul but I'll probably go Seoul as my first time if I go.

    I'll probably have a look at shopping but usually don't buy :)

    • KupoHo on 22/01/2017 - 20:20

      I think the Korean food I eat is probably westernised…I'm not really a fan of Kim Chi n most of their food has a very strong Kim Chi base over there! My fav dish is spicy pork bulgogi n I never found one that matched what I have in Aust. Ive just come back from Melb n had a really nice one similar to the one i get in Perth….So not sure what it is!!! I love St food!!! But I didn't find it cheap…Pretty certain I got super ripped off but once again it's probably cos I stayed in the main tourist area!

      • voteoften on 22/01/2017 - 23:29

        Where do you get your bulgogi inperth? Mmmm

        • KupoHo on 22/01/2017 - 23:38

          There use to be this amazing place upstairs where crazy clark's/red dot is/was in the city (upstairs of the first Woolies in Perth CBD)..then they closed down and I was left completely devastated :( It seriously was soooooo delicious! They own the all you can eat Korean buffet in Northbridge and Vic Park but I only eat that one dish lol I usually go to Took Bae Kee on Barrack St for my Korean fix but it's not as good as the place that closed down :(

        • voteoften on 23/01/2017 - 01:52

          @KupoHo:
          Ok, I'll check that one out.

          Just out if curiousity, this buffet, do you know if they do split bills and BYO? I often go out with groups and sometimes I have to organise.

        • voteoften on 23/01/2017 - 01:57

          @voteoften:

          Never mind, found it - https://www.seoulbuffet.com/prices

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