Nha Trang

Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa Province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the north by Ninh Hoà district, on the south by Cam Ranh town and on the west by Diên Khánh District.

If you plan to visit this city, it is not necessary to be more than 3 or 4 days unless your purpose of the trip is scuba diving or just enjoy all day at the beach

What to see here?

1. Cathedral of Christ the King

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/XufeEH5ZNX1iJZQ58

Visit this church founded in 1886 by French missionaries. The best way to get there is by taxi. Highly recommended to download Grab app to move around. Taxi costs in Nha Trang is quite affordable.

Entry fees is about 20.000VND. Women can’t wear “too short” clothes

Opened every day from 7.30am to 11.30am & 2pm to 5pm

2. Long Son Pagoda

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/PNAAFpwRpabNCVDv7

Near the cathedral is Long Son Pagoda. From the top there are views of the city but not so spectacular!

Opened Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 11.30am & 2pm to 5pm.

3. Alexandre Yersin Museum

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/xonYhbBa7mDZjarR6

Museum not very spectacular. For the price of the ticket doesn’t worth at all unless you have no other plans to do

Entry fees: 20.000VND

Opened every day from 7.30am to 11.30am & 2pm to 5pm

4. Ponagar Tower

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Location: https://goo.gl/maps/aAsCYvY6yy3Hh59E9

One of the most popular and highly recommended sites. As I mentioned earlier, the best way to get here and by taxi or Grab

Entry fees: 22.000VND

Opened every day from 8am to 6pm

5. Hike up to Ba Ho Waterfalls

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/273VdEavCCKBu95X7

One of the most recommended activities and the one I really enjoyed. To get here you can hire a driver through your hotel since is a bit remote. Normally hotels have this kind of services. The price varies depending on the hotel. In my case it was 600,000VND per person. The driver waits for you until the time you negotiate with him previously

The hike can last depending on how far you want to go. There are 3 waterfalls in total, and the last one has a medium-high level of risk, since the path of this hike is basically climbing rocks. It is recommended to wear good shoes if you want to reach the third waterfall. Some rocks may be slippery!

Once you get to the waterfalls by taxi, you have to cross a resort and follow the indications. The rocks have signals to follow so be aware for those dangerous paths not suggested to take by the signs

Opened every day from 8am to 4.30pm

6. Snorkel in Nhat Trang Bay

Another recommended activity even if the seabed is not the most optimal in Nha Trang, or at least in tourist areas. You can hire this tour through your hotel
Normally there are 3 islands open for tourists, although depending on the hotel or services you can choose among them

7. Relax at the beach or enjoy the night life

Relax on the immense beach of the city or simply enjoy the nightlife. The atmosphere is not spectacular but it is worth visiting!

My personal vision of Nha Trang is that it is not very spectacular. For 3 or 4 days it is enough as long as good weather accompanies you. There are more activities on the outskirts of the city, but for this you have to hire taxis or drive and mainly these places are a bit neglected and do not attract too much the attention if you have already visited similar places in Thailand!

The Marble Mountain: Thuy Son

The Marble Mountains are on of the most popular attractions in Vietnam. They consist in 5 rocky mountains topped with Pagodas, caves and Buddhist temples located in Da Nang. Each mountain is named after 5 natural elements: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth).

During my visit, I climbed up only Thuy Son mountain (Water), since is considered the highest and main one. From its top you’ll be able to have a stunning panorama of its surroundings.

HOW TO GET THERE

If you are staying in Da Nang city, it’s very easy to get there by taxi as is not relatively expensive.

From Hoi An (my case), we hired a taxi through GRAB app. The best choice surely is by taxi or Grab, it’s very easy to spot taxi in the entrance of the mountain.

Uber is also a good choice, it’s working really nice in Vietnam with affordable rates. However, Grab offers the cheapest rates within Vietnam

Location: 2 Huyen Tran Cong Chua, Hoa Hai, Ngu Hanh Son, Da Nang

EXPLORING AROUND

Once arrived, should get a entry ticket at 40,000 VND for adults

Opening Hours: Daily 07:00 – 17:30

If not taking the lift at 15,000 VND, the entry tickets may be purchased at the entrance near the stairs at ticketing office (Gate 2)

Climbing up the stairs, the first spot would be Xa Loi Tower (10) & Linh Ung Pagoda (12)

Continuing walking there are few caves at the beginning which I was not able to visit the due to the crowds (8 & 11) and also due to its slippery stairs (no shoes with good grip)

Further ahead is Tam Thai Pagoda (4) with a traditional design and beautiful gardens

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Leaving behind Tam Thai Pagoda and turning right there is one of the most beautiful natural caves spotted: Huyen Khong cave (6)

The cave is quite huge but unfortunately is the main tourist spot and will be super crowded, making difficult to take nice photos of its interior

Leaving the cave, the next spot is Tam Ton Pagoda. Really beautiful with lots of flowers and gardens.

Between Tam Thai Pagoda (4) and Van Thong Cave (8) there is a path and stairs towards the top of the Mountain. Just following indications and stairs will take you to the top which is 100% recommended to do if you wanna enjoy of a stunning views of The Marble Mountains

To finish the visit, may have a look to Vong Giang Dai and climb its few stairs before getting out by Gate 1

The descending will take about 5-10 minutes through Gate 1. Once got out, turn left to reach the the Gate 1 and grab a taxi back to your hotel.

The neighborhood is plenty of statue/decoration shops and a couple of restaurants. There is nothing much to see around unless you are keen to visit the rest of Marble mountains

 

 

Road trip: Hoi An

Hoi An is a well-know city for its history, streets, food and Old Town. But during my visit to this awesome town, I discovered that there are more than streets and buildings: roads with stunning views throughout rice fields and rivers.

Where are these rice fields?

Just need to cycle a bit far away from the town, exactly to the entrance of Hoi An, between Sơn Phong and Tân An.

Green stars indicates rice fields and red arrow my starting point chosen for this awesome cycling road trip.

The beginning of the rice fields marked is a long and straight road in between of 2 rivers

Along the road I really enjoyed of amazing rice fields views, besides of the lack of traffic, people…simply silence and calm

The road trip continues towards An Mỹ with these views:

Arriving to An Mỹ, it is a little town with few houses and farms. Really worth to pass by here and continue cycling along the river

Cycling along this road indicated above, I reached to the main road Hai Bà Trưng. Afterwards, turned to the right and crossed the river before turning to the left as indicates in the map below. This route was recommended by a local and was really relaxing and easy. No noises, no traffic, only nature, villagers and animals.

Ending up this road trip, simply can turn around this little village and back to Hoi An through Hai Bà Trưng road.

This road trip takes about 3-4 hours, which may be longer relying on the stops made to rest and photography.

Besides of this trip, I would also recommend a road trip to Cửa Đại beach along the following road:

Along this road you may find few rice fields and many villages. It’s a very funny trip and it’ll take about 1-2 hours to get to the beach. Later on can return by Cửa Đại road, which is much faster and easy to reach to Hoi An

In short, Hoi An has many ways to enjoy it despite its old town. The road is long and gives stunning views

 

Hoi An: A walk through the beauty & peace of its Old Town

Hoi An (Hội An) is a city in Vietnam’s Quảng Nam Province and noted since 1999 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Old Town Hội An, the city’s historic district, is recognized as an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century.

A walk through its well-preserved streets and riverside offers an overview of beauty, peace and tourism, with plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, cafes, markets and tourist spots.

Besides all this, Vietnam is well-known for its cuisine and coffee, where Cao Lầu & Mi Quang dishes cannot be missed in Hoi An. If you are a food lover, you will really enjoy Hoi An. Local coffee, Cao Lầu, Mi Quang and Banh Mi are easy to spot, but there are several restaurants where these dishes are top!

There are also many other different things to do in Hoi An besides to visit the Old Town, such as cycling by its rice fields, Cua Dai beach, visit Da Nang by bus or cycling, Marble mountains, Spa, massages, etc.

HOW TO GET THERE

In order to get to Hoi An, only can be done by taxi, bus or shuttle bus service from Da Nang airport. Hoi An doesn’t have its own airport, so there are few options to get there.

The option I have chosen was the shuttle bus service; cheap, fast and reliable.

The race is about 6$ per pax and they will pick you up at the airport in time and drop you to your hotel. The shuttle bus has its own wifi, aircon and clean. Easy to book online in advance in this link.

The taxi is about 20$ and private car from 25$ to 40$.

The local bus is about 1$ but will drop you to Da Nang in Dien Bien Phu street. Then you gotta take another local bus to Hoi An and drop in Pham Hong Thai street. Later on you should take a taxi or walk to your hotel.

EXPLORING AROUND

Hoi An Old Town is located along the riverside, easy to find and get, since is the heart of this district

The fish market starts near the bridge, following by souvenir shops

The walk along the riverside is really beautiful despite its crowds. During the sunset the views are stunning. Also along the riverside you may get a boat trip throughout the river

At night, the Old Town riverside will be completely transformed by a colored town, with plenty of lights, lanterns, boat trips, bars, music, party…

I visited Hoi An during Lunar New Year, so the Town was full of lights, colors and flowers, giving to this ancient town a different atmosphere than perhaps during the rest of the year is not visible.

A walk throughout the streets in Old Town was also really beautiful and colorful at night. Worth to have a walk for all streets to breath this awesome environment

During day time, the atmosphere is completely different than night time, with less crowds and more relaxed for a walk or shopping. There are few temples to visit around the Old Town.

And obviously, can’t miss the most popular tourist spot: the Japanese bridge Chùa Cầu

EATING AROUND

For food lovers, I was carefully checking where to go and eat before my trip to Hoi An and tried most of them, yet asking locals where is recommended. I followed many online reviews which are the top places and personally I was disappointed with many of them, perhaps due to menu changes, chef changes or corrupted by tourism and popularity.

Near the bridge and fish market, I found 3 places to eat safely, cheap and with really delicious food

Banh Mi Phurong is a little shop selling plenty of Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), very popular and really delicious. Prices range from 20.000 to 40.000VND. It’s very easy to spot as always has long queue outside!

Mr. Hai noodles is a restaurant located in a narrow street. The food quality is pretty good at affordable prices. Its looking is very local but worth to have a try, especially for what is popular: Mi Quang

Mia Coffee was one of the last spots discovered during my exploration. Its coffee is pretty good and it’s popular for cakes. Unfortunately there were no cakes during my visit, so I just enjoy a coffee in the second floor!

The next turn was for Rice Drum restaurant. The food was really awesome there with nice views of the riverside. We ordered Vietnamese rolls & fish. As per other reviews say, the fish here is really delicious no matter which!

The Cargo Club restaurant was one of those disappointing restaurants. Good reviews everywhere but..why? The service is not the best, stinky terrace and poor food quality. We ordered staffed squid and beef on lemongrass (was not very bad), rice paper rolls (disappointed) and cakes. I really love cakes and mango..so I have the chance to try Mango Cheesecake and I only could finish a 30% of it. Impossible to digest. The other cake was White chocolate Kahlua which was pretty normal.

Unfortunately I had not enough time to try Morning Glory, as its reviews seem really good too!

And the winner with much difference was Nu Eatery. The best food ever tried in Hoi An and cheap! The cakes here are really delicious. Tried: Cheesecake and Green tea cake and was simply perfect! Steamed Buns amazing. It’s a must! This restaurant is a slightly hidden through narrow streets after crossing the Japanese Bridge Chùa Cầu

Also Mai Fish has nice reviews but not enough time to check! Next time!

For sure that Vietnam will never disappoint you for its food and beauty! Simply gotta find the correct places 🙂

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam by population (about 10 millions). During my trip, I stayed in District 1 which is the most active and tourist area in the city.

This city is the only one I found the most interesting in Vietnam so far. Historically, culturally and gastronomically. From the War Museum with the tragic Vietnam War history to the local food. Every corner in Ho Chi Minh worth to be explored.

By staying in this district, you will find around the most tourist points to visit, such as Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, War Museum, Art Museum, street markets and of course, street food and bars areas.

Visited sites:

1. Street markets
2. Independence Palace
3. War Museum
4. Notre Dame Cathedral & Post Office
5. Art Museums
6. Cu Chi Tunnels

I usually walked to those places as long as the weather was alright. I traveled there in summer, so was extremely hot, plus traffic jams, makes slightly harder to walk around. Taking a taxi is a good option too, since taxis in the city are fairly cheap. However, you’ll experience how the traffic jam is here.

HOW TO GET THERE

There are several options from Ho Chi Minh airport to District 1:

Taxi

Getting a taxi from the airport is the easiest option, but the most expensive. A race may costs about 220,000VND.

Taxi are located in the left part in the international terminal. Be extremely careful before taking a taxi or you can be scammed in the worse way you may imagine. Only choose reliable taxis, such as Mai Linh or Vinasun. This last one is the most common in Ho Chi Minh. Please keep away from those taxis with tinted windows. Those are particularly scammers.

Bus

Bus 152 is the cheapest and convenient option. The cost is about 5,000VND and you can ask the driver where is your hotel to get off in the nearest station.

Find more info in this link for more buses options

EXPLORING AROUND

1. Street Markets

Every morning I had the chance to walk through these street markets to get some local coffee and breakfast. Wandering in the District 1, you will be able to find many markets nearby. At night, the same area is converted in BBQ street food, what’s the most famous in Ho Chi Minh!

If you are looking for is the night street food, you should go to Bùi Viện street! This street is where you will be able to find a lot of food varieties and bars. Night life is here!

Personally, I’ve visited Hanoi and Phú Quốc before, and the food I’ve tasted in Ho Chi Minh in the top. BBQ seafood, meat, Vietnamese food…everything everywhere

2. Independence Palace

Also know as Reunification Palace, this place is worthy to see at least once. It’s located about 30 minutes walking from the main street in District 1.

Opening hours: 7:00 to 11:30 & 13:00 to 17:00 (closed during lunch time)

Entrance ticket: 20,000VND

There are guided tours in English available

Outside photos

Inside photos

3. War Museum

If there is a place where really touched me, was the War Museum. Telling the tragedy occurred during the Vietnam War, it will really open your eyes, since any American movie about Vietnam War is telling how the people of Vietnam suffered from the chemical warfare and its consequences

Opening hours: 7:30 to 12:00 & 13:30 to 17:00 (closed during lunch time)

Entrance ticket: 15,000VND

Torture rooms

4. Notre Dame Cathedral & Post Office

A few minutes walking distance from the Independence Palace and War Museum, you can get to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Ho Chi Ming post office. The post office is next to the cathedral and worth to have a quick look too.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Post Office

5. Fine Arts Museum

In case you have free time during your trip, I would recommend you to have a look to this museum. It’s quite near to the main street and provides a good shelter from the sun and hot if the weather is being problematic.

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 16:45

Entrance ticket: 10,000VND

 

6. Cu Chi Tunnels

Cu Chi tunnels are a network of connecting underground tunnels located in Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh city. These tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong’s base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.

To get here, you may arrange a tour from any tour agency or hotel and the journey takes about 2 hours.

This tour is a MUST, since you won’t see anything similar anywhere. You will need at least the full day to complete this tour and will be a bit crowd. But despite of this, it’s worthy.

The tour will provide a tour guide who will explain the whole history of these tunnels. And also you’ll live an experience how is a walk through this network of tunnels

In short, Ho Chi Minh city has many places to explore and even more awaiting to be explored.

If you are thinking to visit the city, I would recommend you to stay no more than 4 days. However, if your stay is longer, you can arrange different tours to Mekong Delta and Can Gio Biosphere Reserve, or also to visit Chinatown in district 5 for a half day.

DETAILS

• Location: Ho Chi Minh @ District 1
• Time spent: 5 days
• Season: April
• Weather conditions: Sunny & hot
• Score: 9/10

 

Hanoi & Halong Bay

Capital of Vietnam, is known by its architecture, culture and food. Let’s see if it’s true

After a highly satisfactory trip in Ho Chi Minh, today I’m on the way to this chaotic but unique city to enjoy for 6 days of its amazing food, streets, culture and people.

My journey started from Shenzhen, Bao an district and taking off from Hong Kong. Why from Hong Kong? Air tickets price mainly. You can easily find air tickets departing from Hong Kong at half price than Shenzhen.

Day 1

After finished packing my backpack and while making a coffee at home, I arranged Didi car to pick me up at home at 9:15am right in front of Fanshen metro station 翻身地铁 and take me to 深圳湾口岸 Shenzhen Bay Port. Easiest way to be spotted by the driver and spot the car in case you don’t speak Chinese as I do. If the pick up point is easy, they usually don’t call you. However, the could message you, hence I would recommend you to send them a brief description of what are you wearing or something easy to recognize in Chinese. Google translate or Talking translator is quite accurate on this matter.

Once arrived to Shenzhen Bay port 深圳湾口岸, the fastest and convenient way to get to Hong Kong Airport is by taking a van. You may find a lot of van services along the way to the entrance to Hong Kong. The chosen one for me was E&E (wearing green t-shirts). I’m always using this van service and never had a problem with them. The price from Shenzhen Bay to Hong Kong Airport is 150RMB and it takes around 1.5hours, depending of traffic jam. The fastest and the most comfortable way.

Landed in Hanoi and crossing immigration, the cheapest way to get to the Old Quarter is by taking the bus 86. The bus is located in in the left side once you exit the airport and its orange color is easy to spot it. The price for the journey is 30,000VND and the staffs are really friendly, clean bus and with aircon. In case you have some doubts on where you should alight, you may ask to the assistant and he/she will let you know once arriving.

The journey takes about 30 minutes with no traffic jam.

Reached to the hotel and checked in, I decided to stroll and spot where to eat, where to have coffee and where to have beers.

Despite this strolling, a good choice also would be have a look to Hoàn Kiếm Lake at night and have a walk along its border. Whether you’re thinking to buy some groceries or coffee, near the lake there’s a supermarket. Affordable price for coffee and others. Cheaper than street sellers. So is a good opportunity to get whatever you would like to bring back home.

On the north of Hoàn Kiếm lake you may find the most tourist place, streets food and thousand of bars. At night is completely crazy but unique.

Day 2

The plan for the second day in Hanoi is explore Hanoi citadel, museums and the Presidential Palace and its surroundings. During my trip in Saigon, barely had problems to find normal cafes to start a day with a nice breakfast and coffee. Walking around the Old Quarter, hardly could see locals but not scary cafes.

Finally a “normal” Cafe spotted in the area, nothing special but tired to explore around and getting frustrated. Not bad coffee and tea after all, despite the Cafe looks a bit “under destruction”.

On its way, there are hundreds of local shops selling lamps and electronic products, and an old railroad track

The time spent at exploring the area would be approximately 3-4 hours if the weather is good.

War museum photos:

Hanoi Citadel photos:

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Tran Quoc Pagoda photos and surrounding:

Despite the place looks beautiful, it’s a bit disappointing due to all the rubbish thrown in the lake and lack of restaurants or food places. Away from the Old Quarter, it’s really hard to find a good place to sit, eat local food and breath.

Day 3

For my 3rd day in Hanoi, Halong Bay cruise was my choice since I already visited most interesting places nearby.

The journey starts at 8:00am, a bus pick me up at the hotel. Whether you want to make a day trip or 2 days trip in Halong Bay, better to have a good breakfast and some sandwiches to go.

The journey by bus will take about 4 hours to Halong Bay in order to board later in the cruise.

There are tons of cruise companies, classified by quality and services. From 2 or 3 stars to deluxe cruises. Figure out which one is the best and in accordance to your likes, will be hard since the real pictures will never match with reality. My cruise was Golden Star cruises and it’s average despite I expected something else according with the price (90USD) for 1 night. Anyway, independently of what cruise is the chosen, you will enjoy of incredible views for sure.

The bus will stop eventually in Hon Gai Harbor @ Ha Long city in order to board to your cruise

Once boarded, the journey to Halong Bay waters will take 1-2 hours before to be amazed with its views

The first stop for my cruise was the most famous cave in Cat Ba.

In the inner part of the cave you will have fun of the views and the crowds. Sadly this cave is a hot spot and it’ll be really crowded with queues to get to different accesses. However, worth to see.

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The views from the top of the cave are fantastics. It’ll be a challenge to find space to take some photos due to the crowd tho.

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The second stop of my cruise was the Ti Top Island. Small beach and hundreds of stairs to climb whether you want to enjoy of a beautiful panorama of the area. It’s a must!

Once back to the cruise, the next is to wait for a really romantic sunset.

Day 4

Whether you’re able to wake up at 6am in the cruise, you’ll enjoy of a nice and not amazing sunrise as expected due to the high lands are blocking the views.

The next activity of my cruise was Kayaking for 45 minutes around the boat.

After kayaking, the next activity is a perform but I managed to skipped it to relax and breathe. I never regret of that decision, one boat for myself and drinks in the bar, beside good views

The rest of the day is a journey towards Hanoi, back to hotel and rest.

Day 5

The last full day was spent basically to those places I visited at night, strolling and last purchases

St. Joseph Cathedral

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

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Strolling

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Hanoi prison. It wasn’t in my plans at first but worth to see. If you have more free time, it’s a good choice

DETAILS:

• Location: Hanoi @ Old Quarter district & Halong Bay
• Time spent: 6 days (4 days would have been enough tho)
• Season: mid August
• Weather conditions: Raining slightly on 17 & 18 August/Sunny rest of days with few thunderstorms at night
• Score: 7/10

SUMMARY

I have enjoyed Hanoi despite the weather was not favorable (raining at first and then extremely hot). But my thoughts is that 6 days is too much unless you wanna take 2 tours (Halong Bay & Sa Pa). I just needed 2.5 days to finish most of all sightseeing spots. If only want to get Halong Bay tour (2 days 1 night), I bet that 4 days is more than enough to stay in Hanoi.

Furthermore, I had better expectations about Hanoi and it really disappointed me despite I read tons of good reviews. I have been in Ho Chi Ming (Saigon) too, and for sure there is no possible comparison. I enjoyed more Ho Chi Minh rather than Hanoi. Why? Nice tours, much better food and more healthy, more local spots, deeper history and a lot of street food BBQ.