From Hanoi, we took a train about 2 hours and 15 minutes south to Ninh Binh. The train station was about a 30-minute walk from our hotel in Hanoi and it was easy to purchase tickets for the next available…
An Overnight Cruise on Halong Bay (Days 190-191)
Halong Bay Cruise Selection We researched and debated for several days about how best to see Halong Bay. At one point, we almost decided to skip it altogether! First and foremost, we had to decide whether we wanted to do…
In and Out of Hanoi, Vietnam (Days 186-190, 191-192, 196-197)
In addition to exploring Hanoi itself, we also used the city as a transit hub to explore Halong Bay and Tam Coc (near Ninh Binh). Initially we wanted to see Sapa as well, but unfortunately weather and time constraints didn’t…
Motorbikes and Caves in Phong Nha, Vietnam (Days 183-186)
Phong Nha was on our radar due to my friend’s suggestion for the Oxalis Tu Lan Cave Tour. After much debate, we had to skip the tour with Oxalis because it was too expensive for our budget. However, it appeared…
10 Days in Central Vietnam (DaNang, Hoi An, and Hue) (Days 174-183)
As discussed in our last post, we elected to head north from Ho Chi Minh City and fly directly to DaNang in central Vietnam. We took a Grab to the airport and were mistakenly dropped at the international terminal instead…
Christmas in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Days 169-174)
As Christmas approached, we both felt a little bit homesick as this was our first time being away from home for the holidays. That’s part of the reason why we wanted to be in a country where we would have…