Introduction
The easiest and most preferable way to make your way through N.-Vietnam is to book a tourtrip at a local travelagency.
There are lots in Hanoi, a few in Hue and lots in HCMC also.
Due to the pierce competition prices are sharp and bargainable. But still it’s the quality that counts and finding out which agency is reliable is not that easy.
It's also possible to simply book the transportation with them and choose your own hotels and trips. You'll need to be persisitent a bit, but it's possible.
Any advice before you start a tourtrip : 1) State clearly what’s included in the price or not :
- Meals (breakfast, dinner, lunch) and drinks
- Accommodation (AC, private bathroom, fan)
- Entrance tickets
- Guide, driver (wage, food, accommodation)
- Travelinsurance
2) Try to get a list of hotels/guesthouses where you will stay in.
3)This provides that the guide will put you in a cheaper hotel and takes the benefit in his pocket. Take address/tel. from the agency with you so that when problems show up during the trip you can immediately take contact.
Open tour busservice : Daily busservice between major cities (Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Vinh – Hue – Hoi An – Nha Trang - Dalat – HCMC) with several stops along the way.
Queen Café and
Sinh Café offer an open tour service.
Look further on this page for their address and e-mail.
Indicative prices (’99) :
- Hanoi – Ninh Binh 4 US$
- Hanoi – Hue 12 US$
- Hue – Hoi An 3 US$
- Hoi An – Nha Trang 10 US$
- Nha Trang – Dalat 8 US$
- Dalat – HCMC 7 US$
Other services provided : ticket (plane, train) booking, internet, foreign exchange, taxi to airport, bike-car-motorbike rental, luggage storage
Visas to Laos and China can also be arranged in Hanoi. Here's a sample of prices (4/99):
- Visas for Laos (presumably for 15 days): Germans and Japanese, $41 Canadians, $47 Americans, $40 one month visa $25 extra. Time to get visa is five days visa in one day $20 extra.
- Visas for China (one month): English, $45 French, $31 German, $26 Danish, $37 Dutch, $33 Australian, $21 Americans, $27. Visa in 10 days, $4 visa in two days, $20.
Tours offered in Hanoi
For prices I refer to the e-mail addresses and websites where you can inquire up-to-date prices.
Only Green Bamboo dares to give prices on their website for the moment. Will the rest follow ? This is a list of the most common tours:
Northern suburbs of Hanoi (daytour) Dong Ky : carpentry village and the Coloa citadel.
Bat Trang village : manufacturing of ceramics.
But Thap pagoda
Western suburbs of Hanoi (daytour) Ha Dong village : manufacturing of silk products.
Vac village : making of bird cages.
Thay pagoda
Tay Phuong pagoda
City tour in Hanoi (daytour) HCM mausoleum and museum, one pillar pagoda, temple of literature,…..
Perfume pagoda (daytour) Boattrip and a steep hike to the pagodacave: +/- 12 US$
Ha Long bay / Cat Ba island (1-2-3 days) Boattrip through the islands, visiting caves along the trip
Overnight at the boat or at Cat Ba island.
Cat Ba : relax on the beach, hike through the national park
About 20 $ for a 2-day trip.
Sapa / Bac Ha (4 days) Be aware that you will lose two days (each 12 hours busdrive) to get there and to return. Some companies have understood this and now also organise trips which involves the night train to Lao Cai, and then they pich you up there by minibus. This is definitely, much better, although personnally I think you could arrange the trip easily yourself (see Sapa chapter).
Sapa and Bac Ha : colourful markets, hike to ethnic villages, visit to waterfalls
Hoa Lu / Tam Coc (daytour) Hoa Lu : two historical temples
Xuan Vu Village : hand chiseling granite rocks
Tam Coc : boattrip through rice paddies, three natural tunnels and limestone rocks.
Mai Chau (2-3 days)Tam Dao hill station : electrical hydro-powerstation
Overnight in a Thai stilt house.
Walk through Thai village.
North-west tour (6 or more days) With Russian jeep or Toyota landcruiser with driver.
English speaking guide is optional
Mai Chau – Son La – Dien Bien Phu – Lai chau – Sapa – Bac Ha
Norh-east tour (4 or more days) With Russian jeep or Toyota landcruiser with driver
English speaking guide is optional
Lang Son – Cao Bang – Ba Be lake
Agencies in Hanoi
- Ann tours, 26 Yet Kieu, Hoan Kiem District, Tel/fax: 822-0018. They have a website:
www.anntours.com - Asia Wing, Hai Ba Trung 49, Hanoi tower, tel. 934-3088
- A-Z Queen Cafe, Hang Bac 65, tel. 826-0860 fax. 8260300. They also have a
website.
- BS Travel, Ba Trieu 72, tel. 826-2386
- Buffalo tours, Hang Muoi 11, tel. 828-0702 / fax. 826-9370. They also have a
website.
- Darling Cafe, Hang Quat 33, tel. 826-9386
- ECCO voyages, Ba Trieu 50A, tel. 82825-4615
- Especen, Hang Trong 79E, tel. 826-1071 / fax. 826-9612
- Exotissimo Travel, Tran Nhat Duat 26, tel. 828-2150
- Friendly tourism, Bat Dan 65, tel. 826-7421
- Green Bamboo, Nha Chung 42, tel. 826-8752 / fax. 826-4949. They also have a
website.
- Hanoi Red tours, Le Duan 100, tel. 822-0888
- Hanoi Tourism, Ly Thuong Kiet 18, tel. 826-6714
- Lonely planet travel, Hang Be 33, tel. 825-0974 / fax. 825-7002. e-mail :
planet@travel.fpt.vn - Mansfield Toserco, Hang Trong 102, tel. 826-9444
- New Indochina travel, Dang Thai Than 1, tel. 933-0599
- Old Darling Cafe I, Hang Bac 142, tel. 824-3024
- Old Darling Cafe II, Dao Duy Tu Lane, tel. 828-1711
- OSC Hanoi, Yet Kieu 38, tel. 826-4500
- Red River Tours,73 Hang Bo Street Tel (84) 48268427, fax (84) 48287159, e-mail
redrivertours.hn.vn@fpt.vn. They have a nice website with a detailed description of their tours at
www.redrivertours.com.
- Sinh Café, Hang Be 56, tel.9344103. e-mail :
sinhcafetour@hn.vnn.vn. you can find a complete program of the tours they offer
by clicking here.
They now also have their own site.
- TF Handspan, Hang Bac 116, tel. 828-1996. Visit their
website.
- Vietnamtourism, Ly Thuon Kiet 30 A, tel. 826-4154
Tours offered in Hue
DMZ tour -
On highway 9 : The rockpile, Dakrong bridge, Ho Chi Minh Trail, Minority village, Khe Sanh Combat base
-
On highway 1 : Frame of a church, Hien Luong Bridge, Tunnels of Vinh Moc
Departure : 6.00 AM – Return : 7.00 PM
Price : 13 US$ / person lunch included
Boat trip on the perfume river
- Linh Mu pagoda, the symbol of Hue
- Tombes of Tu Duc, Ming Mang and Khai Dinh
- Hon Chen temple
- Departure : 8.00 AM – Return : 3.00 PM
- Price : 3 US$ / person lunch included
The tickets for the tombs are not included (each tomb costs 5 US$ !!!!!!)
Agencies in Hue - ATC Hue, Ben Nghe 4, tel. 830830 / fax. 824500
- DMZ-tours, Le Loi 26
- Hue tourist company, Ly Thuong Kiet 18, tel. 821626 / fax 825814
- Huong Giang, Le loi 51, tel. 832220
- Ngo Quyen Hotel, Ngo Quyen 9, tel. 823278
- Sinh Café, Hung Vuong 8, tel. 822121 or 826918 / fax. 8295910
- Thua Thien Hue tourism, Le loi 15, tel. 822369
- Thuan Hoa Hotel, Nguyen Tri Phuong 7B, tel. 822553 / fax. 822576
Travellers recommendations
Do you have positive or negative experiences with a travelagency?
Feel free to
send it to me and i will add it here.
Chris Walsh, 1999 I booked most of the accommodation, transport and tours with
Anntours in South Vietnam. They were great! They were cheap with there HCMC accommodation (1/3 what our local travel agent in New Zealand offered),a train to Nha Trang from HCMC was US$33 with no booking fee and twice that for a one way flight from Danang to Hanoi.
In the North, I had pre-booked a one night tour to Halong bay with
Green Bamboo via their website. We cancelled with them after our hotel receptionist (Eden Hotel) said they would do the same trip for only US$20pp. Therefore I would recommend to anyone that they leave all overnight and day trip booking till they get in Vietnam and if they are pushed for time (we did Vietnam in 16 days) they should book transport and accommodation with a local travel agent.
Loan Matnivong, 2000 My husband and I took a trip in Jan 99 to VN last year. From HCM city, we booked a 6-day trip from Saigon-Nhatrang-Danang-Hoian-Hue with The Youth Travel. They were really good. Good transportation, accommodations, food and good tour guide too.
Though the price is much higher than what you listed in here, we certainly recommend this agency. (note : HCMC Youth tourist Co, Dien Bien Phu 292, Saigon, tel. 829-4580)
Go to NW Mountains For questions on N-Vietnam send an e-mail to
Steven Buvens or
myself, but please read the site first!!.
Article Comments:
| 08/13/2006 |
| tony (1) |
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| 05/15/2006 |
| Chan (1) |
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Or you can buy tour of Saigon airport agency Sasco Travel www.sascotravel.com.vn. They have many private tours. Special trekking tour.
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| s.h. (1) |
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