We traveled to Vietnam in late December into early January.
Vietnam is a long and thin country, with different climates in different parts of the country. The country has both tropical and temperate zones. This time of year is not ideal for Central Vietnam travel due to the heavy monsoons.
Our itinerary here was to cover as much of the country as we could in two weeks. This was an introductory trip because two months would be better than two weeks.
We started our trip in northern Vietnam. Our first stay was three nights in Hanoi, followed by the two-day cruise in Ha Long Bay.
After that, we flew down into Central Vietnam, staying at Hue for two nights, and then Hoi An for five nights. We then flew down to southern Vietnam, staying in Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, for three nights.
Hanoi, Vietnam (3 nights)
Hanoi for me is now my most favourite city. We flew into Hanoi from Australia and transferred to our hotel in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. This is the best location to stay in Hanoi as a tourist. The city is massive, and traffic around the city can be slow. Most of the great places to see are close to or in this more historic part of the city. We absolutely loved our stay in this city; please jump into our detailed blog on Hanoi to find out more.
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam (2 day cruise)
We took a taxi to Ha Long Bay from our hotel in Hanoi, which was about a four-hour drive. The drive to the coast is fast, passing through Haiphong to the Ha Long cruise terminals on Tuan Chau Island.
At the terminals, you get on a commuter boat that takes you out to the junks, which are your home for the next two days.
This is a beautiful part of the world, and I think it is well worth the cruise.
Please have a look at our detailed blog on Ha Long Bay. We had Christmas Day on the junk in Ha Long Bay, and that was perfect.
Hue, Vietnam (2 nights)
We taxied back to Hanoi International Airport and flew south to Hue in the centre of the country. We decided to fly from Hanoi, as this was by far the quickest option for our two-night stay in Hue.
This is where the weather did hit us; it rained heavily almost all the time. The middle part of the country’s weather is best from March to August, not from September to February. Please jump to our detailed blog on Hue, as despite the foul weather we had, it was worth the visit.
Hoi An, Vietnam (5 nights)
We took another taxi from Hue to Hoi An, about a 4-hour drive. The original plan had been to drive via the mountain route from Hue to Hoi An. The ongoing monsoon weather and landslides stopped that option, and we drove to Hoi An along the coastal road.
Luckily for us, the weather was much better while we were in Hoi An, and this place is so worth the visit. My wife and teenage children ranked Hoi An as their most memorable and enjoyable part of this trip.
We stayed in the historic centre of the town. I recommend that to everyone, as it means you can walk everywhere from your hotel. There are hundreds of coffee shops and restaurants here, and we tried as many as we could fit in. For more details and pictures of Hoi An, please jump to our detailed blog on Hoi An here!
Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, Vietnam (3 nights)
We then took another taxi back to Da Nang airport and flew down to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). This city is more modern than Hanoi and is impressive.
We stayed in a 1920’s colonial hotel on the main river, Sông Sài Gòn, to give it its proper name! Please take a look at our detailed blog on Saigon, and both the hotel and the city are well worth visiting!
Best time to visit Vietnam
This one is a bit more difficult, especially if you are planning a cross-country trip like we have done here
The best time of year for a cross-country trip would appear to be March to April, but that was not available to us.
Ironically, even though we were in the Mekong Delta during the best time, it rained and was overcast. The great Mekong River can look very grey with no sun!
North Vietnam: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay
The best time to travel here is April to June, and September to November, with warm, sunny, clear skies. June to August is hot and rainy, and December to March is cool to cold and misty. The further north you go, it can even snow… We did encounter rain, but not enough to cause us any real problems, and we even swam in Ha Long Bay…
Central Vietnam: Hue and Hoi An
The best time to travel here is from March to August, with warm to hot and sunny, clear skies. September to February is cool to cold, rainy and cloudy. Here we did get impacted by heavy rain in Hue, especially on a cyclo ride around the Hue markets.
Southern Vietnam: Saigon, Mekong Delta
The best time to travel here is from December to April with hot, sunny and clear skies. May to November, humid and sporadic rainfall should be expected.
Practical Tips before you book Vietnam
- Make sure you have data available on your phone or phones. There is Wi-Fi everywhere; even some of the taxis or minibuses have their own Wi-Fi. Please jump to our travel advice blogs if you need some information on how to get data in Vietnam.
- We used a local taxi App called Grab to get taxis around Hanoi and Saigon. Easy and so useful. Worth downloading this ahead of your trip.
- Keep cash aside for snacks and taxis.
- This was a rather busy holiday traveling to five separate destinations in Vietnam and one thing that really paid off is that we had pre-booked all of the transfers everywhere. This both saved valuable time on our holiday and reduced any stress and uncertainty about our next steps.
- Walking around the old quarters, don’t ignore small passageways; they often lead to gorgeous internal squares with fantastic little restaurants.
- The order of the trip was probably more important than we even realised at the time. Hanoi, specifically the Old Quarter, is such a great introduction to the Vietnamese way of life, and being embedded in it educated and prepared us for the rest of Vietnam. Had we reversed the order of the trip with Saigon first, finishing in Hanoi, I think we would not have got that education the way we did, which I think would have impacted the rest of our holiday.
Final verdict: Is Vietnam worth the distance
Absolutely, YES!
This trip was an attempt to see as much of Vietnam as might be possible in two weeks. We had planned a lot, and we were busy almost every single day. The five days we had in Hoi An were the most restful, as we had only had one tour planned during these five days. This was a busy and very exciting holiday, and one we do look back on and use as a comparison to other holidays.
I have loved travelling in the Asian countries I have visited so far. This country adds so much interesting history as well. The country’s varied landscapes and weather zones make it difficult to visit everywhere during the ideal climate periods. Two or more trips might be needed to cover the whole country at the best weather times, not a bad idea if you can afford it!
The best overlap of good weather windows looks to be around April to hope for the best weather across the country. Worth noting that that imperfect weather in Central Vietnam did not stop us loving the country.
On this trip, we did book quite a few tours in the larger towns, and in this case, think they were well worth it, as you do get a great insight into so many places that you probably would not venture into when walking around.
This country was a surprise to me, as I knew very little about it apart from the various American movies. The country is beautiful, friendly, and so varied. This itinerary was busy, but it gave such a good overview of the country, and I will be back for sure. To be honest, the only small negative I can think of was the weather and our timing, which was mostly restricted by school holidays. Despite the really bad weather for a couple of days in central Vietnam, our memories of the Vietnam trip are completely positive.
FAQs about planning two weeks in Vietnam
Is 2 weeks enough for a tour of Vietnam?
Yes, I think so. Obviously, if you are staying in one or even two places for a week each, that works easily. This type of cross-country trip was easily manageable, with all the transfers pre-booked. I think it would be a challenge to organise transfers locally with the time available. If you had less time, the place I would sacrifice would be Hue, but that is maybe because we had miserable weather there. You could possibly reduce time at Hoi An by a day, but no more. I would have liked to do a longer trip up the Mekong River, and another day in Hanoi – but that’s next. I think two weeks works well.
Is Vietnam worth visiting?
Yes! This country is pretty unique; the scenery, like that in Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh, is not something that many other countries have scenery like this. The people and culture in Vietnam’s history are fascinating.
What is the best time to visit Vietnam?
Worth reading the section above in the blog on the best time to visit. As Vietnam is a long, thin country with different weather zones, the time of year for the best weather in each region is different. April seems to give the best of all weather across the three regions.
Is Vietnam good value for Australians?
Yes, we were admittedly comparing all prices to Australian prices. Food and drink is mostly under half price or more compared to Australia, with the hotel prices about half the price, at least, comparing capital city to capital city.
Is Vietnam safe to travel to?
Yes, we walked everywhere all the time, late into the evenings, and never felt threatened at all. We never even saw any antisocial behaviour anywhere. I am sure it does exist, as for any place in the world, but we did not see or feel anything during our trip to make us feel worried.
Should you start in Hanoi or Saigon?
If you are a first-time visitor, my thoughts would be to start in Hanoi, in the Old Quarter, with a street excursion. This helped embed us into the Vietnamese way of life and culture, and I think helped us greatly during the later days in Hanoi and all through the trip.
Our newfound knowledge helped us to do things that we would not have done otherwise. This measurably improved our experience for sure. Saigon is a slightly more modern city, and the excursions in Saigon, well, I am not sure if they can achieve the same level of introduction into the Vietnamese way of life as thoroughly as Hanoi did.
