Step one: arrival

If coming from Hanoi, it’s easiest to arrive via cruise, either overnight or day trip. Prices vary greatly. From Haiphong, there is a ferry. Ferry prices are set and advertised, as are buses between Haiphong to Hanoi.

Step two: sleeping

Yen Tanh Hotel – $10 per night (September was off season so prices probably rise in summer), opposite the ferry terminal. Large room, balcony, nice sea views.

Step three: eat stuff

The best food in Vietnam is not on Cat Ba. Ask your hotel for a recommendation for one of the floating fish restaurants. Green Mango on the waterfront strip is good. Prices are a little higher than other parts of the country.

Step four: do stuff

Go kayaking – Slow Pony, $26 for one day kayaking trip including lunch. Relaxed, peaceful, good mix of being guided and left to paddle Halong bay and Lan Ha Bay.

Go to the beach – Cat Co 2 is a lovely secluded little cove, about 10 minutes walk from town.

Hire a motorbike/scooter to explore the island. Most hotels will arrange this.

Visit the Hospital Cave – fun guide, parking at the guide’s house who will then show you through the tunnels and tell you stories.

Step five: move on

Take the ferry from the main town to Haiphong. A taxi will get you to the bus station (it’s possible to walk if you have a map). From there you can get onward travel. Ferry prices are set and advertised, as are buses between Haiphong to Hanoi, etc.

My tips are based on my own experiences in 2012. If you have updates, comments, different experiences, please let us know in the comments box below.

There are big differences in quality for cruises to Halong Bay. Basically you get what you pay for. Unfortunately it’s hard to know what you’re paying for. No matter the agency/hotel/etc, you may not know who is running the cruise until you get to the bay. Heritage Cruises had potential to be a good trip but ended up being quite terrible. $55 overnight including transport to the boat dock, meals, cave tour and about five minutes of kayaking on the bay (though others on the same cruise paid upwards of $100). Nice boat and cabins though. Consider organising a day cruise to Cat Ba Island and finding an overnight cruise from there, if you’re still keen for it. Will add to the expense but you might have more control over the operator.

Read about the ups and downs of our trip here.

My tips are based on my own experiences in 2012. If you have updates, comments, different experiences, please let us know in the comments box below.

Step one: arrival

Train tickets from Hanoi to Lau Cai are 540 000 if buying direct from the station. ET Pumpkin is $35 for a soft sleeper berth. Silver Hotel on Hang Bac can organise a soft sleeper for £33.

On arrival in Lau Cai, find a minibus to take you to Sapa. If you manage to get away from the touts try to find one that is almost full as you could be waiting a long time. Most of them are from hotels in Sapa collecting passengers who have booked transport. Keep an eye on your luggage. The bus price should be 50 000 and the journey takes about 1.5 hours, including a bit of waiting time.

Step two: sleeping

On arrival in Sapa town, you will get a bit of a hotel sell on the bus. The streets will be full of women who want to sell you jewellery or take you trekking so be prepared! Don’t say yes or maybe to anyone unless you’re serious. They will show up at your hotel everyday until you go. It’s a small town and you won’t be able to avoid anyone you met on day one. Have a hotel in mind with a ‘reservation’ or head to the nearest café (try Eddie’s) to make a plan.

Queen Hotel – D Muong Hoa, $15 on a national holiday, $10 after. Nice wee balcony and fireplace. Okay wifi.

Sunshine View/Tullip Family Hotel – D Muong Hoa, $8 per night. Nice large rooms, balcony, good wifi.

Step three: eat stuff

Water is 30 000 per five litre bottle but not much you can do about it. The best restaurant in Sapa is Sapa’s Kitchen. Great pho, yummy pancakes, etc. You could eat there for all your meals. Also try Eddie’s Café if you’re craving a nice glass of wine and cake. You can play board games there too if it’s raining (fair chance).

Step four: do stuff

Hiking is the big thing here. The streets will be full of women/young female trekking guides. Take your pick or organise through a hotel.

Mai – a young girl we found took me for a day hike for 310 000 plus 40 000 for a permit at a gate and 5000 for a motorbike at the end of the day. Mai showed me her village, some hills and took me home for lunch. Hikers are often followed by village women trying to sell jewellery but Mai got rid of them all and we only had her aunty in tow.

Also try Sapa Sisters.

Fansipan – Vietnam’s highest peak. While most trekking guides are women, Fansipan is guided by men. $86 per person for an overnight hike including transport to the mountain, guide, porter, tents, sleeping bag, food, mats. Organised by Sunshine View Hotel.

Cat Cat Village trekking permit – 40 000

Shopping – there is usually a market in the town square. Two silver bracelets from Hmong woman in the street, 50 000. In the market hall five scarfs from hemp or pashmina plus two small tribal earrings plus one large tribal earrings, 610 000. Two pairs of shoes from Cat Cat village, 210 000, two stuffed elephants from Cat Cat, 120 000, one large embroidered handbag, Cat Cat Village, 130 000, one old French Indochina coin from Cat Cat, 70 000.

Some people love Sapa, some people question its authenticity. Certainly we were told by a Vietnamese local (ie not Hmong) that most of the goods are bought across the Chinese border and sold as ‘handmade’. Some things are definitely hand crafted though. You can see the women’s indigo dyed hands and I saw a vat of indigo being boiled in my trekking guide’s village. The scenery is undoubtedly beautiful. Make up your own mind.

Step five: move on

Heading back to Hanoi (and probably anywhere else) is easy. The following will organise sleeper train tickets to Hanoi:

Sunshine View Hotel – soft sleeper $33 including transport to Lau Cai

Nature Trail – hard sleeper, 550 000 ($26), soft sleeper, 650 000 ($31)

Global Travel Agency – lower berth hard sleeper, 480 000, middle berth hard sleeper, 450 000, top berth hard sleeper, 410 000, soft sleeper, 560 000. All berths on the 19:30 train.

Global Travel Agency – soft sleeper, 620 000 on the 20:15 train.

There is also a bus stop for the sleeping bus but as we went by train I can’t comment on it’s advantages/disadvantages.

My tips are based on my own experiences in 2012. If you have updates, comments, different experiences, please let us know in the comments box below.

Step one: arrival

Loads of different options. Obviously, you can fly to Hanoi (get the Vietnamese Airlines bus from the airport to town). An open tour bus from Hue will take about 10 hours (go overnight, it’s quite comfortable) and costs about $17. If going in the summer time, be prepared for oppressive heat and 97% humidity!

Step two: sleeping

Queen Hotel – Hang Bac, Old Quarter, $12 per night. Can probably get better for the same money. Small balcony. A few ants in the bathroom (probably as thirsty as us in the heat, too). Nice staff, helpful and can arrange all sorts for you. Good enough wifi.

Hotel – on Dinh Liet, $12 per night advertised in the window. Absolutely fine for the money. Good enough wifi

Hotel – near Hang Dao, $12 per night advertised in the window. Clean, large room. Good wifi. Café downstairs with nice fresh juices.

Basically, you can get a double room in Hanoi for $12. Quality varies.

Step three: eat stuff

I liked the food in the south more than the north. Little Hanoi in the old town has amazing caramelized beef (go up some very narrow stairs to be greeted by very friendly staff). Loads of street bars open up at night. It’s easy to get chatting to local students who want to practice their English.

Step four: do stuff

Visit the Tortoise Temple (Ngoc Son Temple) on Hoan Kiem Lake – 5000. Cool giant tortoise (in a museum case), peaceful island.

Explore the madness of Hanoi streets and arrange a trip!

Step five: move on

Sapa – train tickets to Lau Cai buying direct from the station are 540 000 but head there to book a few days in advance, especially around holidays. ET Pumpkin is $35 for a soft sleeper berth. Silver Hotel on Hang Bac can organise a soft sleeper for £33.

When taking a taxi to the station, make sure the driver knows you’re going north to Lau Cai so he takes you to the correct entrance (there are two). Exchange your voucher (if purchased from a hotel or company) for a ticket. After going through the station building to the tracks, random people will try to take your ticket and show you to your train, and then ask for a tip. Try to hold on to your ticket yourself so you don’t find yourself unnecessarily indebted. It’s easy to find your train by yourself and there are lots of uniformed staff on hand if you have questions.

Halong Bay – there are big differences in quality for cruises to Halong Bay. Basically you get what you pay for. Unfortunately it’s hard to know what you’re paying for. No matter the agency/hotel/etc, you may not know who is running the cruise until you get to the bay. Heritage Cruises had potential to be a good trip but ended up being quite terrible, $55 overnight including transport to the boat dock, meals, cave tour and about five minutes of kayaking on the bay (though others on the cruise paid upwards of $100). Nice boat and cabins though. Consider organising a day cruise to Cat Ba Island and finding an overnight cruise from there, if you’re still keen for it. Will add to the expense but you might have more control over the operator.

Hanoi Airport – the Vietnamese Airlines bus is the most reliable of the budget options. Ask at the information centre in the large building opposite Hoan Kiem Lake for directions to their stop. $2 to the airport. They have scheduled departures but mostly leave when full.

Open tour bus – these are some of the easiest, cheapest and most comfortable ways to get around the country. You can save a couple of pennies if you buy your whole route but this takes away any spur of the moment decisions. You don’t have to book dates, just destinations. I recommend buying two or three legs at a time. The difference in cost is not huge. There are quite a few companies running these. The cost varies slightly.

My tips are based on my own experiences in 2012. If you have updates, comments, different experiences, please let us know in the comments box below.

Step one: arrival

If arriving at the train station, there will be touts, but not as pushy as in larger, more popular tourist towns.

Step two: sleeping

Consider accepting an offer from one of those touts. You might end up at xxx. Room with a balcony went from $15 to $12 per night. Good wifi, but only close to the router.

Step three: eat stuff

There was a market close to our hotel which had great prices on fruit (I had trouble negotiating in markets in Vietnam). The restaurant near the hotel was fine, fairly standard meat and rice and pho fare. Great French bakery near the Singh Tourist bus pick-up. Check out Hung Vuong Inn, a restaurant/bakery with good wifi and accommodation upstairs.

Step four: do stuff

Visit the Citadel – 85 000. You can easily spend half a day there. Take snacks and water as food is expensive inside. Go early in the morning to avoid crowds and heat. Cyclos will try to tell you that the Citadel is not open until 8 or 9am but it’s not true. If you don’t want a ride, continue to the gates.

Step five: move on

You can get a sleeping bus up and down the coast.

Hue to Hanoi with Singh Tourist was $17 and, more importantly, left on time! You leave from a spot they designate unlike other buses which will pick up everyone from their various hotels at ‘8am.’ It was half an hour late arriving into Hanoi. Not bad.

Open tour bus – these are some of the easiest, cheapest and most comfortable ways to get around. You can save a couple of pennies if you buy your whole route but this takes away any spur of the moment decisions. You don’t have to book dates, just destinations. I recommend buying two or three legs at a time. The difference in cost is not huge. There are quite a few companies running these. The cost varies slightly.

My tips are based on my own experiences in 2012. If you have updates, comments, different experiences, please let us know in the comments box below.