Vietnam forum

Posted from within Vietnam.

If by 'Danang' you mean Hoi An, you're planning on a Halong Trip whilst in Hanoi , and going to the Mekong Delta whilst in HCMC, then this schedule seems fine to me as giving a general overview of the country. It's actually pretty similar to the schedule I had 8 years ago and that worked fine. Only thing you might want to consider is moving a couple of days out of Danang or HCMC and going up to Sapa .

As for transport - I'd do it all by train personally (bus between Hue and Hoi An), but it's worth looking at flights offered by Jetstar as they can be as cheap as the train and make a change.

Re the site you sent: I've not heard of them before so can't vouch for them or not. But the prices are still high: For example, last time I took a soft sleeper from Hue to Hanoi it cost under $25 and Hanoi to Sapa was under $20. Have a look at www.seat61.com which lists prices which are roughly right then you can decide how much booking in advance is worth to you.

Danang used to be a biggest Air/Marine bases of US Forces in SVN during vn war. There were fierce battles b/t US and Vietcong there during war time, This is Randy knowledge of Danang nowadays, some high lights are: Cham museum in Danang City, My Khe Beach and NamO Beach where US personnels used to relax during vn war. SonTra mountain ( US named as Monkey mountain), Bana mountain (VietCong strongholds around bottoms and US Special Force base on top) now is resort with cable cars, Marble Mountains (5 of them) face to "China Beach" with a lot of caves, Buhddist temples...HaiVan Pass, beautiful sceneries with " cloud and ocean " hanging in front of your eye when you motorcycling up and down 20 km of the pass. Not mention about HoiAn ancient town which is 30km from Danang and MySon sanctuary +30km from Danang. To those who want to travel back to history of fierce battles b/t VietCong and South Korean Forces during vn war, there is an area named CAU DO, 15 km from Danang..To me, Danang is a MUST TO SEE. Cheer...

Train is fine. You save time over having to get out to the airports and wait in departures etc. Though I would recommend if you can budget for it do a car or motorbike transfer from Hue to Hoi An - make a day of it, and get them to stop at the nice places on the way, particularly on the way up and down Hai Van pass and then at Marble mountain as mentioned already. Da Nang city itself is fine, but I would agree with recommendations to stay in Hoi An instead, especially if you can time it with one of the lunar month lantern evenings.

Also if you travel by train and get the sleeper carriage, choose the top bunk as I picked the bottom one and mice decided to run over me and the guy in the other bottom bunk all night, gross! (and yes this was in Livitrans 'first class', lol).

Maybe don't spend 5 nights in HCM, but a couple out on the delta instead.

Posted from within Vietnam.

I'll add my voice to those saying Hoi An instead of Danang, unless you have a strong preference for modern towers and unfinished resorts over picturesque small towns.

Danang might have a fair few sights but many of them can be seen by taking a motorbike tour from Hue to Hanoi (with or without driver; highly recommended - you'll pass through Danang anyway) and the others can be seen on easily on day trips out of Hoi An where you'll have more choice.

Posted from within Vietnam.

You have many days to go, that's great. But I think you spend too much days in Hanoi and Da Nang. You should spend 2 days in Hanoi, 3 days in Sapa, 2 days in Hue, 2 days in Da Nang, 1 day in Hoi An, 3 days in Nha Trang, 2 days in Mui Ne, 2 days in Da Lat, 4 days in HCM and mekong delta. So you can travel more places