We had very high expectations before the trip as all the people we had met before the trip said that they had an amazing time in Vietnam. Unfortunately the expectations didn't match the reality, and we met other travelers who felt the same. In our opinion there are much nicer countries in Asia, although we had a good time and we learnt a lot by visiting places and talking to the local people. In Vietnam everything is cheap so it's easy to enjoy yourself, it's probably the main reason why people like travelling to the country. We visited in three weeks (as the map above shows): Hanoi (the capital), Cat Ba island, Tam Coc, Phong Nha National Park, Hue, Hoi An, Da Nang, Phu Quoc island, Ho Chi Minh City.
We had some amazing days in Vietnam and we visited beautiful places, they are:
Cat Ba and Halong Bay, 1-day boat trip
Tam Coc in Phong Nha National Park - boat trip where the local people paddle with their legs
Paradise and Phong Nha caves - it's worth coming to Vietnam just to see them
Bicycle day trip outside of Hoi An (we downloaded a bicycle map instead of paying £35 for a guide)
Our hotel and beach in Phu Quoc island
We missed some places due to lack of time and I regret not seeing them: Vinh Moc tunnels near Hue, Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong River, Coconut Tree Prison in Phu Quoc, Dark Cave in Phong Nha National Park, Cham Island near Hoi An, a snail restaurant.
There are no coins, just notes so payment is easier. Grab taxi is an equivalent of Uber - cheap and very reliable way of traveling.
We didn't like:
High level of pollution and noise, especially in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City
Lots of litter in many places
Food - if you like Thai or Indian food you will probably not like the Vietnamese food as much
The beaches are not as nice as in other Asian countries
Many local people are not friendly unless they will get money from you, some got abusive when we didn't want to buy something from them.
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