DaNang countryside tour

[salmn]

We are on the Millennium in Feb. 2014. We have one day at Hue/DaNang. My husband is a Vietnam vet and wants to get a driver to take us out into the countryside in the area he was with the 1st Cav. Is this possible and who would you recommend?

[John Bull]

We are on the Millennium in Feb. 2014. We have one day at Hue/DaNang. My husband is a Vietnam vet and wants to get a driver to take us out into the countryside in the area he was with the 1st Cav. Is this possible and who would you recommend?

 

There will be taxis & vans at the port, and a vehicle for a full day should cost vaguely around 90USD. Agree itinerary & price before you board, pay when you get back, it's the norm. Usually the driver has acceptable English, or you'll have a driver plus English-speaker.

Can't help with recommendations, if you pre-book via a recommendation expect to pay a fair bit more but of course it's often a price worth paying for the reassurance.

 

As well as your planned locations, try to fit in either Hoi An and Marble Mountain/China Beach or Hue, depending on your other plans.

Expect to also be taken to a shop/marble mason's workshop/wherever - whether you want to or not, & whether you pre-book or not. :rolleyes:

Easier & quicker than saying "no" is to go with the flow but make it brief.

 

JB :)

[Busybean]

We are on the Millennium in Feb. 2014. We have one day at Hue/DaNang. My husband is a Vietnam vet and wants to get a driver to take us out into the countryside in the area he was with the 1st Cav. Is this possible and who would you recommend?

 

Hi

Try contacting Stefan @ Best Cruises for this & the other proposed one on Halong Bay. He may be able to set up tours for you. We had a lovely 1/2 day trip to Halong Bay with him when we were on Millennium in February.

[salmn]

Thanks for the info. Busybean, what is Stefan's email?

[greatam]

http://www.vietnambattlefieldtours.com/

 

http://topvietnamveterans.org/

 

http://www.haivenu-vietnam.com/tours-vietnam-veterans.htm?gclid=CMzHocGanbYCFYdxQgodZVcArg

 

I made my first trip back to Vietnam in 2005. I was there with the USO in 1970. I was flown from base to base way back then and never really got to see much of the country. All I could really remember was how loud everything was and running for cover at various times.

 

So when I wanted to go back, I was in the same mindset as your husband. I wanted to go where I had been. Some of the things I just arranged myself-I stayed at the Furama hotel and their hotel tour desk arranged an English speaking car and driver. I went to Chu Lai, went all over the area, even places I really wasn't supposed to be. The Furama hotel is basically built on what was China Beach.

 

To get to Khe Sahn, Pleiku, the "rockpile" and the DMZ, I contacted battlefield tours. They put me in touch with a couple of guides who could get drivers. It was kind of spooky going so far back into the jungle. And I took the train from Hanoi to DaNang so I could go over Hai Van pass at a slow speed. I had flown over in a helo way back when.

 

If you get a chance to get to Nha Trang (Cam Rahn Bay), take the time to go see what used to be the HUGE US airbase with the 4+ mile runways. For years, it was a Vietnamese military base-top secret, no one was allowed around. But in 2005 just months before I arrived, the government decided to use the airbase as the new international airport. I had been there in 1970. Remembered the noise and all the planes landing and taking off almost every minute. And most vets arrived either by ship into Cam Rahn Bay or flew into the Air Base. Truly special when I flew out of the airport on those super long runways. It was raining, I was taking pictures out the plane window-a truly poignant moment.

 

One of my guides was the son of a gentleman who was an interpreter for the Army. His much older brother fought for the North. So very interesting hearing from the younger generation about the hardships the father and older brother had. Father spent 8 years in a "re-education"camp. Brother was shot up pretty bad trying to make his way back South when the cease fire was declared.

 

I would start with those groups and see what they can recommend.

 

I have been back to Vietnam numerous times since then. I do business (international shipping to the USA) there now and that was really the purpose of that first trip. But seeing where I had been 35 years prior was high on my priority list if I was going to travel so far. So stretched the business trip into a 3+ week land tour of Vietnam.

 

I actually love the country although there are times when I get a VERY quesy feeling in my stomach, particularly in Hanoi. The South doesn't feel a whole lot different than it did in 1970. Enjoy!!!

[Busybean]

Thanks for the info. Busybean, what is Stefan's email?

 

Hi

 

It is---- sales@bestcruisestravel.com--good luck with it I'm sure trhat he will do his best to accommodate your requirements if at all possible.

[salmn]

Thanks greatam for the great info. I will give them a try.