Vietnam - Info Please

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I don't see any posts about Vietnam.  I'll be going there early next year and am kind of struggling on what to see and do there.  We will be going to Nha Trang, Hue (Hoi An) and of course Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  So I'd welcome any info anyone has on possible tour guides (small group preferably, but may consider private), info on where the ports are located, and anything that comes to mind.  I've started by getting a few books from the library (we also go to Bangkok, Brunei, Singapore, and Borneo) and started looking at the info on the whatsinport site.  But I'd love any info anyone can give me as to what they did, what other sites I might look at, and things like that.  I'm familiar with Viator, Trip Advisor, Tours by Locals and Get Your Guide. Thanks. 

[terry&mike]

I love Vietnam! Hubby and I did a cruise in January 2020 that visited those same ports, and thoroughly enjoyed them, Vietnam was our favorite of a 14 day cruise that visited several Asian countries.  We went back to Vietnam in December/January of this year and spent a week in Hoi An on our own, went to Hanoi and HaLong Bay, and spent a few nights in Saigon, as part of a longer trip. 

 

I posted details on the Princess board on our first trip, and on the River Cruise board on our second trip (this one is very detailed), and probably made some post on this Asia board. I think you can find them by clicking on my Avatar and looking at my previous posts. I'd search them and paste them for you hear but I am rushing to get to the airport for a hiking trip in Canada right now.  

[John Bull]

My information is more than a decade out-of-date, so do carefully check whether it's still valid.

 

Hue (Hoi An)

If that's how the cruise line describes it, then it's a first for a cruise line quoting both places which aren't ports.🙄.

You really need to know whether your actual port is Da Nang or Chan May (various spellings).

Da Nang is a well-established town, but larger ships cannot berth there.

Chan May is a large and rather isolated industrial port.

 

Small ships can berth in Da Nang (you'll have heard of Da Nang - Vietnam War). It's about an hour south to Hoi An, which is well worth visiting.

And close to Da Nang, en-route to Hoi An are China Beach (again known to Vietnam War veterans) and Marble Mountain - known for it's large marble workshops & showrooms along China Beach & for its little artisan marble workshops at the foot of the mountain. There's now an elevator to the top of the mountain. Tours, including ships' tours, are likely to  include a visit to one of the large marble workshops/showrooms. Yes, there's a degree of interest, but the objective is to sell, sell, sell. If your private tour guide wants you to stop and visit you can very firmly say "no marble workshops", but they're very persuasive so it might be more co-operative to eventually say "OK, but no more than 20 minutes" The big marble furniture (tables & chairs & such) is extremely good but be very very very wary of buying anything that needs shipping - time-scale, damage in transit, and "delivery included" probably means delivery to your nearest main port - not ideal if you live somewhere like Kansas or Oklahoma   $$$$

The little artisan workshops are much more interesting, and small decorative pieces (suitable for taking on your flight home) are good value.

Just a 10 minute ride from Da Nang is a recently-built giant Lady Buddha statue, on a hilltop with panoramic sea-views.

We included all of those places in a long day excursion after bartering a van at Da  Nang port, ridiculously cheap, but gave the guy a good tip. That was 10 years ago, those vans might not be available on-spec. nowadays and altho almost-certainly still good value they won't be dirt-cheap because Vietnam has become much more tourism-savvy.

 

The walled city of Hue (again Vietnam War connections) is about 2 hours north of Da Nang.

So from Da Nang we we chose Hoi An / Marble Mountain rather than Hue.

 

If "Hue" is listed as the port of call, almost all cruise ships berth at Chan May - only the very smallest of cruise ships can navigate the Perfume River to Hue.

I think there are vans available on-spec at Chan May

Chan May is about 80 minutes from Hue

Hoi An is about 1 hr 45 mins. direct drive from Chan May, or another 20 minutes via China Beach / Marble Mountain.

So from Chan May you too will have the choice of Hue or Hoi An. But Hue would be a little easier.

 

Saigon

Only small cruise ships can sail up the Saigon River to berth in the city, most berth at Phu My (about 75 mins away), some beyond Phu My at Vung Tau. Your cruise itinerary should tell you which port.

 

Best choices are .....

book a private excursion from the port

or book a ship's excursion from the port

or book a two-way private transfer to somewhere around the Rex Hotel or the Reunification Palace

or book a ship's "Saigon on your own" two-way transfer - they too drop in the Rex Hotel area.

If you're in-port overnite strongly consider an overnight hotel stay in the city - see the nightlife and avoid the double transfer journeys.

The main sights are easily walkable, including Reunification Hall, HCM museum, War Remnants museum, main post office (French colonial, with excellent tourist info desk and exchange bureau) and opposite the Post Office the replica Sacre Coeur, though crossing main streets choc-a-bloc with scooters is an art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPSsu7XQ74

 

 

Nha Trang is one of the smaller cities, ships berth near the the centre (perhaps needing a  taxi), smaller ships can berth  .

We were there for half a day, and were templed-out. So we took the cable car across to Vinpearl Island Resort. Great water park, aquarium, small funfair etc. It's not "Vietnam" but the best port for "a day off". 

 

In Vietnam, tourism is still in its infancy but catching up fast. If you don't want to DIY, be very careful about choosing a tour operator.

Choose one which has been well-reviewed (and beware of clones) and has a decent command of the English language. If payment in advance is required  use only a credit card, not bank transfer or other methods which don't safeguard your money. There are excellent tour operators but there are also rogues and wannabe's.

If you exchange more than about $50 into Vietnamese dong, you'll be a millionaire for the day.  Be careful about counting the noughts on the bills, it's very easy to accidentally pay 10 or 100 or 1,000 times as much as you should.

 

Bangkok

Your port will almost-certainly be Laem Chabang. It's a large pretty isolated port and about 90 minutes (allow longer to get back cos traffic is often grid-locked) from Bangkok. There;s no suitable public transport, and its important to pre-book a transfer or tour (ship's or independent) in advance. There are plenty of well-recommended operators on Cruise Critic, TripAdvisor and googled websites.

The only taxis available on-spec at the port are in a cartel - and they prey on those who've not got transport arranged with inflated prices and insistence on giving only tours not transfers, and in some cases with drivers who speak little English and drive poor vehicles .

 

In the city you can get around by river ferries (frequent & silly-cheap) or the skytrain, or taxis Or  tuk-tuk - quick thro traffic and great fun, but before boarding make sure the guy knows where he's going, agree a fare, and insist on no stops at his mother's jewellery store or his second-cousin's carpet shop etc etc).

Main sights are the Grand Palace (check the dress code and take bottled water - in the palace grounds there's no refreshments or drinks - just one or two drinking water-fountains) and Wat Arun, both on the riverbank. Do try to fit in a long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

3 hours ago, John Bull said:

My information is more than a decade out-of-date, so do carefully check whether it's still valid.

 

Hue (Hoi An)

If that's how the cruise line describes it, then it's a first for a cruise line quoting both places which aren't ports.🙄.

You really need to know whether your actual port is Da Nang or Chan May (various spellings).

Da Nang is a well-established town, but larger ships cannot berth there.

Chan May is a large and rather isolated industrial port.

 

Small ships can berth in Da Nang (you'll have heard of Da Nang - Vietnam War). It's about an hour south to Hoi An, which is well worth visiting.

And close to Da Nang, en-route to Hoi An are China Beach (again known to Vietnam War veterans) and Marble Mountain - known for it's large marble workshops & showrooms along China Beach & for its little artisan marble workshops at the foot of the mountain. There's now an elevator to the top of the mountain. Tours, including ships' tours, are likely to  include a visit to one of the large marble workshops/showrooms. Yes, there's a degree of interest, but the objective is to sell, sell, sell. If your private tour guide wants you to stop and visit you can very firmly say "no marble workshops", but they're very persuasive so it might be more co-operative to eventually say "OK, but no more than 20 minutes" The big marble furniture (tables & chairs & such) is extremely good but be very very very wary of buying anything that needs shipping - time-scale, damage in transit, and "delivery included" probably means delivery to your nearest main port - not ideal if you live somewhere like Kansas or Oklahoma   $$$$

The little artisan workshops are much more interesting, and small decorative pieces (suitable for taking on your flight home) are good value.

Just a 10 minute ride from Da Nang is a recently-built giant Lady Buddha statue, on a hilltop with panoramic sea-views.

We included all of those places in a long day excursion after bartering a van at Da  Nang port, ridiculously cheap, but gave the guy a good tip. That was 10 years ago, those vans might not be available on-spec. nowadays and altho almost-certainly still good value they won't be dirt-cheap because Vietnam has become much more tourism-savvy.

 

The walled city of Hue (again Vietnam War connections) is about 2 hours north of Da Nang.

So from Da Nang we we chose Hoi An / Marble Mountain rather than Hue.

 

If "Hue" is listed as the port of call, almost all cruise ships berth at Chan May - only the very smallest of cruise ships can navigate the Perfume River to Hue.

I think there are vans available on-spec at Chan May

Chan May is about 80 minutes from Hue

Hoi An is about 1 hr 45 mins. direct drive from Chan May, or another 20 minutes via China Beach / Marble Mountain.

So from Chan May you too will have the choice of Hue or Hoi An. But Hue would be a little easier.

 

Saigon

Only small cruise ships can sail up the Saigon River to berth in the city, most berth at Phu My (about 75 mins away), some beyond Phu My at Vung Tau. Your cruise itinerary should tell you which port.

 

Best choices are .....

book a private excursion from the port

or book a ship's excursion from the port

or book a two-way private transfer to somewhere around the Rex Hotel or the Reunification Palace

or book a ship's "Saigon on your own" two-way transfer - they too drop in the Rex Hotel area.

If you're in-port overnite strongly consider an overnight hotel stay in the city - see the nightlife and avoid the double transfer journeys.

The main sights are easily walkable, including Reunification Hall, HCM museum, War Remnants museum, main post office (French colonial, with excellent tourist info desk and exchange bureau) and opposite the Post Office the replica Sacre Coeur, though crossing main streets choc-a-bloc with scooters is an art https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPSsu7XQ74

 

 

Nha Trang is one of the smaller cities, ships berth near the the centre (perhaps needing a  taxi), smaller ships can berth  .

We were there for half a day, and were templed-out. So we took the cable car across to Vinpearl Island Resort. Great water park, aquarium, small funfair etc. It's not "Vietnam" but the best port for "a day off". 

 

In Vietnam, tourism is still in its infancy but catching up fast. If you don't want to DIY, be very careful about choosing a tour operator.

Choose one which has been well-reviewed (and beware of clones) and has a decent command of the English language. If payment in advance is required  use only a credit card, not bank transfer or other methods which don't safeguard your money. There are excellent tour operators but there are also rogues and wannabe's.

If you exchange more than about $50 into Vietnamese dong, you'll be a millionaire for the day.  Be careful about counting the noughts on the bills, it's very easy to accidentally pay 10 or 100 or 1,000 times as much as you should.

 

Bangkok

Your port will almost-certainly be Laem Chabang. It's a large pretty isolated port and about 90 minutes (allow longer to get back cos traffic is often grid-locked) from Bangkok. There;s no suitable public transport, and its important to pre-book a transfer or tour (ship's or independent) in advance. There are plenty of well-recommended operators on Cruise Critic, TripAdvisor and googled websites.

The only taxis available on-spec at the port are in a cartel - and they prey on those who've not got transport arranged with inflated prices and insistence on giving only tours not transfers, and in some cases with drivers who speak little English and drive poor vehicles .

 

In the city you can get around by river ferries (frequent & silly-cheap) or the skytrain, or taxis Or  tuk-tuk - quick thro traffic and great fun, but before boarding make sure the guy knows where he's going, agree a fare, and insist on no stops at his mother's jewellery store or his second-cousin's carpet shop etc etc).

Main sights are the Grand Palace (check the dress code and take bottled water - in the palace grounds there's no refreshments or drinks - just one or two drinking water-fountains) and Wat Arun, both on the riverbank. Do try to fit in a long-tail boat ride through the klongs (canals)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

Thank you for your information!  The port is Chan May.  Our itinerary is listed as Hue (Chan May).  In Oceania speak, the port is in parentheses.  I was looking at some excursions and Hoi An seems to be one of the choices of places to visit, hence my reference to that city.  And our itinerary calls for Bangkok (Laem Chabang), so the latter city is where we'll be.

 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

And as for Saigon, I've only contacted one tour operator, but he mentioned that he thinks we will likely dock at "Hiep Phuoc."  I have no idea what that's based on (or where it is!), except that he likely knows much more than I do, so have to go with that in draft form for now. 

[John Bull]

53 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

And as for Saigon, I've only contacted one tour operator, but he mentioned that he thinks we will likely dock at "Hiep Phuoc."  I have no idea what that's based on (or where it is!), except that he likely knows much more than I do, so have to go with that in draft form for now. 

 Hiep Phuoc is on the Saigon River, only about a 30 minute drive from the centre of Saigon 🙂

I've figured that you're sailing with Oceania - ships the size of Regatta used to sail all the way up to Ben Nha Rong - just a 10 to 15minute walk from the centre, but that was scuppered when a new bridge was built downstream.

None of Oceania's ships are big, and even their biggest ships might be able to make Hiep Phuoc 🙂, so it seems that operator probably knows his stuff.

 

If that's the case you can just jump in a taxi or transfer to the centre, and certainly no need for an overnight hotel.

BTW, do carry a note of your ship's port - in local script, and preferably on a map - those involved in tourism will have somet English, but liveried taxi drivers usually don't.

 

JB 🙂

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 6/16/2023 at 5:07 PM, John Bull said:

 Hiep Phuoc is on the Saigon River, only about a 30 minute drive from the centre of Saigon 🙂

I've figured that you're sailing with Oceania - ships the size of Regatta used to sail all the way up to Ben Nha Rong - just a 10 to 15minute walk from the centre, but that was scuppered when a new bridge was built downstream.

None of Oceania's ships are big, and even their biggest ships might be able to make Hiep Phuoc 🙂, so it seems that operator probably knows his stuff.

 

If that's the case you can just jump in a taxi or transfer to the centre, and certainly no need for an overnight hotel.

BTW, do carry a note of your ship's port - in local script, and preferably on a map - those involved in tourism will have somet English, but liveried taxi drivers usually don't.

 

JB 🙂

Yes, it's Oceania, but it's one of their larger ships.  I think one of their smaller ones was in Saigon not long ago, during the world cruise, and they were definitely tied up on the river somewhere, judging from the picture someone posted.  But I didn't look at Marine Traffic as I should have, and the person who posted the picture wasn't able to tell me much about where they were, so I'm not sure if that's what the tour guide was basing his projection on, or what.  

[Docked Discoveries]

On 6/15/2023 at 8:42 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I don't see any posts about Vietnam.  I'll be going there early next year and am kind of struggling on what to see and do there.  We will be going to Nha Trang, Hue (Hoi An) and of course Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  So I'd welcome any info anyone has on possible tour guides (small group preferably, but may consider private), info on where the ports are located, and anything that comes to mind.  I've started by getting a few books from the library (we also go to Bangkok, Brunei, Singapore, and Borneo) and started looking at the info on the whatsinport site.  But I'd love any info anyone can give me as to what they did, what other sites I might look at, and things like that.  I'm familiar with Viator, Trip Advisor, Tours by Locals and Get Your Guide. Thanks. 

Hey there!

 

I have some resources that might be helpful to you! 

 

Firstly, here is a link to my Vietnam cruise port information:

 

https://www.dockeddiscoveries.com/vietnam

 

And then then it comes to Hue (Hoi An), it depends on whether or not you are porting in Da Nang, and for how long. Hue is a 3 hour drive each way from Da Nang, and Hoi An is around 40 minutes, in the opposite direction.

 

This video might be helpful for you:

 

https://youtu.be/8neZy6h_YgU

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Jeremy

[hubofhockey]

Vietnam might be my favorite country to cruise.  Hoi An - we hired a driver / taxi to the city, did a walking tour, a cooking class, and went to a shoe place to have custom made shoes done in a day and picked them up before driver took us back.  Saigon - we had an overnight and did a day long private tour to the Mekong Delta and a Saigon city Jeep tour on the second day.  Ha Long Bay - Did a high end overnight cruise on an Indochinese Junk.  Great experience.  We had five days total in Vietnam.  We enjoyed Thailand, but not as much as Vietnam.  

[tw0sugar5]

If the roads haven’t improved:  It takes more than 2 hours RT if you take a tour to Hue and it is possible for the tour to run late.

 

The time I went ten years ago, it was already twilight by the time my tour group reached one of the Nguyen rulers’ tombs.  The only other tour I did was Ha Long Bay.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Thank you to those have replied about Viet Nam.  I haven't replied to all your posts, but appreciate the info, and have been taking notes.  Jeremy, I'm working through your website, though I got sidetracked by Singapore and haven't looked at all relevant cities.  It's good to have port information in addition to city information.  I used to love Tom's Port Guides, even though they were out of date and also not all that inclusive when it came to other places than Europe.  But now I can't even find the old guides online - I keep getting 404 messages.  

[Torfamm]

Many people have used and been happy with https://www.travelauthenticasia.com/

 

They will organize small group excursions at all ports in Vietnam. We are booked back to back on two Southeast cruises this winter. I have organized tours at all of our ports in Vietnam and Thailand on the first and am joining a couple that were already planned on the second. So far, they have been great to work with. If you reach out with your ship name and date and itinerary, they will send you a proposal of what they can offer. The contact is Ngoan Le. Her email address is ngoan.le@travelauthenticasia.com

[lexyblack]

I have tours set up by www.travelauthenticasia.com for sail date 12/23/2023 to 1/6/2024. I’m trying to get more people to join so we can bring down cost. Tours for Phu My Port on 12/30/23 and DaNang on 1/2/2024. See attachments, if interest, contact Ngoan Le and mention my name. 
 

30 Dec 0600 - 1800 Phu My port -The Best of Ho Chi Minh City (1).docx 2 Jan (Danang_Tien Sa port) Extraordinary Danang – Hoi An Ancient Town OFFICAL.docx

[hubofhockey]

3 hours ago, lexyblack said:

I have tours set up by www.travelauthenticasia.com for sail date 12/23/2023 to 1/6/2024. I’m trying to get more people to join so we can bring down cost. Tours for Phu My Port on 12/30/23 and DaNang on 1/2/2024. See attachments, if interest, contact Ngoan Le and mention my name. 
 

30 Dec 0600 - 1800 Phu My port -The Best of Ho Chi Minh City (1).docx 1.54 MB · 1 download 2 Jan (Danang_Tien Sa port) Extraordinary Danang – Hoi An Ancient Town OFFICAL.docx 2.51 MB · 2 downloads

You should post on your roll call.  Better targeting

[lexyblack]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

You should post on your roll call.  Better targeting

I did on both places