What is there to do in Vietnam

[seylavee]

I'm planning to take my wife to Vietnam for a short trip.

Anyone have any suggestions or ideas on what I can do there, aside from shopping of course?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Are you going to Hanoi or Ho Chi Min city?

Halong Bay is nice. http://www.halongbay.info/
The old Royal Capital of VN, Hue.

If you want something a little bit more macabre,
The Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton), Hanoi,Vietnam
The Chu Chi Tunnels, Saigon (Ho Chi Min).

I'm sure others will have a lot more suggestions. I've not actually been there since I left the week before the 1968 Tet Offensive.

[bgd]

I've not actually been there since I left the week before the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Good timing

[the lynx]

Are you going to Hanoi or Ho Chi Min city?

Halong Bay is nice. http://www.halongbay.info/
The old Royal Capital of VN, Hue.

If you want something a little bit more macabre,
The Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton), Hanoi,Vietnam
The Chu Chi Tunnels, Saigon (Ho Chi Min).

I'm sure others will have a lot more suggestions. I've not actually been there since I left the week before the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Cu Chi Tunnels have changed since your stint. The tunnels have been artificially dug bigger to cope taller/larger-sized tourists. Best to go to the tunnels at DMZ.

Check out the world's biggest cave at http://www.boredpanda.com/worlds-larges ... g-vietnam/. Too bad it was opened after I ended my 3-month trip through entire Vietnam (and a bit of Cambodia).

[JR8]

I'm planning to take my wife to Vietnam for a short trip.
Anyone have any suggestions or ideas on what I can do there, aside from shopping of course?

What a wonderful country it is. And how it has changed from it's 'dark days'. I've been 3 times now, first in '89 when it was a 'stealth tourism' destination, very tricky and very $$$ to get into, never mind get around. Then in '95 when it had opened up and liberalised considerably. That trip was combined with Laos. And Laos at that time was $$$ and tricky, almost as much as VN had been in '89. Then the last time was together with my wife, perhaps 5-6 years ago, and the changes made it almost unrecognisable, but an absolute joy to 're-experience'. The latter was simply a 4-5 day long w/e in Saigon.
It has sooo much going for it, I'd happily go again at the drop of a hat.

Much hinges of where your entry/exit point is. It's a huge place so you will have a different experience if you head into Saigon and focus on the south, vs Hanoi and hence the north. You can of course combine the two but distances are long and you'd need to give it plenty of time.

For the 'what to do?'. How long do you have and where are you flying? Go to Lonely Planet and look at their suggested mini-itineraries 'What to do if you have X days'. They usually have various suggestions if X = 2, 5, 7, 14 etc. Then go to Tripadvisor and look at the top rated attractions for the cities you are planning on visiting.

If I'm planning on going to say a concert in a new place/city, and I've made it into say a leisurely 3-4 day trip, then I'll often go to Trip-Advisor and research. That way I'll have one or two things in mind to do each day, plus often a restaurant or bar etc to visit too. The random and unplanned stuff soon fills up the rest of the time.

[seylavee]

I'm planning to take my wife to Vietnam for a short trip.
Anyone have any suggestions or ideas on what I can do there, aside from shopping of course?

What a wonderful country it is. And how it has changed from it's 'dark days'. I've been 3 times now, first in '89 when it was a 'stealth tourism' destination, very tricky and very $$$ to get into, never mind get around. Then in '95 when it had opened up and liberalised considerably. That trip was combined with Laos. And Laos at that time was $$$ and tricky, almost as much as VN had been in '89. Then the last time was together with my wife, perhaps 5-6 years ago, and the changes made it almost unrecognisable, but an absolute joy to 're-experience'. The latter was simply a 4-5 day long w/e in Saigon.
It has sooo much going for it, I'd happily go again at the drop of a hat.

Much hinges of where your entry/exit point is. It's a huge place so you will have a different experience if you head into Saigon and focus on the south, vs Hanoi and hence the north. You can of course combine the two but distances are long and you'd need to give it plenty of time.

For the 'what to do?'. How long do you have and where are you flying? Go to Lonely Planet and look at their suggested mini-itineraries 'What to do if you have X days'. They usually have various suggestions if X = 2, 5, 7, 14 etc. Then go to Tripadvisor and look at the top rated attractions for the cities you are planning on visiting.

If I'm planning on going to say a concert in a new place/city, and I've made it into say a leisurely 3-4 day trip, then I'll often go to Trip-Advisor and research. That way I'll have one or two things in mind to do each day, plus often a restaurant or bar etc to visit too. The random and unplanned stuff soon fills up the rest of the time.

Thanks for the advice. The pictures are fantastic and definitely a convincer for the wife. Cheers.

[Max Headroom]

Mui Ne has become a bit of a capital for windsurfing and, for the more dark side-inclined, kitesurfing.

Apart from that, I remember the gazillion mopeds in HCM, the shiok pho dishes and - alas - the ubiquitous animal cruelty.

Vietnam seems to have entered a new growth spurt. Good for them.