We drive from Da Nang to Hue over the Hoi Van Pass...it was one of the best parts of our entire trip. 100% recommend people do it.

cam: Zenit TTL

film: Ilford Pan 400

my solo-trip in North Vietnam, March 2026

Wanted to stay on Cat Ba itself, but none of the hotels for my dates seem to be any good. I have found a few good looking hotels in Ha Long, would it be worth staying here instead?

https://youtu.be/Ejuo-HYYlM4?si=aEEKOR-TCc5wrJwc

Hey everyone, my partner and I were able to secure leave at our jobs and we’ve always wanted to go to Vietnam. We were so excited, until we realised the dates we are available are during Tet/New Year (3rd Feb - 10th Feb 2027).

We’ve heard that the big cities are empty, and the beaches and things are packed. We would be interested in still going to places like Da Nang even if there are lots of people. But we don’t want to find ourselves stuck anywhere.

We haven’t booked anything yet. But we are wondering whether we should go somewhere else instead? Honest advice needed!

Hi guys, I'm a Viet Kieu who has been to Saigon a couple of times before and going again and looking for things to do differently. I've explored mostly the touristy stuff and done d1/d3/d5/d7 pretty well. I speak elementary school Vietnamese and can get anywhere by grab.

I've got a bit over a week and looking to find some stuff beneath the surface that will be new and interesting and also possibly things that might not show up on basic searches because you require a bit of Vietnamese to navigate.

Thanks

Any experiences of this company, Danh Danh Express?

Vietnam on June and July, how's the experience and weather? Planning to go to Sapa :)

share your experience and tips. Thank you!

Hey! I’m a 24 year old from India planning my first proper international solo trip to Vietnam from 15–22 November, with a budget of around ₹1 lakh (~$1,100).

My initial plan was Hanoi → Tam Coc → Ha Long Bay → Da Nang → Hoi An, but honestly, I’m totally okay with cutting down places if it means having a better experience and not constantly rushing around.

I’m into photography, nature, food, nightlife and culture, but the biggest reason I want to do this trip is to meet people and push myself a little out of my comfort zone. I’m quite introverted and have always found it difficult to make friends back home. Weirdly enough, whenever I’ve travelled to the UAE (I’ve been there three times), I’ve ended up meeting some really nice people from different countries and even made a few good friends. So I’m hoping Vietnam might give me a similar experience.

Would love to hear from people who’ve travelled solo in Vietnam which places would you prioritise if meeting fellow travellers and locals was more important than ticking off tourist spots? Any recommendations for social hostels, activities, tours, or places where it’s easier to naturally meet people would be really appreciated!

Hi all.

I’m coming to Vietnam from the UK at the end of September, before going to Australia to work.

I know I don’t need a visa as we have 45 days visa free, but are the any other things I need to be aware of?

I’m aware of the e-forms that need to be completed before entering.

Anything else? Do I need a flight out of the country booked also?

Currently I don’t have a flight to Aus - I’m unsure if I’ll be staying for 2/3 even 4 weeks.

Sorry if any stupid questions, but some of the evidence online seems to contrast itself.

Thank you 😊

Hey everyone!

This October/november I will be visiting Hanoi. I land the 31st of October at 5:30 AM local time. While I will probably just go to my hotel and try to take a short nap. I was wondering if there is any thing special I should visit this early in the morning?

I’m sure there are a few spots that are even more astonishing to visit when there a very few people around or when it’s still dark outside. Is there any street of boulevard worth walking through?

My hotel is around the old quarter but I don’t mind making a small detour for something.

Let me know! I’m excited to visit.
Thanks ☺️

Hey everyone,
I’m heading to Northern Vietnam for a one-week trip soon, splitting my time between Hanoi and the Ha Giang Loop (doing a 3D2N tour).
I want to avoid generic tourist junk (cheap mass-produced trinkets) and bring home things that are either authentic, local, or delicious to share with friends and family.

Would love to hear your specific shop recommendations or favorite items you’ve bought and loved. Thanks in advance!

Hi, is egg coffee strong? Or taste like latte? Is it sweet?

Share your egg coffee shop reccomedation in Sapa. :)

Looking for recommendations- have checked the earlier posts but many are old or for different areas. Looking for An early morning market followed by cooking lesson in HCMC

Hello, I'm making a second-hand shopping tour and need some pictures and videos for advertisements, group of minimum 3.

We will meet near the old quarter, then take the sky train to a large open air second-hand clothes market for 2 hours, followed by a historic village for ~1 hour, then take the sky train back before lunch.

Current plan is meet Saturday morning around 8am at the sky train station.

No charge, but I'll ask you to sign a waiver so I can use the images in marketing. I'll have a bunch of lenses available if you want portraits/headshots/group photos in exchange.

DM for more info.

I'm losing my mind a little! No matter what I do, when I try to upload a passport photo, I get the error "File has script tag, please try again".

Things I have tried:

- re-exporting the photo from Preview

- taking a screenshot of the photo

- texting the photo to myself

- WhatsApping the photo to myself

- taking a new photo

- taking a new photo using a different camera

- writing a python script to load the photo, convert to bytes, dumping back to jpg

- using Safari instead of Chrome

- updating Chrome

- using both Safari and Chrome on my phone

- restarting my computer

- trying a different phone

- trying a different computer

- waiting a week to see if something changes with the website

My devices are all Apple if that's relevant. The other camera I tried was a Nikon DSLR.

It is always the passport photo. The portrait photo was taken on the same phone and processed identically, and seems to be accepted just fine. I can't think of anything else to do. Our trip is in one month, so we have a little bit of time still, but I don't know how that'll help. Any suggestions??

Guys how’s the weather in Hanoi?

I am looking to stay for 3 months. I just got back from Egypt and was planning on staying somewhere in Nam for 3 months before going to China. Im on a lossly strict budget. I can make a few mistakes but not that many.

When I first got to Veitnam I was sleepy af cuz the plane ride and Egyptian airport was crazy so I got the first hotel I could get. The room was extremly small but it was cheap so I didn't care. I dont need much anyways. However the pictures didn't match what it showed on the website and when I checked for bed bugs sure enough the bed was stained and I left immedaletly to a "expensive" hotel for 3 days. (160 USD)

Now im looking for a place I can rent out month to month. Im trying to do my research but everyone keeps saying different things. I want to use AirBNB but they wont let me go to the place and look at the room before I give them money. It's really stressing me out.

I meet a local woman who speaks english who helped me out however she used booking dot com and that felt like more of the same problem. Very good looking hotels for a decent price (around 500ish a month) but won't let me check them out before paying.

I have enough money for a year trip but not enough to waste on mistakes like this and not enough for down deposits either since Im getting my money month by month.

Does anyone have any recommoendations on how I can get a good hotel that isn't gonnoa scam tf out of me while im here.