The legacy and history of central Vietnam are incredibly rich. Get a glimpse of the Central Vietnam, you’ll visit three fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Hue’s Imperial City, Hoi An’s ancient town, and the enigmatic My Son sanctuary. The major attractions are obviously history, culture and fantastic nature on the way you travel along the central coastline, and picturesque drives up the Hai Van Pass if you’re looking for something different.
Trip Highlights:
Enjoy scenic drive along the beautiful coast of Vietnam
Vietnam countryside ride
Shopping in Hoi An Ancient town
Cooking class & market
Visit Hue Imperial City-UNESCO SITE
Equipped with explorers, to become a cave explorer,
Admire the millions of years old stalactites
Visit the Vinh Moc Tunnels
Visiting and experiencing the life of Bru -Van Kieu people.
Visiting Long Dai ferry, a lifeline traffic point on Ho Chi Minh road is legendary. The legendary 10 road, together with the A72 information station – a national historical monument which has an important position in the Vietnam War.
TRIP DETAILS
HOW TO GET THERE
For the Vietnam trip, you will fly into and out of Danang International Airport (DAD). The main connection airports are Hong Kong, Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, and Seoul. If you sign up for the Cambodia Extension, it starts and ends at Siem Reap Airport (SAI)
You can check routes from your departure city on FlightsFrom- https://www.flightsfrom.com/ .
CURRENCY
The dong (VND) is the currency of Vietnam. ATMs frequently offer 2-million-VND withdrawals, which takes some getting used to. You will learn to count zeros backward from right to left to determine if you are holding a 1,000- or 10,000-VND note in your hand. U.S. dollars are accepted in most locations, but you’ll have a better time negotiating a good price if you stick to the dong.
The easiest way to obtain local currency is through ATMs, which only dispense dong but are found throughout the country in towns and cities. Banks and better hotels also offer exchange services, but the rates won’t be as favorable. Do not change money on the street.
All major credit cards can be used in more upscale locations, but they are rarely accepted in smaller shops and restaurants. Any credit card transactions will incur a 3% or 4% surcharge on the purchase price. As ATMs become more widespread, traveler’s checks are becoming less negotiable and will be subject to at least a 2% surcharge where they are accepted.
Do spend down all your VND before leaving Vietnam, because VND cannot be converted back into U.S. or Canadian currency, nor is it possible to exchange VND for the currency of any neighboring countries.
For the most up-to date conversion rate click here or download the app- https://www.xe.com/.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
You must have a valid passport and a visa (or pre-approval for a visa on arrival) to enter Vietnam. Your passport must be valid for six months beyond your planned stay, and you must have at least one blank visa page (not including the endorsement page).
U.S. citizens can apply online for a single-entry E-visa on the Vietnam Immigration website and this must be done in advance of departing for your trip.
https://vn.usembassy.gov/vietnamese-visas-and-entry-exit/
For more information, please visit the State Department website here.
Yes, you need a visa to visit Cambodia from the United States. You can apply for a visa online or in person at a Cambodian embassy or consulate.
Online application
Other options
Get a visa at the International Check Point border if you are crossing into Cambodia by land from Thailand, Vietnam, or Laos.
ELECTRICAL PLUGS
Plugs type A (two flat vertical pins), type C and type F (two round pins) fit most Vietnam electrical outlets. The electricity supply in Vietnam is 220 Volts at 50 Hz.
Click here to purchase an adapter/converter for your trip and see other travel accessories.
TIPPING
Before your trip, a Happy Ambassador will reach out to you about tipping our local guides. Plan to budget at least $100-$150. Happy Ambassadors are already compensated, the tip money will go to local guides.
WEATHER & WHAT TO WEAR
The weather in April is usually between 80-90 degrees with lows in the 70’s.
Getting clothes made in Vietnam
Vietnam is great for getting clothes made-to-measure a series of beautiful fabrics – particularly in the tailoring mecca of Hoi An. You can get your measurements done anywhere, and bring along photos of designs that you want to copy. Prices are generally very reasonable compared to bespoke clothing elsewhere. We have an excellent tailor that I highly recommend at the Blue Gecko. We will discuss this more at the meet and greet.
ACCOMMODATIONS
We stay at local, unique 4 star properties.
DINING
Vietnamese cuisine is superb, as you would expect from a country that learned to combine the best of East and West. Eating out is very inexpensive, with an array of dishes to choose from. The national dish is pho, a spicy noodle soup served with chicken or beef. Its less-spicy cousin is listed on menus as bun. Nearly every city has its own specialty, such as cao lau (thick noodles in gravy, garnished with pork cracklings) and delectable White Rose dumplings filled with shrimp or pork in Hoi An, or ultrafresh seafood in Nha Trang and Mui Ne.
No trip to Hanoi would be complete without sampling cha ca, bite-sized pieces of fish grilled at your table and served with rice noodles and various spices. Lau is a tasty hot pot cooked at your table (every restaurant seems to have a different recipe for this dish). All over the country, ice cream is a staple: You’ll find it in interesting flavors, from coconut to lemongrass.
Crusty baguettes are available everywhere and are usually served with breakfast or any meal that doesn’t involve rice. Street vendors sell sandwiches made with baguettes, tomatoes, cucumbers and either meat or cheese: Available ingredients will be displayed on a shelf behind the food cart’s glass front. Traditional Vietnamese streetfront restaurants have pots of various stews and vegetables set out for inspection. The food is often quite tasty, and if it smells good it’s probably safe to eat. One problem for Westerners, though, is that the plastic chairs and tables in those cafes are very short, similar to ones found in a primary school, so taller visitors will have to fold themselves up quite a bit.
Vietnam is also a coffee-lover’s dream. It seems like every street cafe sells the thick coffee preferred by locals. The typical southern drink is cafe sua-da—sweetened condensed milk and strong coffee. Black coffee, whether hot or on ice, drips slowly from a special steel filter placed directly on the glass, and its slowness is a reminder to take life at a leisurely, contemplative pace.
Fresh fruit is available everywhere. Watermelons, oranges, pineapples and bananas are cheap and plentiful. Try some of the more unusual offerings such as lychees with their spiky red coats, jackfruit (also spiky, but larger and green), tamarind (long, lumpy brown pods) and dragonfruit (hot pink with lime-green trim).
Most tourists avoid the dreaded durian (sau rieng in Vietnamese), and most hotels and buses do not allow durian to be brought in or carried onboard. There’s no sitting on the fence with this rather curious fruit—you’ll either love it or hate its pungent smell. The large spiky fruit, in season September-November, is difficult to open, and skilled durian sellers carefully pry open the fruit with a machete. The durian splits into three to five segments with each segment containing a soft, creamy, yellow pillow of fruit.
Durian is best eaten when it is slightly soft. Its smell, taste and texture are like no other fruit—it is adored by most Asians, who think its taste is delicious, and despised by many Westerners, to whom it smells like a dead mouse in a sewer pipe.
You will come across dog meat, or thit cho, in both restaurants and markets. (There is actually a big trade in dogs coming from Thailand and Laos.) You shouldn’t worry about being served dog meat without knowing it: It’s a costly Vietnamese delicacy that no cook would waste.
TRANSPORTATION & SECURITY
Your transfer from Danang International Airport (DAD) to Hoi An is included. Please be sure to give us your flight information to arrange for your pickup. You will need to arrange for transportation back to the airport which you can do at the hotel that evening.
In general, Vietnam is a fairly safe country, and the vast majority of Vietnamese are scrupulously honest. Street crime—pickpocketing and purse- and camera-snatching—does occur in the bigger cities, most often along major roads and around tourist hotels. If you’re riding in a cyclo (tricycle rickshaw), it’s wise to keep your purse tucked away behind you, because purse snatchers have been known to whiz past on motorcycles. If you’re the one on a motorbike, put your purse and valuables between you and the driver, or ask him to put it on the floor between his feet.
Vietnam is a relatively safe country, however petty theft is a legitimate concern, especially in the big cities. Refrain from extending cameras and cellphones on busy streets and corners: most robberies are drive-by snatching. When taking pictures on sidewalks, keep your camera close to your body and away from the flow of traffic.
Women in particular should be warned to keep a tight grip on their bags and purses when walking in Ho Chi Minh City. When riding a motorcycle, place your bags in the seat compartment or hook them in the front of the bike. Bags carried around the shoulder or in bike baskets can easily be snatched.
When staying in hotels and guesthouses, place your valuables in the safe or lock them in your bags before leaving your room. It is a good idea in general to be mindful of your valuables, keep a close eye on your bags and not to flaunt large amounts of cash or expensive gadgets in rural areas.
For more information, please visit the State Department website here.
INTRO, HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY
Once synonymous with tragedy and conflict, Vietnam is experiencing a rebirth. Now decades after the U.S. pullout from South Vietnam, the country shows few remaining scars from that conflict or the protracted War of Independence from France that preceded it. Many historical sites have been fully restored, the country’s economy is booming and the infrastructure for tourism is developing rapidly.
Visitors no longer worry about staying in contact with home—Internet cafes are everywhere. The ancient and modern coexist: Cell phones and gleaming motorbikes are ubiquitous in the towns and villages, but people still till the rice fields with the help of bullock plows.
The country’s history of conflict—both internal and with others—could lead you to conclude that the Vietnamese thrive on a certain degree of contentiousness. That’s just not the case. Although older Vietnamese may find the pace of change somewhat dizzying, there is overwhelming support for the advances the country is making. Tourism is helping Vietnam ride the crest of that wave, and the country has become one of the best travel bargains in Asia.
Vietnam’s recorded history begins in 111 BC, when the Chinese conquered the northern part of the region and ruled for more than 1,000 years. For the next 700 years, Vietnam was a collection of small, competing kingdoms (the northern and southern portions of the country vied for control even then).
The Nguyen Dynasty took power in 1802 and ostensibly ruled most of Vietnam until 1954, but the Nguyen emperors were largely controlled by the French after 1887. During World War II, the Japanese invaded. After the war, the French attempted to retain Vietnam as a colony.
The Viet Minh, a coalition of communist and nationalist groups, forced the French out in 1954 (you can still see reminders from the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu), and the country was temporarily divided along the 17th parallel. The North consolidated under Communist leadership, and the South went to the nationalists. An election was scheduled, but the South, suspecting that the North would win, refused to participate. A few months later, the South declared independence.
The two sides sought to undermine each other’s governments from the start. The North consolidated power under popular leader Ho Chi Minh. In 1963, North Vietnamese troops openly crossed the border, and the Vietnam War began in earnest. Despite support from the U.S. and a handful of other countries, the South was unable to defend itself. North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon in 1975 and ended the war.
Though it initially took a hard-line communist approach, Vietnam later began liberalizing certain segments of its economy and in 1983 announced an open-door trade policy with the rest of the world. The government maintained strict control over exchange rates, however, which helped it get through the Asian economic crisis of 1997.
Today, Vietnam seems full of contradictions: It still subscribes to Marxist principles and is controlled by the party, but it is embracing capitalism and all its benefits. Although the country is gaining prosperity, it hasn’t forgotten its past—the government has erected heroic war memorials and billboards that extol the virtues of the collective state.
The terrain of Vietnam consists of four main regions.
In the northeast, the Red River delta is low and flat. The northwest part of the country, which borders China, is rugged and mountainous. The narrow central region contains a long chain of mountain peaks (the Central Highlands) to the West, and a broad agricultural plain of rice fields and vegetable farms stretching eastward toward the sea. The Mekong delta, in the south, is a tropical lowland laced with scores of rivers and canals. The winding coastline threads its way around 1,860 mi/3,000 km of headlands, beaches, swamps and sand dunes.
PACKING LIST
Dana Garnjobst
Hello Happy Travelers! My name is Dana and I, like you, have a tremendous passion for travel. At the age of three, I was bitten by “the bug.” I remember the excitement and joy of anticipating, then traveling with my grandmother. Since then, I have traveled as much as possible, working, living, and vacationing around the world.
I love meeting new people, learning from them, sharing adventure stories over delicious meals, and laughing, this is when I truly feel alive. So, to those I have previously traveled with, I thank you for the memories and the laughs. To those whom I have yet to meet, I look forward to our amazing adventures together, the treasured memories we will make, and the laughs yet to come, because no one can steal our happy!
Vietnam 
