For 2 and a half weeks in April I had the opportunity to travel Vietnam with 2 of my best friends – and it was absolutely amazing. Vietnam was filled with beautiful scenery, amazing people and some of the best food I have ever eaten; this will be a trip I will never ever forget.

Below is our two-week itinerary starting in Ho Chi Minh City and ending in Hanoi with just bullet points to make it super easy for you to plan your next trip! I traveled with my friend Meagan, who has lived in Asia for the last few years and she has some more awesome tips on her blog about traveling also!

SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER:

• Must get a Visa to enter the country and it takes 3-7 days to get it, so make sure you do it before! I got mine here and it came in 2 days, but my friend applied here too and it took 7… so plan wisely.
• Bring sunscreen! If you’re going in April, it’s really hot and you will get burnt
• Bring bug spray! Plan on getting 23094803984 bug bites.
• Plan on doing a cooking class! We did ours in Hoi An, but it was my favorite thing we did the whole trip.

Ho Chi Minh 

• Hotel: Phan lan 2 – this guy is SO NICE, speaks very good English, free breakfast and you can book the tours with him. It’s also walking distance to beer street, but it’s not loud at all. 
• Mekong delta 
• Cu chi tunnels 
• Saigon night life
• Binh tay market 

Da Nang 

• Hostel: Rom Casa – made out of shipping containers. It’s dorm style but super clean. Walking distance to everything. 
• Go to My Khe beach and rent a chair. Literally $1 and soooo beautiful
• Marble mountain – small hike but there’s a cave to go in 

Hoi An 

• Stay: Vietnam backpacker hostels. It’s like a resort with a pool and people are very nice. It’s a little out of the town though, but they have bikes you can rent. 
• Ancient town 
• Walking street 
• Get some clothes made! This is an unbelievable experience. 
• Vietnamese cooking class!!! I would HIGHLY recommend this, it was my favorite thing about the trip and then the rest of the time I was able to order new things on menus! You can book this through VBH (eco cooking class)
• au nang beach – can ride bicycle there from hostel  (beaches)

Hue  “Way”

• Abandoned waterpark
• Perfume river (can do a boat tour) or walk around 
• Dong Ba market 
• Tomb of emperors 
• Blind massage
• Thien Mu Pagoda (overlooks perfume river)
• Ho Quyen Tiger fighting arena 3km from city center)
• Alba Thanh Hot Springs (30km from city center) 

Ha long bay 

• Cat Ba Island. We can do a boat tour from Hanoi since it’s only a 2.5 hour drive. Lots of the hostels offer them 
• Buddhist compound 
• We did a private island stay with Vietnam backpackers (castaways island). If you’re into partying 100% do it, but it’s kind of a shit show. 

Hanoi

• Stay: Vietnam backpackers downtown. Kind of crazy but it’s really fun 
• train street 
• Note cafe 
• West lake

Ninh Binh

(A MUST FOR SEEING RURAL, AUTHENTIC VIETNAM-IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!)

• Stay: mountainside homestay. A sweet little homestay in the rice fields and the owners are so nice. They will tell you everything you must see in Ninh Binh 
• Trang an grottos 
• Tam Coc boat  (rice fields and boat ride)
• motorbikes a must otherwise you miss out
• Mua caves – this is crazy!!
• Cuc Phuong national park 1.5 from homestay 
• Cathedral

It’s safe to say that we had an amazing trip and got to see so many different parts of Vietnam. I hope this helps you to plan your next trip there or inspired you to visit this beautiful country!