Asia for 4 weeks

skinny90

Hi All,

I have just booked off 4 weeks holidays with work (July 23rd - Aug 20th)

I will going to Vietnam for at least 2 weeks, meeting a friend and biking from north to south.

I am also wondering where else to consider while im there as I have a week at least solo

I am now trying to organize flights.

I have a couple of questions.

Is 2 weeks enough? Is it feasible? I am not interested in partying I want to see the culture and landscape. but on bikes will it be achievable?

Also what are the main things to consider, shots, clothing, visa's if applicable.

What would an ideal budget be. I am aiming for 2-2.5k?Is that achievable?

This is my first proper trip so I am naive

Any other considerations to look at
Thanks in advance

monty_python

I'd spend the 4 weeks in Vietnam.
I haven't been but I've spent 10 weeks in Thailand and there is still alot of places I haven't been to. Vietnam will be similar.

Save other countries for another trip

2-3k is a healthy budget for 4 weeks in South East Asia.
Speak to a travel clinic about shots

Lyle Lanley

I spent about 5 weeks biking Vietnam, but only actually about 8 days of biking.. the rest was sightseeing, days out and some partying. Best 5 weeks I can remember though.

Two weeks is achievable, but you won't see much. Spend the month in Vietnam and take two weeks in Thailand/Cambodia or whatever you want at a later date.

It's not a once in a lifetime thing any more. Asia is cheap and flights are getting cheaper too.

skinny90

Bumping this up, so I have changed plans. I will be spending 2 weeks on the south and then meeting a friend up north where we will go biking. Any ideas on what I should do when in the south (ho chi)
Any good iteneries people would recommend?
I’m going in July till August, any recommendations on what to pack? I’m such a newbie

5p9arw38djv2b4

Have you tried Travelfish? The website is brilliant for travel itineraries, and good accomodation ideas. Vietnam is spectacular, I'd say spend all 4 weeks there. Do check out legalities around bikes, see about bike hire Vs purchase, there are loads of forms and difficulties around buying and then selling a bike there as a foreigner.

5p9arw38djv2b4

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

Have you tried Travelfish? The website is brilliant for travel itineraries, and good accomodation ideas. Vietnam is spectacular, I'd say spend all 4 weeks there. Do check out legalities around bikes, see about bike hire Vs purchase, there are loads of forms and difficulties around buying and then selling a bike there as a foreigner.

Oh and I'm not a big city person but Ho Chi Ming has lovely parks, great museums too, I'd go to Can Tho for a few days too if it was me. Do think about perhaps going to Hue and Hanoi (get some clothes tailored in Hanoi - allow a few days) and there are some great Easy Rider bike trips from Hanoi.

MarkY91

skinny90 wrote: »

Bumping this up, so I have changed plans. I will be spending 2 weeks on the south and then meeting a friend up north where we will go biking. Any ideas on what I should do when in the south (ho chi)
Any good iteneries people would recommend?
I’m going in July till August, any recommendations on what to pack? I’m such a newbie

I did a day trip out to Mekong Delta from HCMC. Worth the bus trip out.

skinny90

Thanks for your help all.

Any other advice on where to go?

Things to pack etc

Ha Long Bay

skinny90 wrote: »

Thanks for your help all.

Any other advice on where to go?

Things to pack etc

One thing to be aware of is the weather at that time of the year. Up north in Vietnam it wont be great. https://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam-holidays/weather/july and being on a bike in a thunderstorm is no fun.

You could fly to Da Nang and then base yourself in Hoi An for a few days and take some trips from there I would recommend Hoi An to Hue over the Hai Van Pass.

Would also recommend signing up to Revolut using the card to pay and saving on exchange fees.

5p9arw38djv2b4

I can't see my last response so apologies if this posts twice. Go down to Can Tho in Mekong Delta. We stayed in Nygen Shack, got bikes to cycle all local areas, did food tours, boat trips on Mekong and went to the only authentic floating markets (they don't sell to foreigners but it's fascinating, v early morning though). The delta was a great experience, a very different experience with rural life in vietnam

skinny90

john4321 wrote: »

One thing to be aware of is the weather at that time of the year. Up north in Vietnam it wont be great. https://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam-holidays/weather/july and being on a bike in a thunderstorm is no fun.

You could fly to Da Nang and then base yourself in Hoi An for a few days and take some trips from there I would recommend Hoi An to Hue over the Hai Van Pass.

Would also recommend signing up to Revolut using the card to pay and saving on exchange fees.

Thanks for the advice, I am an avid revolut user. I have a visa debit with NFC and I have old mastercard as an emergancy backup. Any recommendations on what currency to use? Dollar. I checked revolut and they dont appear to have Vietnamese Dong, typically whats the best currency to use against it? So il be topping in euro and then converting to said currency

skinny90

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

I can't see my last response so apologies if this posts twice. Go down to Can Tho in Mekong Delta. We stayed in Nygen Shack, got bikes to cycle all local areas, did food tours, boat trips on Mekong and went to the only authentic floating markets (they don't sell to foreigners but it's fascinating, v early morning though). The delta was a great experience, a very different experience with rural life in vietnam

Thanks a million. Finalising the plans this weekend and will try and sqeeze them in

Ha Long Bay

skinny90 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I am an avid revolut user. I have a visa debit with NFC and I have old mastercard as an emergancy backup. Any recommendations on what currency to use? Dollar. I checked revolut and they dont appear to have Vietnamese Dong, typically whats the best currency to use against it? So il be topping in euro and then converting to said currency

Just top up in Euro and pay in Dong using the card where you can so your not hit with the 2% fee once you go over the monthly ATM withdrawal limit. Its a very cheap country so your daily spending wont be much day to day.

Other tips would be to get a tourist sim when you get to the airport it will only cost a few Euro. The two main providers are Viettel and Vinaphone. Make sure your phone is unlocked. Also dont forget to have your visa sorted. There are 2 ways to do this one is to get an approval letter and then apply for visa on arrival in the airport and the new way is to get an e-visa before you arrive. I used the e-visa the last time in Da Nang and it worked fine. https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt is the website.

skinny90

Thanks guys, any tips on travel insurance ?? I’ve two connecting flights and I’m fhinking worst case scenario. Must pay up to 200-300 for a delayed flight. Any idea who would be the best to cover for delayed flight?

5p9arw38djv2b4

Try World Nomad, they are great to pay out and always recommended by the good travel bloggers. They've also just opened a big office in cork now. Otherwise if you already have health insurance see what it can cover - my VHI does a brilliant travel and backpacker insurance for around 50 quid/ year. Just make sure on any travel insurance policy you get it covers: luggage and theft, health in emergencies, flights home in an emergency, and that all the activities you want to do are covered - esp riding motorbikes or scooters, scuba diving or hiking over 2500m.

skinny90

Hi All,

Thanks a million for your responses.

I have hit a bit of an issue.

I booked via Travel2be.

They have literally just notified me this morning of a change in my flights.

They change means that I have only 1 hour and 5 mins to connect in Doha.

I am obviously a little anxious on this and I have to respond to proceed.

Any advice on how I should proceed.

Is 65 mins sufficient to connect.

Its all operated by BA via Qatar airlines

Thanks

monty_python

skinny90 wrote: »

Hi All,

Thanks a million for your responses.

I have hit a bit of an issue.

I booked via Travel2be.

They have literally just notified me this morning of a change in my flights.

They change means that I have only 1 hour and 5 mins to connect in Doha.

I am obviously a little anxious on this and I have to respond to proceed.

Any advice on how I should proceed.

Is 65 mins sufficient to connect.

Its all operated by BA via Qatar airlines

Thanks

I would accept it. If you miss your connecting flight the airline are obligated to pit you on the next available flight to your destination

Ha Long Bay

monty_python wrote: »

I would accept it. If you miss your connecting flight the airline are obligated to put you on the next available flight to your destination

There will be a chance your checked in bag will miss the connecting flight with the short layover. I would usually keep anything important in a smaller carry on bag with a few changes of clothes etc.

JohnCleary

Don't bother with carry on luggage, there's really no need.

We travel SE Asia for 1 month every year and always only bring carry-on. The return is a different story as it's shopping heaven over there.

Seriously, all you need is some jocks / socks / tshirts / shorts / maybe 1 pair of pants / your electricals ... get everything else when you arrive.

First time travelling SE Asia was for 3 months and we brought a big ruck-sack... big regret and never made it to the bottom of the bag. Laundry is so cheap in SE Asia and they can have a 2-hour turn-around if you pay extra. Vietnam / Thailand was about €1 / 1Kg

aligator_am

Apologies to hijack the thread a bit but I'll be heading to the Philippines and Thailand in November (will also likely take a trip to Angkor Wat) so I'm wondering what the craic is with vaccinations?

I've seen old threads on here, some suggesting to go to the medical bureau or similar and other saying it's better to visit your GP and they will provide the required shots.

Either way, I'd like to make a move on getting them soon so I'm wondering which those of you who have traveled there would recommend?

Ha Long Bay

aligator_am wrote: »

Apologies to hijack the thread a bit but I'll be heading to the Philippines and Thailand in November (will also likely take a trip to Angkor Wat) so I'm wondering what the craic is with vaccinations?

I've seen old threads on here, some suggesting to go to the medical bureau or similar and other saying it's better to visit your GP and they will provide the required shots.

Either way, I'd like to make a move on getting them soon so I'm wondering which those of you who have traveled there would recommend?

I went to a place that specializes in this just for the convenience im not sure if im allowed name it on the forum. Whats recommended for SEA is Tetanus / Diphtheria, Hepatitis A and Typhoid. It depends on the options you go for some are single injections and others are multiple. This will be discussed in the consultation. After the first visit they will give you a booklet so you can track duration of cover etc. Some places also do packages and group rates.

MarkY91

aligator_am wrote: »

Apologies to hijack the thread a bit but I'll be heading to the Philippines and Thailand in November (will also likely take a trip to Angkor Wat) so I'm wondering what the craic is with vaccinations?

I've seen old threads on here, some suggesting to go to the medical bureau or similar and other saying it's better to visit your GP and they will provide the required shots.

Either way, I'd like to make a move on getting them soon so I'm wondering which those of you who have traveled there would recommend?

I've been to Philippines and Thailand and going and to Philippines in December. I never bothered with any form of shots and I'm still alive I read that they're useless unless you're going touching stray dogs or going deep into a jungle.

JohnCleary

I trust my GP (family), so I just told him where we were going (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) back in 2010 and he did the rest. Arrived to our house and gave us approx. 3 jabs each.

Try ringing your GP with your destination and ask if they can do the rest?

killbillvol2

JohnCleary wrote: »

I trust my GP (family), so I just told him where we were going (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) back in 2010 and he did the rest. Arrived to our house and gave us approx. 3 jabs each.

Try ringing your GP with your destination and ask if they can do the rest?

Same - my GP sorts it. And he gets his info here.

killbillvol2

MarkY91 wrote: »

I've been to Philippines and Thailand and going and to Philippines in December. I never bothered with any form of shots and I'm still alive I read that they're useless unless you're going touching stray dogs or going deep into a jungle.

You don't need to touch any dogs or go near a jungle to get Hep A or typhoid. Whatever you read was BS (but thanks for sharing).

MarkY91

killbillvol2 wrote: »

You don't need to touch any dogs or go near a jungle to get Hep A or typhoid. Whatever you read was BS (but thanks for sharing).

Ok mr.know it all. I was just stating that I spent 12 weeks all over Asia without and jabs and in grand. I'm not saying I recommend it. I'm just adding to the topic.

aligator_am

MarkY91 wrote: »

I've been to Philippines and Thailand and going and to Philippines in December. I never bothered with any form of shots and I'm still alive I read that they're useless unless you're going touching stray dogs or going deep into a jungle.

Yeah but knowing my luck I'll end up encountering Cujo or something, I'd rather spend the money and not have to worry (as much) about it