Good activities in Vietnam?

Traveling to Vietnam - Activities - Do I need to book in advance or is it easy and cheap enough to book there

• I plan to travel in October starting north (Ha Noi) and heading south finishing in Ho Chi Minh City via night trains. Will be in the country for two weeks in total Based on my experiences in Phuket, Thailand( very touristy I know). I found it incredibly easy and cheap to book with travel agents set up along the main road. I want to know if Vietnam in the main cities will have a similiar set up Reviewing online booking deals for activites e.g. junk boat cruises in Halong Bay seem expensive to me 23yo commerce graduate from NZ

• Answer:

  First of all, I know you didn't ask, but IMHO traveling through Vietnam on a train is not a pleasant experience. It's actually one of the worse way to travel. There are many horror stories, such as theft, discomfort..etc.. When my younger brother did it a year ago, someone spilled a bottle or bottles of fish sauce on his backpacking backpack. It also takes forever. Buses might be a better option, but I highly recommend taking a flight. Try budget airlines such as jetstar or airmekong. Sometimes if you book early and are flexible with your travel time, you can get a one way ticket for less than $100 from Hanoi to Saigon. As for your real question, I don't really notice too many travel agents set up on the main roads in Vietnam such as in Phuket, but rather they are set up on certain areas of a city. In Hanoi they are all over the old quarters, especially near the Hoan Kiem Lake, (Pho Dinh Liet for example) In Saigon they are in the backpacker's area such as Pham Ngu Lao Street. What I've done in the past is pick an area that I want to stay in, and walk door to door to ask for the best available rate, and to also inspect the room and test the AC.  If you walk door to door, don't pay until you are satisfied with the room, this is speaking from bad experiences. Door to door works best if you are looking for the cheapest deal, but even then, I would research an area first to start walking around. For example, anything on Pham Ngu Lao would be more expensive than an alley way nearby. Please take personal safety into consideration. As for tours such as Ha Long Bay, I ALWAYS book through an agent to ensure the cheapest/best experience. My favorite site/company to use is http://viet.travel/ That's also my favorite place to use to book hotels, especially for mid-priced to higher end hotels.