Vietnam surprises visitors with lovely natural settings including beaches, forests and deltas. Vietnam is experiencing a cultural rebirth, and, for many tourists, the newly restored historical sites are astounding. There are some things that you need to know before going vietnam and some experience for find the best hotels in vietnam

Things You’ll Need:

* Plane tickets
* Passport
* Camera
* Luggage
* Hotel reservation
* Computer
* Map
* Credit card

Instructions

a.Know Your Destination

1.Rub shoulders with the locals. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi, which has a population of over five million people.

2. Bring layers. Vietnam is tropical in the south and monsoonal in the north, with a rainy season from mid-May to mid-September.

3. Get a good guide to Vietnamese phrases, as Vietnamese is the official language

b.Travel to Vietnam

1.Fly to Vietnam via Air Vietnam, Air France, Aeroflot, Thai Airways, Philippine Airways or MAS.

2. Book passage on a cargo ship from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, France or Japan to Ho Chi Minh City, Danang or Haiphong.

c. Go From Place to Place

1.Get on a domestic flight via Vietnam Airlines to travel long distances. It is more affordable to fly than to take a train.

2.Charter a taxi for the day for somewhat less than $50.

3.Take a train to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi.

4. Get on a bus to get a feel for life in Vietnam. The buses can be slow, but a trip on one will give you a chance to mingle with locals.

d. Choose vietnam hotels

1.To book accommodations, contact Vietnam National Administration of Tourism at 011 (+84) 4 9423998 or visit their Web site tuntravel.com

2.Get a room in the center of the action in Hanoi. Nightly rates for a 5-star hotel can go below $100 in some cases.

3.Steep yourself in the fine arts by booking your accommodations close to the Ba Dinh District of Hanoi. The Fine Arts Museum is located on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

4.Enjoy a stay at an exclusive hideaway spa in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

5.Get a mid-priced hotel room in Hanoi for around $70 to $150 a night.

6.Stay in Thai Nguyen to learn more about the history of the Vietnamese people. Museums related to the cultures of Vietnam’s ethnic groups are located there.

e. Seek Out Tourist Destinations and Attractions

1. Visit a bird sanctuary in Vietnam. A day trip to see Vietnam’s avian life makes for an ecologically-oriented adventure not to be missed.

2. Shop near rural accommodations by traveling to handicraft villages, where one can buy ceramics, jewelry and fine art made from coal.

3. Explore. Go to the ecological forest of Can Gio, which is about 30 miles outside of Ho Chi Minh City.

Advice:
- When booking your hotels vietnam, it is recommended to stay at a five-star hotel to ensure quality standards.
- Tipping in Vietnam is greatly appreciated, and should be 5 to 10 percent of the bill. Government hotels include a 10 percent service charge on the bill.
- Buses can be slow and unreliable.

Located on the right bank of the Red River in Southeast Asia, Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, and also serves as its cultural and educational center. A fusion of East and West, Hanoi is a city alive with both Chinese influence and French design left over from its colonial past.

Instructions

a.Know Your Destination

1Tour the multitude of historical monuments and museums located in Hanoi, Vietnam. As the center of the country’s cultural and artistic heritage, many of the national museums are located here, including the National History Museum.

2.Glimpse the city’s history by taking a walking tour of the Old Quarter, which has most of its original architecture and street layout.

b.Select Your Transportation

1.Hop on the back of a motorbike (xe om) if you are traveling alone and want to get somewhere quickly. Motorbikes are the most common form of transportation for the locals, due to the narrow streets of the city and the lack of car parking spaces, and some are available for transporting tourists.

2.Take a taxi or cyclos (pedicab) to get nearly anywhere, but be aware that fares are inconsistent.

c.Know Your Accomodation Options

1.To book accommodations, contact Vietnam National Administration of Tourism at 011 (+84) 49423998 or visit their Website of best accomodation service in vietnam tuntravel.com - Call center: +84 (4) 39230898 / 39233278 | Fax: +84 (4) 38243886 / 39233280

2.Arrange your accommodations at a hostel or guest house in the Old Quarter if you are backpacking or traveling modestly. Not only are rooms cheap, but some hostels even offer Internet access and free breakfast.

3.Head to the Hoan Kiem District for a reprieve from the bedlam of the Old Quarter, while staying within walking distance of the main tourist attractions, shopping and restaurants. Two of Hanoi’s premier hotels are located here.

4.Pay just a few dollars more and stay in one of the many mid-range accommodations also located in the Old Quarter.

I have just returned from a two-week trip to Vietnam including Ho Chi Minh City, Ke Ga Bay south of Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi. Up until this visit, I had always thought the Bhutanese were the friendliest people in the world, but the Vietnamese are equally friendly. My many preconceived ideas were all wrong. Here’s what I learned:

1. The American War
The Vietnamese hold no grudges against Americans in spite of the war. After all, the Vietnamese fought the Chinese for over a thousand years, then the French, and finally, us. These days, they live with a socialist market economy and have invited the world - including former enemies — to invest in the new Vietnam.

2. Crossing the Street
The first thing I noticed on arrival in Ho Chi Minh City was the endless stampede of motorbikes in every direction making it virtually impossible to cross the street. James Sullivan (author of Over the Moat) advised me to just proceed slowly and predictably and NEVER try to make a dash for it. The bikes will work their way around you. He said that the Vietnamese people understand themselves not as individuals but as cogs in a collective, so when Vietnamese drivers turn out onto main streets, they don’t even look because they understand that everyone else will look out for them.

3. Get a Good Guide
Sure, you can use a guidebook, but then you’ll miss meeting the locals (except hotel and restaurant staff). I used Exotissimo which has excellent guides throughout the country who speak very good English and who are much more knowledgeable and fun than a guidebook. Ask your guide to show up on his/her motorbike with an extra helmet, hop on the back, and let your guide introduce you to the cities of Vietnam in a way that a car can’t. Eat meals with your guide because then you’ll dine in non-touristy local restaurants where you’ll be able to sample local specialties of the region which otherwise, you’d never know about.

4. Learn A Couple of Vietnamese Words
Most tourists don’t bother to learn two simple words: hello Xin chao and thank you Cam on. If you learn these two words — even if you have to write them on your palm — you will not only bring an amazed smile to Vietnamese faces, but you’ll also form an instant bond.

5. Venture Out Alone
Don’t be afraid to take a walk alone - either in a city or on the beach. One morning while staying at the Princess d’Annam Resort on Ke Ga Bay, I rose at dawn and walked a mile down the beach to a fishing village. The fishermen were just returning home with their catch in little round thatched boats. Although they didn’t speak a word of English and I could only speak my two Vietnamese words, it was one of my best memories.

6. Take a cooking class
Even if you don’t cook, some luxury hotels offer cooking classes, such as the Sheraton in Nha Trang, the first hotel to open a cooking school. My cooking lesson began with a trip to the local market with the chef — by cyclo (a three-wheeled bicycle powered by a driver). There were no other tourists at the local market, and it was a cultural experience — one woman was shaving pork rind with a razor. Another packed sticky rice into a box made of a palm leaf and tyied it closed with twine. We returned to the Sheraton and I learned how to make fresh spring rolls and Pho, the famous beef-based noodle soup.

7. Carry the name and address of your hotel in Vietnamese
Don’t assume every taxi driver or cyclo driver speaks English (most don’t). The better hotels, such as the famous Hotel Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi will give you a business card with that information, but if your doesn’t have the concierge write it in Vietnamese.

8. Choosing the right Boat in Halong Bay
If you’re going to Halong Bay (and how can you not?) you’ve probably seen all the romantic photos of the limestone mountains and little wooden boats called junks. Be careful which boat you choose because your junk might be junk. I went on the Emeraude, a replica steamer with 37 cabins. At the same time, some friends of mine chose a 12-cabin junk. That seemed like a more authentic experience — until they told me their ceiling leaked onto the bed and they couldn’t sleep the entire night.

9. Always Bargain and Remember, There are Plenty of Shops to Choose From
Except in shops where the proceeds go to disabled or wounded local Vietnamese (and the prices are fixed), always bargain — the Vietnamese expect it. I fell in love with a wooden water puppet in Hanoi. The salesman said it was $10.00, and we settled for $7.00. I was so happy with my purchase that I decided to buy a second puppet at another shop in a different neighborhood. For the exact same puppet, the salesman wanted $40. I walked away - and you should, too.

10. Go Business Class
It’s a looonnnnggggg flight home, and the last thing you want is to sit in a cramped non-reclining seat. Spring for business class. I chose JAL, the most environmentally global airline. Their First Class features the JAL Suite with 5-inch wide padded armrests, a 180-degree flat bed, custom-fitted mattress, a huge 19-inch personal monitor and BOSE® headphones. I didn’t go First Class, but equally excellent was JAL’s business class. My shell-type seat reclined to almost horizontal, provided excellent privacy, and besides all the great amenities (including excellent Western and Japanese food), I could choose from 132 movie, music, video and game channels.

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