Vietnam - hanoi or ho chi minh? where is best to fly into?

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Han

haha conflicting information much! I will not say one is better than the other, but I recently returned from a trip to vietnam, and can only voice my opinion.

Both cities had a decent nightlife, and I didn't find that everything shut at midnight in Hanoi??

I liked Hanoi better, it was classy yet fun, good for sightseeing (take a cruise along Halong Bay it is amazing!).. I really enjoyed Hanoi.

HCMC I found to just be a huge city... it had its positives but not enough for my liking. A couple of friends and I looked up our trusty lonely planet for an english speaking cinema (we were sick of the city to be honest), managed to find our way there, only to discover they only showed one movie in english (which just happened to be alien vs. predator.. YUCK!) and only showed once per day. We ended up going bowling! Slightly off topic but anyway.

One of my favourite places was Hoi An, which is about halfway between both (near Hue) - the atmosphere, the people.. and the shopping (think tailor made clothes and shoes) was amazing. We did a great bike riding tour around there.

How long will you have in Vietnam? If its your first time there and you want to see the place I recomment doing an Intrepid tour, that's what I did and it was great!

the link below was the trip I did (we did cambodia first, but same diff).. was so much fun.. i swear i don't work for intrepid just loved it to bits!

good luck on your trip!

l d

As an American who OPENLY lived in Ha Noi for 4 years, I can attest that I never met anyone who took me to task for my passport, and I traveled extensively throughout much of VN, but lived in and really enjoyed Ha Noi. The people in Ha Noi, and elsewhere are wonderful. I have many friends in "American hating" Ha Noi.

I favor Ha Noi, but it also depends on what you want to do, and how many days you have. In additional to Ha Long Bay, look up Sapa on the internet.

**************************
I beg to differ with Ha Giang, but to each their own. I like Ha Noi! Lots of museums, lots of other cultural things - and a good place to visit, or start a visit. Nha Trang is ok if you are into beaches, but there are better beaches to be found.

;^)

Hanoi of course! saigon is a swealtering dump? Hanoi is classy like europe, saigon stinks and sucks like mexico. dark skinned, wide noses, and ugly folk in saigon. the thought of saigon makes my stomach sick. if you go to saigon, bring a knife. thiefs everywere.

MojaveDan

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have different characteristics, which makes them difficult to compare. Most will like one city over the other. I prefer Ho Chi Minh City over Hanoi, but I like to visit both when I go to Vietnam.

If you want nightlife, then you will want to go to Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi has some nightlife, but pretty much shuts down at midnight. I have never seen so many thousands of people suddenly disappear as when the midnight hour strikes in Hanoi. Five minutes after midnight in Hanoi is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop from across Hoan Kiem Lake.

On the other hand, there are some places in Ho Chi Minh City that hasn't closed in years. Ho Chi Minh City's nightlife is, without any doubt, beter than Hanoi nightlife.

As for airports, Noi Bai (Hanoi) doesn't hold a candle to the new International terminal at Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City).

Have a great trip!

MoreFoolishThanWise

I live in Saigon, and I live here because people in Hanoi hate Americans. What you need to do is find out what you want to do in Vietnam, and fly in nearby that. Hanoi is near Halong Bay, which was a contender for one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, however HCMC can be a neat green adventure as well. What do you want to do, what are you into, answer that, and I'll tell you.

J_23

Ho Chi Minh city of course

Kolin

Ho chi minh city. I like people, food, sightseeings...and this is a big city, you will never get bored with it.

Ha Giang

HCMC and Hanoi are not special, and ...not different from other cities.

I recommend you should visit other places ( if you have choices)

+++Nha Trang
http://hna-travel.com/assets/nhatrang25.jpg

+++ÄÃ Láº¡t
http://www.hanoipearlhotel.com/vn/uploads/News/pic/small_nvn_1201463364.jpg

http://dulichhathanh.com/img/photo/1158914411Dalat4_265365.jpg

http://dulichhathanh.com/img/photo/1158914579Dalat629582.jpg

+++ Háº¡ Long Bay
http://www.vxc.vn/files/data/halong47(1).jpg
http://thugian.com.vn/uploads/news/halong%20bay(1).jpg

+++Sapa
http://hainamtravel.com/Image/Image/Sapa%20tinh%20yeu(1).jpg
http://images.vietnamnet.vn/dataimages/200512/original/images843586_38767.jpg
........

These places are more interesting than HCMC and Ha Noi.

P.S: Maybe the first person who answered this question doesnt know this: many people from the North ( include Ha Noi) move to HCMC to find a job or earn a living. The reason is that HCMC offers more job opportunities for the young, so they can find their good future there.

I am sure that no one from the South wants to move to the North to set up their carrer, you know what I mean.
To be honest, people in The South are more liberal, hilarious...than the North.

About the people, I think it depends. If you go to night clubs in HCMC, you can find many beautiful girls there. Believe me.

Oh, yes, "thiefs everywhere", not only in HCMC. I bet there are more thiefs in Ha Noi ^_^ ( no offence)

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