禁漫天堂

Looks like I will be making a run north of Hanoi almost to China, Apparently, There are some distressed people up there so we bought some clothes and buy food items when we get there.
One of my passions it to tie volunteering with travel/adventure, so no need to pat myself on the back.
I need to buy airfare, would just searching Google flights be the most practical way to do it? - @Dannyroc3

Which airport will you be landing at? What town will be your final destination?

After your Google search, see how the pricing/scheduling compares to local carriers.

(nation's flagship carrier)

(budget air travel)

(S.E.A.'s bare-bones carrier)

@Aidan in HCMC

The destination is Ha giang which I think happens to be a tourist destination for motorcycles.

I thought to go from HCMC to Hanoi by air and take a bus for the remainder.聽 An thinks we can go by bus the whole way to save money but that would have tp be like 3 days which is Nahhhh. A train might be more acceptable but she seems to not consider train travel.

@Aidan in HCMC The destination is Ha giang which I think happens to be a tourist destination for motorcycles. I thought to go from HCMC to Hanoi by air and take a bus for the remainder. An thinks we can go by bus the whole way to save money but that would have tp be like 3 days which is Nahhhh. A train might be more acceptable but she seems to not consider train travel. - @Dannyroc3

Very good on Ha Giang! Beautiful, but rugged, country up there. And yes, it does draw a fair amount of motorcycling enthusiasts. There's been many reports of mishaps/casualties involving less experienced riders in that area. The cliffs and ravines are unforgiving, and it's a long way down if one should, heaven forbid, stray off the road.

Lots of Vietnam ethnic minorities in that region. Not many Kinh people, except for the few who've moved there for work. You'll notice the different look/dress of the people, I'm sure. My GF has family near there. She is of the Tay people. Is this An's family region?

By bus? BY BUS?!

Not even if it was free. In fact, not even if they paid me would I do that trip by bus.

I've taken the train from Hanoi to Saigon, and I'll say that it was quite comfortable. A lot of nice and changing scenery to take in through the whole route. I rented the top and bottom bunk in a room on the train for myself and a friend. There are four bunks in each of the rooms, so the other two were occupied by local travellers. I tried to rent the 4 bunks so we'd have the room to ourselves, but the ticketing office wouldn't allow this. Their policy was one person, with ID, one bunk. I'm told this is done to prevent people buying multiple bunks and scalping the tickets. The trip, if I recall, took two days.

If cost is a deciding factor, you'll not save much by taking the train over flying. Again, if I recall, train ticket prices were comparable to air prices, plus you'll be buying food, drinks, cigs, etc for two days.

What's your plan to get from Hanoi to Ha Giang? That in itself will not be a short haul, by any means.

Your visiting there will certainly be an adventure.

@Aidan in HCMC
The destination is Ha giang which I think happens to be a tourist destination for motorcycles.
I thought to go from HCMC to Hanoi by air and take a bus for the remainder. An thinks we can go by bus the whole way to save money but that would have tp be like 3 days which is Nahhhh. A train might be more acceptable but she seems to not consider train travel. - @Dannyroc3

(I've been through this with my wife)

No matter what you want to do in Vietnam, she is always going to want you to "save money" and she's never going to want to try a new experience when she knows an old experience that works.

I had to make it clear that if I wasn't comfortable and enjoying myself, saving money wouldn't be a good thing.

Since I have traveled between HCMC & H脿 N峄檌 many times, I would recommend:

1. Because you really do want to see the country, I would recommend hiring a private driver. It's definitely the most expensive option, but so many of the amazing experiences I've had in Vietnam have been with a private driver taking me to places that I never would have seen had I flown or taken the train.

2. However I'm going to guess that maybe that's beyond your budget or maybe you're going to let her talk you out of what you want to do, so my next recommendation is...

TAKE THE TRAIN!

It's (usually) a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can be done on an uninterrupted ticket from HCMC to H脿 N峄檌, or can be planned out with stopovers in interesting places such as Nha Trang, Quy Nh啤n, 膼脿 N岷祅g and Hu岷�.

The train normally has three types of tickets: sitting in a train car with many rows of two seats each on both sides of the train, or in a 4 berth cabin or a 6 berth cabin (similar to military troup trains).

She would probably want you to take the cheapest option which is the seats in the open car.

We usually travel in the four berth cabins but recently the railway lines has done some upgrading of certain cars and now you might find a train that has a two berth cabin upgrade available.

We've tried those a couple of times and it's nice to have the privacy since in a 4 berth cabin, you have no idea who might be sharing your cabin with you.

NOTE: Many of the VIP options are only available on longer trips.

3. Or just fly. I personally love business class flying from HCMC to H脿 N峄檌 on Vietnam Airlines. If you decide to fly you should first join the frequent flyer club of the airline you choose. I know Vietnam Airlines gives an extra discount if you are a member of lotus miles and you book online or through their app.

OR...

4. Do a custom combination of 1. and 2. and 3. above:

For instance, you could take a private car from HCMC to Nha Trang and see a section of the coastline that many foreigners never experience, especially if you detour to V农ng T脿u first and then head up the coast from there.

Then you could fly from Nha Trang to 膼脿 N岷祅g

explore this area, maybe even seeing H峄檌 An.

Then take a private car over scenic H岷�i V芒n Pass on your way to Hu岷� and then take the train from Hu岷� to H脿 N峄檌.

A decent tourist class hotel there can help you with all of your plans for your trip up to H脿 Giang.

@Aidan in HCMC

Yes it seems she does have some family connection to Tay people.聽

It seems getting train tickets there are not available so maybe we will fly there and take the train back, it seemed those dates had more available.

This morning we sent like 4 bags of clothes by bus to a church up there to avoid paying and transporting them through the airport.

@OceanBeach92107

<<<<and she's never going to want to try a new experience when she knows an old experience that works.>>>>

So much truth, even in little meaningless things.

I like the idea of stopping mid-way for a few days.聽 We had talked about a trip to Na Trang and this could work out.

@Dannyroc3

Tay people have a reputation amongst other VN ethnicities of being a people who'll never going hungry in the forest馃檪.聽

What dates do you plan to leave/return.

If anywhere around the Tet season, better book your tickets soon.

@Aidan in HCMC

Yes, I see getting close to Tet makes travel more difficult, maybe after tet will make things more flexible.

@Aidan in HCMC
Yes, I see getting close to Tet makes travel more difficult, maybe after tet will make things more flexible. - @Dannyroc3

A good rule of thumb each year:

Before T岷縯,聽 it's easier to fly into the big cities and much harder to fly out of them.

After T岷縯, it's much harder to fly into the big cities and usually easier to fly out of them.