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 Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Vietnam
Get the best advice on shopping in Vietnam. You may read about shopping malls, souvenir items and best buys in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
and Phan Thiet city guide.
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| R Gween |
01 August 2002 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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The History Museum and Revolutionary Museum are a few blocks north of the hotel. Both are located right beside each other. History Museum leans to hard on pottery shards and building artifacts, though for the price it is probably worth the mere hour it takes to see everything. Revolutionary Museum is much more interesting and depicts the struggle the Vietnamese have had since the late 19th century with the French, the Japanese, and the Americans. Pretty factual and not heavy-handed with the propaganda. On the way from the hotel to the Museum is the Army Hotel, which has a nice outdoor pool available with towel for $3.
Walking or cyclo is the best way to get around. Use the cyclo in the Old Quarter so you can let the driver worry about traffic; gives you a chance to look around and not be concerned with traffic. Elsewhere, use your feet because Hanoi is a great city to wander around. I took 2 tours with Kangaroo Cafe (just west of Hoan Kiem lake), one to Halong Bay/Cat Ba Island and one to Sapa.
Halong Bay is a geological wonder, though the water isn't that clean. Arrange to stay on a boat for a night. Cat Ba Island is crappie and not worth the trip. Sapa is simply a wonderful mountain area with plenty of hill tribe people decked out in costume. Bring your boots and your climbing legs. Relax here a few days before or after Hanoi and you will love it. In Hanoi, we had many of our meals at gourmet buffet restaurants. Definitely go to Brothers Cafe and the various buffets at the Melia Hotel. $10 gets you a feast of really high class food. Hard to imagine how you could do better. Check out the Museum of Ethnology; a taxi ride here from the hotel is about $5. Skip Snake Village and the handicraft villages. There is not much to see; th entire focus is on selling a product, not demonstrating how anything is made.
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| P Williams |
26 July 2002 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We are from the UK and found Hanoi very different from London. We enjoyed the experience of seeing life lived on the streets.
We particularly enjoyed the Temple of Literature and the Water Puppet show.
Tip for travellers. If you are going to have any clothes made; make sure you give yourself time not only for the clothes to be made but also time for any alterations that may be necessary.
Be careful with taxis. Get the hotel to organise it for you; or when travelling around agree price before the journey starts.
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| A Sia |
26 July 2002 |
Stayed at Nam Phuong - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Recommended tour: Ha Long Bay, sleep on boat.
Restaurant : Hoa Sua - excellent food and service
Shopping for souvenirs: Lucky Star - the salesgirls were very friendly, good bargains too.
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| S Shorten |
15 July 2002 |
Stayed at Metropole Hotel, Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Ho Chi Minh City is very frantic and takes a little getting used to. Be warned that you will constantly be approached to purchase things, ride cyclos, eat at restaurants etc. When getting transportation be sure to agree on a price before you set off, many drivers will try to overcharge you.
A good restaurant is Vietnam House, located near the river (don't know exact address but it is in the guide books). Good food and atmosphere for a reasonable price.
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| S Odaka |
11 July 2002 |
Stayed at Oscar Saigon Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon is a fun place to be, and getting around is easy. The people are nice but be careful of street vendors around the hotel, they will overcharge you by 3x.
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| A Gunning |
08 July 2002 |
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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I found Hanoi to be a great place to shop for things for your house. Shoes & clothes are not particularly good value, nor very nice. There's some fab art around and plenty of galleries.
We went to some gorgeous restaurants set in old colonial houses. But Vietnamese food was a little disappointing, good but surprisingly bland. We had expected and wanted spicy food. IndoChine had the most interesting menu and food.
We used taxis all the time. It's wise to carry a map as the drivers do not speak English. Nor do most people, actually. But they still know how to try and rip you off! The bargaining was getting exhausting as they always started off with a ridiculous price. We prefered to buy in shops with fixed prices.
We took a tour to Halong bay with Handspan Travel. Great guide, comfortable bus. We slept onboard a junk the first night. We say some caves, swam in the sea and had a lovely time. You get your own cabin. The max. amount of people in a group is 16. The next day we went to Cat Ba, an island resembling a building site. We did a trek up a mountain, quite a hard one. I'd recommend the first part of the trip but not the second one. Cat Ba was a place we could have done without seeing.
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| R Speth, delkin |
01 July 2002 |
Stayed at Saigon Morin - Hue, Vietnam.
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Great location, close to river and restaurants. Hotel could do better by listing restaurants by food type or restaurant style.
Drivers were excellent, polite, very professional.
Boat tours were wonderful but did not appreciate the 'hard sell' on the boat. Many items were put on display for buying after we got started.
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| J Christoffelsz |
14 June 2002 |
Stayed at Kimdo Royal City Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon is a wonderful place to shop and eat in a great climate. There are some terrific deals in buying great food and clothes. If you get to know the locals then Saigon truly becomes a great place to eat and shop. The locals know where to go to eat. My best experience was the local noodle kitchen that served fantastic low price meals with a touch of lime - yum don't miss out. A night on the Saigon river is a must and hanging out at a cafe pavement sipping iced coffee or tea is a great place to watch the wonderful street life.
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| C Wong |
13 June 2002 |
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Good shopping and even better food. Try Pho 2000, President Clinton ate there. Very good ice cream just down Le Loi st. See the reunification palace, it's interesting. People in Ho Chi Minh city like Americans.
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| R Donnell (1st call) |
24 May 2002 |
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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I think we spent too long in Hanoi, a few day would be more than enough. Just too many people trying to sell you stuff. We did trips to Ca Ba Island and Sapa, both of which were fantastic destinations, be careful what tour you get, and complain if its not what you were expecting.
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