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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,
Phan Thiet city guide,
and Hoi An city guide.
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| M Huang |
31 December 2003 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is extremely noisy, and crossing the road is a real hazard. One has to be brave, walk slowly (the motorbikes will avoid you) and keep going. Halong bay is a must, but in the winter months, one day trip is sufficient (too cold to stay overnight on the boat). Can be very misty especially in Feb and March (but even in late December, it was also misty). We enjoyed the water puppet show. Must buy ticket early in the day (for the cheaper 10000 dong) to get seats as far forward as possible (instead of the more expensive 20000 dong). Shops are more expensive (but more choices and perhaps better quality) than in Hoi An. Lanterns and custom-made clothes are better bought in Hoi An.
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| A Mackie |
31 December 2003 |
Stayed at Hoi An Riverside Resort - Quang Nam, Vietnam.
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We only had time for Hoi An or Hue, not both. In hindsight, Hue might have been more attractive with its historical offerings. The number of Hoi An tailor shops has apparently grown from just a few to over 300 in recent years and the whole 'custom-made clothing' experience seems to border on the tacky. It's also very time-consuming and can be done in larger cities if you have more time there. Now somewhat regretting missing Hue's history. If you're flying out of Danang, do check out the Danang's Cham Museum--about an hour is all you'll need.
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| D Gibb smith |
29 December 2003 |
Stayed at Hanoi Horison Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is a fantastic city. If you plan on seeing the Water Puppet show, it's 1st come 1st serve so go get your tickets early in the morning or a day before for the show you wish (only 100 seat capacity). We waited too late & missed out. Taxis from hotels are safe and charge US$5/hour for sightseeing. FYI: museums are closed on Monday's and most touristy things close from 11:30-1:30 for lunch so plan accordingly. Tablecloth & bed linens are the cheapest I've ever seen, quality beautiful & are sold all over the old quarter. Artwork is wonderful, but not cheap anymore (this is my 2nd visit after 4 years) and most works ranged around US$1500+.
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| J Loo |
29 December 2003 |
Stayed at Dan Chu Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We enjoyed walking aroung Hoan Kiem Lake, eating by the roadside around the Water Puppet Theatre. I would recommend you to go to Dong Xuan Market for handbags, shoes and fabrics as it is a wholesale market.As you walk away from the D.X market, you will find tailors along the Hang Gai Street where they can tailor make your viet dresses within a day or two.
We also tried the famous fish dish at Cha Ca La Vong which has history that dates back to 2 centuries. Very unique and tasty. For french food, we had a 5 course dinner at the French Reataurant in Sofitel Metropole. It was fabulous though a little pricey but worth it. For good Vietnamese food, we recommend Nam Phuong (which is a 5 star restaurant) and a very cosy Cay Cau located at the De Syloia hotel.
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| M Mok |
28 December 2003 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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At side lane of Bong Seng hotel, there's Restaurant Pho 24 serving tasty noodles. Worth visiting: War Museum and Cu Chi Tunnel. Best place to shop for souvenirs :- Benh Thanh Mkt and shops around Dong Khoi. Short trips out of HCMC: Mekong Delta (trips ranging from 1 day to 5 days can be booked easily at HCMC).
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| M Huang |
26 December 2003 |
Stayed at Hoi An Hotel - Hoi An, Vietnam.
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No 19 Le Loi - very friendly and helpful sisters. Good value for money ($35 per suit, $6 per shirt), nice fabric.
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| A Mullany |
25 November 2003 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Shop around if you are buying art and do some research. One gallery (Hanoi studios) tried to sell us a painting by a young artist for US$1800 saying that he was one of their master artists - other galleries were selling his work for between US$450 - US$700.
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| D Hagerman |
23 November 2003 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Highly recommend following restaurants: Le Petit Bruxelles (fresh mussels flown in from France on Saturdays); Pan e Vino (Italian -- chef is from Piemonte)
Le Opera for Vietnamese (though it's expensive); KOTO, across from Temple of Literature -- excellent food (Vietnamese and western) and a good cause (employees are former street kids). Really some of the best Vietnamese food I've had in Vietnam.
Museum of Ethnology is well worth a visit and water puppets were delightful.
Visit ArtVietnam to shop for high-quality (museum quality -- not inexpensive) Vietnamese art (everything from woodblocks to oils on canvas). If nothing else go to view the current show and the stunningly renovated 4-story old "tube" house that the gallery occupies.
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| N Barguss |
19 November 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Plaza Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We arranged a hotel/airport transfer, which at US$ 30 was expensive, but worth it when travelling with young kids. Hanoi is easy to walk around and we used the numerous cyclos when our kids got too tired to walk. There are loads of great coffee shops and restaurants, so feeding our kids was not any problem at all. We particularly liked "Little Hanoi" on Hang Gai. There are also some lovely restaurants around the cathedral area in Pho Nha Tho - we had a great meal at Mediterraneo. We found good shopping around Hang Be, Hang Gai and roads to the west of Hoam Kiem Lake. The decent art galleries were pretty expensive, but there were a few reproduction places who would copy pictures for about US$40 upwards and plenty of small art shops where paintings could be had for US$1-6.
Vietnam Airlines does not allow the pre booking of seats, so despite us travelling with kids, we had to sit apart on the flight - not ideal.
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| G Spallas |
15 November 2003 |
Stayed at Sofitel Metropole Hanoi - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We very much enjoyed Hanoi, a beautiful city with lots of sites. Great shopping in Old Quarter and lakefront area was very relaxing. Water puppet show definitely worth a visit as it is close, inexpensive and relatively short.
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