The Big Planning

The last and the final stage is to prepare the route. This is the most fun and helps to think in advance of what you want to see and how to spend your time. At the very beginnig I was thinking of booking first 2 nights in Hanoi and taking it from there. However after reading all the comments of endless options, I decided that thinking in advance will not do me any harm. I am the kind of a control freak person, so I could not relax without having all the facts in my hand. But you may go wild and think every day what you want to do next. For me I prefer to have a plan and then change it if I want to. Not having any plans means being stressed (!).
I have also a printout of a self-made calendar for my three weeks, where I marked the places and the timing for every day. Additionally I keep also a free-composed paper sheet with sections for:
* What is worth seeing (like the "must see" and things like: "quiet from tourists beach because I'd like to take some rest"),
* What is not worth seeing (another words don't get tricked in any trips offered by agents to these places),
* Food dictionary (basic staff like local daily food, tea, coffee, beer, cold drinks, food specials
* Accommodation (recommended hostels, hotels, home stay),
* Transportation (how to get to city from airport, taxi rates, bus and train info),
* Health (list of hospitals and medical centers, there is for example one hospital in Saigon where there is a Polish doctor, so obviously if I make an appointment I will be able to speak native language).

For the book-guide I am thinking of getting National Geographic - Polish edition. (No, not the Lonely Planet!)You need to organize yourself as you wish. Not organizing yourself could be also a way of organizing...



Lucane travel route in Vietnam

So anyway here it is, announced for the first time. This is my way of doing things on the paper, I am so talented, I know :-). For my three weeks I am planning to get around:

HCMC (Saigon)

Can Tho + The Mekong Delta Mui Ne
Nh Trang
Hoi An
My Son & My Lai
Hue
Nihn Binh
Hanoi
Cat Ba + Halong Bay
Lao Cai + Sapa
Mai Chau

I will use domestic flights on the long routes (Hanoi / HCMC and possibly Hoi An/ Nihn Bihn or Hanoi).
The rest of the travelling will be done with overnight trains and buses.

At least this is my initial plan!
Reference links where you can find nice information:

Savourasia.com
Vietnam local travel tips
Vietnam travel route planner
Lonelyplanet