Ha Giang
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Long
Sapa
Mekong Delta
Da Nang
Hue
Hoi An
Ninh Binh
Da Lat
Nha Trang
Phan Thiet
Phu Quoc
Quang Binh
Quy Nhon
Vung Tau
Thai Nguyen
We are doing three weeks in November, Hanoi down to Ho Chi Minh City, and the packing list is doing my head in. It feels like we need two completely different wardrobes.
The north sounds genuinely cold by then, especially Sapa. How many warm layers are we talking? Is a proper fleece overkill or essential? And then the south is still hot and humid, so we need summer stuff too.
Few specific questions: is a rain jacket still needed in November or is the rainy season done in the central coast? Are laundry services easy enough that we can pack light and wash along the way? And shoes, we want to do a light trek in Sapa, are trail runners enough or should one of us bring boots?
Trying to fit it all in carry-on if humanly possible. Tell me your non-negotiables.
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Pack light and hit Decathlon when you land, there is one in Hanoi and HCMC. I bought a 300k fleece in Hanoi that got me through Sapa in December just fine. Way easier than guessing layers from home.
Did almost this exact trip last November. Non negotiables from me: a proper fleece or puffer for Sapa, it was 8 degrees and misty the whole time we were there. A light rain jacket, central Vietnam got proper downpours. Everything else you can buy or wash along the way, laundry is 30 to 50k a bag and back the next day in every tourist town.
Replying to Jemma Brook
Replying to Jemma Brook @Jemma Brook Super helpful, thank you. Quick one on shoes, are trail runners fine for the Sapa trek or did you wish you had boots? Trying to avoid packing both.
Replying to EfficientGiraffe2020
Replying to EfficientGiraffe2020 @EfficientGiraffe2020 Trail runners were totally fine for the Sapa valley walks we did, it was dry. The one day it rained the stone paths got slick and I was glad I had poles more than boots. If you go, get the cheap bamboo poles the Hmong ladies sell at the trailhead, best 50k you will spend.