Top handy tips for cheap holidays

Fly on Wednesday, book months ahead and avoid holiday seasons, etc are top hot tips for cheap holidays.

Booking a vacation is seen to be a challenging task, which is full of strain. While there are too much choice, you may feel at a loss. You even don’t know whether you get the best deal or not. You are in a divided mind as to what to do: click-to-buy right now or wait until the price goes down. Follow these useful tips to have cheap vacations.

Booking as soon as possible

It can be clearly seen that, the earlier you book the better price you get. If you hope to get the best deal for a vacation, you’d better book as far in advance as possible. The airlines, hotels, travel agency always have promotion program for slack season particularly the airlines often release thousands of cheap flight tickets 6 months before the departure. Grab deals when available to save up to 50% or 60%.

If you want to visit the most popular European destinations like Amalfi Coast, Tuscany and Greece, you have to book nine months in advance. Room rates are usually at their lowest when availability is at its highest. It’s even more critical to plan from time on for school holidays. These days sell out quickly and will rarely lower the price. You shouldn’t travel in the first week of the school holidays – these are the most crowded and costly.

Wednesday is “diamond” day

Instead of leaping on the nearest Saturday, think with a more mid-week mind. Less people fly on these days so flight prices drop to attract buyers.

Think about going on vacation from mid-week while others choose weekend holidays. Because not many people fly on these days, the flight ticket prices reduce to get more buyers. Starting your trip on weekdays instead of weekend can help you save a lot of money on flight tickets. A Wednesday-to-Wednesday trip can make you save up to 50% on flights comparing with a Friday-to-Friday trip.

Of course, it can affect your working week but it worth arranging your work.

Online booking is a right choice

Checking flight prices and booking online or via app is very popular these days because of its convenience and money saving. Booking last minute hotels via Expedia’s mobile app can save up to 40%.

Read full post here: Things to do in Hanoi

Things to do in Hanoi in one day

Hanoi is famous for temples, pagodas, sights, and historic sites. When visiting Hanoi, you may be confused what to eat, things to do in Hanoi. Read my article 43 Hanoi delicious dishes that are worth of money as a suggestion for food and the following information will help you experience Hanoi easier.

Must-see destination: A series of historic monuments like Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature – Imperial Academy), One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda, imperial citadel of Thang Long. Some other famoust attractions such as Hoan Kiem Lake, Long Bien Bridge. Some museums like Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Ho Chi Minh Museum, National Museum of Vietnamese History. Wandering around the Old Quarter to know more about Hanoiean’s life.

Time: Within a day or 2 – 3 days if you visit the suburb like Bat Trang village, Co Loa, Huong Pagoda, etc.

Means of transport: car, taxi, bus or motorbike

Schedule for one day tour in Hanoi

If you have only one day in Hanoi and it’s the first time you visit Hanoi, you’d better pay a visit to some remarkable attractions. If you come here for second time or you already visited famous places in Hanoi, you can choose some destination around Hanoi, which is also worth visiting.

Here is the popular schedule that you can follow or change to suit your taste.

8AM: Visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (it should be noted that Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed on Monday and Friday). If you go there on Monday and Friday, you can wander around, take photos and visit the One pilar pagoda. Note: When visiting Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, you have to register at the back gate in Ngoc Ha Street.

Opening hours:

In summer (from Apr 1st to Oct 2)

Weekdays: From 7:30am to 10:30am

Weekends and Holiday: 7:30am to 11:00am

In winter (From Nov 1st to Mar 31st the next year)

Weekdays: From 8:00am to 11:00am

Weekends and Holiday: 8:00am to 11:30am

10AM: Continue visiting Tran Quoc pagoda (The oldest Buddhist temple in Hanoi that is located on a small island near the southeastern shore of Hanoi’s West Lake. It’s about 2,5km from the Mausoleum to Tran Quoc Pagoda. You can also visit Tran Quoc Pagoda before the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum but remember the opening hours.

10:45am: Leave Tran Quoc Pagoda, you go straight to Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam (The Temple of Literature – Imperial Academy), then you can have lunch at Bun Cha Ca Sinh Tu restaurant (80 Nguyen Khuyen) or Pho 24 (61 Van Mieu Street) next to Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam. If you don’t mind going far to eat, you can find your favorite restaurant.

1:30pm: In the afternoon, you can go to Vietnam Museum of Ethnology which is about 8km from the city center. You can learn about culture of 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam. You can know how people in different regions in Vietnam live. It’s also ranks forth in the list of Asia’s top 25 attractive museums in Asia according to Tripadvisor. Opening hours is 8:30am to 5:30pm Tuesday to Sunday

Read full post here: Things to do in Hanoi

Hanoi travel guide for a wonderful trip

If you are going to visit Hanoi, congratulation as I will tell you some tips so that you can have a more fantastic trip.
It would be better if you keep the following Hanoi travel guide in mind. Then you will prepare careful for your trip.

Best time to visit Hanoi
There are four distinct seasons in Hanoi: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. It’s warm and wet in Spring, Summer is so hot, winter is dry and cold, Autumn is cool. However, it is possible to divide the climate here into two main seasons: the rainy season from May to September (it’s hot, heavy rain), and the dry season from October to April (it’s cold, little rainfall). Each season bring specific beauty to Hanoi so you’d better come here at diferrent time to feel the whole beauty of Hanoi. If you don’t have chance, most Vietnamese people believe the best time to visit Hanoi is Autumn (from September to December).  In autumn, you can enjoy the extremely cool and lovely weather, it’s sunny but not hot so you can take the best photo. At that time, Hanoi is full of milk flower fragrance, fair wind, the streets are covered by yellow leaves falling, the sky is blue and bright, the sun shines faintly, I will tell you about the specific characteristics of Hanoi autumn in the following article.

Clothing
If you travel to Hanoi in summer, you should wear neat, thin and sweat absorbing clothes as the weather is very sultry. In winter, you should bring sweater, coat or thick jacket as sometimes it’s under 10°C. However, tourists often visit some other places in Vietnam so you should check the weather of the place you will come to bring the suitable clothes.
As there many pagodas or temples in Hanoi, you should wear demure clothes or dress well (avoid miniskirt, shorts…) when visiting those sacred place or Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Remember this Hanoi travel guide for better preparation.

Shopping
It’s really exciting to go to the market in Vietnam. However, Vietnamese people have bargain culture so you should check the price of different stalls before bargain so that you aren’t overcharged. You’d better pay one price (about 50% of the price the vendor said) and then add up a bit until the seller agree. In case you do not want to buy the items, you should also smile and thank the seller. Tell them you want to see more of other goods before deciding whether to buy or not...
Read full post here: Things to do in Hanoi