One month in Vietnam - The south

This is the second part of my trip to Vietnam. For the general information they are in the article on the part of the north.

HOI AN

Hoi An is a small town full of charm. The city center is registered as a UNESCO heritage site, which has allowed it to keep its typical side and its old configuration. I advise to stay 2 days.

* Accommodation : We stayed at Cococha Hostel. It is a party hostel, every day are organized theme parties. The goal is to have fun. Nice for two days maximum according to me. The breakfast is in the form of buffet and that we adore.

* Restaurants : As everywhere in Vietnam, the best is to eat in a small local "buibui". But I recommend Nana's Kitchen & Claypot, which is a bit more expensive but excellent.

* Activities : The city center can be discovered on foot or by bike and in half a day you will have done the tour. There are several monuments to visit, these are not free. In the evening, the center is filled with lanterns, it is beautiful. There is also a market every evening.

You can go to the beach by scooter, I recommend the Hidden Beach which is beautiful and quiet. A little further you have the beach of An Bang, which I did not have the opportunity to do but which would be the most beautiful beach in Hoi An.

From Hoi An you have the possibility to make the Hai Van Pass. It is a beautiful road of 21km along the sea. It can be done by scooter easily. It takes one day to go to Hoi An and back.

HO CHI MINH

Ho Chi Minh, or Saigon, is the economic capital of Vietnam. It is a city full of history, with a touch of French architecture and incredible rooftops. It is noisy, the traffic is awful, but you get a vibe there like nowhere else in Vietnam. I recommend staying there for 3-4 days or more if you like the city.

* Accommodation : We first stayed at Joy Hostel. It's well located, clean and not expensive at all but very small. Apart from sleeping there, you can't expect to do anything else.

Then we stayed at Tam Hostel Saigon. It's not a party hostel and it's perfect. I particularly liked the small rooftop where we take the breakfast (which is very good by the way) and the fact that it is very well located.

* Restaurants : Ho Chi Minh is full of restaurants. Again, go for small local restaurants. I recommend the restaurants Bun Bo Nam Bo - Ba Ba which is good and not expensive as well as the restaurant Café Marcel which is a killer! Very Instagrammable but the taste follows so we love it. You absolutely have to try the croque-monsieur. For those who like donuts there is Dosh Donuts which is super yummy.

* Activities : There is so much to do in Ho Chi Minh. First of all, walk around the city passing by the Notre-Dame cathedral, the post office, the book street, the Nguyen Hue boulevard with the famous building with all the shops/snacks inside. At night with the neon lights it's really nice. You can also go to the Ben Thanh Market and have a bite to eat.

A must-see is the war museum. It is not an easy and cheerful visit but important to understand the history of Vietnam.

For the night life, the street to party is Pham Ngu Lao Street. It feels like a mini Las Vegas at night.

Other activities are to be done around Ho Chi Minh like the Mekong Delta or the war tunnels in Cu Chi. But I unfortunately did not do them.