Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Hanoi & Halong Bay Encounter

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The main plus with this book is that it conatined a fold out map of Hanoi. The map is paper and probably won't last more than a trip or two to Hanoi, but it was pretty detailed with a good street index. On a 5 day trip to Vietnam, I relied on this book more than most. It was pretty easy to use because it divided the city up into sections, so you could easily plan your time efficiently without criss-crossing town when it was not needed. I thought there was a lack of information about specifics, such as opening/closing times, admission prices, etc, taxi costs, etc. Also, a cab from the airport into town should cost about $15 USD or 250,000 Dong. Prices in Dong are usually quoted by dropping the three zeros (e.g. 250), so if someone quotes you a price of 2,500, they mean 2,500,000 Dong. For Lonely Planet, I thought these kinds of tips should have been included in the book, but they were lacking.

But otherwise, if you're looking for a guide to Hanoi and Halong Bay, I would say pass this up. My husband and I recently used this on a trip to Vietnam and were disappointed that it's already very outdated.

Also, the author really missed the boat on some areas including his table on how long it takes to walk from West Lake to the Old Quarter. Um, no it doesn't take 15 minutes... no matter how fast you walk!!

Also, there were some incorrect info that we came upon, such as the description of Temple of Literature. It had different dates that what was actually posted at the Temple of Literature.

Lastly, the restaurants recommended were mostly misses. And it's really outdated that they need to stop selling this!!! All the prices quoted in the book, need to be about doubled. We ran into another couple carrying the same book and compared how useful it was (or wasn't) and they completely agreed that this book wasn't worth it.

Would have been better if the author included less amateurish photos taking up the entire page (like the pic of his daughter, regardless of how cute he thinks she is)... and put more helpful info in.