Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.
Holidays 2026
Comments
-
Similar app called Polarsteps.Athletico Charlton said:ProperCharlton said:I'm going to Vietnam with a friend in mid August for 10 nights. We're keeping the plan pretty loose but landing at Ho Chi Minh and returning from Hanoi. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in-between then I'd love to hear them
Spent 17 nights there in 2023. One of my favourite 3 countries visited. People friendly and upbeat, food with French twist was great, scenery was outstanding. 17 days wasn't long enough, it's so long and thin distances are large. We started in Hanoi and went South. Some things that worked for us:
Hanoi - first day we took a tuktuk tour (those cycle ones), they showed us the sights for about an hour then we went back to the ones we wanted to. Went to train street one evening and a roof top bar that was nice (there are lots). Cafe Giang was cool and the egg coffee was amazing. KOTO restaurant food was great and has a great story to it.
Lan ha Bay (next to Ha Long Bay) - we did a 1 night trip on the Rita boat which was awesome
Ninh Binh / Mua Caves - was one of my favourite places. View from Mua Caves was simply amazing! Wish we stayed a night and spent time cycling there but just did a day trip from Hanoi.
Sapa - we did overnight train from Hanoi and stayed 2 nights. Probably too much for 10 days to fit this in but this was a huge highlight for us. We spent a day walking with "Ethos-Spirit of Adventure" they were an amazing tour group and I would love to go back and do a 2-3 day motorbike trip with them one day.
Phong Nah - stayed at Phong Nah FarmStay. Huge cave systems, great 2 nights, rented motorbikes. Absolutely loved it.
We got a very long cab (12 hours) from there to Hoi An. Reason it was so long is we stopped 3 places en route, one was VinhMoc war tunnels. That was a mind-blowing experience.
Hoi An - what a beautiful town, great buzz good food. Did a cookery class which was great for a day, hotel near the beach was great.
HoChiMin - war museum good, AO Show by Lune was great in the evening. Otherwise it was a large, not hugely interesting Asian City, I would almost be tempted to get a flight straight out to Hoi An if you only have 10 days total.
We spent a day in Meekong but it was overly touristy and I didn't enjoy it I had been warned before and should have listened - I think you need to go there for 2 nights to see the authentic side.
We didn't use them but heard great things about KimKim travel as a local tour guide so maybe check their website for ideas.
I must go back one day there is loads more I never saw.
(I tend to pack my holidays hard and this was no exception, moving on every night or two and sleeping on trains etc (my 8 and 10yr old struggled with the pace a bit!)
Enjoy.
Ps. Finally, and this goes for any holiday tbh... We used an app called FindPenguins" which allows you to blog your trip (privately or publicly, ours was private). You can load photos and use it as a diary and if you let it, it will track your journey. It's free and you can load pics and videos. When you get home you can then press print and get presto they send you a photo book of your trip (obvs the book costs ££). It's now used on all our holidays.1 -
I was lucky enough to have two summer hols this year. In June we had week with the whole family in a big gîte in Normandy which I organised as I was keen to share my grandson's first ever holiday. We had a great time and saw some great sights including Gold Beach and Mont Saint-Michel. Zoo de Cerza was very good too, even for someone who's a bit sniffy about zoos; although I do think they're getting better. As for as spending quality time with the nipper though, I might have done better waiting for a few years. At four months of age, he didn't do much.
Last week the lovely Mrs Stig treated us to a week in Norfolk staying in a shepherds hut by a lake. Just the two of us this time for what was largely a walking and wildlife holiday. Recommended sites include: Snettisham, Thetford Forest and Titchwell Marsh which given the number of birders there ought to be renamed Twitchwell Marsh.3 -
I'm on holiday now in Paxos
On the subject of shame @paulsturgess. Should we, as British citizens be ashamed of this?
Does it matter if it was in the past or the present, by people you don't know? Perhaps we are descendants of some of the crew, or worse, the captains of the ships, or worse the members of parliament who ordered the blockade.
Should we ever feel pride or shame over anything for which we've individually held no influence over?
3 -
Well someone should be ashamed of putting sort not sought.3
-
Can’t we just have a friendly and easy-going thread about holidays? No need to poke someone for a reaction where you know it’s going to cause more arguments/disagreements.jimmymelrose said:I'm on holiday now in Paxos
On the subject of shame @paulsturgess. Should we, as British citizens be ashamed of this?
Does it matter if it was in the past or the present, by people you don't know? Perhaps we are descendants of some of the crew, or worse, the captains of the ships, or worse the members of parliament who ordered the blockade.
Should we ever feel pride or shame over anything for which we've individually held no influence over?14 -
Touched down in Tenerife this morning, staying at the El Mirador in their Starprestige area.
this is looking like going down as the best hotel we’ve stayed in, in the Canaries, different level.4 -
Was very impressed by the Holiday Inn Express in Arnhem. Large rooms, large bathroom, very clean, good breakfast selection. Went not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised, as I was by the Netherlands in general.2
-
Did that about 12 years ago. Rodney MS is quite interesting. It's a ghost town. Also Greenwood was interesting as the birthplace of the Black Panther movement. Be careful in New Orleans. Don't do what I did and get over excited, drink too much and end up being mugged by a gang of transexuals....well, unless you're into that kind of thing.DA9 said:Currently in St Louis, MO, start of part II of the great river road trip following the Mississippi River through the southern states to New Orleans, we did the northern half and headwaters last year.8 -
I’m now in Tiptonville TN, at reelfoot lakes, birthplace of Carl Perkins.Cloudworm said:
Did that about 12 years ago. Rodney MS is quite interesting. It's a ghost town. Also Greenwood was interesting as the birthplace of the Black Panther movement. Be careful in New Orleans. Don't do what I did and get over excited, drink too much and end up being mugged by a gang of transexuals....well, unless you're into that kind of thing.DA9 said:Currently in St Louis, MO, start of part II of the great river road trip following the Mississippi River through the southern states to New Orleans, we did the northern half and headwaters last year.
Cairo IL was a complete dump of a ghost town that we drove on the great river road before heading over the Ohio river to Kentucky where the rivers merge1 -
Athletico Charlton said:ProperCharlton said:I'm going to Vietnam with a friend in mid August for 10 nights. We're keeping the plan pretty loose but landing at Ho Chi Minh and returning from Hanoi. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in-between then I'd love to hear them
Spent 17 nights there in 2023. One of my favourite 3 countries visited. People friendly and upbeat, food with French twist was great, scenery was outstanding. 17 days wasn't long enough, it's so long and thin distances are large. We started in Hanoi and went South. Some things that worked for us:
Hanoi - first day we took a tuktuk tour (those cycle ones), they showed us the sights for about an hour then we went back to the ones we wanted to. Went to train street one evening and a roof top bar that was nice (there are lots). Cafe Giang was cool and the egg coffee was amazing. KOTO restaurant food was great and has a great story to it.
Lan ha Bay (next to Ha Long Bay) - we did a 1 night trip on the Rita boat which was awesome
Ninh Binh / Mua Caves - was one of my favourite places. View from Mua Caves was simply amazing! Wish we stayed a night and spent time cycling there but just did a day trip from Hanoi.
Sapa - we did overnight train from Hanoi and stayed 2 nights. Probably too much for 10 days to fit this in but this was a huge highlight for us. We spent a day walking with "Ethos-Spirit of Adventure" they were an amazing tour group and I would love to go back and do a 2-3 day motorbike trip with them one day.
Phong Nah - stayed at Phong Nah FarmStay. Huge cave systems, great 2 nights, rented motorbikes. Absolutely loved it.
We got a very long cab (12 hours) from there to Hoi An. Reason it was so long is we stopped 3 places en route, one was VinhMoc war tunnels. That was a mind-blowing experience.
Hoi An - what a beautiful town, great buzz good food. Did a cookery class which was great for a day, hotel near the beach was great.
HoChiMin - war museum good, AO Show by Lune was great in the evening. Otherwise it was a large, not hugely interesting Asian City, I would almost be tempted to get a flight straight out to Hoi An if you only have 10 days total.
We spent a day in Meekong but it was overly touristy and I didn't enjoy it I had been warned before and should have listened - I think you need to go there for 2 nights to see the authentic side.
We didn't use them but heard great things about KimKim travel as a local tour guide so maybe check their website for ideas.
I must go back one day there is loads more I never saw.
(I tend to pack my holidays hard and this was no exception, moving on every night or two and sleeping on trains etc (my 8 and 10yr old struggled with the pace a bit!)
Enjoy.
Ps. Finally, and this goes for any holiday tbh... We used an app called FindPenguins" which allows you to blog your trip (privately or publicly, ours was private). You can load photos and use it as a diary and if you let it, it will track your journey. It's free and you can load pics and videos. When you get home you can then press print and get presto they send you a photo book of your trip (obvs the book costs ££). It's now used on all our holidays.
Sorry, meant chomchom travel !!
https://chomchomtravel.com/
@ProperCharlton0 -
Sponsored links:
-
Opijata (Croatia) end of October for me and the missus this year... something different to our usual..0
-
What is St Louis like?DA9 said:Currently in St Louis, MO, start of part II of the great river road trip following the Mississippi River through the southern states to New Orleans, we did the northern half and headwaters last year.
You often here that it is quite rough, but I had an old colleague who was from there telling me it was not as bad as people make out0 -
I'm not the provoker.stoneroses19 said:
Can’t we just have a friendly and easy-going thread about holidays? No need to poke someone for a reaction where you know it’s going to cause more arguments/disagreements.jimmymelrose said:I'm on holiday now in Paxos
On the subject of shame @paulsturgess. Should we, as British citizens be ashamed of this?
Does it matter if it was in the past or the present, by people you don't know? Perhaps we are descendants of some of the crew, or worse, the captains of the ships, or worse the members of parliament who ordered the blockade.
Should we ever feel pride or shame over anything for which we've individually held no influence over?
It was suggested that my wife should be ashamed. I'm naturally not pleased.
On the other thread I suggested we discuss shame as that's what she's supposed to feel, and I thought this a good place to start.
Many of you are sharing your holiday destinations here, some of which were colonised or at some time attacked by the British.
No need to argue, just discuss.2 -
Ffs3
-
It’s a lighthearted holiday thread … ffs this is so not the right place to raise these issuesjimmymelrose said:
I'm not the provoker.stoneroses19 said:
Can’t we just have a friendly and easy-going thread about holidays? No need to poke someone for a reaction where you know it’s going to cause more arguments/disagreements.jimmymelrose said:I'm on holiday now in Paxos
On the subject of shame @paulsturgess. Should we, as British citizens be ashamed of this?
Does it matter if it was in the past or the present, by people you don't know? Perhaps we are descendants of some of the crew, or worse, the captains of the ships, or worse the members of parliament who ordered the blockade.
Should we ever feel pride or shame over anything for which we've individually held no influence over?
It was suggested that my wife should be ashamed. I'm naturally not pleased.
On the other thread I suggested we discuss shame as that's what she's supposed to feel, and I thought this a good place to start.
Many of you are sharing your holiday destinations here, some of which were colonised or at some time attacked by the British.
No need to argue, just discuss.5 -
No one wants to have this discussion in a thread about holidays, take it to private messages if you two are that desperate to talk about it.jimmymelrose said:
I'm not the provoker.stoneroses19 said:
Can’t we just have a friendly and easy-going thread about holidays? No need to poke someone for a reaction where you know it’s going to cause more arguments/disagreements.jimmymelrose said:I'm on holiday now in Paxos
On the subject of shame @paulsturgess. Should we, as British citizens be ashamed of this?
Does it matter if it was in the past or the present, by people you don't know? Perhaps we are descendants of some of the crew, or worse, the captains of the ships, or worse the members of parliament who ordered the blockade.
Should we ever feel pride or shame over anything for which we've individually held no influence over?
It was suggested that my wife should be ashamed. I'm naturally not pleased.
On the other thread I suggested we discuss shame as that's what she's supposed to feel, and I thought this a good place to start.
Many of you are sharing your holiday destinations here, some of which were colonised or at some time attacked by the British.
No need to argue, just discuss.2 -
Agree, no more distraction please, thanks0
-
Downtown is ok, near the arch, Busch stadium etc, some very rough parts out towards the airportcafcnick1992 said:
What is St Louis like?DA9 said:Currently in St Louis, MO, start of part II of the great river road trip following the Mississippi River through the southern states to New Orleans, we did the northern half and headwaters last year.
You often here that it is quite rough, but I had an old colleague who was from there telling me it was not as bad as people make out0 -
Currently sat at a bar in Lisbon. Never visited before.
Think it may be my favourite European city.1 -
Hi ProperCharlton, Train Street in Hanoi looks proper Charlton.ProperCharlton said:I'm going to Vietnam with a friend in mid August for 10 nights. We're keeping the plan pretty loose but landing at Ho Chi Minh and returning from Hanoi. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in-between then I'd love to hear them
2 -
Sponsored links:
-
RedPanda said:
Hi ProperCharlton, Train Street in Hanoi looks proper Charlton.ProperCharlton said:I'm going to Vietnam with a friend in mid August for 10 nights. We're keeping the plan pretty loose but landing at Ho Chi Minh and returning from Hanoi. If anyone has any recommendations for things to do in-between then I'd love to hear themUtter filth - NSFW required to be added to the thread title.(I believe that's a D19E Series - could be a D21E I suppose)
0 -
If that was in SE7, all the people sitting by the side of the tracks would be knocking one out4
-
Interested to know how South East trains would explain THAT delay0
-
Self Abusers in the Charlton area1
-
A bit of a long shot but I will ask.
Has anyone been to Hainan Island in China, not far from north Vietnam?. They advertise it as the Hawaiian island of China. If so how did you get there and is it worth visiting?.
It does look really nice and very cheap for good quality hotels. I understand that you don'tneed a visa for China if you stay upto 30 days. Cheers0 -
It’s is a wonderful city mate but the hills got to me a bit !! No matter what direction you turn it’s uphill lolsirjohnhumphrey said:Currently sat at a bar in Lisbon. Never visited before.
Think it may be my favourite European city.1 -
Currently 2/3 of the way through my USA musical journey.Been to Chicago, Minneapolis, S Louis, Nashville and Memphis. Am in New Orleans right now before we head to Austin, then Vegas and Boston before we head home.Fantastic trip and plenty of hangovers!!!0
-
I'm in France for a short holiday before the Derby game. My hotel in Nantes has a railway line right outside it!
#propercharlton
0 -
Bet you took the picture in your Y Fronts1
-
If you didn't like the hills in Lisbon, definitely give Porto a swerve!AndyG said:
It’s is a wonderful city mate but the hills got to me a bit !! No matter what direction you turn it’s uphill lolsirjohnhumphrey said:Currently sat at a bar in Lisbon. Never visited before.
Think it may be my favourite European city.
Lisbon is a beautiful city but Porto pips it, stunning.1
