This time the weather was not so nice, 3 to 10 degrees and misty. Airfare from Singapore is S$195 return incl. tax. The tour is US$416 for 9 days and 8 nights with Breakfast and Lunches thrown in, we pay for the dinner except for the dinner in the Classic Sail that we stayed overnight on at Halong Bay.The Viet Hotel is a good clean 3 star hotel with good rooms and breakfast. All in all Ecotravelvietnam.com gives fair value for their customized tour.On the average we gave US$2 perperson per day on tips to the porters, drivers and tour guide depending on whether we like or do not like their service.
Advise: If you're going to Halong Bay it would be better to take an overnight trip on a boat, we were on the Classic Sail and the food was great and it was a wonderful trip.
If you're watching the water puppet show in Hanoi and wants to take pictures, make sure you tell the tour company to book the front seats and not the back.
The traffic in Vietnam is really chaotic and the honking drive me nuts.