Total new comer to Vietnam (1 Viewer)

Hi everyone
we are planning a trip to Vietnam in January with a tour company, Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. We are on holiday first to see a new country and secondly to get in what birding we can. We have six days in Hoi An but time elsewhere will be limited to "a day at your leisure" as the itinerary says!

So any advice would be welcome. I understand that cities can be limited but eBirds shows a couple of places in Hanoi, Botanical gardens and the banks of the Red River.
Ho Chi Minh City is another mystery, is it possible to get to Cat Tien in a day and back?

I guess I'm pretty desperate for info. Is this the migration period, for example, any good local guides that do 1/2 or 1-day birding.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

In Hoi An, you can walk or cycle out of the town on Hai Ba Trung street into a large area of marshes with lots of good birds - easy to find. If you hire a car/driver, you can get to the top of Bach Ma National Park in about 3 hours from Hoi An. Same way, you can get to Sin Tra promontory (Nui Da Nang on Google Maps) in DaNang in about an hour (the road facing north is best but a little hard to find), this is not a patch on Bach Ma but you can get there on a motorbike and there are excellent seafood restaurants on Vo Nguyen Giap street in Da Nang (Nha Hang Be Man).

In HCM, no, you can't get to Nam Cat Tien and back in a day, even with your own car/driver. The Botanical Garden (Thao Cam Vien) at the end of Le Duan street is the most accessible spot for a few common birds; it opens at 7am. For Coastal birds, you can get to Can Gio or Go Cong/Tan Thanh on a day trip with a guide.

The best bird guides are at vietnambirding.com/ OR http://www.vietnamwildtour.com/ You may find cheaper, but not better.

Hi Glen, thanks for the information in your reply. We seem to be in a dilemma between Thailand and Vietnam, but your info is very helpful.
Roger