in the last year, i've been to saigon, vung tao, nha trang, danang, and now hue. hue is by far the worst for the lady scene. i took my mototaxi guy from danang to hue, the moto ride took about 3 hrs but that included a couple 15 minute stops. even with his assistance, there were only rip offs to be had. the girls offered by the mototaxis were old AND ugly. the girls offered in the karaoke were either too old or too young. so you know you are in bad shape when you can't get a girl and your with a viet guy.

i enjoyed the moto ride but you can get much of the same view if you take the train from danang to hue. it is cheaper (or even a bus, i think $5).
the one thing you miss is going up hai van pass. most cars/buses go through a tunnel. motos go up and over the mountain. nice views but can be cloudy. i had sun most of the time.

i stayed at nguyen tri phuong hotel, located at 56 nguyen tri phuong (hotel and street same name). it is about three blocks from the river. one block closer to the river is tran cao van. this street has two decent restaurants, stop and go cafe and fancy restaurant. my hotel had no food. cost was $15/nt w/internet and decent tv.

hue is packed with tourists. hoi an (about 30 minutes south of danang) and hue (say 2 hrs north of danang by bus) are/have UNESCO historical sites so they are tourist meccas. these things don't appeal to me, i like hanging out where people currently live. not in the ruins where people lived a few hundred years ago. i realize i'm in the minority with this view but that is the way it is for me. i didn't go to hoi an on purpose but thought hue might be better. i stayed two nights and hauled my ass out of there.

the main reason i went to hue was to see the citadel. i've read alot over the years about the battle of hue and how the VC hid in the citadel (former palace). then the US opened up with the big guns and the place took a real beating. so i was one with the tourists in this place. worth seeing.

the only reason i might go back is to cruise hwy 9 on a motorbike. that road is north of hue and leads to laos. it is a bit south of the former DMZ. the marine base, khe sanh was off this road as was the special forces camp at lang vei. i'm sure both are just open field now but i've had fun cruising on the motos in vietnam, either with driver or w/o. once you are outside the cities, roads are wide open.

if you are interested, read about khe sanh and lang vei. khe sanh was pounded by artillery for a couple months. the base was cutoff and the US made thousands of bombing runs to keep the guys alive. there was an airstrip inside the base so they were able to get supplies from time to time via air. lang vei was a green beret camp near the lao border (24 US and another 500 viets). got overrun in 15 minutes. half died, and the rest were wounded.

i've always liked touring battle sites even though there is usually nothing left to see. i've been all over europe and seen various sites from WWI and WWII.

so to conclude, if you like UNESCO sites or touring battle sites, you'll be okay in hue. if you want to hang with some ladies, you will not be okay. IMHO.

Thanks for the info on Vietnam.
There's not enough.
I'm still trying to figure out where's a good place to make a quick run to the beach from Hanoi. It doesn't sound like Halong Bay is the place (I have a girl in Hanoi I can take with me, not looking for a mongering spot).

hey Buick, thanks for the info! been looking for places in SEA to go to that i haven't been before. i like to see battle sights but i like the ladies even more! hehe. so you've given us something to think about.

Buick
Can you recommend any lady friendly hotels in Saigon and Hanoi? I am heading to Vietnam next month and I am struggling to find a place to stay

It's too bad about Hue, the gals from that area are beautiful from what I've seen. Buick, did you find any decent action anywhere else you travelled?

here are responses:

BEACHES - if you are in hanoi and have a girl already, nha trang might be the best choice. everything is walking distance, beach, hotel, restaurant, etc... and i think the girls like to brag that they've been there. plus you have some nightlife if you want it. danang/my khe beach would be second. but here you have to ride a motorbike about 10 minutes to get to the beach. nightlife is very limited. if you and the girl are looking to go out at night, danang is not a great spot.

SGN HOTELS (have not been to hanoi)- i stay at the linh hotel pretty much every time i'm in sgn. i've been through sgn at least 10 times in the last year. ladies are allowed until midnight. it is a half block from hai ba trung where you have 5-7 lady bars. i've posted the email address in the saigon hotel section of this site. ask for room 601, $45/nt, top floor, view of the river. room is a bit small. if you like larger room, ask for 301, big room but has two beds (doubles same size as room 601) and costs $55/nt. also a balcony (601 no balcony). the rooms in the back are usually $35/nt and are more quiet but don't get much light. internet is decent and so is TV. breakfast very plain but okay. if you want something a little more upscale, there is the bong sen on dong khoi. when i stayed there they allowed guests until 10pm and they had a breakfast buffet which is much better than what you get at the linh hotel.

if you need overnight with the ladies, then you've got to stay over in the backpacker section. i hate backpackers and stay away from those areas on purpose. i really should say i hate pseudo/new age backpackers. i've been on the road since may 15th and i carry less than these "backpackers". some of them carry three packs, one on their back, one on their front, and one in their hand. and they are on a two week trip !!! just ridiculous and a real insult to the real backpacker.

anyway, i'd just expect to do short time with the gals in sgn. take them to the room at 7pm and have them leave at 11pm. i've had overnights at the linh but i don't even bother to negotiate it anymore. i just have the girls leave. they get up early in vietnam and can be back by your side at 10am. you pay s/t for the evening and then another s/t for the morning. the two s/t payments will equal the one l/t payment and you get action before bed and after wake up.

note: if you are traveling with a viet gal, you should be able to check into the linh hotel together and have no problems. other hotes will not even allow a viet girl to check in with you.

LADIES OF VIETNAM - first, the ladies in hue were very attractive. i think the people in hue must have more money than most cities in vietnam. the girls dressed really nice and looked great. but not so good for us guys. as far as lady friendly, i'd rank the cities:

saigon (lady bars, moto girls, karaoke)
vung tao (lady bars, moto girls, karaoke)
danang (moto girls, karaoke)
nha trang (karaoke)
hue (karaoke)

"moto girls" would be either a lady pimping herself or a moto taxi guy arranging a lady for you. i would avoid the lady pimping herself. i actually like dealing with the mama or the papa. if you don't like the girl, just have them keep bringing more until you like what you see. i just sit at a sidewalk cafe and have them bring the ladies to me for a viewing.

i should also say that every city has "massage" but i've passed on that.

i would avoid karaoke. you might be okay if you go with some locals but in most cases you'll just pay too much for drinks/food and end up with no girls.

Thanks for the advice I have sent a booking request to the linh hotel, waiting for reply.

i am at the linh hotel right now and will be for another week. let me know if you have any issues and i'll talk to reception. i say this because i never got a response to my room request for this visit. i showed up thinking i had no reservation and asked if they had a room. they looked at me like i was an idiot. like "of course we have a room, you made a reservation." claimed they responded so maybe i deleted the message on accident.

by the way, if you search the net, you can find some pictures of the hotel. they are the "old" hotel. it was totally renovated in Q3 07. i stayed at the bong sen in sept 07 and checked the rooms at the linh during that trip. there were not open for business yet but i looked at the rooms. stayed there most every visit since. so don't be turned off by what you might see on the net.

Thanks I sent you a PM, as of this morning I still have not received a reply.

are you saying a reply from me or from the hotel ?

i sent you a PM and also an email to your personal acct. check your email, should have a note from me via my personal email.

you've got two rooms reserved at linh hotel.

I sent you a PM, thanks for all the help not only did they sort out the rooms but they arranged an airport pick up and a tour for us AND EMAILED A CONFIRMATION!