Bathrooms
When you’re travelling through rural North Vietnam, a lot of accommodation is set up for Vietnamese guests, which often means the classic Vietnamese bathroom layout — the shower sits right between the toilet and the vanity. After someone showers, the whole floor is wet.
If you get up during the night, your feet go straight into the puddles unless you put on the little plastic things they provide… and they’re usually tiny.
For my tours, “comfortable accommodation” means aiming for Western-style bathrooms: a separate shower cubicle, a proper screen, or at least a cordoned-off shower area so the bathroom isn’t constantly soaked.
Mattresses
Beds in Vietnam can also be a surprise. Vietnamese mattresses are firm — and by firm, I mean proper plank‑grade solid. Every now and then you’ll find one with a soft topper, but that’s not common in the rural places.
I do my best to choose accommodation where the mattress is at least semi-comfortable. After a long day on the bike, having a bed you can actually relax into makes a massive difference to how you feel the next morning.
Luggage & Access
Another thing I keep in mind is how easy it is to get yourself and your gear into the room. Not every hotel in Vietnam has a lift, and it’s surprisingly common to end up on the fourth or fifth floor with nothing but stairs. Same goes for some guesthouses — you might park the bike out the front, then have to lug your bag up a steep staircase or across a courtyard.
For comfort and convenience, I try to pick places where:
- There’s a lift, or
- The rooms aren’t up endless flights of stairs, or
- You don’t have to trek a long distance with your luggage.
It just makes the whole experience easier, especially after a day on the road when all you want is a hot shower and a decent lie‑down.