Vietnam Travel Guide

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and its second-largest city, set on the Red River in the north. It is the country's political and cultural heart, known for the maze-like Old Quarter, tree-lined French-colonial boulevards, Hoan Kiem Lake and some of the best street food in Southeast Asia.

Ha Long Bay is Vietnam's most famous natural wonder — thousands of limestone karst islands rising from emerald water in the Gulf of Tonkin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most visitors experience it on an overnight cruise from near Hanoi; the quieter, adjoining Lan Ha Bay is reached from Cat Ba Island.

Ninh Binh is a landscape of limestone karsts rising from rice paddies and rivers, often called 'Ha Long Bay on land'. Its Trang An and Tam Coc waterways, the Mua Cave viewpoint and the ancient capital of Hoa Lu make it one of the easiest and most rewarding day or overnight trips from Hanoi.

Cat Ba is the largest island off Hai Phong and the quieter gateway to Lan Ha Bay, a stunning karst seascape next to Ha Long Bay with fewer boats. It combines a national park, climbing and kayaking with beaches and a growing harbour town.

Da Nang is Vietnam's third-largest city and the hub of the central coast, sitting between the Hai Van Pass and a long stretch of sandy beach. It is a modern, easy-going base for My Khe Beach, the Marble Mountains, the Dragon Bridge, and day trips to Hoi An and the Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills.

Hoi An is a beautifully preserved former trading port on the central coast, its lantern-lit Ancient Town a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is known for tailors, riverside lanterns, Cao Lau noodles and the nearby An Bang and Cua Dai beaches — a short hop from Da Nang.

Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty, and its walled Citadel, royal tombs and pagodas along the Perfume River are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a quieter, history-rich stop between Hanoi and Da Nang, famous for its refined royal cuisine.

Quang Tri, on the north-central coast, holds two very different draws: the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO site with some of the world's largest caves, and the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of the Vietnam War, with tunnels, bases and memorials along the old 17th parallel.

Ha Giang is Vietnam's northernmost frontier — a mountainous region of limestone karsts, terraced valleys and ethnic-minority villages along the Chinese border. It is famous for the Ha Giang Loop, a 3–4 day motorbike circuit widely rated one of the most spectacular rides in Asia, and the UNESCO-listed Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark.

Sapa is a former French hill station high in the northern mountains, the base for trekking terraced rice valleys and visiting Hmong, Dao and Tay villages. Nearby Fansipan, at 3,143 m, is the highest peak in Indochina, reachable by cable car or a hard climb.

Cao Bang is a remote northern province of limestone mountains and ethnic-minority villages, home to Ban Gioc — one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls in Southeast Asia, straddling the Vietnam–China border — and the Nguom Ngao caves and Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Geopark.

Ho Chi Minh City — still widely called Saigon — is Vietnam's largest city and its commercial engine in the south. It is fast, hot and energetic: French-era landmarks and rooftop bars in District 1, the sobering War Remnants Museum, and the Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta within day-trip reach.

Phu Quoc is Vietnam's largest island, off the southwest coast in the Gulf of Thailand — white-sand beaches, a national park interior, fish-sauce factories and pepper farms, plus resort development around Duong Dong and the south. It offers visa-free entry for many nationalities under Vietnam's island policy.

Nha Trang is Vietnam's best-known beach city, a long crescent of sand backed by a lively promenade on the south-central coast. It's the base for island-hopping and diving in the bay, mud baths, the Po Nagar Cham towers and the VinWonders theme park on Hon Tre island.

Mui Ne is a coastal strip near Phan Thiet famous for its sand dunes — the white dunes, the red dunes and the Fairy Stream — and for some of Asia's best kitesurfing thanks to reliable wind. It's an easy beach-and-dunes escape from Ho Chi Minh City.

Da Lat is a cool-climate hill town in the Central Highlands, built by the French as a mountain retreat. At around 1,500 m it swaps Vietnam's heat for pine forests, flower gardens, lakes and waterfalls — popular for honeymoons, canyoning and a growing coffee and wine scene.

Dak Lak, centred on Buon Ma Thuot, is the heart of Vietnam's coffee country in the Central Highlands. It's a region of red-earth plantations, waterfalls, Ede and M'nong ethnic-minority culture, and Lak Lake — a slower, less-touristed side of Vietnam built around the bean.

Vung Tau is a seaside city on a cape southeast of Ho Chi Minh City — the capital's easiest beach escape, reached by a fast ferry. It mixes beaches, a hilltop Christ the King statue, lighthouse views, French-colonial villas and fresh, cheap seafood.

Can Tho is the largest city of the Mekong Delta and the gateway to its famous floating markets. Life here runs on the water — Cai Rang market at dawn, fruit orchards, rice-noodle workshops and homestays along palm-lined canals.