Vietnam is one of those countries that gets under your skin. You arrive expecting beautiful scenery and cheap pho, and you leave with a full-blown obsession, already planning your return before the plane has left the tarmac. From the fog-draped rice terraces of the north to the white-sand beaches of the south, this narrow, S-shaped country packs an almost absurd amount of wonder into a single trip.
Whether you are a first-timer or a returning devotee, this guide walks you through the very best things to do in Vietnam: the iconic, the underrated, the jaw-dropping, and the downright delicious.
Before You Go: The Basics
Getting into Vietnam has never been easier. The country now offers a 90-day eVisa (single or multiple entry) for a government fee of just US$25 to US$50. You can apply yourself at the official portal, evisa.gov.vn, or let us handle the whole application for you for a small service fee. Processing takes about 3 to 5 working days, and you will want to print a copy for immigration. Citizens of France, Germany, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries get 45 days completely visa-free. Phu Quoc Island even has its own special deal: fly there direct and you get 30 days without any visa at all.
On the ground, grab a tourist eSIM at the airport (around US$5 to US$15 for unlimited data), download the Grab app for taxis and motorbike rides, and get comfortable with Vietnamese dong. The exchange rate is roughly 25,000 VND to the US dollar, which means your banh mi breakfast costs about 40 cents. Vietnam is an extraordinarily affordable destination, and budget travelers can live very well on US$30 to US$50 a day.
⚠️ One critical note: do not try to cross the street like you would anywhere else. Walk slow, walk steady, and trust that the river of motorbikes will part around you. It works. Panicking does not.
The Best Time to Visit
Here is where Vietnam gets a little complicated, in the best possible way. The country stretches over 1,000 miles from north to south, which means the weather varies wildly by region.
The safest answer for a country-wide trip? March and April. The north is warm and clear, the centre is dry and breezy, and the south is sunny before the monsoon arrives. It is the sweet spot where almost everything works.
If you are focused on the north (Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa), September to November is magic, especially for the golden rice harvests in the mountains. Just know that central Vietnam (Hoi An, Hue, Da Nang) gets hit with heavy rain and the occasional typhoon from September through November, so build in some flexibility if you are covering both.
One date to approach with care unless you are prepared: Tet, the Lunar New Year (usually late January or early February). It is Vietnam's biggest holiday, and while witnessing the celebrations is genuinely extraordinary, transport books out months in advance and many restaurants and shops close for days.
Northern Vietnam: Ancient Capitals, Karst Caves, and Mountain Magic
Hanoi: Where Vietnam Begins
Every great Vietnam trip starts in Hanoi. The capital is chaotic, atmospheric, and utterly fascinating, a city where French colonial boulevards give way to the 36-street Old Quarter, where each narrow alley was historically dedicated to a single craft (silk, paper, tin, bamboo). It is the kind of place where you can spend a morning at a 1,000-year-old temple, eat a $1 bowl of pho for lunch, and sip egg coffee in a tucked-away café by afternoon.
The must-sees are well established: Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple at sunrise, when elderly locals practice tai chi on the shores; the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first national university, founded in 1070; the haunting Hoa Lo Prison (nicknamed the "Hanoi Hilton" by American POWs); and the solemn Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the revolutionary leader's preserved body lies in state. It is a city of contradictions, and that tension is exactly what makes it so compelling.
Do not leave without having bun cha, the grilled pork noodle dish famously devoured by Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain in 2016, and a glass of bia hoi, the fresh draft beer dispensed from sidewalk kegs for about 25 cents a glass. Plan for 2 to 3 days.
Ha Long Bay: The Postcard Come to Life
Yes, you have seen the photos. No, they do not do it justice. Ha Long Bay's roughly 1,600 limestone karst islands rising from glassy green water make up one of the world's genuinely unmissable natural sights, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site twice over. The right way to experience it is on an overnight cruise, ideally two nights, drifting through the karsts at dawn when the mist hangs low, kayaking through sea caves, and watching the sky turn pink over the water from the sundeck.
A savvy tip: Ha Long Bay proper gets crowded during peak season. Consider upgrading your itinerary to include Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay nearby, the same dramatic scenery with far fewer boats. The Cat Ba Island side of the archipelago remains one of Vietnam's most rewarding experiences for travelers willing to go slightly off-script. Best time: March to May or September to November. Typhoon risk is real in July and August.
Ninh Binh: Ha Long Bay Without the Water
About two hours south of Hanoi, Ninh Binh deserves far more attention than it typically gets. Imagine Ha Long Bay's limestone karst landscape, but on dry land, threaded with rivers and rice paddies. It is where ancient temple complexes, Buddhist pagodas, and hidden grottoes sit at the feet of dramatic cliffs, and where you can float through caves on a rowboat rowed (improbably) with the oarsman's feet.
The Trang An boat tour is the crown jewel, a UNESCO-listed landscape that doubled as Skull Island in the Kong film, while Tam Coc offers the classic paddies-and-peaks view, best when the rice turns golden in late May. Climb the 500 steps to the Hang Mua viewpoint at sunset and you will have one of Vietnam's best panoramic photos to your name. Plan for 1 to 2 days as a day trip or overnight from Hanoi.
Sapa: Rice Terraces and the Roof of Indochina
Up in Vietnam's northwest, accessible by overnight sleeper bus or train from Hanoi, Sapa is where the country's mountain scenery reaches its most dramatic. Cascading rice terraces, carved by the H'mong, Dao, and Tay ethnic minorities over centuries, tumble down steep valleys in shades of green, gold, and silver depending on the season. The September to October harvest season turns the whole landscape amber and is one of Asia's great photography experiences.
The main draw is trekking between villages with a local guide, staying in a H'mong or Red Dao homestay, and learning a fraction of the complexity of hill-tribe culture. For the ambitious, a cable-car ride up Fansipan, at 3,143 m the highest peak in Indochina, offers a view that stretches into both Vietnam and China on a clear day. A word of warning: Sapa town itself has been heavily over-developed in recent years. Book a homestay 5 to 15 km outside town to get the experience people come for.
Ha Giang Loop: Vietnam's Most Spectacular Drive
Ask seasoned Vietnam travelers what their most memorable experience was, and a remarkable number will say the same thing: the Ha Giang Loop. Up near the Chinese border, this 3 to 4 day motorbike circuit winds through the Dong Van Karst Plateau (a UNESCO Geopark), past H'mong villages clinging to cliffside terraces, over the vertiginous Ma Pi Leng Pass, one of Vietnam's four great mountain passes, and along the jaw-dropping Nho Que River gorge. The Lung Cu Flag Tower marks Vietnam's northernmost point. The landscapes are unlike anything else in Southeast Asia: raw, rugged, and staggeringly beautiful.
You can rent a motorbike and go solo (this requires confidence and an international permit), hire a local "easy rider" guide, or book a 3-day package from a Hanoi hostel for around US$170 to US$250 all-in. Do it in September to November for golden rice terraces, or March to May for clear skies and blooming buckwheat flowers.
Central Vietnam: Emperors, Ancient Towns, and the World's Biggest Cave
Hue: Imperial Grandeur on the Perfume River
Hue was Vietnam's imperial capital under the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, and the city wears its history with tremendous grace. Set along the poetic Perfume River, the UNESCO-listed Imperial Citadel is the centrepiece, a walled city-within-a-city modelled loosely on Beijing's Forbidden City. Beyond its walls, a collection of elaborately designed royal tombs in the surrounding hills are among Vietnam's most rewarding sites: the theatrical, eclectic Khai Dinh Tomb, the melancholy lake gardens of Tu Duc, and the grand symmetry of Minh Mang.
Hue is also where Vietnamese cuisine reaches its most refined. The city's royal cuisine, developed to impress emperors, is all small, intricate, beautifully presented dishes. Seek out bun bo Hue, the spicy lemongrass-heavy beef noodle soup that most Vietnamese will quietly tell you is even better than Hanoi's pho. Plan for 1.5 to 2 days.
Hoi An: The Most Magical Town in Vietnam
If you poll travelers about their single favourite place in Vietnam, Hoi An wins more often than not. And once you are there, you understand why. This UNESCO-listed 15th-to-19th-century trading port is preserved almost impossibly intact, a warren of yellow Chinese shophouses, French colonial facades, wooden-fronted Japanese merchants' houses, and ancient assembly halls, all lit at night by hundreds of silk lanterns in red, yellow, and gold. The famous Japanese Covered Bridge has been connecting two communities since 1593. The narrow streets fill with the smell of incense and grilled corn. The Thu Bon River glows with paper lanterns released at the full moon.
Beyond the ancient town, Hoi An is also one of Vietnam's best places to have custom clothes tailored in 24 hours, eat the regional noodle dish cao lau (made with water from a specific Hoi An well, and arguably impossible to replicate elsewhere), take a cooking class in the herb village of Tra Que, and rent a bicycle out to An Bang Beach. For the full experience, plan 2 to 3 days, and try to time at least one evening here for the Lantern Festival on the 14th of every lunar month, when the electric lights go dark and the town is lit only by candlelight.
Da Nang: Vietnam's Rising Star
Between Hue and Hoi An, Da Nang has quietly become Vietnam's most exciting emerging city. A clean, modern beachfront with great infrastructure and a surprisingly good food scene, it is the natural base for exploring the central region, with Hoi An just 30 minutes south and Hue about 2 hours north via the spectacular Hai Van Pass.
The city has its own charms: the Marble Mountains, five limestone hills riddled with Buddhist shrines and cave sanctuaries; the Dragon Bridge, which spectacularly breathes real fire and water on weekend nights; and the surreal Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills, held aloft by two giant stone hands and drawing some of the most enthusiastic social-media posts in Vietnam.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang: The World Below Ground
There is knowing that Vietnam has incredible caves, and then there is standing inside Son Doong Cave, the world's largest, with a whole separate weather system forming above you, complete with clouds. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, twice recognised by UNESCO, is one of the world's great adventure-travel destinations.
For day visitors, Paradise Cave delivers cathedral-like chambers of stalactites stretching 31 km into the earth. Hang Toi (Dark Cave) offers a zipline entry, a swim through darkness, and a therapeutic mud bath. Hang En, the world's third-largest cave, is accessible on a two-day camping trip that involves sleeping on a sandy beach inside the cave itself.
And then there is Son Doong. The expedition runs 6 days, requires serious fitness, and costs around US$3,000 per person. It is, by all accounts, the most extraordinary single experience in Vietnam. There is just one complication: tours are sold out through all of 2027, and 2028 bookings are now open through the sole operator, Oxalis Adventure. If this is on your bucket list, plan two or more years in advance. Getting there: fly to Dong Hoi airport, about an hour from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, then 45 minutes to Phong Nha village.
Southern Vietnam: Megacity Energy, Floating Markets, and Beach Paradise
Ho Chi Minh City: Saigon Forever
Nobody calls it Ho Chi Minh City. Ask for "Saigon" and everyone knows exactly where you mean, because the old name never really left. Vietnam's commercial capital is overwhelming in the best possible way: 9 million people, more motorbikes than seems physically possible, world-class street food at every corner, and an energy that does not let up even at 2 am.
History is everywhere. The War Remnants Museum is one of the most important, and most emotionally demanding, museums in Southeast Asia, documenting the Vietnam War with unflinching honesty. The Reunification Palace (formerly Independence Palace) is frozen in time; the tanks that rolled through its gates in 1975 are still parked on the lawn. And the half-day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels, 250 km of underground passageways used by the Viet Cong, is essential.
But Saigon is also a city of brilliant food: try com tam (broken rice with grilled pork, a fried egg, and a forest of herbs), the city's legendary banh mi sandwiches, and the silky, aromatic bowls of hu tieu Nam Vang, all best chased with a sunset drink at a rooftop bar where the city glitters below you in every direction. Plan for 2 to 3 days.
The Mekong Delta: Life on the Water
Spread across Vietnam's southern tip, the Mekong Delta is Vietnam at its most elemental, a labyrinth of canals, floating markets, coconut groves, and rice paddies that feeds the entire country. Life here revolves almost entirely around the water.
The Cai Rang Floating Market outside Can Tho is the centrepiece: rise at 4:30 am, take a small boat out before sunrise, and navigate a traffic jam of wooden vessels piled high with watermelons, pineapples, and dragon fruit, each boat advertising its wares by hanging a sample from a tall pole. It is loud, chaotic, colourful, and completely alive. Beyond Cai Rang, Ben Tre offers sampan rides through palm-shaded canals to coconut-candy workshops; Chau Doc has Cham Muslim villages and Sam Mountain; and the whole region pairs naturally with an onward trip to Phu Quoc Island. Plan for 2 to 3 days; most travelers join a small-group tour from Ho Chi Minh City.
Phu Quoc: Vietnam's Island Jewel
Vietnam's largest island sits off the southwestern coast, closer to Cambodia than to Ho Chi Minh City, and it has become the country's premier beach destination, for good reason. Bai Sao (Star Beach) and Bai Khem consistently rank among the finest beaches in Southeast Asia, with that particular shade of turquoise that makes you stop and just stare.
The island has developed rapidly, with luxury resorts, a cable-car crossing to the smaller offshore islands, and a surprisingly sophisticated dining scene. But there are still quieter corners: the northern and eastern coasts, the Phu Quoc National Park hiking trails, the working fishing villages, and the fish-sauce factories that produce the fragrant condiment the country runs on. A quirky bonus: Phu Quoc has a special 30-day visa-free policy for travelers who fly there directly, with no eVisa required if you stay on the island. Best time: November to April, when the sea is calm and the skies are clear.
Hidden Gems Worth Seeking Out
The places above are famous for excellent reasons, but Vietnam's best experiences sometimes come from going slightly off-script:
- Lan Ha Bay has all of Ha Long Bay's limestone karst drama with a fraction of the boats; access it via Cat Ba Island.
- Pu Luong Nature Reserve in Thanh Hoa province offers Sapa-quality rice terraces and ethnic-minority culture with almost no crowds, just four hours from Hanoi.
- Quy Nhon on the south-central coast is where Vietnamese people go on holiday: quiet beaches, extraordinary seafood, ancient Cham ruins, and not a tour bus in sight. It is what Nha Trang was twenty years ago.
- Con Dao Islands, once a French colonial prison, are now one of Vietnam's most pristine and remote beach destinations. The Six Senses resort here is consistently ranked among the finest in Asia, but independent travelers can also stay simply and have the turtles-and-coral experience mostly to themselves.
- Da Lat, the cool-climate hill-station city at 1,500 m, feels like a French town inexplicably transplanted to a Vietnamese plateau: pine forests, flower farms, cascading waterfalls, a genuinely eccentric architectural landmark called the Crazy House, and the country's best coffee.
Getting Around: The Practical Magic
Vietnam's geography, long and thin with a single spine, actually makes navigation surprisingly logical.
- Fly between major hubs (Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City) to save time; domestic tickets can be as cheap as US$40 to US$80. VietJet, Bamboo Airways, and Vietnam Airlines all serve the main routes.
- Take the train for the scenic middle legs. The Reunification Express running the length of the country is legendary, but the truly unmissable stretch is just 3 hours: Hue to Da Nang over the Hai Van Pass, passing through tunnels and hugging clifftops above the sea. Book in advance.
- Sleep on the bus for mountain routes; the overnight sleeper bus from Hanoi to Sapa is perfectly functional and costs about US$15. "Limousine" minivans (9-seater Mercedes vans) have become the comfortable middle option for routes like Da Nang to Hoi An.
- Use Grab in cities. It is reliable, metered, and avoids all negotiation. In smaller towns, Grab moto (motorbike taxi) is the fastest and most fun way to cover short distances.
A Few Parting Notes
Vietnam welcomed a record 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, a 20% jump on the previous year. Crowd management at Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, and Sapa is a real issue at peak times. The fix is simple: go early in the morning, choose slightly off-peak months (March, May, early September), and pick the alternatives flagged in this guide when you have flexibility.
The country's cuisine alone could justify the trip. Each region has its own culinary identity, from the subtle, broth-forward north to the fiery imperial complexity of the centre and the herb-heavy sweetness of the south, and eating your way through Vietnam is as rich an education as visiting any museum.
Most of all, Vietnam rewards the curious. The country's history is deep and sometimes painful, its landscapes are extravagantly varied, its people are warm and fiercely proud, and its food is world-class. Go with an open mind and a flexible itinerary, and it will almost certainly be one of the finest trips of your life.
Planning ahead: Son Doong Cave tours are currently sold out through 2027, with 2028 bookings open via Oxalis Adventure. And whatever you plan, sort your visa early: most visitors need a Vietnam eVisa, it is valid for up to 90 days, and we can handle the whole application for you so it is one less thing to think about.
