VIETNAM · SOUTHEAST ASIA
From the karst bays to the Mekong.
A thousand miles of limestone bays, lantern-lit old towns, terraced mountains and river deltas. Hanoi and the north, Hue and Hoi An through the middle, Saigon and the Mekong down south.
Only in Vietnam
Three days you can only have here.
Beaches and boat trips turn up all over Southeast Asia. Sleeping under the karsts of Ha Long, being rowed by foot through the caves at Ninh Binh, and watching Hoi An fill with lantern light belong to Vietnam alone. Plan the rest of the trip around them.
Out on the bay
A night among the karsts
Close to two thousand limestone islands rise straight out of the Gulf of Tonkin, and the way to see them is to sleep out there. Overnight junks drop anchor in quiet coves, kayaks slip into hidden lagoons, and the water goes glassy once the day boats have gone in.
- 1 Hanoi: Full-Day Halong Bay Cruise with Swimming & Kayak Tour
- 2 Cozy Bay Halong 5-Star Day Cruise, Buffet, Cave, Kayak, Swimming
- 3 Lan Ha – Ha Long Bay – Dau Be island 2D/1N from Cat Ba in less touristy areas.
On the rivers
Rowed through the caves
They call it Ha Long on land: the same towers of limestone, but standing in flooded rice fields instead of the sea. Local women row the little sampans with their feet, carrying you low through the river caves and out under the karsts at Tam Coc and Trang An.
- 1 Full-Day Ninh Binh Highlights Tour from Hanoi
- 2 Ninh Binh Full-Day Tour from Hanoi to Hoa Lu, Tam Coc & Mua Cave Via Boat & Bike
- 3 Ninh Binh HIGHTLIGHT & HIDDEN GEM Tour From Hanoi: Skip-The-Line
After dark
The lantern town
A five-hundred-year-old trading port that both the war and the rush of the modern country somehow passed by. Come dusk the yellow lanes fill with silk lanterns, paper lanterns drift down the Thu Bon river, and the whole old town turns to colour and candlelight.
- 1 Hoi An: Vietnamese Coffee Culture and Coffee Making Class
- 2 Hoi An: Vietnamese Foldable Lantern Making Class
- 3 Cooking Class Hoi An:Local Market, Basket Boat, Fishing & Cooking
The far north
Where the rice climbs the mountains.
Up near the Chinese border the land folds into staircases of rice, cut by hand over centuries and still worked by the Hmong and Dao families who live among them. Trek between the villages around Sapa, ride the high passes of the Ha Giang loop, and watch the terraces turn from green to gold with the season.
The mountain north →Book this first
If you do one thing, do this.
Whatever else makes your list, this is the day the most travellers in Vietnam end up booking.
The classics
Vietnam's Most Booked Experiences
Cu Chi tunnels, Mekong sampans, Ha Long cruises, Hanoi street food. The days most travellers come to Vietnam for.
Top to bottom
Which end of the country?
Vietnam runs a thousand miles end to end, and most trips travel the length of it. Fly into one end, out of the other, and pick where to slow down.
By region
Pick a stretch of the country.
Hanoi for the old town and the street food. Ha Long for the karst bays. Hoi An for the lanterns. Saigon for the buzz. The Mekong for the river markets.
By experience
Or pick how to spend the day.
A junk cruise if you want the bay. A cooking class if you want the kitchen. A street-food walk, a Cu Chi day, a Mekong sampan, a cyclo through the old town, and the rest.
Hanoi
The capital that never quite sits still.
A thousand years of history packed into the Old Quarter's thirty-six streets, where each lane once sold a single trade and the food is still cooked at the kerb. Egg coffee and bia hoi, the water-puppet theatre, the lake at its heart, and the night train waiting to carry you north.
- 1 Hanoi: Water Puppet Show Tickets
- 2 Hanoi Motorbike Tour: Food, Culture and Fun by Vintage Motorbike
- 3 Hanoi: Guided Food Tour with Train Street Visit
Food & coffee
The country runs on a plastic stool.
Some of the best food in Asia is cooked on the pavement and eaten an inch off the ground. Pho and bun cha in the north, banh mi and broken rice in the south, and a coffee culture all its own, from Hanoi's egg coffee to the iced ca phe sua da you'll order everywhere else.
- 1 Hanoi Cooking Class: Culture, Local Market & Meaning CSR Impact
- 2 5 Traditional Dishes Hanoi Cooking Class with Market Trip
- 3 Small Group Hanoi Street Food Tour with a Real Foodie
On the water
Cruises and boat days.
From overnight junks on Ha Long to sampans in the Mekong, the boats are half the reason to come. Three we'd put on any itinerary.
When the lights come on
Vietnam after dark.
Lantern-lit Hoi An, the food markets, water-puppet shows and rooftop bars. Our three favourites once the sun is down.
Plan the route
Two weeks, top to bottom.
The classic Vietnam run. Fly into Hanoi, out of Saigon, and let the country unspool between them.
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