Sunset over a busy street in Ho Chi Minh City

South-East Asia

Vietnam

Mountains, rice terraces, and a coastline packed with history — a country made for travelling slowly.

Capital Hanoi
Language Vietnamese
Currency Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Best time to visit February – April

Vietnam stretches nearly 1,650km along the eastern edge of the Indochinese Peninsula, bordered by China to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west, with the South China Sea running the length of its coast. That length is what makes it special — the misty mountains of Sapa in the north feel like a different country entirely from the tropical beaches around Nha Trang in the south.

Because the country is so long, weather varies a lot by region and season — but there's rarely a bad time to visit somewhere in Vietnam, it's mostly a question of picking your route around the season.

What to do

Rice terraces in the mountains of northern Vietnam

Rice Terraces & Mountains

Northern Vietnam's mountains are best explored on two wheels or on foot — the roads (and the views) are the main event, not just the destination.

Sapa

  • Muong Hoa Valley: the classic terraced-rice trek, usually done as a 1-2 day guided walk through H'mong and Dao villages, often with a homestay overnight.
  • Fansipan: the highest peak in Indochina (3,147m) — a cable car now reaches the summit in about 15 minutes if you'd rather skip the two-day trek.
  • Best time: September–October for golden, harvest-ready terraces; May–June for the water-filled planting season, when the terraces mirror the sky.

Ha Giang Loop

A 3-4 day motorbike loop through Vietnam's most dramatic mountain scenery, usually starting and ending in Ha Giang town. Don't miss the Ma Pi Leng Pass — a cliffside road above the Nho Que River that's consistently rated one of the best drives in the country — and the old quarter of Dong Van. Most travellers join an easy-rider tour (riding pillion) rather than self-driving, since the roads are narrow and the drop-offs are real.
Local market with bicycles in Vietnam

Markets & Local Life

Vietnam's markets run on their own schedule — the best ones happen at sunrise, before the heat and the crowds arrive.

Best markets

  • Cai Rang Floating Market (Mekong Delta): boats selling produce hang a sample from a pole so buyers can spot what's on offer from a distance — go by boat from Can Tho before 7am for the best light and the least tourist traffic.
  • Dong Xuan Market, Hanoi: the Old Quarter's biggest indoor market, surrounded by streets that each specialise in one product — worth wandering just for the street names.
  • Ben Thanh Market, Ho Chi Minh City: touristy by day, but the streets around it turn into a proper night market after dark, with some of the best street food in the city.

What to eat

Start with phở (noodle soup, best for breakfast), bún chả (grilled pork with noodles, a Hanoi specialty), bánh mì (Vietnam's answer to the baguette sandwich), and cà phê trứng — Hanoi's egg coffee, which sounds stranger than it tastes.

Getting around Hanoi's Old Quarter

A short cyclo (bicycle rickshaw) ride through the 36 Streets is touristy but genuinely useful for getting your bearings before exploring on foot.
Traditional basket boats on a beach in central Vietnam

Coastal Villages

Central Vietnam's coast moves at a slower pace than Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City — old towns, fishing villages, and quiet beaches within a short ride of each other.

Hoi An

  • Ancient Town: a UNESCO-listed old town of lantern-lit streets, best visited on the 14th day of the lunar month, when the town switches off electric lights for the Lantern Festival.
  • Cam Thanh (Coconut Village): round basket boats — the ones in the photo — for hire on the palm-lined water channels just outside town, usually with a "basket boat show" thrown in by the boat drivers.
  • Custom tailoring: Hoi An's tailors can turn around made-to-measure clothing in 24-48 hours — worth it even if you weren't planning on shopping.

Da Nang

My Khe Beach is one of the best city beaches in Vietnam — wide, sandy, and a short ride from the Marble Mountains, five limestone peaks riddled with caves and Buddhist sanctuaries.

Cham Islands

A day trip by boat from Hoi An (about 20 minutes), with some of the best snorkelling on the central coast and a laid-back fishing-village atmosphere on Bai Lang, the main village.

Currency & costs

Vietnam's currency is the Vietnamese Dong (VND). The numbers can be overwhelming at first — a simple coffee might cost 25,000 VND — so a quick mental shortcut is to drop the last three zeros and treat the rest as a rough guide.

Cards are accepted in cities, but cash is still expected at markets, street food stalls, and smaller towns. Budget around €20–30 per day for backpacker-style travel, and always agree on a price with cyclos and unmetered taxis before you get in.

Suggested routes

Classic North to South

3 weeks

Hanoi → Halong Bay → Ninh Binh → Hue → Hoi An → Nha Trang → Ho Chi Minh City

The full-country route. Overnight trains and buses link each stop, with a couple of short domestic flights if you're short on time.

Northern Mountains Loop

1 week

Hanoi → Sapa → Ha Giang Loop → Hanoi

Rent a motorbike (or join a tour) for the Ha Giang Loop's mountain passes, then trek the rice terraces around Sapa.

Central Coast Highlights

10 days

Hue → Da Nang → Hoi An → Nha Trang

Imperial history in Hue, the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An, and beach time in Nha Trang — an easy, relaxed route with short hops between stops.