Bicycles rest beside flooded rice paddies with limestone karsts rising through mist near Tam Coc, Ninh Binh.

Destinations

Thirty-three places, and how long each is worth

A destination page here answers four questions before it sells you anything: when to come, how many nights to stay, how you arrive, and what a day costs on the ground.

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Vietnam

Vietnam in three parts, and two neighbours

Vietnam is long, and the three parts of it are different countries in every way that matters to a traveller: climate, food, pace, and how far apart things are. Most disappointing Vietnam trips are disappointing because they treated the country as one place and ran one itinerary through all three in ten days.

Cargo barges moored along a muddy river lined with palms, viewed from a wooden boat deck in the Mekong Delta.

12 places

Southern Vietnam

Hot year round, wet afternoons from May to October, and the only part of the country where the weather is predictable.

The tiled roof and pink gate of the Japanese Covered Bridge welcome visitors in Hoi An's old town.

8 places

Central Vietnam

The best food in the country, the worst storm season, and the shortest distances between good places.

Limestone karsts rise from emerald water as a small cruise boat sails through Ha Long Bay.

12 places

Northern Vietnam

Four seasons, mountains that are genuinely remote, and a winter that surprises people.

Cambodia and Laos

The two neighbours worth adding

Cambodia and Laos are a short flight or a land crossing away, and both add something Vietnam does not have. Angkor is the single most impressive thing within reach of this office, and Luang Prabang is the place travellers most often say they wish they had given another two nights. Neither belongs in a ten-day Vietnam trip; both fit comfortably in three weeks.

The towers of Angkor Wat rise across a moat in hazy morning light near Siem Reap.

4 places

Cambodia

Angkor deserves three days, not one. Phnom Penh deserves two and gets one.

Barefoot monks in orange robes walk in a line at dawn as kneeling locals offer alms in Luang Prabang.

5 places

Laos

The country that slows a trip down on purpose, and the one people regret rushing.

Nights

How many nights each place is worth

The commonest planning mistake in Vietnam is spreading the same fortnight across ten places instead of six. A one-night stop costs you most of a day in transit at each end and buys you an evening. Below is our honest minimum for the places people most often under-book.

Place	Minimum that makes sense	What the extra night buys
Ho Chi Minh City	2 nights	A delta day without losing your city time
Mekong Delta	1 night (2 is better)	A morning market before the day boats arrive
Hoi An	3 nights	A tailor fitting, a cooking class and a beach afternoon
Hue	2 nights	The tombs at your own pace instead of two in a morning
Phong Nha	2 nights	A cave that needs a full day rather than a photo stop
Ha Long or Lan Ha	2 nights on board	The second morning, which is the quiet one
Ha Giang	4 nights	The whole loop instead of the first third and a long drive back
Siem Reap	3 nights	Angkor without a 4am start on every one of them

Timing

When to come, in one panel

There is no single best month for Vietnam. There is a best month for each region, and a set of compromises for the full length of the country. If your dates are fixed, start from the dates and let them choose the route.

JFMAMJJASONDSouthern VietnamCentral VietnamNorthern Vietnam

● ideal · ◐ workable · ○ poor. Storm season on the central coast peaks in October and November and can flood Hoi An for a day or two.

Transport

Getting between them

Saigon to Da Nang or Hanoi: fly. Two hours, cheap if booked early, and it saves a day and a half of road.
Da Nang to Hue: two and a half hours by road over the Hai Van pass, which is worth doing in daylight, or two and a half hours by train along the coast, which is the better ride.
Hanoi to Ha Long or Lan Ha: two and a half to three hours on the expressway.
Hanoi to Sapa: five and a half hours by road, or an overnight train to Lao Cai and an hour up the hill.
Saigon to the delta: ninety minutes to My Tho, three hours to Can Tho, four to Chau Doc.

One caution about night buses

They are cheap and they save a hotel night, and they also arrive at four in the morning at a bus station out of town. We will book one if you ask, but we will not put one into an itinerary without saying why we would rather not.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Is it better to go south to north or north to south?

South to north is slightly better for most people: you start in the easiest city to land in, the weather usually improves as you go, and you finish near the bay. North to south suits a December or January trip, when Hanoi is at its greyest and you would rather end on a beach.

How long do I need for the whole country?

Fourteen nights is the honest minimum for south, centre and north without it feeling like a transfer marathon. Ten is possible if you drop either the far north or the delta. Twenty-one lets you add Ha Giang or Cambodia without cutting anything.

Do I need a visa for Vietnam?

Most nationalities need one and apply online for an e-visa; some get a waiver for short stays. Rules change, so we send you the current link for your passport when you book rather than printing a list here that goes stale.

Which places would you drop from a first trip?

Usually Nha Trang and Da Lat, unless you specifically want a resort beach or cool mountain air. They are pleasant and they are not what most first-time visitors come this far for.