We spent three months travelling in Vietnam from north to south, and it changed the way we think about long-haul travel. Not because it was exotic or challenging — though it can be both — but because it kept surprising us in ways we did not expect.
We expected the food to be good. It was extraordinary. We expected the history to be interesting. It was humbling. We did not expect the sheer warmth of the people, the quietness of a valley called Mai Chau, three hours from Hanoi that almost no one visits, the royal tombs outside Hue that made both of us go quiet, or the way Hoi An empties of tourists in the evening and becomes something else entirely — something that belongs to the people who live there.
Vietnam is a long, narrow country — 1,650 kilometres from top to bottom — and the north, centre and south are as different from each other in climate, food, culture and personality as three separate countries. This guide will help you plan it properly, whether you have one week, two weeks or three.
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How to Use This Guide
Vietnam works best as a north-to-south journey (or south-to-north if you prefer). We have structured this guide in one-week blocks that can be combined depending on how long you have:
- One week: Choose north, central or south — do not try to cover all three
- Two weeks: North + central, or central + south
- Three weeks: All three regions — the full journey
The suggested itineraries below are frameworks, not rigid schedules. Build in rest days, follow what interests you, and do not try to move every day.
Quick Reference: Suggested Itineraries
One Week in Northern Vietnam (Hanoi Base)
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Hanoi | Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, Temple of Literature, street food |
| 3–5 | Sapa or Mai Chau | See options below |
| 6 | Ninh Binh | Tam Coc boat trip, Mua Cave |
| 7 | Hanoi | Departure or onward travel |
One Week in Central Vietnam (Hue and Hoi An)
Travelling by train from Hanoi to Hue
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Hue | Imperial Citadel, Royal Tombs,
Spice Viet, Thien Mu Pagoda |
| 3 | Danang | Cham Museum, Dragon Bridge,
local market |
| 4–7 | Hoi An | Ancient Town, sidecar tours,
cooking class, evening streets |
One Week in Southern Vietnam (HCMC and Mekong)
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Ho Chi Minh City | Independence Palace,
War Remnants Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels, Ben Thanh Market, rooftop dining |
| 6–7 | Mekong Delta | Victoria Voyages
4-day experience or day trip from HCMC |
Three Weeks: Full North to South
| Days | Location |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Hanoi |
| 4 | Mai Chau day trip or overnight |
| 5–6 | Halong Bay cruise |
| 7 | Ninh Binh |
| 8 | Travel to Hue (fly or Reunification Express) |
| 9–10 | Hue |
| 11 | Travel to Danang |
| 12 | Danang |
| 13 | Danang — Cham Museum, market, Dragon Bridge |
| 14–17 | Hoi An |
| 18 | Travel to Ho Chi Minh City (fly) |
| 19–21 | Ho Chi Minh City |
Northern Vietnam
Hanoi
Hanoi is one of the great Asian cities and one of the most underrated. The Old Quarter — 36 streets, each historically named for the trade practised there — is a place you can wander for days without exhausting. But the Hanoi we love most is the early morning one.
Hoan Kiem Lake at sunrise is the city at its most intimate. Locals walk the paths around the water, practise tai chi between the trees, and sit on benches with coffee before the tourist day begins.
The Ngoc Son Temple on its island in the lake is accessible from 8 am, and we recommend going before 9 to avoid the coach groups. The weekend walking street that surrounds the lake transforms the area into a pedestrian zone on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings — live music, food stalls, families, the city in a relaxed and social mood.
Beer Street Hanoi
The street food in Hanoi is different from the south — pho here is lighter and clearer than its HCMC counterpart, bun cha (grilled pork with noodles and broth) is the city’s signature dish, and egg coffee in a tiny café in the Old Quarter is an experience worth going out of your way for.
Where to stay in Hanoi: Our preference is the Pullman Hanoi — well-located, excellent breakfast, and the reliable quality we have come to associate with this brand throughout Vietnam.
Don’t miss: The Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, founded in 1070. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex. The Vietnamese Women’s Museum. And at least one evening meal on a plastic stool at a street food cart — order whatever the person next to you is having.
Read our Weekend in Hanoi Guide here
Read our Hanoi Accommodation Guide here
Sapa
Sapa — Rice Terraces, Ethnic Minorities and the Overnight Train
Sapa sits 316 kilometres northwest of Hanoi, high in the Hoàng Liên Sơn Mountains at 1,500 metres above sea level. It is the kind of place where the photographs you have seen do not prepare you for the reality — the terraced rice fields stretching as far as you can see, the mist rolling in from the valleys, the colours of the ethnic minority women in the market — it is all there, and it is more vivid in person than any image conveys.
Yes, it is touristy. It is also extraordinary. The two things coexist, and you understand why the moment you arrive.
Allow at least three days, including travel. Anything less and you will spend most of your time in transit.
Getting there: The Victoria Express overnight train
We took the Victoria Express from Hanoi Railway Station — and it is one of the great train journeys in Southeast Asia. The train departs Hanoi at 10 pm every night except Saturday, arriving at Lao Cai at 6:10 am. A shuttle bus then takes you the 38 kilometres up into the mountains to Sapa — about an hour’s drive through increasingly spectacular scenery, past waterfalls, paddy fields and small villages where corn hangs drying in doorways.
The carriages have a warm, richly wood-panelled interior that genuinely earns the phrase “golden age of travel.” We travelled in a 4-berth shared cabin on the way up — we shared with two French gentlemen, which was perfectly pleasant — and upgraded to a 2-berth private cabin on the return. If there are two of you, pay the extra for the 2-berth. Coffee and fresh croissants are served just before arrival in Lao Cai.
The return train departs Lao Cai at 9:40 pm, arriving back in Hanoi at 5:30 am — which means you lose no daytime to travel in either direction.
Book train tickets Hanoi to Sapa via 12Go Asia →
Where to stay in Sapa
We stayed at the Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa — now rebranded as the Sapa Mountain Resort. Since we stayed the hotel has changed hands twice, so I can’t comment on its performance.
Compare hotel prices here in Sapa
Our favourite restaurant in Sapa – The Gecko
The trek through the rice fields
Our afternoon was spent trekking to the village of Ta Giang Phin with our guide Mao — a woman from the local H’mong group whose knowledge and openness made the experience far more than a walk through beautiful scenery.
The journey to the start of the trek takes around an hour by shuttle bus, and the drive alone is worth the trip — winding mountain roads, children herding buffalo along village paths, brilliant yellow corn drying in farmhouse driveways, terraced fields of rice glistening in the afternoon light. We stopped repeatedly to take photographs and ran out of superlatives before we had even started walking.
On the trail, three women from the White H’mong group joined us — one carrying her baby on her back — as curious about us as we were about them. Mao introduced us and translated. There are eight distinct ethnic minority groups in Sapa: the H’mong, Dao, Tay, Giay, Muong, Thai, Hoa and Xa Pho, each distinguished by their traditional dress and embroidery patterns.
We stopped at one home along the path where a woman was working hemp fibres on her verandah — her hands stained deep blue from natural indigo dye, the same method used since 800 BC. The family invited us inside. The father was resting near a small iron cooking pot set on a dirt floor, their son watching television. Above the TV, on a raised wooden platform, the whole family slept together. On the opposite side, corn and rice hung drying above the stove. It was a glimpse of a life completely different from our own, offered with warmth and without ceremony.
Mao talked as we walked — about her childhood, about traditional marriage customs within the minority groups, about the arrival of electricity in some villages only 12 years ago, and about human trafficking, which she spoke about with a directness and sadness that stayed with us for the rest of the day. A few hours with a good local guide teaches you things no travel article can.
One honest caveat: Sapa was covered in fog during our visit, which meant the cable car to Mount Fansipan — at 3,143 metres, Vietnam’s highest peak — was closed. Fansipan is spectacular when it is clear, but the mountain creates its own weather and fog is common, particularly from November to March. Do not build your entire trip around the cable car. Build it around the trekking and the market instead, and consider Fansipan a bonus if conditions allow.
The Sapa market
The market is open daily from 6 am to 2 pm and is best in the morning when the ethnic minorities come down from the surrounding villages to sell their produce. The front section has the usual tourist goods — handicrafts, souvenirs, clothing — but head to the back of the covered building and everything changes. Fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, fresh flowers, rice and grain piled high, the vendors in full traditional dress. Upstairs, women sit sewing handicrafts, most of them on their mobile phones — except, on our visit, one 76-year-old woman with beautiful skin and a cheeky smile who was actually working. We bought from her. The moment we did, every woman in the room put down her phone. It was one of the funnier moments of the trip.
Take one of the small electric cars near the church to get there — 20,000 VND will get you a private ride — and walk home through the back streets and around Sapa Lake.
One thing worth noting: in the town square, ethnic minority women and children in traditional dress solicit money and sell small items to tourists. The children, in particular, are increasingly involved in this. We do not encourage it — it is a form of exploitation, however normalised it has become — and mention it so you are aware before you visit.
Specialist markets around Sapa
If your schedule allows for a day trip from Sapa, the surrounding weekly markets are some of the most authentic in northern Vietnam — attended primarily by local ethnic minorities rather than tourists:
- Bac Ha Market — Sundays, 2 hours from Sapa. One of the most colourful markets in the north.
- Can Cau Market — Saturdays, known for livestock trading and Flower H’mong vendors.
- Coc Ly Market — Tuesdays, combined with a river cruise on the Chay River.
- Cao Son Market — Wednesdays, smaller and more local in feel.
Read our full guide to things to do in Sapa →
Best time to visit Sapa
September is the single best month — the rice is at its fullest, and the terraces are a deep, luminous green before the harvest. March to May and September to November are the ideal windows. December to February brings cold temperatures and frequent fog at altitude — the landscape is still beautiful, but the trekking is harder, and Fansipan is almost always cloud-covered.
Sapa vs Mai Chau — which should you choose?
Both are worthwhile and genuinely different experiences. Sapa is more dramatic — bigger scenery, a larger town with more facilities, a more developed tourist infrastructure, and deeper access to the ethnic minority culture. Mai Chau is more intimate — a quieter valley, less visited, more suited to a day trip or single overnight. If you have three days, go to Sapa. If you have one day, go to Mai Chau. If you have time for both, do both — they complement each other rather than duplicate.
Mai Chau — The Alternative to Sapa
Most travellers heading north from Hanoi go to Sapa. We went to Mai Chau instead — a valley of rice paddies, stilt houses and White Thai villages about three hours from Hanoi — and it remains one of our most memorable days in Vietnam.
Where Sapa has become heavily touristed and commercially developed, Mai Chau retains a genuine village atmosphere. The valley is farmed by hand. The stilt houses are real homes, not staged for visitors. You can walk or cycle between villages, stop at local homes, and eat lunch cooked by a White Thai family. The landscape — terraced rice fields backed by limestone karst mountains — is extraordinary.
It works as a day trip from Hanoi or a one-night overnight stay. If you can manage the overnight, do it — waking up in the valley at dawn is something else.
Read our guide on Mai Chau here
Book a Mai Chau day trip from Hanoi here →
We stayed at the Mai Chau Lodge in Mai Chau. We experienced two different rooms over the two nights – both classical Vietnamese design, luxurious bedding and very comfortable. The pool was a welcome relief after a day of sightseeing. If you wander the track behind the hotel, you will come across a small village that sells beautiful shawls and other woven articles.
We chose to eat at the Buo Luong Restaurant both evenings – food was excellent, lovely local cuisine and we were treated to performances each evening.
Book your Mai Chau accommodation here
Halong Bay
Halong Bay — 1,969 islands and islets rising from the Gulf of Tonkin — is one of those places you have seen in photographs a hundred times and that still manages to exceed expectations in person. The scale of it, seen from the water, is genuinely breathtaking.
We took the Emeraude Classic Cruise — a recreation of a 1920s paddle steamer — and found the experience well-managed and beautifully designed. The 1-night cruise covers the highlights: kayaking through limestone caves, watching the sun set over the karst formations from the upper deck, eating well on board. The 2-night option adds more time on the water and the chance to reach quieter parts of the bay — if your schedule allows it, the extra night is worth it for the additional distance from the day-tripper boats.
Travel tip: Choose your cruise carefully. Halong Bay has hundreds of operators and the quality varies enormously. Mid-range and above operators offer significantly better food, boats and guides than budget options. The experience is defined by where you go and who takes you there.
Read our article How to Get to Ha Long Bay from Hanoi
Book Halong Bay cruises here →
Book your Emeraude Cruise here
Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh is often described as “Halong Bay on land” — the same limestone karst formations, but rising from rice paddies and rivers rather than the sea. It is a three-hour drive south of Hanoi and is worth a dedicated day.
Tam Coc is the signature experience — a boat trip along the Ngo Dong River through rice fields and three natural cave tunnels, rowed by a local (sometimes using their feet — watch for this). Go early to beat the tourist rush.
Mua Cave offers the most photographed view in Ninh Binh — a 500-step climb to a viewpoint over the river valley and the limestone peaks beyond. Hard work in the heat, but the view at the top justifies it.
Read our article on Ninh Binh here
The Ha Giang Loop
For travellers with more time and an appetite for something more adventurous, the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam’s far north is one of the most spectacular motorcycle routes in Southeast Asia — four days through the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark, with mountain passes, minority villages and landscapes unlike anything else in the country.
Ha Giang is seven hours from Hanoi by bus or car. The loop is typically done by motorbike over four days, either self-ridden (an international licence is required) or on the back of an Easy Rider guide. This is not a trip for first-time Vietnam visitors, but for those who want it, it is unforgettable.
Book an organised Ha Giang Loop tour here →
Read our article on doing Ha Giang Loop by car here
Central Vietnam
Getting from North to Central Vietnam
By air: A 1-hour flight from Hanoi to Hue or Danang is the fastest option. Vietnam Airlines, VietJet and Bamboo Airways all serve these routes. Search for the best fares on Skyscanner.
By train: The Reunification Express between Hanoi and Hue is one of the great train journeys in Southeast Asia — 14 hours through coastal scenery, mountain passes and rice paddies. The Hai Van Pass section between Danang and Hue, where the track clings to the mountainside above the South China Sea, is genuinely spectacular. Take the overnight train and wake up in Hue. Book sleeper berths well in advance.
Book Vietnamese train tickets via 12Go Asia →
Hue
Hue was the imperial capital of Vietnam for 143 years and it shows. The city has a slower, more reflective quality than Hanoi or HCMC — partly the pace of the place, partly the weight of what surrounds it.
The Imperial Citadel — a 10-square-kilometre walled complex that was the seat of the Nguyen dynasty — is the obvious starting point. It is partially ruined (heavily damaged during the 1968 Tet Offensive) and all the more moving for it. Allow a full morning.
The Forbidden Purple City inside the Citadel, where the Emperor lived, gives the best sense of the scale and ambition of the imperial era.
Read our article on visiting the Imperial Citadel here
Book tours to the Imperial Citadel here
The Royal Tombs outside Hue are where the city really stayed with us. We visited the tombs of Minh Mang, Khai Dinh and Tu Duc on consecutive mornings — each one completely different in architectural style and atmosphere. Tu Duc’s tomb in particular, surrounded by frangipani trees and lily ponds, has a melancholy beauty that made us both go quiet. These are not ruins — they are beautifully preserved monuments to an entire world that has passed. Do not skip them in favour of another day in the Citadel.
Thien Mu Pagoda, a short boat trip along the Perfume River, is the most photographed pagoda in Hue and worth the journey for the river approach alone.
Read our article on Things To Do in Hue here
Where to eat in Hue: Spice Viet at the EMM Hotel on 15 Ly Thuong Kiet is our firm recommendation. It is the Hue outpost of our favourite restaurant group in Vietnam — each Spice Viet location features a local speciality, and the Hue menu reflects the city’s distinctive imperial cuisine, which is more refined and complex than the food you find elsewhere in the country. Bun bo Hue — the local noodle soup, spicier and more intensely flavoured than pho — is a must. Try it here and then compare it with a street version from a local cart for the full picture.
Where to stay in Hue: The EMM Hotel Hue is our recommendation — central, well-designed, and home to Spice Viet.
Danang
Danang is Vietnam’s third-largest city and largely overlooked by travellers rushing between Hue and Hoi An. We think it deserves a day or two, in its own right.
The Cham Museum is the finest collection of Cham sculpture in the world — over 300 artefacts from the ancient Cham civilisation that dominated central Vietnam from the 2nd to 15th centuries. The pieces are extraordinary: sandstone figures of extraordinary detail and power, displayed in an open-air French colonial building that suits the collection perfectly. Allow two hours and go with a guide or an audio tour if you want to understand what you are looking at.
The Dragon Bridge is best experienced on a weekend evening, when it breathes fire and water at 9 pm — a genuinely theatrical spectacle that the whole city turns out for. Even on a regular evening, the illuminated bridge crossing the Han River makes for a striking walk.
Da Nang market is where we ate most evenings — local stalls, fresh seafood, banh mi, and cao lau (a noodle dish specific to the central region). Street food in Danang is excellent and almost entirely unvisited by tourists.
My Son Sanctuary — the ancient Cham temple complex in the hills south of Danang — is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, and a half-day trip that complements the Cham Museum well.
Read our article on visiting My Son Sanctuary here
Book My Son Sanctuary tours here
Where to stay in Danang: The Pullman Danang Beach Resort on My Khe Beach is our choice — reliable, well-positioned, and a strong base for both city sightseeing and beach time.
Hoi An
Hoi An is the most beautiful town in Vietnam and one of the most beautiful in Southeast Asia. The Ancient Town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site of merchant houses, assembly halls and temples built during the 15th–19th century trading era — is remarkably well-preserved and genuinely wonderful to walk through.
The thing most travel articles about Hoi An do not tell you is this: come in the evening. Specifically, stay until after 7 pm, when the day-trippers have returned to their Danang hotels and the town returns to something closer to itself. The lanterns are lit. The Thu Bon River glows. Local families sit outside the old houses. The restaurants fill with a more relaxed crowd. That is the Hoi An we love.
Read our article on how to get from Hue to Hoi Ann – a sightseeing day tour that you won’t want to miss
We stayed at the EMM Hotel Hoi An for a week, and it was the right decision — close enough to the Ancient Town to walk in, far enough away for quiet nights, with a pool that became essential by mid-afternoon. Visiting My Son Sanctuary at dawn, before the tour buses arrive, was the highlight of our time in central Vietnam.
What to do in Hoi An:
A cooking class is one of the best half-days you can spend here. Most classes begin with a market tour — the Hoi An morning market is one of the most colourful in the country — before moving to a riverside kitchen to cook three or four dishes. The skills you take home are the most useful souvenir you can carry. Book a Hoi An cooking class here.
The Ancient Town covers roughly eight blocks and is best explored on foot, early morning or in the evening. Entry tickets are required for specific sites, including the Japanese Covered Bridge, the assembly halls, and several historic merchant houses.
Book a walking tour of the Ancient Town of Hoi An here
Marble Mountains — a cluster of five marble and limestone hills just south of Danang — make an easy half-day trip and contain cave pagodas and panoramic views over the coast.
Book a tour to Marble Mountains here
Where to eat in Hoi An: Spice Viet at 187 Ly Thuong Kiet for dinner — the Hoi An location features dishes specific to the central Vietnamese tradition. The Hoi An morning market for breakfast — banh mi from the vendors on the street, fresh pineapple, and local coffee.
Where to stay in Hoi An: The EMM Hotel Hoi An or the Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort for those wanting a beach position.
Southern Vietnam
Getting from Central to Southern Vietnam
A 1-hour flight from Danang to Ho Chi Minh City is the standard route. Trains are also available, but the journey is long — flying is worth it here. Book flights via Skyscanner.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Most travellers give HCMC two or three nights. We recommend five days, and we will say why: this city has more layers than its reputation suggests, and the history alone — the Independence Palace, the War Remnants Museum, the Cu Chi Tunnels — deserves more than a rushed morning.
HCMC and Hanoi are genuinely different cities. Different energy, different food, different feel. Hanoi is older, more European in character, more measured. HCMC is faster, newer, louder, and more chaotic in the best possible way. People who love one often find the other a revelation.
We have written a full 5-day Ho Chi Minh City itinerary with day-by-day recommendations.
The highlights:
Independence Palace (Reunification Palace) is where the Vietnam War ended — literally. On 30 April 1975, a North Vietnamese tank crashed through the gates, and it was over. Walking through the rooms where the South Vietnamese government operated — the war room, the bunker, the rooftop helipad — is one of the most affecting historical experiences in Southeast Asia. Go early to avoid the coach groups.
The War Remnants Museum in District 3 is not an easy visit, but it is an important one. The Agent Orange exhibitions on the first floor are disturbing — they are meant to be. Start on the second floor (Historical Truths section) and work your way down.
Cu Chi Tunnels — an hour from HCMC — are the 250-kilometre network of underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the war. Crawling through a section of the tunnels (there is a shorter tourist section for the claustrophobic) makes the reality of what happened here more visceral than any museum exhibit.
You can read our article on how to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels here
Ben Thanh Market in District 1 is the busiest and most central market — chaotic, colourful, worth an hour in the morning before the heat builds. The night market version (gates on the east, north and west sides) runs from 6 pm to 10 pm and is better for street food.
Saigon Skydeck on the 49th floor of Bitexco Tower gives the best aerial view of the city — go at sunset for the full effect.
Book your fast-track ticket for the Saigon Skydeck here
Where to eat in HCMC:
Spice Viet at 157 Pasteur, District 3 — the HCMC location, and the one where we first discovered the restaurant group.
Sen Vegan Restaurant at 171 Nguyen Thai Hoc for vegetarians — so good we ate there nearly every night on our first stay.
Pho 2000 Saigon at 1-3 Phan Chu Trinh for the city’s best pho (Bill Clinton ate here — the photos are on the wall).
MadCow Wine & Grill on the 30th floor of the Pullman Saigon Centre for wagyu beef, an extensive wine list and city views at night.
Where to stay in HCMC: The Pullman Saigon Centre at 148 Tran Hung Dao is our first choice — excellent location in District 1, the MadCow rooftop bar, two outdoor pools, and the most reliable breakfast we found in southern Vietnam.
The Mekong Delta
Can Tho
The Mekong Delta — the vast river system in southern Vietnam where the Mekong meets the South China Sea — is one of the most distinctive landscapes in the country. Floating markets, river villages, fruit orchards, coconut candy factories and narrow waterways are where the only traffic is sampan boats.
Victoria Can Tho Resort Hotel
We did the Victoria Voyages 4-day Mekong Delta experience from HCMC and it transformed what could have been a checklist day trip into a genuine immersion. The Victoria boats are well-designed and well-crewed, the itinerary reaches areas that standard day tours never see, and waking up on the water in the early morning — mist on the river, the sound of bird life, the first boats moving past — is something we still talk about.
Read our full review of the Victoria Voyages Mekong Delta experience here.
Book Mekong Delta day trips here →
Our Recommended Hotels Throughout Vietnam
Our favourite hotel brands throughout Vietnam — based on stays across multiple cities:
Pullman Hotels — Hanoi, HCMC and Danang. Consistently excellent service, good locations, and reliable breakfast quality. Our go-to for five-star stays.
EMM Hotels — Hue and Hoi An. Mid-range in price, boutique in feel. The Hue and Hoi An properties are perfectly positioned and home to Spice Viet restaurants.
Victoria Hotels — Hoi An and the Mekong Delta. The Victoria group manages some of the most characterful properties in central and southern Vietnam, and their excursion programmes (the sidecar tours in Hoi An, the Mekong cruises) are the best in their respective areas.
Read my article on Victoria Hoi An Resort & Spa here
Read my article on the Victoria Can Tho Resort
Victoria Chau Doc Resort
Read my article on the Victoria Chau Doc Resort
Eating Your Way Through Vietnam
Le Longanier Restaurant Cai Be – Elephant Ear Fish
The food in Vietnam is the best reason to go and a strong argument for going slowly. It is also genuinely different from north to south — not variations on a theme but distinct regional cuisines that reflect the history, climate and culture of each area.
Pho in the north is clear-brothed and subtle. In the south, it is richer, served with a wider range of accompaniments. Order both and compare.
Bun Bo Hue — the spicy beef noodle soup of Hue — is the most distinctive dish of central Vietnam. Heavier and more complex than pho, deeply flavoured with lemongrass and shrimp paste. Try it from a street cart and from Spice Viet for the contrast.
Cao lau — thick rice noodles with pork and herbs — is unique to Hoi An. It is said to taste different there than anywhere else because the water used to make the noodles comes from a specific well in the Ancient Town. Whether that is true or local mythology, the dish in Hoi An is exceptional.
Banh Mi 25 Hanoi
Banh mi is at its finest in Hoi An — specifically from the stalls near the market. The combination of fresh baguette, pate, pickled vegetables, chilli and herbs is one of the great street food snacks anywhere in the world.
Spice Viet Hue
Spice Viet has locations in HCMC, Hue, Hoi An and Hanoi. Each uses local herbs, spices and produce in innovative, healthy Vietnamese cuisine and each features a regional speciality. If you can eat at all four, you will get a complete picture of Vietnamese regional cooking. It is the restaurant group we recommend above all others in this country.
Read our snapshot of Vietnamese Restaurants we and other travel writers have enjoyed around Vietnam here
Practical Information
Visas
Most nationalities require an e-visa to enter Vietnam. The e-visa allows a 90-day single or multiple entry stay and is processed online. Always check current requirements before travelling, as visa rules have changed multiple times in recent years.
Apply for your Vietnam e-visa here →
Getting Around Vietnam
Domestic flights are cheap, frequent and the most practical way to cover large distances. Hanoi to HCMC is 2 hours by air versus 30+ hours by train. Vietnam Airlines, VietJet and Bamboo Airways cover all major routes.
The Reunification Express between Hanoi and Hue/Danang is worth taking for the experience — particularly the Hai Van Pass section — but only if you have the time. Book sleeper berths well in advance.
Book train journeys throughout Vietnam here
Grab is available in all major Vietnamese cities and is by far the most stress-free way to get around. Download the app before you arrive.
Cyclos (three-wheeled bicycle taxis) are still available in the Old Quarters of Hanoi and Hoi An — a slow, enjoyable way to see the streets at the end of a day.
Book buses and trains across Vietnam via 12Go Asia →
Money
Vietnam uses the Vietnamese Dong (VND). USD is widely accepted in tourist areas, but you will get better value using VND. ATMs are plentiful in all cities. Carry smaller denominations — 50,000 and 100,000 VND notes — for street food and markets.
Best Time to Visit
Vietnam’s climate varies significantly from north to south:
North (Hanoi, Halong Bay): Best October to April. Hot and humid May to September. October and November are ideal — comfortable temperatures and minimal rain.
Central (Hue, Danang, Hoi An): Best February to July. The central region has a distinct wet season from October to January when flooding can affect Hoi An in particular.
South (HCMC, Mekong): Best November to April (dry season). May to October brings afternoon rain showers — manageable but worth knowing.
Read our article on Best Times To Visit Vietnam
Staying Connected
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Travel Insurance
Travel is full of unforgettable moments — but sometimes the unexpected happens too. That’s why we always recommend travelling with insurance. Ekta Travel Insurance offers flexible coverage options to help protect your trip, so you can focus on enjoying the adventure ahead.
Final Thoughts
Three months in Vietnam left us with a list of places we want to return to that is longer than the list of places we visited. That is the mark of a country that rewards slow travel and genuine curiosity.
If we had to give one piece of advice to anyone planning this trip, it would be this: do not rush the middle. Every itinerary we see online rushes through Hue in a day and skips Danang entirely. Hue deserves three days — the Royal Tombs alone are worth an afternoon each. Danang deserves a day. And Hoi An rewards every extra hour you give it, especially the evenings when the tourists have gone, and the town is just itself.
Go slowly. Eat everything. Talk to people. Vietnam will look after the rest.
More Vietnam Reading
- Ho Chi Minh City 5-Day Itinerary
- 4 Days on the Mekong Delta with Victoria Voyages
- Vietnam’s Best Restaurant Guide
- Where to Stay in Ho Chi Minh City
- Hanoi vs Ho Chi Minh City Nightlife
Planning a Vietnam trip? Leave a question in the comments or join our Vietnam Travel Planning Facebook Group — we answer questions there regularly.
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