Destination overview

A place of lush forest, glorious beaches and historic towns.

Blessed with an entrancing coastline, emerald-green mountains, breathtaking National Parks, dynamic cities, outstanding cultural interest and one of the world’s best cuisines, Vietnam is a nation going places. Its people are energetic, direct, sharp in commerce and resilient by nature. This is a fun country to explore; the locals love a laugh and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to socialise with them and hear their tales.

This is a country of myriad influences and reference points. In the south, Indian and Hindu culture had a lasting influence in the Cham temples and the spicy regional cuisine, spiked with chilli and tempered with coconut. Head north and Chinese connections are far more apparent. Between these two competing cultures, you’ll find a quintessential Vietnam in the central provinces - the graceful historic old port of Hoi An, and the royal tombs, pagodas and imperial cuisine of Hue.

Factor in an enduring French colonial legacy, which is evident in Hanoi’s graceful boulevards, in Ho Chi Minh City’s stately museums and in the crispy baguettes and coffee culture you’ll find on every street corner. Add the American interlude, more than 50 hill tribes and the proud (battle-tested and victorious) ruling Communist Party ideology and you’ve got Vietnam - heady, intoxicating and unique.

Here you can cruise an azure ocean pierced by surreal-looking limestone islands in Halong Bay and slalom through the majestic inland karst mountains of Cao Bang. Hike mountain tracks and explore tribal villages near Sapa and Bac Ha. Then witness the spectacular sandy bays of the central coastline and explore the reefs and coves of the Cham and Con Dao Islands. Highway 1 is relentlessly urban, so get off it at regular intervals to see the astonishing cave systems of Phong Nha, National Parks like Cat Tien and the bewitching backwaters of the Mekong Delta. And no visit would be complete without experiencing the energy of big city life in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi, the grand old lady of the Orient, and Ho Chi Minh City, the engine room of the economy and the nation.