Visit Vietnam
Start in Hanoi with bowls of pho, pavement cafés and streets packed with scooters, then keep travelling until the country changes completely around you. Vietnam stretches for more than 1,600 kilometres from north to south, so one trip can include limestone landscapes around Ha Long Bay, the old streets of Hoi An, the imperial monuments of Huế, beaches on the central coast, and the dense waterways of the Mekong Delta. The country’s official tourism site promotes exactly this mix of cities, heritage, food, coast and natural landscapes. Vietnam’s history is just as varied as its geography. UNESCO-listed sites include the Complex of Huế Monuments, Hoi An Ancient Town, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi and major natural sites such as Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang. Huế served as the political, cultural and religious centre of the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945, while Phong Nha-Ke Bang protects one of the world’s major limestone karst and cave landscapes. Give yourself at least ten days, and preferably two weeks or more, if you want to see both north and south without spending most of the trip in transit. Domestic flights and overnight trains can make the distances manageable, while a shorter visit works better if you concentrate on one region. British visitors should check the latest entry rules before travelling, as arrival procedures can change with limited notice. Add Vietnam to your list and travel far enough through it to see how different one end of the country feels from the other.