Vietnam travel guide: Everything you need to know before you go

A place famed for the diversity of its landscapes as well as its foods, historical past and temples, Vietnam is a wallet-friendly desired destination which encompasses South East Asia’s best bits – you are going to in no way be far from some scrumptious street meals, a heritage web page or a pagoda, and the sprawling museums – quite a few of which are in previous palaces and federal government buildings – in monument-packed cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh are wonderful spots to find out about the country’s earlier.

Journey constraints and entry necessities

Now (as of Oct 2022) mask donning is nonetheless compulsory in general public. Neither exams nor proof of vaccination are demanded to get into the nation, irrespective of vaccination position.

Best time to go

Vietnam’s local climate differs according to region, but as a rule, March and April are excellent months to go – rainfall is usually low and temperatures are cooler. July and August are large year, with warm and humid weather conditions. Resorts need to be booked nicely in progress and selling prices can improve by 50 per cent.

Vietnam has hundreds of once-a-year festivals and celebrations. The Buddha’s Birthday is one of the country’s most essential occasions. It is held in April or Could (the exact day depends on the lunar calendar). All through the celebrations, temples are adorned with lavish decorations and there are vibrant street parades, the most vivid of which take put in the coastal city of Hội An.

Leading areas

Phú Quốc

In recent several years Phú Quốc, a Vietnamese island off the coastline of Cambodia, has transformed into a well-liked winter season solar desired destination. Don’t assume large tracts of wilderness or opportunities for historical past fixes in this article – most men and women occur to sprawl on the beach front, while web sites truly worth examining out contain its (rather pungent) fish sauce factories and Phú Quốc jail, wherever Vietnamese troopers were being at the time imprisoned (and tortured in various horrific means) by French and American troops.

Hanoi

Vietnam’s capital is smaller sized than Ho Chi Minh Metropolis and has retained a modest-town come to feel. Parks and lakes (like Hoàn Kiếm Lake, with the amazing Ngoc Son Temple in in the middle) fill its centre, and its leafy streets are lined streets with heritage buildings. The Old Quarter is the finest place for a history take care of (it is the place you will locate Hanoi’s lovely French-created Opera House) and great street foods. Hanoi’s most visited web page is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam’s greatest metropolis has the country’s very best hotels and the tallest skyscrapers, though reminders of its previous are omnipresent – in areas this kind of as the Reunification Palace (also identified as the Independence Palace). In 1975 North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates, sparking the fall of Saigon. Areas open up to the general public include former reception rooms, the president’s living quarters and the basement telecommunications centre. For additional insight into Vietnam’s past, stop by the War Remnants Museum for a intriguing (albeit harrowing) seem at the US invasion of Vietnam.

Hạ Long Bay

Certainly, Hạ Very long Bay, in North-East Vietnam, has come to be to some degree crowded of late, but you can’t are unsuccessful to be amazed by the limestone islets and pillars which earned this area its UNESCO Earth Heritage status. There are 1,600 islands, while most readers foundation themselves on Cat Ba Island, the region’s major. Well-liked things to do contain day cruises, kayaking and explorations of caves these types of as Tien Ong cave, which has stone artefacts relationship back to 10,000 BC.

Underrated locations

Sa Pa

Sa Pa is a quite town in Northern Vietnam which is utilised by lots of travellers as a base by hikers eager to trek by Lào Cai Province’s hills. Close to the border with China, it’s property to the Hmong persons, lots of of whom act as guides. Inspite of its location in Vietnam’s significantly north, having there is reasonably uncomplicated – there are regular bus expert services, despite the fact that we advise the eight-hour sleeper prepare assistance which departs from Hanoi.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

You will discover this UNESCO-detailed park in the Quang Binh province in north-central Vietnam. It straddles the border with Laos, and its various landscape consists of limestone plateaux, tropical forests and cathedral-like caves. Most visitors keep in just one of the quite a few homestays near to the park.

My Son

My Son is a UNESCO-listed assortment of Hindu temples in central Vietnam. The temples, crafted involving the fourth and thirteenth centuries and well known for their intricately carved patterns, were rediscovered in the nineteenth century by the French and were being partially ruined by bombs dropped all through the Vietnam war. In spite of this, the web site is definitely truly worth a visit. It’s positioned 70km south of the coastal city of Da Nang.

Huế

Huế is a former feudal hilltop funds built by the Kings of the Nguyen Dynasty. This laidback central Vietnam metropolis is crammed with temples, pagodas and monasteries, and there are a great deal of ancient palaces to look at out, also. Its architecture is intellect-bogglingly assorted – a solitary leafy street is very like to have the two a pagoda and an art déco mansion.

Ideal items to do

Check out Hanoi’s practice road

Head to Hanoi’s centre to sip a chilled bottle of Saigon Crimson beer at a rickety trackside table and wait for the railway worker to audio the alarm that a coach is approaching (albeit extremely slowly but surely). Avenue food stuff sellers and bar proprietors will quickly fold away their tables to make way for the educate, in advance of changing them the 2nd it is trundled earlier.

Go to the Củ Chi tunnels

The most effective way to see these tunnels, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh, is on a guided tour. The tunnels ended up dug by the Viet Cong military and you’ll see some of the fearsome booby traps they created for the American “tunnel rats”, who struggled to comprehend how the Vietnamese troopers appeared from nowhere then promptly disappeared. You are going to also get the opportunity to crawl together one particular of these claustrophobia-inducing passageways. Tours typically incorporate a end-off at a rubber plantation and there is a firing array a couple metres from the tunnels for any one eager to fire off a number of rounds from an AK-47.

Pay your respects to Hồ Chí Minh

The body of Vietnam’s previous president, retained in a glass coffin in the Hồ Chí Minh mausoleum, is in shockingly very good condition, many thanks to regular re-embalming periods. The mausoleum is component of a advanced which involves the Hồ Chí Minh Museum, in which exhibits target on Vietnam’s earlier struggles against a variety of overseas powers.

Getting all over

Vietnam’s considerable rail community contains lots of spectacular sleeper educate solutions, most of which have a range of various cabin styles. For illustration, opt for an right away prepare between Hanoi and Sapa, a well-liked trekking location in the north, and your solutions incorporate the Sapaly Categorical trains, with its roomy, wooden-panelled cabins the affordable-and-cheerful Dream Specific trains and Chapa Categorical trains, with modest but ornate cabins. Charges for this journey range from £31 to £140 one particular-way. Alternatively, consider a extensive-length coach. Most main locations are connected by mentor, and they’re extremely low-cost – be expecting to fork out close to £12 for an 8-hour journey. 1 of the greatest operators of sleeper coaches in Vietnam is The Sinh Tourist – their motor vehicles go over big parts of Vietnam and, like most modern-day sleeper coaches in the country, have armchair-like reclining seats.

How to get there

Air

Vietnam Airways flies direct to both Hanoi (2 times a week) and Ho Chi Minh (as soon as a week, whilst a second route will launch in December 2022).

Bus

If you are in neighbouring Cambodia, there are numerous very long distance bus routes which join the state to Vietnam.

Dollars-saving idea

US pounds may well be the most greatly-applied forex amongst travellers in Vietnam, but we suggest working with Vietnamese Dong. You’ll get greater trade premiums and, provided that charges are commonly mentioned in Dong, it will be less complicated to check your adjust and to pay back the correct amount.

FAQs

What’s the weather conditions like?

In the north, it is incredibly hot and humid involving May perhaps and October and awesome and dry concerning November and April. December and January are the coldest months – significantly in the considerably north. In the south, dry period lasts amongst November and April and rainy time lasts from Might to November. In central Vietnam, the wettest period is concerning June and November.

What time zone is it in?

Indochina time (GMT+7).

What forex do I require?

Vietnamese Dong.

What language is spoken?

Vietnamese, whilst English is widely spoken.