Discover Vietnam

South Vietnam travel guide: regions, best places, seasons and costs for 2026

"South Vietnam" means two different things: a country that disappeared in 1975 and a travel region that now draws millions of visitors. This guide separates the two, then maps the real south, from Saigon and the Mekong Delta to the southern highlands and the offshore islands, with seasons, transport

Vietnam or Thailand: an honest comparison for first-time travellers

Three weeks of leave, one set of flights to book, and two countries that look interchangeable on a map but deliver completely different holidays. This guide compares them on the things that actually decide a first trip: money, weather timing, beach quality, food, ease of travel and visa paperwork. N

Vietnam for students and gap year travelers: budgets and visas

Vietnam remains one of the best value destinations in Southeast Asia for students and gap year travelers. A bowl of pho costs less than a bus ticket in most Western cities. Hostel beds go for the price of a coffee back home. And the country stretches 1,650 kilometers from north to south, giving you

Vietnam for LGBTQ+ travelers: safety, laws and welcoming destinations

Vietnam is not Thailand. That is the first thing to understand. The country does not have a sprawling, commercialized LGBTQ+ tourism industry, nor does it market itself as a queer paradise. What it offers instead is something quieter: a society where same-sex relationships are legal, generally toler

Vietnam and Laos in three weeks: border crossings, routes and timing

Three weeks is enough to see the best of both Vietnam and Laos without rushing. But only if you choose the right border crossing and route. Many travelers waste days backtracking. Others end up stuck at the wrong checkpoint with no visa facility. This guide breaks down every land border option, the

Balut (hột vịt lộn) in Vietnam: what it is, how to eat it and whether to try it

Hột vịt lộn, the fertilised duck egg boiled with the embryo inside, sits on almost every street corner in Vietnam. Most travellers know it only from challenge videos and a vague sense of dread. This guide explains what is actually inside the shell, how Vietnamese people eat it every day, what to say

Is Vietnam still communist? What the political system means for travelers

Visitors see red flags, Ho Chi Minh portraits and busy private shops side by side, and many wonder how those fit together. This guide answers the question in plain terms, explains how the system is organised, and covers what it means on the ground: what is on display, which holidays shape a trip, an

Travel insurance for stays over 3 months in Vietnam (French only)

Dong Khoi Street: the complete guide to Saigon's most storied boulevard

Dong Khoi is the street every visitor to Ho Chi Minh City walks at least once, usually without quite knowing why it feels different from the rest of District 1. It is short, barely a kilometre from the river to the cathedral, and it holds more of the city's history per metre than any other road in V

Ba Den Mountain: the complete guide to Tay Ninh's sacred peak

Ba Den is the highest mountain in southern Vietnam, and for most of the year it is also the busiest pilgrimage site in the south. On a clear January morning, the cable car station at the base handles thousands of visitors before 9am, most of them Vietnamese families carrying fruit, incense and paper

Da Nang and Hoi An nightlife: beach bars, An Thuong and the late-night riverside

Two cities, one coastline, and two completely different ideas of what an evening should feel like. Da Nang treats nightlife as a wide-open beach party with rooftop bars and a river that lights up on schedule. Hoi An treats it as a slow walk past lanterns, a drink by the water, and a bed by 11pm. Cho

Vietnam in July: weather, crowds and where to go

July is the month travelers get wrong most often. The north is in its heaviest rain, the south floods most afternoons, and half the country is on summer holiday at the same time. Yet the central coast is in a rain shadow and the northern mountains offer a genuine escape from the heat. This guide exp

Marble Mountains in Da Nang: caves, pagodas, the lift and the monkeys

Most guides tell you the Marble Mountains are worth a visit and leave you unprepared for the 40,000 VND ticket, the 15,000 VND lift, the slippery marble steps, and the fact that the monkeys everyone mentions are not actually here. This guide covers what you will really find across the five limestone

Hai Van Pass and Lap An lagoon: ride it, drive it or take the train

The 21 km between Da Nang and Lang Co is the most photographed stretch of road in Vietnam, yet most guides answer only one question: is it worth it. The real question is which of the four ways across suits your confidence, your luggage and your schedule. This guide compares all four, including the t

My Son sanctuary: the Cham temples of central Vietnam explained

My Son Sanctuary is Vietnam's most misunderstood UNESCO site. Visitors arrive expecting an "Angkor Wat of Vietnam" and leave confused by a handful of red-brick ruins in a jungle valley. This guide explains who the Cham actually were, what the towers were built for, what was lost to American bombing

Ho Chi Minh City: when to visit around heat and rain

Ho Chi Minh City does not have four seasons. It has two: hot and wet, and hot and less wet. The temperature rarely drops below 25°C (77°F) or rises above 35°C (95°F). The real variable is rain. Understanding how the rain works here matters more than any temperature reading.

Ho Chi Minh City things to do: beyond Ben Thanh and the war sites

Ho Chi Minh City gets reduced to a checklist. Ben Thanh Market, the War Remnants Museum, the Independence Palace, maybe a rooftop bar. Two days and done. That version of Saigon exists, but it is the version you read about in guidebooks written a decade ago. The city has moved on.

Vietnam in April: weather, crowds and where to go

April sits at the hinge of Vietnam's two seasons. The dry season is winding down in the south, the north is shaking off its winter chill, and the central coast is enjoying a sweet spot of calm seas and blue skies. It is not the hottest month, not the wettest, and not the busiest. That makes it one o

Where to stay in Hue: neighborhoods and hotel picks by budget

Hue is a city that rewards a good base. The imperial capital of Vietnam's last dynasty, the Nguyen emperors, spreads across both banks of the Perfume River. The sights are scattered. The Citadel sits on the north bank. The royal tombs lie in the hills west of town. The food scene hides in alleys and

North, Central and South Vietnam: how the three regions actually differ

Vietnam is often described as one country, but it behaves like three. The north, central and south regions have distinct climates, cuisines, paces of life and even dialects. A traveler who plans a two-week trip without understanding these differences will waste time packing the wrong clothes, orderi

Golf in Vietnam: top courses and what a round actually costs

Vietnam has become one of Asia's most compelling golf destinations. The numbers tell the story: over 90 courses spread across the country, with more opening every year. The quality matches the quantity. Several layouts have earned spots on global top-100 lists, and the prices remain lower than equiv

Public holidays and closures in Vietnam: a year-round planning guide

Vietnam runs on two calendars at once. The Gregorian calendar sets official holidays, but the lunar calendar decides when most of them actually happen. That means Tet, the biggest holiday of the year, falls anywhere between late January and mid-February. Mid-Autumn Festival, Hung Kings Festival, and

Surfing in Vietnam: seasons, breaks and where to learn

Vietnam is not the first country that comes to mind when you think of surfing in Southeast Asia. Bali, Siargao, and Sri Lanka dominate the conversation. But Vietnam has a real, if underrated, surf scene. It is seasonal, fickle, and often messy. Yet when the northeast monsoon pushes swell into the So

Da Nang things to do: beaches, bridges and the mountains behind the city

Da Nang gets overlooked. Most travelers use it as a transit hub, sleeping one night between Hoi An and Hue before moving on. That is a mistake. Vietnam's fifth-largest city has the best urban beach in the country, a mountain peninsula covered in jungle, and some of the most photographed bridges in S

Getting to Nha Trang: flights, trains and buses compared

Nha Trang sits on Vietnam's south-central coast, a stretch of white sand and turquoise water that has pulled travelers off the Hanoi-HCMC railway for decades. The city is not hard to reach. The problem is choosing how.

The best time to visit Nha Trang: weather, seasons and diving conditions

Nha Trang gets sold as a year-round beach destination. The brochures show turquoise water, palm trees, and endless sunshine. The reality is more complicated. This city on Vietnam's south-central coast has distinct seasons that change everything about how the beach feels, whether the water is clear e

How is Vietnam in August? The honest region-by-region guide

August is Vietnam's most misunderstood travel month. Search "Vietnam in August" and you will find warnings about monsoon rains, typhoons, and flooded streets. Yet thousands of travelers return with sunburned shoulders and stories of empty beaches.

Vietnam national costume male and female: A complete traveler's guide

Most visitors to Vietnam see the elegant ao dai on flight attendants, wedding parties, and schoolgirls, but few understand the full landscape of Vietnamese national dress. This guide explains what Vietnamese people actually wear for ceremonies, festivals, and formal occasions, how the costumes diffe

Phong Nha Weather: Complete Month-by-Month Guide, Rainy Season & Best Time to Visit

Phong Nha is one of Vietnam's most spectacular destinations, but its unpredictable weather can disrupt a poorly planned itinerary. Between monsoons, flash floods, and suffocating heat, here's everything you need to know to choose the right time and enjoy the caves safely.

Con Dao hotels on a budget: where to stay without breaking the bank

Con Dao has a reputation problem for budget travellers. Most search results point to Six Senses, the island's ultra-luxury resort where villas start above $500 a night. That creates the impression that this remote archipelago is only for the wealthy. It is not.

Vietnam honeymoon itinerary: 10 days from beaches to mountains

A honeymoon in Vietnam is not one single experience. It is a sequence of them. One day you are drifting through limestone karsts on a quiet bay. The next you are walking ancient citadel walls in Hue. Then you are on a beach with a coconut in your hand, and after that you are eating banh xeo at a pla

Banh khot and banh can: Vietnam's crispy mini pancakes, compared

Two tiny pancakes. One looks like the other. Same round shape, same cast-iron mold, same serving of fresh herbs on the side. But bite into a banh khot from Vung Tau and a banh can from Dalat, and the difference hits immediately.

Vietnam by train: routes, tickets and the Reunification Express

The train horn sounds at 6:00 AM in Hanoi. The carriages rattle. Coffee vendors walk the aisles with metal pots. Outside the window, rice paddies spread flat and green toward limestone karsts. This is the Reunification Express, the spine of Vietnam.

Is it safe to travel to Vietnam during typhoon season? A practical guide for 2026

Typhoon season in Vietnam runs from June to November. That fact alone sends many travelers into a spiral of worry. Should you cancel your trip? Move your dates? Switch destinations entirely?

3 Weeks in Vietnam: The Perfect North-to-South Itinerary for First-Timers

Vietnam stretches like a dragon’s tail down the East Sea (Biển Đông). Three weeks gives you enough time to trace its spine from Hanoi’s chaotic charm to the Mekong Delta’s floating markets. This route balances iconic landmarks with one genuine offbeat stop that most first-timers miss.

What is the most scenic train ride in Vietnam? The complete guide to Vietnam's best railway journeys

Every traveler hears about Vietnam's "most beautiful train ride." But which one actually deserves the title? Between the coastal drama of the Hai Van Pass, the rice-terrace panoramas of the north, and luxury carriages that cost more than a flight, the answer depends on what you're after. This guide

Golden bridge vietnam weather december: What travelers need to know

The Golden Bridge (Cau Vang) is one of Vietnam's most photographed landmarks. Two giant stone hands emerge from the hillside, holding a golden walkway suspended above the forest. The image is striking. But the reality of visiting in December is often very different from the postcard.

Cat Ba Island things to do: The complete 2026 travel guide

Cat Ba Island sits at a crossroads. The harborfront is a construction zone, the beaches are still pristine, and the national park remains one of Vietnam's most underrated wildernesses. Most visitors come for a day and leave underwhelmed. This guide shows you where to go, what to skip, and how to spe

Typhoon Season in Central Vietnam: What Happens If One Hits Your Trip

Central Vietnam's coastline, stretching from Hue down through Da Nang and Hoi An, is one of Southeast Asia's most beautiful travel corridors. It is also one of the most typhoon-prone regions in the country. Between September and November, the East Sea (Biển Đông) churns out storm systems that regularly s