I stepped off the night train into Sapa at 5 am, fog so thick I couldn’t see the rice terraces I’d travelled 6 hours specifically to see, and figured I’d made a mistake.
By 8 am the cloud had burned off completely, and I understood exactly why everyone told me not to rush this country.
That’s the thing here nobody quite prepares you for: the best moments in Vietnam rarely show up on time.
Whether you’re after things to do in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, wondering what’s worth it along the central coast, or just trying to figure out where to even start, this Vietnam travel guide is everything I wish I’d known before my first trip.
I’ve ridden a sleeper train the full length of the country, got hopelessly lost in Hanoi’s Old Quarter more times than I’d like to admit, eaten my way through Hoi An’s lantern-lit lanes, and spent longer in Sapa’s mountains than my original itinerary ever allowed for.
This guide covers Vietnam for pretty much anyone: first-timers who just want Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City done properly, trekkers eyeing Sapa’s rice terraces, beach lovers heading for Da Nang, and slow-travel types who’d rather follow the country’s pace than fight it.
Think of this as your one-stop Vietnam travel planner, everything from the best things to do in Vietnam to where to stay and how to actually get around.
Let’s get into it.
READ ALSO:
Vietnam At A Glance
Short on time? Here’s everything you need to know in one place.
| Currency | Vietnamese Dong (VND) |
| Language | Vietnamese |
| Plug type | Type A/C/G, 220V, 50Hz |
| Visa | Most Western passport holders need an e-visa (around USD 25), applied for online before arrival, processed within a few business days |
| Time zone | Indochina Time (UTC+7), no daylight saving |
| Best time to visit | February–April or August–October, depending on region |
| Driving | On the right |
| Hello / Greetings | Xin chào |
| Thank you | Cảm ơn |
Best Time To Visit Vietnam
Vietnam runs over 1,600km north to south, and that length means 3 genuinely different climates operating at once; there’s rarely a single “best month” for the whole country.
February–April
North Vietnam
Rainy CatCat Village, Sapa, Vietnam
This is spring, and it’s genuinely one of the best windows for the north.
Temperatures sit comfortably in the high teens to low 20s°C, skies clear up after the winter drizzle, and Sapa’s trekking trails are at their most walkable, dry underfoot without the summer humidity slowing you down.
Central Vietnam
February through May avoids both the wet season’s flood risk in Hoi An and the brutal peak-summer heat that arrives from June.
Lantern-lit evenings in Hoi An are noticeably more comfortable to wander through at this time of year than in July.
South Vietnam
This sits right in the dry season here too, one of the few windows where all 3 regions genuinely line up at once, worth knowing if your trip covers the full length of the country.
May–August
North Vietnam
Hot and humid, with a real typhoon risk building from June through September, particularly around Ha Long Bay. Not a dealbreaker, but pack for heat and keep half an eye on the forecast if a boat trip’s part of your plan.
Central Vietnam
Linh Ung Pagoda, Da Nang, Vietnam
Still workable for beach time in Da Nang specifically, properly hot by July, but the coastline handles the heat better than the cities do.
South Vietnam
Daily afternoon downpours start here from May, short, predictable bursts rather than a washed-out day, the kind of rain you plan a late lunch around rather than cancel plans for.
September–December
North Vietnam
This is arguably the best stretch of the entire year up here, cool, dry, and genuinely one of the most comfortable windows in the country for both city walking and Sapa trekking.
Central Vietnam
Crossing the river in Hoi An, Vietnam
September through January is wet season in Hoi An specifically, flooding is a real possibility in the Old Town during heavy rain, worth checking forecasts closely if this is your only window.
South Vietnam
Rain continues through November, still short daily bursts rather than day-ruining weather, tapering off as December approaches.
My Recommendation On The Best Time To Visit Vietnam
If I had to pick one window for a first-timer covering the whole country north to south, I’d go February through April. It’s the only stretch where Hanoi, Sapa, the central coast, and Ho Chi Minh City are all genuinely pleasant at the same time, which matters a lot if your itinerary moves the length of the country the way mine did.
If your trip is regional rather than full-length, though, I’d bend that: October to December for a Hanoi-and-Sapa-only trip, since autumn up north is honestly better than spring once you’ve experienced both, and December through April if you’re sticking to Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta and don’t need to worry about the north at all.
5 Best Places To Visit In Vietnam
Vietnam packs an extraordinary amount of variety into 1 country, mountain trekking, ancient trading towns, and 2 completely different major cities. Here’s where to go and why, with links to deeper guides for each one.
1. Hanoi
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- People-watching from cafe, Hanoi, Vietnam
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- Dong Xuan market, Hanoi, Vietnam
Hanoi is where most Vietnam trips start, and the Old Quarter alone is worth a couple of days on its own, narrow streets, street food stalls spilling onto the pavement, and motorbikes weaving through it all in a way that looks chaotic until you’ve been there a day and it suddenly makes sense.
One spot genuinely worth building time around: houses and cafés along the Train Street sit so close to the tracks you can reach out and touch the train as it passes, an experience that sounds like a tourist trap until you’re actually standing there watching everyone scramble their chairs back seconds before it comes through.
2. Ho Chi Minh City
Fruit buffet at PARKROYAL Saigon, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by most locals) is Vietnam’s energy capital – faster, louder, and noticeably more modern than Hanoi.
Where you stay in Ho Chi Minh yourself changes the trip more than people expect; District 1’s convenience versus quieter, more local pockets further out are genuinely 2 different holidays.
I stayed at the PARKROYAL Saigon for a stretch here, and it remains one of the more comfortable city bases I’ve had anywhere in Southeast Asia, central without sitting right in the loudest part of the tourist strip.
3. Sapa
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- Sapaly train from Hanoi to Sapa we took
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- Fansipan cable car above the mountains near Sapa, Vietnam
Sapa is Vietnam’s mountain trekking hub, and it’s the region that genuinely reshaped how I think about the country, terraced rice paddies stacked up the hillsides, ethnic minority villages, and a completely different pace from anywhere on the coast.
Timing genuinely matters more here than almost anywhere else in the country, I got caught out by fog myself, an early morning that started as thick cloud and burned off by mid-morning into one of the best views I’ve had anywhere.
Getting there from the capital has its own quirks too; night bus versus night train versus flying into the nearest airport all come with real trade-offs worth weighing before you book.
4. Da Nang
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- Sun World Ba Na Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
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- Golden Bridge, Da Nang, Vietnam
Da Nang is the beach city most people underestimate, a genuinely long, clean coastline, and a much easier, more modern base than people expect from photos of the rest of the country. Beyond the obvious beach days, there are many things to do here once the sun goes down.
Just DON’T visit it during the peak of summer – been there, done that – and the heat is genuinely unbearable.
5. Hoi An
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- Hoi An Old Town, Vietnam
Hoi An is the ancient trading port everyone’s seen photos of, lantern-lit streets at dusk, and it earns the reputation completely. I ended up getting a suit tailored in 24 hours, a genuinely strange and satisfying thing to do on a trip, fittings in the morning, a finished jacket by evening.
Da Nang and Hoi An sit close enough together that most people do both, and getting between them isn’t always as simple as it looks on a map.
17 Best Things To Do In Vietnam
Vietnam blends chaotic city energy, mountain trekking, and ancient lantern-lit streets in a way that’s hard to find anywhere else this size. Here’s what’s genuinely worth your time, organised by where you’ll find it.
Hanoi, Vietnam
1. Visit Hanoi’s Famous Train Street
Train on the way!
I remember standing pressed against a café wall the first time, watching everyone around me scramble their chairs and tables back with maybe 30 seconds of warning, the whole street folding itself in and then back out again once the train had gone through. It sounds like a tourist trap until you’re actually standing there feeling it happen.
I put together everything you need to know before you go: timing, which café to grab a seat at, and the etiquette nobody explains upfront, since a few sections have closed to casual walk-ins and you need to book a seat at a specific café to legally watch it now.
Book a Hanoi Train Street walking tour here
2. Explore The Old Quarter
Old Quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam
Narrow streets, street food stalls spilling onto the pavement, and motorbikes weaving through it all in a way that looked genuinely chaotic to me for about a day, and then just as suddenly made sense; you start reading the flow of it the way locals clearly already do.
I got properly lost here more than once, which ended up being the best way to actually see it, better than any map.
Book a Hanoi Old Quarter food and walking tour here
Ha Long Bay & Ninh Binh, Vietnam
3. Cruise Ha Long Bay (Overnight)
Mesmerising sunset over Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Thousands of limestone karsts rise straight out of emerald water, and the version everyone’s seen in photos genuinely undersells it.
I did this as an overnight boat rather than a day trip, and waking up on the water with the karsts still half wrapped in morning mist was a completely different experience from the rushed few hours most day-trippers get.
Book a Ha Long Bay overnight cruise here
4. Take A Sampan Through Tam Coc, Ninh Binh
People call Ninh Binh “Ha Long Bay on land,” and honestly it’s not far off.
A small wooden sampan gets rowed through rivers running beneath limestone caves and rice paddies, quieter and slower than Ha Long Bay itself, and I liked that I could fit it into a single day from Hanoi rather than committing to an overnight.
Book a Ninh Binh Tam Coc boat tour here
Sapa, Vietnam
5. Trek The Rice Terraces
Terraced rice fields and mountain views in Sapa, Vietnam
Terraced paddies stacked up the hillsides, ethnic minority villages along the trail, and a pace so different from the coast it barely feels like the same country. This is the region that genuinely reshaped how I think about Vietnam, less about ticking off sights and more about just moving slowly in Sapa for a few days.
There are many different trails, but I chose the easy path so my parents could partake: a walk through Y Linh Ho, Lao chai and Ta Van villages. It’s VND 500,000/ USD 19 per person including lunch and transport back to Sapa after the tour.
Book a Sapa rice terrace trekking tour here
Hue, Vietnam
Meridian Gate, Hue, Vietnam
6. Walk The Imperial Citadel
Hue was Vietnam’s imperial capital for over a century, and the Citadel is genuinely sprawling, I’d budgeted an hour and stayed for most of the morning, with walled palace grounds and ceremonial gates that take a lot longer to properly take in than photos suggest.
Book a Hue Imperial Citadel tour here
7. Visit The Royal Tombs Along The Perfume River
A quieter, considerably less crowded contrast to the Citadel itself.
Many emperors’ tombs sit scattered along the river outside the city, and I did this by boat, which turned what could’ve been a rushed tour stop into a genuinely peaceful half-day.
Book a Perfume River royal tombs tour here
Phong Nha, Vietnam
Cave exploration
8. Explore The Tu Lan Caves Near Phong Nha
Caves are a big part of Vietnam, and Phong Nha in central Vietnam is where the best ones are. Son Doong, the largest cave on Earth, is here, along with Hang En, the third largest. Those are multi-day, big-budget expeditions, so I went for something smaller and did an overnighter at Tu Lan.
Tu Lan is about a 1.5-hour drive from Phong Nha town, and the trip starts from the village of Tan Hoa. Overnight trips like this usually mix a jungle trek, swims through underground rivers and a night camping beside a river or waterfall. You pass through caves such as Hung Ton, Ken, Kim and Hang Tien, whose name means “Fairy Cave” because of its huge entrance and calcite formations.
If the scenery looks familiar, it’s because Kong: Skull Island (2017) was filmed here.
Oxalis, the best-known operator, charges VND 6,700,000 / USD 259 per person for its 2-day, 1-night Tu Lan Cave Encounter tour, which covers VAT, entrance and environmental fees, and a night of camping in the jungle. It’s a tough trek, and the trails get muddy and slippery after rain, so wear shoes with good grip.
Book a Tu Lan cave tour here
Da Nang, Vietnam
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- Sunset at My Khe beach, Da Nang, Vietnam
9. Work Through Da Nang’s Beaches
A genuinely long, clean coastline, and a much more modern, easier base than the photos of the rest of the country prepared me for, wide promenades, proper cafés, none of the chaos I’d half-expected.
There are many great beaches around Da Nang to go to rather than just the main strip everyone defaults to.
Book a Da Nang beach and Marble Mountains tour here
10. Things To Do Once The Sun Goes Down
Beyond the obvious beach days, there’s a surprising amount to fill an evening with here, I hadn’t planned for Da Nang to have much of a night scene and ended up staying out later than I meant to more than once, riverside bars, a night market I wandered into by accident, and a rooftop that turned out to have better views than anywhere I’d been in the city by day.
I put together everything I found once the sun went down if you want the fuller list before you plan your evenings.
Hoi An, Vietnam
Lanterns at Ancient Town, Hoi An, Vietnam
11. Wander The Ancient Town At Dusk
Lantern-lit streets, and it earns the reputation completely; the light changes the whole town the moment the sun drops, genuinely one of the more photogenic hours I’ve experienced anywhere.
I ended up getting a suit tailored in 24 hours while I was there, a genuinely strange and satisfying thing to do on a trip, fittings in the morning, a finished dress ready by evening.
Book a Hoi An ancient town evening lantern tour here
12. Get Between Hoi An And Da Nang
Hoi An and Da Nang sit close enough together that most people do both, and getting between them isn’t always as simple as it looks on a map. I made the mistake of assuming it would be once and paid for it in wasted time.
The bus, the taxi, and the scenic route over Hai Van Pass all land you there very differently, worth reading before you just grab whatever’s cheapest.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
13. Explore The City Properly, Not Just District 1
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- Touring Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Go beyond the main tourist strip, war history that’s genuinely sobering, market chaos that takes some getting used to, rooftop bars that catch the whole skyline at dusk in a way that surprised me given how little I’d expected from the city beforehand.
I ended up putting together everything I found worth doing beyond the obvious spots, and if you’ve only got a week to work with, I mapped out exactly how I’d spend it without feeling rushed.
Book a Ho Chi Minh City history and food tour here
14. Walk Through The Cu Chi Tunnels
Entrance to Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
An underground network used during the war, and crawling through even the widened tourist sections gave me a genuinely visceral sense of what had otherwise just been a paragraph in a history book to me.
I paired it with the War Remnants Museum back in the city the same trip, sobering rather than a casual afternoon out, but genuinely worth doing properly rather than skipping for something lighter.
Book a Cu Chi Tunnels day tour from Ho Chi Minh City here
The Mekong Delta & Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
15. Ride Through The Mekong Delta
Small wooden boats winding through a maze of floating markets, fruit orchards, and stilt houses, a completely different pace and landscape from anywhere else on this list. I only gave it a single day and genuinely wished I’d stayed the night, worth building in the extra time if your schedule allows.
Book a Mekong Delta boat tour here
16. Unwind On Phu Quoc
White sand beaches and coral reefs, Vietnam’s answer to a proper tropical island escape, and the stop I’d use to close out a longer trip rather than open it, temples and tunnels and city traffic first, then a few days of doing genuinely nothing at the end.
Book a Phu Quoc island day trip here
Beyond Vietnam
17. Add Cambodia Onto The Itinerary
If you’ve got more time, Angkor Wat is genuinely worth the detour once you’re this close to the border. I didn’t plan to add it initially and was glad I changed my mind.
My full 15-day Vietnam-Cambodia itinerary shows exactly how the 2 fit together without feeling rushed.
My 15-Day Vietnam Itinerary
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- Nature and city trips in Vietnam
If you’re visiting for the first time and want a sense of how the pieces fit together, here’s roughly how I’d structure a proper 15 days, enough time to cover the country north to south without feeling rushed.
| Day | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Hanoi | Old Quarter, Train Street, street food |
| 4–6 | Sapa | Rice terrace trekking, village homestays |
| 7–8 | Ha Long Bay | Limestone karsts, overnight cruise |
| 9–11 | Hoi An & Da Nang | Ancient town, beaches, tailoring |
| 12–15 | Ho Chi Minh City | Cu Chi Tunnels, Mekong Delta day trip, city exploring |
This is the shape I’d default to for a first-timer with a proper 2 weeks to spend, enough time in each region to actually settle in rather than rush through on a checklist.
If you’ve got a week or less, Hanoi, Sapa, and Hoi An alone still make a genuinely complete trip, and if you’ve got longer than 15 days, Phu Quoc or a slower stretch through the Mekong Delta are both great rather than squeezing into a single day.
Where To Stay In Vietnam
Where you base yourself changes region to region, and prices swing considerably by city and season. Here’s the full breakdown.
Ho Chi Minh City
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- PARKROYAL Saigon, Vietnam
Budget: Hanoi Backpackers-style social hostels are actually a District 1 speciality too. City Backpacker Hostels’ Saigon branch on the edge of Pham Ngu Lao puts you in a genuinely social, dorm-and-communal-kitchen setup, walkable to most of the city’s main sights and nightlife.
Price: VND 209,000–392,000 / USD 8–15 per night.
Mid-Range: GRAND HOTEL du LAC Boutique Saigon is the one I’d point you to in District 1, close to everything, genuinely well-reviewed, and priced fairly for the location.
Where you base yourself in this city matters more than people expect. District 1’s convenience versus quieter, more local pockets further out are genuinely 2 different holidays.
Price: VND 913,000–1,827,000 / USD 35–70 per night.
Luxury: I stayed at the PARKROYAL Saigon, and it’s genuinely one of the better luxury bases in the city. It’s changed its name to Garden Plaza Saigon now. It’s at the central without sitting right in the busiest, loudest part of the tourist strip, which after a few days of Ben Thanh Market chaos was exactly what I wanted.
Price: VND 2,871,000–6,525,000+ / USD 110–250+ per night.
Hanoi
Budget: Hanoi Backpackers Hostel on Ma May Street is the classic pick, with dorms and private rooms, a communal kitchen, and Hoan Kiem Lake close enough to walk to without thinking about it.
Price: VND 209,000–392,000 / USD 8–15 per night.
Mid-Range: Silk Lullaby Hotel tucked into the Old Quarter gives you a cosy, stylish stay close to Train Street and the night market, the kind of boutique feel that doesn’t come with a boutique price tag.
Price: VND 913,000–1,696,000 / USD 35–65 per night.
Luxury: Sofitel Legend Metropole, a Hanoi institution since 1901, is the one worth splurging on at least once, French colonial elegance right on the edge of the Old Quarter, the kind of hotel that’s genuinely part of the city’s history rather than just a place to sleep.
Price: VND 3,915,000–10,440,000+ / USD 150–400+ per night.
Hoi An & Da Nang
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- Grand Jeep Hotel, Da Nang, Vietnam
Budget–Mid-Range: Hoi An’s Old Town guesthouses run slightly above the national average given the town’s popularity, while Da Nang’s beachfront hotels offer more competitive rates for similar quality, worth basing yourself in Da Nang and day-tripping into Hoi An if budget matters more than sleeping inside the lantern-lit streets themselves.
Price: VND 522,000–1,827,000 / USD 20–70 per night.
Luxury: Da Nang and Phu Quoc both have genuinely world-class beachfront resorts at prices that undercut equivalent properties almost anywhere else in the region, the kind of value that makes a splurge night here feel considerably less indulgent than it would elsewhere.
Price: VND 3,915,000+ / USD 150+ per night.
Typical Costs In Vietnam
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- Vietnamese cuisines
Vietnam remains one of Southeast Asia’s best-value major destinations, genuinely 15–25% cheaper than Thailand at a comparable comfort level.
| Travel Style | Per Person / Day | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | USD 30–50 | Hostel dorms, street food, sleeper buses, local transport |
| Mid-Range | USD 60–150 | 3-star hotels, restaurant meals, trains, guided tours |
| Comfort | USD 150–350 | Boutique hotels, private transfers, day tours |
| Luxury | USD 400+ | Heritage hotels, fine dining, private guides, Ha Long Bay cruises |
Depending on how long you’re staying:
| Trip Length | Backpacker | Mid-Range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | USD 210–350 | USD 420–1,050 | USD 1,050–2,450 |
| 2 weeks | USD 700–1,400 | USD 1,400–2,800 | USD 3,000–5,500 |
| 1 month | USD 900–1,500 (long-stay rate) | USD 1,800–4,500 | USD 6,000+ |
A few specific numbers worth knowing: a bowl of pho at a street stall runs USD 2–4, a bánh mì comes to around USD 1.50, and the Reunification Express sleeper train, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, the full 32-hour length, costs USD 20–45 for a soft-sleeper berth, one of the best-value overnight journeys I’ve taken anywhere.
Domestic flights between major cities start around USD 30–50 if booked a couple of weeks ahead.
Is Vietnam Safe?
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- Vietnam trip with my parents 🙂
Yes, genuinely one of the safer countries I’ve travelled through in Southeast Asia.
Violent crime against tourists is rare, Vietnam’s homicide rate sits around 1.5 per 100,000, considerably lower than most Western countries, and it consistently ranks among the safest destinations in the world for international visitors.
The real risk is petty theft, and it has a very specific pattern. Phone and bag snatching from passing motorbikes is the number one reported crime against tourists, it happens fast, someone rides by and grabs whatever’s in your hand or slung over one shoulder.
I kept my phone in a cross-body bag rather than holding it out on the street after hearing enough of these stories, and it’s genuinely the single most useful habit worth adopting here.
Ben Thanh Market, Bui Vien Walking Street, and the busy riverfront in Ho Chi Minh City, plus Hanoi’s Old Quarter around Hoan Kiem Lake, are where this concentrates most, simply because that’s where the money and foot traffic overlap.
Scams are common but low-stakes and avoidable once you know the pattern. Forced shoe shining in the Old Quarter and District 1, someone points at your shoe, grabs your foot, and starts polishing before you can object, then demands payment.
Overpriced Ha Long Bay cruise sellers cluster around Ta Hien (Beer Street) and Hoan Kiem Lake. Fake Grab drivers and rigged taxi meters target tourists specifically at airports and busy tourist zones, always confirm you’re getting into the actual car shown in the app before you get in.
Traffic is the genuine everyday hazard, more than crime. Ho Chi Minh City alone has around 9 million registered motorbikes, and crossing the street without understanding the local flow is genuinely risky the first time you try it.
The trick that actually works: walk slowly, steadily, and predictably, don’t stop, don’t dart, let the traffic flow around you. It takes about 10 minutes to get the hang of and feels impossible right up until it suddenly doesn’t.
Solo female travel here feels genuinely comfortable. Violent crime and sexual assault against female tourists are rare, and the persistent street harassment that shows up in some other countries just isn’t part of the culture here.
The same petty-crime and traffic precautions apply, plus the usual extra caution around nightlife districts and late-night transport, Grab over a street taxi or motorbike taxi after dark, the app’s booking trail is a real accountability difference.
A couple of practical notes: stick to official border checkpoints if you’re crossing into Cambodia or Laos overland, Moc Bai, Bavet, and Lao Bao are the recommended crossings.
And if something does go wrong, report it, Ho Chi Minh City’s Tourist Assistance Center sits at 151 Vo Thi Sau Street, District 3, and Hanoi’s Tourism Police Department is at 8B Pham Ngoc Thach Street, bring photos, receipts, and any documentation you have.
Getting Around Vietnam
Boarding a sleeper train, Hanoi, Vietnam
Vietnam is long and thin, about 1,700 km from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, so how you cover the distance shapes your trip. The rule I’d follow is to fly the long legs, take the train on the scenic ones, and use apps for everything within a city.
Domestic Flights
Flying is the sensible choice for the long hops. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is a 2-hour flight against 30 to 36 hours by train, and it often costs about the same as a soft sleeper berth. Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Bamboo Airways all fly the main routes, and fares are usually lowest if you book a few weeks ahead.
Hanoi to Da Nang takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, which beats a 16-hour train for most people. The popular compromise is to take the train through central Vietnam, then fly the last leg to Ho Chi Minh City.
Trains
Sleeper train from Hanoi to Sapa, Vietnam
The Reunification Express runs the length of the country, though it’s really a network of daily trains numbered SE1 and up, not one named train. The fastest services (SE3 and SE4) take about 30 to 34 hours between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and others take up to 36. There are 4 classes:
- Soft seat: about USD 30 to 48
- Hard sleeper (6 berths): about USD 40 to 66
- Soft sleeper (4 berths): about USD 55 to 95, and the best standard option
- VIP cabin (2 berths): about USD 72, on some private carriages
Prices vary by train and berth, and sources disagree, so check the live fare. I boarded a sleeper train in Hanoi, and the berth made the overnight leg far easier than a night bus would have.
The best train legs:
- Hue to Da Nang: about 2.5 to 3 hours across the Hai Van Pass, with sea cliffs on one side
- Hanoi to Hue or Da Nang: overnight, so you save a hotel night
- Hanoi to Lao Cai (for Sapa): overnight, about 8 to 9 hours
Buses
Buses fill the gaps between trains and flights. Overnight sleeper buses have reclining pods, air-con and a blanket, and cost about USD 8 to 20 a trip. Futa Bus and The Sinh Tourist are the main operators.
Limousine vans are the quicker, pricier choice for short runs, such as Hanoi to Ninh Binh (about VND 250,000 to 350,000 / USD 10 to 14), and they’re popular on the Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue corridor. Skip the 30-hour sleeper bus from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. A flight at about the same price is far less exhausting.
Getting To Phong Nha For The Caves
Phong Nha, where I did my Tu Lan overnighter, has no direct airport. Dong Hoi is the nearest airport and train station, and the Reunification trains stop there. From Dong Hoi, most people take a bus or a private transfer to Phong Nha town.
City Transport
Grab works in all the major cities, and the price is fixed upfront, so there’s no haggling. Xanh SM, the electric taxi fleet, is often cheaper, and it operates in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue and Nha Trang. Short rides in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City cost about VND 40,000 to 80,000 (USD 1.50 to 3).
- Motorbike taxis: GrabBike starts from about USD 0.60 for a short hop, and street xe om are cheaper still, but agree the price first
- Street taxis: Mai Linh and Vinasun are the reliable metered companies, and fake taxis are common, so I’d stick to apps
- Pickups: apps use designated pickup zones, usually a 2 to 5 minute walk
Renting A Scooter
Renting your own scooter costs about VND 150,000 to 250,000/ USD 6 to 10 a day for an automatic. It’s worth it only if you’re confident in the traffic, because Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City take some adjusting to.
You also need the right paperwork. Vietnam recognises only international driving permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention, and US, Canadian, Australian, Irish and New Zealand permits are 1949 issues and don’t qualify. Without a valid permit, a fine is likely and your travel insurance can refuse a claim after a crash. Check which convention your permit follows before you ride.
Packing & eSIM Tips For Vietnam
One practical thing worth sorting before you land: a Vietnam eSIM. Mobile coverage is strong across the cities and main tourist regions, and having data ready the moment you land makes navigating Grab, hotel bookings, and train tickets considerably easier. I’ve compared the best options in my full eSIM for Vietnam guide.
On packing: layer heavily if your route covers both the north and the mountains, Sapa gets genuinely cold at altitude, especially overnight, while the south stays warm and humid year-round.
A light rain layer earns its space regardless of season, and comfortable, broken-in shoes matter more here than most destinations; between Old Quarter walking, Sapa trekking, and temple-hopping, you’ll cover more ground on foot than you’d expect.
FAQs About Things To Do In Vietnam
How many days do you need in Vietnam?
At least 10–12 days for a first trip covering the north and central regions properly. 2 weeks or more lets you add Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta without feeling rushed.
Is Vietnam expensive to visit?
No, it remains one of the best-value countries in Southeast Asia, roughly 15–25% cheaper than Thailand at a comparable comfort level.
Do you need a visa for Vietnam?
Most Western passport holders need an e-visa, applied for online before arrival, around USD 25 and processed within a few business days. Don't leave this until the airport.
What's the best time to visit Vietnam?
It depends heavily on region; February through April works well nationwide, but the north (October–December) and south (December–April) each have their own separate dry-season sweet spots.
Between the fog lifting over Sapa’s rice terraces, getting properly lost in Hanoi’s Old Quarter more times than planned, and a sleeper train that turned a 32-hour transit day into one of the better travel experiences I’ve had anywhere, Vietnam left me with a far more patient relationship with travel than most countries manage to teach.
Whatever mix of things to do in Vietnam you go for, mountain trekking, ancient towns, city energy, or beach time, I hope this guide makes planning your trip a little easier.
