Vietnam rewards travellers who plan it as a journey, not a single stop. The country runs more than 1,600 kilometres from the Chinese border to the Mekong Delta, and each of its three regions feels like a different trip: Hanoi’s lakes and old quarters in the north, lantern-lit Hoi An and beach-city Da Nang in the centre, and fast, food-obsessed Ho Chi Minh City in the south. This roundup collects the ten Vietnam guides we have published so far — where to stay, the tours worth booking, and a day-by-day itinerary for each base — so you can build a north-to-south trip, or plan one region properly, without opening a dozen tabs.
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Where to stay: the three bases that anchor a Vietnam trip
Hanoi first. Most first-timers base themselves in or near the Old Quarter, where the street food, lake walks and day-trip pickups all sit within a short stroll — but the French Quarter, West Lake and Ba Dinh each suit a different pace and budget. Our guide to where to stay in Hanoi compares the neighbourhoods honestly and picks the hotels worth booking in each, from Old Quarter boutiques to quieter lakeside stays.
Ho Chi Minh City is a district decision. District 1 puts first-timers beside the landmark sights and the best evening food scene, District 3 is its calmer, more local neighbour, and Thao Dien in District 2 suits longer, apartment-style stays. Our guide to where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City breaks down the districts and the hotel picks that make each one work.
Hoi An is the stay readers ask about most. Sleeping inside the Ancient Town means lantern-lit streets after the day-trippers leave; An Bang Beach, a few kilometres away, trades that atmosphere for sea air; and the rice-field lanes between them hold some of Vietnam’s best small resorts. Our guide to where to stay in Hoi An compares the areas and the hotels that justify their price in each.
The tours worth booking
From Hanoi, the water is the headline. A Ha Long Bay cruise is the day trip almost every visitor takes — the honest questions are boat quality, route and whether an overnight sailing beats a day cruise — while Ninh Binh’s rivers and karsts make the strongest land-based alternative, and an Old Quarter food walk after dark fixes any first evening. Our best tours in Hanoi guide compares them head to head, with prices and who each suits.
From Ho Chi Minh City, history runs the list. The Cu Chi Tunnels and a Mekong Delta day — floating markets, river islands and a very different pace — are the two essential day trips, and a street-food or Vespa-style evening shows the city at its best. Our best tours in Ho Chi Minh City guide weighs the tunnel-and-delta combos against doing each properly on its own day.
Hoi An’s tours are hands-on. A cooking class that starts at the market, the ruined Cham temples of My Son Sanctuary at dawn, and making your own silk lantern are the three experiences readers rate highest — all short, all easy to fit around Ancient Town wandering. Our best tours in Hoi An guide compares them in detail.
Day by day: four itineraries
The capital in three days. Our Hanoi in 3 Days itinerary runs the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature first, Ba Dinh and a water puppet performance on day two, and leaves day three for Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh.
The south in three days. Our Ho Chi Minh City in 3 Days itinerary pairs the Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum and Ben Thanh with a Cu Chi day and a Mekong Delta day, and keeps the evenings free for the street food the city does better than anywhere else in Vietnam.
The centre in three days, twice over. Our Hoi An in 3 Days itinerary gives the Ancient Town a full slow day, adds My Son and Tra Que village, and finishes at An Bang Beach. Thirty kilometres north, our brand-new Da Nang in 3 Days itinerary covers My Khe Beach and the Marble Mountains, a Ba Na Hills day for the Golden Bridge, and the Dragon Bridge’s weekend fire-and-water show — and because Hoi An now sits within Da Nang’s city limits and the two are an easy half-hour apart, most travellers sleep in one and day-trip to the other.
Putting it together: a classic Vietnam route
The route most first-timers fly is north to south: Hanoi (3 days, plus a Ha Long Bay overnight if you can) — fly to Da Nang for Hoi An and Da Nang (4 days between them) — fly on to Ho Chi Minh City (3 days, plus the Mekong). Domestic flights on each leg take roughly one to two hours and save the long overland hauls; the overnight train between Hanoi and Da Nang is the scenic exception worth considering once. Ten to twelve days covers it comfortably; with a week, pick two regions and do them properly rather than skimming all three.
Timing needs one honest warning: Vietnam’s regions do not share a season. The north is coolest and driest roughly from October to April, the centre — Hoi An and Da Nang — has its wet season roughly from September to December, and the south is driest roughly from December to April. A February-to-April trip is the easiest single window for all three regions; outside it, check the forecast for the centre especially, and keep one flexible day in Hoi An.
For the wider region, these Vietnam guides also sit inside our roundup of the best Southeast Asia guides, alongside Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore.
The bottom line
Ten guides, four bases, one long, skinny, endlessly varied country. Start with where to stay in the city you land in, book the one or two tours that need booking, and let the itineraries carry the rest. However you slice it — north, centre, south, or the full run — Vietnam is the Southeast Asia trip readers write back about most. We will keep adding to this roundup as new Vietnam guides publish.