Home › Vietnam
Vietnam Travel Guide
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
A thousand miles of coastline with a different country at either end — the grey-green lakes and shuttered old quarter of Hanoi in the north, the emerald karst towers of Ha Long Bay, the lantern-lit lanes of Hoi An in the middle, and the heat, energy and river light of Saigon in the south. Vietnam is warm, inexpensive, superbly fed and unfailingly courteous to visitors. This is the Guild’s chapter on it.
The limestone islands of Ha Long Bay. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Where to stay & when to go
Guild guides to the best places to stay in Vietnam’s five headline destinations — and the best time to plan your trip.
Where to Stay in Hanoi ›
The Old Quarter, the French Quarter and the calm of West Lake — colonial grandes dames to good-value shophouses.
Where to Stay in Ho Chi Minh City ›
District 1 around the Opera House and the cathedral, and leafy riverside Thao Dien across the water.
Where to Stay in Da Nang ›
My Khe’s walkable beach strip, the big resorts of Non Nuoc, and the dramatic Son Tra peninsula.
Where to Stay in Hoi An ›
Riverside hotels within a stroll of the Ancient Town, plus An Bang beach and the rice-paddy countryside.
Where to Stay in Nha Trang ›
The city beachfront on Tran Phu, the quiet resort strip at Bai Dai, and the boat-in coves of Ninh Van Bay.
Best Time to Visit Vietnam ›
Month-by-month weather for the north, the centre and the south — and how to dodge the typhoons.
Why visit Vietnam
Few countries give back so much for so little effort, or so little money.
The food
Pho at a pavement stool, banh mi from a cart, Hue’s imperial dishes, Hoi An’s white-rose dumplings and the herb-laden cooking of the south — light, fresh and quite possibly the best-value eating on earth.
Coast & islands
Ha Long Bay’s limestone towers, the long white sweep of My Khe and Nha Trang, and the resort beaches of Phu Quoc — warm seas from spring through autumn.
Living history
The Imperial City at Hue, the Japanese bridge and merchant houses of Hoi An, French boulevards and opera houses, and the sober, moving museums of the war years.
Value & hospitality
Five-star service at three-star prices, superb spas, and a genuine warmth toward visitors — a country where a modest budget still buys a memorable trip.
The regions of Vietnam
Vietnam is long and thin, and each stretch of it is a different trip. Cities with a Guild guide are marked; the rest link straight to hotels through our Trip.com partner while their chapters are written.
The capital’s old quarter, the karst islands of Ha Long Bay, and the terraced mountains beyond.
Imperial Hue, the beaches and bridges of Da Nang, and the lantern-lit lanes of Hoi An.
Nha Trang’s long bay, the dunes of Mui Ne and the resort island of Phu Quoc.
- Nha Trang guide
- Phu Quoc soon
- Phan Thiet & Mui Ne soon
Ho Chi Minh City’s boulevards and rooftops, and the green waterways to the south.
- Ho Chi Minh City guide
- Can Tho soon
How the country divides up
Hanoi & the north
Hanoi is the older, cooler, more contemplative capital — lakes, plane trees, a shuttered French quarter and a thousand-year-old warren of trade streets. From it you reach Ha Long Bay, where limestone towers stand in jade water and the classic outing is an overnight on a small ship, and the terraced mountains of Sapa and the inland karsts of Ninh Binh.
Hue, Da Nang & Hoi An
The narrow waist of the country holds the imperial citadel and royal tombs of Hue, the beaches, bridges and big resorts of Da Nang, and Hoi An, a preserved trading town of merchant houses, tailors and paper lanterns. The three sit within an hour or two of one another and make the easiest, most rewarding week in Vietnam.
The south coast & islands
Nha Trang curves around a wide bay backed by mountains, with a quieter resort strip running south toward Cam Ranh; the red dunes and seafood of Mui Ne lie further down the coast, and Phu Quoc, off the Cambodian shore, is the country’s resort island proper.
Saigon & the Mekong Delta
Ho Chi Minh City — Saigon to almost everyone who lives there — is the commercial, noisy, exhilarating south: an opera house, a cathedral, rooftop bars and the best coffee culture in Asia. South and west of it the Mekong Delta spreads into a green lattice of rivers, floating markets and orchards, best seen slowly and by boat.
Top things to do in Vietnam
The experiences worth building a trip around.
Overnight on Ha Long Bay
Sleep aboard a small ship among the limestone islands, wake to mist on the water, and take a tender into a cave or a floating village before breakfast.
Hoi An after dark
The Ancient Town closes to traffic, the silk lanterns come on, and the whole place turns the colour of a paper lamp. Have a suit or a dress made while you are there.
Eat your way through Hanoi
Pho for breakfast, bun cha for lunch, egg coffee in the afternoon and a plastic stool for every course — the finest street food in the country, and the cheapest.
The Imperial City at Hue
Walk the moated citadel of the Nguyen emperors and take a dragon boat up the Perfume River to the royal tombs scattered in the pine hills.
The Mekong Delta by boat
Slip through narrow canals under coconut palms, visit a floating market at dawn from Can Tho, and eat river fish at a garden house.
Saigon’s history and rooftops
The Reunification Palace, the Central Post Office and the war museums by day; a drink high above Nguyen Hue as the scooters flow beneath you by night.
Best time to visit & getting there
When to go
Vietnam has no single season. The north is best from October to April; the centre from February to August, with a typhoon-prone stretch from September to November; the south from December to April.
If you intend to travel the whole length of the country, March and April give you the best odds of good weather everywhere at once, with October a strong second for the north and south.
See our month-by-month guide to the best time to visit Vietnam for weather, crowds, prices and the Tet holiday through the year.
Getting there
Tan Son Nhat (SGN) in Ho Chi Minh City and Noi Bai (HAN) in Hanoi are the long-haul gateways, with Da Nang (DAD) a useful third for the centre. Most travellers from North America connect through Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong or Doha.
Inside the country, flying is what makes a long, thin nation practical — Hanoi to Da Nang or Saigon takes about an hour and costs very little. Trains along the coast are slow but scenic, and the Hai Van Pass between Hue and Da Nang is one of the great rail hours in Asia.
Americans need an e-visa, applied for online before departure and valid up to 90 days. Note too that Vietnam reorganised its provinces and abolished the district tier in July 2025, so some addresses now read differently from older guidebooks — the places themselves are unchanged.
Vietnam travel FAQ
When is the best time to visit Vietnam?
Vietnam is long enough to hold three different climates at once, so there is no single answer — and that is good news, because some part of the country is pleasant in every month. The north (Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa) is at its best from October to April, with cool, dry air. The centre (Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An) is sunniest from February to August and takes the brunt of the typhoon season from September to November. The south (Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc) is dry and reliable from December to April. If you want the whole country at once, aim for March and April.
Do Americans need a visa for Vietnam?
Yes. United States passport holders are not among the visa-exempt nationalities, but Vietnam runs a straightforward electronic visa that is issued online, valid for up to 90 days and available in single- or multiple-entry form. Apply through the official Vietnamese immigration portal rather than a lookalike site, allow several working days, and carry a printed copy of the approval to the airport. Your passport should have at least six months’ validity and blank pages. Rules do change, so confirm the current requirements with the official Vietnamese authority before you book.
What currency is used in Vietnam, and should I carry cash?
The Vietnamese dong (VND, symbol ₫). The notes carry a great many zeros — a bowl of pho might be 50,000 dong — so it is worth learning the shape of the 500,000 note early. Cards are accepted in hotels, larger restaurants and shops, but Vietnam is still a cash country at the level of markets, taxis, small cafes and street food. Withdraw from bank ATMs, decline any machine or terminal that offers to charge you in dollars, and keep small notes for daily spending.
How many days do you need in Vietnam?
Fourteen days is the comfortable classic: three or four in Hanoi with an overnight on Ha Long Bay, three in Hoi An and Da Nang, three in Ho Chi Minh City with a day in the Mekong Delta, and a few unhurried days at the beach. With ten days, drop one end of the country rather than rushing all of it. Domestic flights are cheap and frequent, which is what makes a long, thin country manageable.
Is Vietnam an easy country for older travellers?
Broadly yes, and it rewards a little planning. The hotels are excellent value, the food is gentle and fresh, and drivers, guides and hotel staff are unfailingly helpful. The two things to plan around are traffic — crossing a street in Hanoi or Saigon means walking slowly and steadily while the scooters flow around you — and heat and humidity, which reward mornings out and afternoons in. Pavements are often uneven or parked over, so a base in a quieter quarter, and a car for longer hops, makes a great deal of difference.
Ready to plan your Vietnam trip?
Compare hotels, flights and tours across Vietnam — booked through Trip.com.
Search Vietnam hotels Find flightsDestinations Guild © 2026 · A Division of Guild Companies USA Destinations Guild may earn a commission when you book through our partner links, at no extra cost to you. Always confirm visa, entry and passport requirements with the relevant official authority before you travel.