Top 10 Vietnam tourist attractions

1. Halong Bay

Halong Bay is situated in north Vietnam round a 120km-long coast line and is literally translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons”. The top tourist attraction in Vietnam, Halong Bay features thousands of islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, others islands include lakes and some support floating villages of fishermen.

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2. Thien Mu Pagoda (Hue)

With seven stories, the Thien Mu Pagoda in Hue is the tallest pagoda in Vietnam. The pagoda overlooks the Perfume River and is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the former imperial capital. The temple was built in 1601 during the rule of the Nguyễn Lords. The initial temple was very simply constructed, but over time it was redeveloped and expanded with more intricate features.

3. Hoan Kiem Lake (Hanoi)

Located in the historical heart of Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as the locals’ favourite leisure spot. Hoan Kiem means “returned sword”, and the name comes from a legend in which King Le Loi was given a magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese. Later he returned the sword to the Golden Turtle God in the lake.

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4. Hoi An

This fishing-village-turned tourist attraction is situated on the coast of the East Sea. Hoi An has been an international port from the 16th century although the serious shipping business has long since moved to the city of Da Nang. The heart of the city is still the Old Town, full of winding lanes and Chinese-styled shops. It is sometimes called the “Venice of Vietnam” because of the narrow canals that cut through part of the town.

5. Phu Quoc Island

Located in front of the Cambodia coast, Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam. Phu Quoc is what Phuket would be if it hadn’t been overrun by development. The island features pristine tropical forests, undamaged coral reefs and great beaches. One of its beaches, named Bai Dai (Long Beach), was chosen by the ABC News as one of five beautiful and clean beaches. Phu Quoc is famous for producing the best nuoc mam or fermented fish sauce in the world.

6. Sapa Terraces

Sapa is a town in northwest Vietnam not far from the Chinese border. Rice terraces can be found in the Muong Hoa valley between Sa Pa town and the Fansipan Mountain, on a backdrop of thick bamboo woodlands. Local mountain people, the Hmong, Giay, Dao, Tay, and Giay, grow rice on these paddy terraces, along with vegetables.

7. Mui Ne

The formerly little-inhabited beach south of the fishing village of Mui Ne has seen some serious development in the last 15 years. Due to strong sea breezes it is a popular destination in Vietnam for kite and windsurfing. No trip to Mui Ne is complete without a trip to the famous sand dunes located a short distance north of the town. The vast sandy expanse provide some great panoramic views especially during sunset.

8. Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is the region in southern Vietnam where the river approaches and empties into the sea. It is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields, that produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s agricultural output. Subsequently, life in the Mekong Delta revolves much around the river, and all the villages are often accessible by river rather than by road.

9. Cu Chi Tunnels

The Cu Chi Tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located about 70km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City centre. The tunnels, measuring 200km in total length, were used by liberation soldiers as hiding spots during the Vietnam War, and were the base of operations for the Tet Offensive in 1968. The tunnels have become a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system.

10. Nha Trang

Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most popular seaside resort town located along the second most beautiful bays in the country. It features beautiful beaches with fine and clean sand and clear ocean water with mild temperatures. The city has about 300,000 inhabitants and is more lively and urban in character than other beach destinations like Mui Ne and Phu Quoc. It’s also a major scuba diving centre of Vietnam

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Insider's Guide to Travel in Vietnam

Vietnam tends to be a destination that travelers either love or hate. It’s extremely inexpensive and historically complex, but incredibly hot and humid almost year round. Thick, verdant jungles and high mountains mix with serene surfing beaches like China Beach — whether you decide it’s worth a second trip or not, it is most definitely worth visiting at least once.

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TRANSPORTATION

There are generally two ways of getting into the country: by international plane or by train from Beijing. Border crossing by bus from Laos, Cambodia, or China is available but, unless you’re with a pre-arranged and trusted tour group, the process can be very difficult. Make sure you have a visa ahead of time.

The Vietnamese love their motorcycles, but watch out for the traffic! (Read about my experience getting hit by a motorbike while crossing the street!) Watching the hectic dance of vehicles at an intersection is practically an attraction on its own. Getting from town to town is best served by getting passage via train or public bus. For inner city travel, either hire a driver to chauffer you around or walk — you do not want to try navigating the road on your own. The locals drive on both sides of the road — I’m not kidding!

FOOD & CULTURE

Vietnam is a country that has an abundant history of war and colonialism. Vietnam was raided by the Mongols, invaded and ruled by several Chinese dynasties, colonized by the French, and split by a bloody civil war between the North and South which eventually featured heavy American military involvement. Despite its bloody history, the Vietnamese are usually quite friendly and excited to meet foreigners — but they might still try to overcharge you, and arguing about a higher price than expected may be seen as stingy behavior. Agree on all prices ahead of time.

Vietnamese cuisine is largely seafood and vegetable-based and it tends to be spicier in the south than the north. The large Buddhist influence means it’s also easy to find lots of fresh, delicious vegetarian food; the French influence means a Vietnamese twist on classics like the baguette sandwich. The national dish pho, a beef broth with thin-cut meat and fresh vegetables, is definitely worth a taste.

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SIGHTS & ACTIVITIES

Ha Long Bay — A junk-boat tour can be a relaxing way to see this island-littered bay, as long as you don’t go during a busy holiday! With many hidden caves, coral groves, and hollow grottoes, the bay offers a picturesque cruise with many opportunities to swim and beautiful beaches.

My Son Temples — Pronounced “Mi Sun,” this collection of ancient temples strikes an inspiring and sobering image about the passage of time. What once were temples rivaling Angkor Wat have been reclaimed by the jungle and partially destroyed by bombings in the Vietnam War.

Mui Ne Sand Dunes — These white sand dunes are gorgeous at sunset! If you’re a fan of kiteboarding or sail-surfing, you’ll find ample opportunity to indulge on the nearby waves. Surfing down the dunes themselves is also an option, as there are often many children nearby ready and willing to rent plastic sand sleds to you for trips down the dunes.

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Hoi An Vietnam travel guide

How to get Hoi An

Assuming you’re staying Da Nang city (1 of bigest cities in Vietnam). From Da Nang to Hoi An is 30km, there are 3 ways that i went. 

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1. Going by bus

You can catch a bus from Da Nang bus statio, every 30 minutes have 1 ride, start from 5am to 5pm. Ngu Hanh Son mountain, a famous resort of Da Dang, is located on the road. If having more time, you should visit then catch an other bus to continue. Note, when catching bus from Ngu Hanh Son, you must stand at bus stop (100m from the resort) and hands up when see the bus, because drivers will not stop if he see no one. 

Ngu Hanh Son in Da Nang - Vietnam

Ngu Hanh Son mountain

2. Going by motor

This is my favorite way. You can rent a motor in Da Nang city and coast to Hoi An, the scene is very beautiful. 

Let’s visit post: Da Nang Vietnam travel guide to know places lease motor and car in Da Nang. 

3. Rent car from Da Nang to Hoi An

– You can contact Mr. Thanh (+8491 203 4117 ) to rent a 4-seater car to go from Da Nang city to Hoi An. Price: $12. 

– From Da Nang air port to Hoi An. Contact Mr. Ly +84914 064 446 or +84934 064 446. Prices: $13 / 4-seater car, $16 / 7-seater car. 

Motels and Hotels in Hoi An

1. Nam Ngai motel, 626 Hai Ba Trung street – Hoi An. Tel: +84 909.080836 or +84 510.3861166

2. Motel at 24 – La Hoi street. 15$/room, contact Mrs.Huong: +8490 589 2059

3. Homestay is very popular in Hoi An, you can contact Ms Chau at 9 – Nguyen Phu Nguyen, oposite Vinh Hung resort. Tel: +84510 386 3381 or +8493 253 3977.

4. Guest house of city, no.1 – Nguyen Hue, near the market, restaurants and Hoi An Old Quarter. Tel: +84510 3910 828.

5. Phuong Dong hotel, 42 – Ba Trieu street, +84510 3916 477 or +84510 3916 339. Rates: $15 to $20 / double room (room is very nice), include breakfast. 

Deluxe hotels

6. Green Field hotel with rates are about $25 to $30. The hotel has pool, nice rooms, enthusiastic staffs. However, it’s located at 423 – Cua Dai street, 3 km from center of city. Tel: +84510 3863 484

7. Southern hotel & villa. The hotel was designed in garden style, beautiful pool, nice rooms, spacious campus. Add: 224 – Ly Thai To street. Tel: +84510 3923 401. Rates are slightly higher than Green Field hotel. 

8. A villa on the road Da Nang – Hoi An. This is a new villa, spacious, cool, homeowners are very good and friendly. You even can buy seafood and bake in the garden. Rate is about $40/room (4 people). Tel:  +84914 112 346 

>> Check over 200 hotels in Hoi An city at Agoda

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What to visit in Hoi An

1. Hoi An Old Quarter (Khu phố cổ Hội An)

This is the main place that you should visit when come to Hoi An. Old Quarter has many ancient houses, historic sites where have been preserving beauties of Vietnamese culture. 

– Bridge temple (Chùa Cầu ), also known under the name Japan bridge (Cầu Nhật Bản ), is symbol of Hoi An city. The bridge was built by Japanese, who lived in Hoi An in 17th century. Add: located on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai and Tran Phu streets. 

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The Best Time to Book Flights

1. The truth you should know: Airlines earn much money from understanding our shopping habits. Most of us buy airfares before trips just few days or few weeks. But you should know that:

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According to research of economists Macoto Wanatabe: 8 weeks before departure is the best time to book airfares.
And according to report of airlines, 6 weeks is the best time to book.
So the tip for you: don’t buy tickets too close to departure time. Cheap tickets are usually sold at 4 months before flight departure (5 months with international flights). Also don’t book too soon because it’s difficult to arrange your works. Let’s book at the right time. When? 6 to 10 weeks is the best period!

best time to book flights

2. Traveling on holidays. This is an exeption, let’s book as soon as possible.

3. Airfare always increases very fast before departure time 1 week. Specially, if you buy tickets on right day of departure, you may have to pay more 40% compared to regular fare.

4. Register to recieve reports of airfare via email from airlines to get the most suitable cost.

5. Friday is the day that has most expensive fare. You should only fly at this day if having no choice.

6. You should buy at the beggining of week. Most of cheap tickets are ussually sold at this time.

7. Considering other airports. Big cities ussully have more than one airport and fares can be very different between them.

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8. Booking at flight deals sites. I usually book tikets for my trips at CheapOAir.com. Sometime, airfares can be cheaper than market price up to 30%.

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Yin and Yang philosophy in Vietnamese cooking

Vietnamese people divided the food to be Yin (for the cold food) and Yang (for the hot food). The cold and hot here it is not for the temperature but for the influence of the food to your body as well as to the environment around you. For example, we need to limit of having the hot food in the summer time and cold food in the winter but should do in the opposite way. The cold food can be in some material such as: marrow quash, cabbage, lettuce , water melon, fish and seafood… This food will make your body and stomach feel cold when you have it and we need to balance by adding the Yang spices like ginger, chilly, pepper, garlic …. while cooking. It not only for the good taste, but more important, it good for your body as well as suitable to environment or weather around you as well.

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The same for opposite way, when you are cooking the hot food, we need to add the Yang spices in to the food to balance. And for thousand years, from generation to generation, naturally, we learnt how to cook on this way, even did not notice about the influence
 of Yin and Yang philosophy in this. And this is the biggest identity of our cuisine in Vietnam. So the good food in Vietnam also can be like a medicine, that can help you to cure one of the problems in your body.

The ideal meal of Vietnamese not only need to be balance in the way of cooking, but there are also many other conditions to be balanced. For example, we need to have the food balance with the weather, in the winter, it is much better to have the hot food. It will keep your body warm and give you more energy against the cold. The same way, in the summer time, we have lots of different food to keep you cooler from the weather. The setting and the atmosphere of the meal also very important for the good meal, and we also need to balance it.

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Five element correspondence:

More intensive, you can see cooking style in Vietnam also have very good influence from five elements. The cooking bases on five different tastes:
sour (wood), sweet (Earth), spicy (metal), salty (water) and bitter (fire) corresponding to five organs : gall bladder, large intestine, small intestine, stomach and urinary bladder.
Vietnamese dishes also include five types of nutrients: powder, water or liquid, mineral elements, protein and fat.
Vietnamese cooks try to cook and decorate their food by five colors: black (earth) white (water), yellow (Metal), green (wood), red (fire) and in their dishes.
The perfect dish dishes in Vietnam need to appeal five senses when serving:  the beautiful decoration to catch your eyes, the crispy sound for your ears when serving the food, the great smell from the herbs stimulate tour nose, the beautiful taste from the food and the sauces for your tongue and the feel from you finger and your lips when having the finger food.

Identity of Vietnamese Cuisine:

Vietnamese cuisine is combination of very fresh recipes, allots of fresh herbs and spices flavored by Fish Sauce – the traditional sauce of Vietnamese people. Pork, chicken, beef, duck, sea food and tofu are very popular material in Vietnamese Cuisine. With the strong influence from Buddhism, Vietnamese Cuisine also having great selection  of vegetarian food, and sometime they can cook them taste like non vegetarian one. Two most famous dishes of Vietnamese Cuisine to the world is Pho ( the authentic rice noodle soup with beef or chicken) and Spring Roll.

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Nha Trang is also considered the tourism land of Vietnam

The first moment setting foot on Nha Trang, you will be immediately impressed by the fresh air, sunny blue sky and bustling crowed people. Looking Nha Trang Beach from a high position, we can see the entire luxurious beauty of this coastal city. It is compared to a magic beautiful picture that nature cleverly created. The beach bends as if embracing the emerald bay, and especially it also adorned with coconut groves and willow rows at seaside, that making scenery here more perfectly wonderful. From beaches with white stretching sand, dreaming islands and magical coral reefs under the ocean to the ancient Cham temples on the mountain are the factors making tourists feel ecstatic when coming here.

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Referring to Nha Trang, we cannot neglect the Nha Trang Bay, a gorgeous bay with area of 500km ², including 19 large and small islands in which Hon Tre Island is the largest with an area of 3,250 hectares and Hon Noc islet only has an area of 4 ha. Running along the coast of Nha Trang Bay is approximately 7km road named Tran Phu - the most beautiful street of Nha Trang, snaking the coast with a series of many luxurious villas, hotels, and restaurants. Besides that, there is a service system consisting of postal services, museums, libraries, clubs and souvenirs shops.

Hon Chong stone complex

Hon Chong is one of the attractive sights of Nha Trang. Any visitors getting here are very excited to hear stories about Hon Chong rock complex. There are many variants associated with Hon Chong and traces on rocks; however those are interesting things that nature has bestowed on the people here. From the city center, tourists running along the coast towards the northeast can see this scenic spot. The road leading to Hon Chong now is pretty and dreamy; because one side is the sea with immense stretching sand and other side is the beautiful works and architecture.

Located jutting out from the sea, Hon Chong almost separates from the bustle of streets. In addition, it is also one of the most beautiful views of city. Coming to Hon Chong, visitors can sit on the rocks to drop fishing-rod or move a few dozen meters to the shore to bathe on smooth sand with blue waters. Moreover, it is covered with many large and small islands reducing wind speed and impact of typhoon rain, therefore, the beach of Nha Trang Bay and Hon Chong are considered two of the great and safe bays.

Vinpearland - Tourism Paradise of Vietnam

Located on Hon Tre island, VinPearl-“Pearl of the Far East” attracts many visitors’ heart by its beauty and it is regarded as tourism paradise with the most modern and unique service. When hearing about this place, surely everyone wants to come and explore it. Coming to Vinpearl, visitors can travel by boat or canoe, but the most optimal and popular choice is to move by cable. You will feel extremely interesting when sitting on a cable and contemplating scenery of Nha Trang beach, looking immense space of city as well. Especially, it is far different from sitting cable on the mountain because it brings you gentle and relaxed feeling thanks to cool, fresh wind from the sea. In particular, the thing making travelers really enjoy is aquarium underwater, the largest and most modern one of Vietnam. Visiting here will make you experience amazing feeling like walking in the ocean and directly see beautiful and rare marine creature. And of course, Tourism at Vinpearl is highly appreciated because it is a complex of perfect entertainment, travelling, and resorts. It will be a memorable landmark of your journey and make you definitely satisfied.

Hon Mun Island - Marine Protection Zone in Vietnam

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Nha Trang Hon Mun Island

Getting to Nha Trang, tourists who are interested in exploring have opportunity to experience a new feeling with snorkeling tour to discover shimmering world in the ocean. Hon Mun Island is a famous island of Nha Trang bay with pure waters and gorgeous coral reef ecosystems. According to statistics, there are about 2,000 species of coral and marine creature in the world, in which Hon Mun has 1,500 species. Maybe the beach at Hon Mun is not as big as other but the ocean world around island is really marvelous. Besides various marine creature complexes, Hon Mun seabed is also an interesting, useful place to for oceanographers to observe, study about tropical marine biology, and for tourists having desire to discover the sea. When you dive into the water, it is a completely different world; it is sparkling, colorful and fanciful. From the stretching coral "forest" with many shapes, strange colors to anemones, and sea urchins, crabs and shrimp are also competing to show their coloring.

Furthermore, Nha Trang’s beauty does not stop at these above scenic spots; this city also owns many other appealing luxury resorts such as An Lam Ninh Van Bay Resort, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Resort, Diamond Bay Resort & Spa, Evason Ana Mandara Resort, etc

Nha Trang Food

This coastal city is not only famous for its beautiful landscape, it is also well known for many tasty and unique dishes. Here, visitors will enjoy great dishes with very distinctive flavor of a coastal and gentle, friendly people. Fried fish soup is a popular dish sold a lot on the streets of city. It is not expensive dish but it has become a specialty that visitors certainly have to taste. In addition, Nha Trang grilled meatballs, can cake, Lac Canh roasted beef are some dishes should not be ignored.

If you intend to make beach vacation in Vietnam, do not forget to list Nha Trang to your journey. Just coming here, going around, taking part in some exciting activities and tasting delicious foods here, you can understand why this wonderful coastal city is always praised like that.

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