Vietnam in brief
Vietnam runs nearly 1,650 kilometres north to south, so these six places sit in genuinely different climates and terrain rather than variations on one theme. The north holds limestone bays and terraced hill country; the centre carries the old imperial capital and a run of beach towns; the south flattens out into the delta and the country's largest, fastest-moving city.
None of this is one contiguous strip you drive end to end — road and rail links exist, but a north-to-south trip usually mixes short domestic flights with overland stretches where the scenery earns the extra hours. Picking two or three regions rather than stringing all six destinations together in one go tends to make for a better-paced trip.
Choose a destination
When to go
The three regions run on separate calendars. The north, including [Ha Long Bay](destinations/ha-long-bay) and [Pu Luong](destinations/pu-luong), is driest and coolest from October to April, with a real winter chill setting in around December and January. The centre, home to [Hoi An](destinations/hoi-an) and [Nha Trang](destinations/nha-trang), flips the pattern: dry from February to August, wet and occasionally stormy from September to December. The south, around [Ho Chi Minh City](destinations/ho-chi-minh-city) and the [Mekong Delta](destinations/mekong-delta), stays warm year-round with a dry stretch from December to April and short, heavy afternoon downpours the rest of the year.
Because the calendars don't line up, a trip covering all three regions has to accept imperfect weather somewhere. The trade-off is usually worth it, since a rainy afternoon in one region rarely lands on the same days spent in another.
How long do you need
One region comfortably fills five to seven days on its own. Stretching a trip to cover the north, centre and south together — the version most first-time visitors want — needs ten days at a minimum and closer to two weeks to avoid feeling rushed between destinations.
[Vietnam Compact](tours/vietnam-compact) links Saigon, the delta, Hoi An, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in a week using short domestic flights. [Best of Vietnam](tours/best-of-vietnam) covers similar ground over fourteen days by road and rail, and [Beauty of Vietnam](tours/beauty-of-vietnam) extends that to fifteen days with more time built into the mountains and the delta.
Plan your trip
Tell us your dates, your group and what you want out of the trip. We reply with a costed itinerary within one working day.
In pictures
In pictures
In pictures
In pictures
In pictures
In pictures
