Most Beautiful Places in Vietnam
Save upto 30%
by comparing quotes from 3 agents
Karst, Mountains, Imperial Cities and Islands
Here is the list of 14 Most Beautiful Places in Vietnam
1. Hoi An
Known For : Hoi An Old Town Japanese Bridge Hoi An Night Market
A trading port that Japanese, Chinese and later European merchants all worked out of, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site because the old town survived the war largely intact. The result is several hundred timber shophouses, temples and a Japanese covered bridge in a few walkable streets, still lit with silk lanterns. It is also the tailoring capital of Vietnam.
Best Time: February to August
2. Da Lat
Known For : Crazy House Datanla Waterfalls Cathedral of Da Lat Diocese
Da Lat sits at around 1,500 metres in the southern central highlands, cool enough for pine forest, and the French built it as a hill station, which is why villas and an art deco railway station stand among the flower farms. It is the gentlest landscape on this list, rolling and cultivated, where Sapa and Ha Giang further north are steep and raw.
Best Time: December - March
3. Ha Giang
Northeast of Sapa, and the least visited of the northern provinces because the road is the point. The Ma Pi Leng pass above the Nho Que river gorge is one of the great drives in Asia, usually done as a three or four day motorbike loop out of Ha Giang city. Terraced valleys, Hmong markets and very little tourist infrastructure between stops.
4. Son Doong Cave, Phong Nha
The largest cave passage in the world, inside Phong Nha Ke Bang: about 9 km long, with chambers up to 200 metres high and two collapsed roof sections where jungle grows underground. It is also the one place on this list you cannot simply go to. Access is by permitted multi-day expedition with a single licensed operator, numbers are capped each year, the season is limited, and it sells out far in advance.
Vietnam Travel Packages
Compare quotes from upto 3 travel agents for free
Deluxe 8-Day North to South Of Vietnam Package
Hanoi(3N) → Danang(2N) → Phu Quoc(2N)
Sold By:
Asia Mystic Trave...(4.8
)
Amazing 4 Days Of Phu Quoc Island
Phu Quoc(3N)
Sold By:
Asia Mystic Trave...(4.8
)
9-Day Vietnam Journey: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Phu Quoc Adventure
Hanoi(1N) → Halong Bay(1N) → Danang(3N) → Phu Quoc island(3N)
Enchanting Vietnam Escape
Hanoi(1N) → Halong Bay(1N) → Ho Chi Minh City(3N)
7-Day Vietnam Highlights: Da Nang, Hanoi & Ha Long Bay
Hanoi(3N) → Danang(3N)
Discover the Heart of Vietnam
Hanoi(3N) → Danang(3N)
5. Sapa, Lao Cai
Known For : Fansipan Cable Car Fansipan Mountain Cat Cat Village
A hill town at about 1,500 metres in Lao Cai province, terraced with rice on every slope and surrounded by Hmong, Red Dao and Tay villages. To correct a common slip: Sapa itself is not on the Chinese border, it is roughly an hour up the road from Lao Cai city, which is. It has grown very fast and the town centre now feels built up, so the walking valleys are the reason to come.
Best Time: March to May, September to November
6. Halong Bay
Known For : Overnight Cruise in Halong Bay Sung Sot Cave Day Cruise in Halong Bay
Halong Bay is a popular bay which is located in the north of Vietnam. The name of this place i.e. Halong means "the place of descending dragons'. This place was not very much known before the 19th century. However in the recent years the popularity of this place has risen to a much greater value.It is a beautiful bay which one can visit in order to enjoy the scenic beauty present all around.
Best Time: March to May, October to November
7. Ho Chi Minh City
Known For : War Remnants Museum Cu Chi Tunnels Ben Thanh Market
Ho Chi Minh City, still widely called Saigon, is the one place here that is beautiful by architecture rather than landscape: the French colonial core around the old post office and the opera house, the Chinese temples of Cholon, and the glass towers now standing over both. Come for the streets after dark. For scenery, everything else on this list is a better use of a day.
Best Time: December to April
8. Ninh Binh
Known For : Tam Coc Trang An Grottoes Cuc Phuong National Park
Rich in natural landscapes and myriad historical destinations, the province of Ninh Binh is a traveller's dream come true. One of the oldest regions of Vietnam, this destination has something on its plate for every breed of traveller. Due to its extreme popularity among local and foreign tourists, this destination is bursting with activity throughout the year.
Best Time: November - April
9. Lao Cai City
Known For : Hoang Lien National Park, Lao Cai Silver Waterfall Fansipan
The border town rather than the destination, and worth understanding as such: the overnight train from Hanoi terminates here, the Chinese frontier is at Hekou across the river, and almost everyone who arrives gets straight into a minibus for the hour up to Sapa. There is a small market and a riverfront, and staying the night makes sense mainly if your train lands late.
Best Time: September to October
10. Ban Gioc Waterfall, Cao Bang
The widest waterfall in Vietnam and the largest waterfall anywhere on a national border in Asia: about 30 metres high but 300 metres across, on the Quay Son river in Cao Bang province. The far half of it is in China, where it is called Detian, and the border runs through the middle. Jade coloured water, rice fields and limestone pinnacles around it, and it is a long way from anywhere, which is why it stays quiet.
11. Hue
Known For : Hue Imperial City Thien Mu Pagoda Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh
The imperial capital under the Nguyen dynasty, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its walled Citadel and Forbidden Purple City, much of it damaged in 1968 and under long restoration. The royal tombs are scattered along the Perfume River south of the city and are the better half of a visit. Not a beach town, whatever else gets written about it.
Best Time: February - August
12. Cat Tien National Park
Cát Tiên National Park is a national park which is located in the Southern regions of Vietnam. It’s approximately 150 kilometres away from Ho Chi Minh City. It covers around 720 square-kilometres of the few surviving tropical lowlands of Vietnam. The national park si home to exquisite flora and fauna such as the golden-cheeked gibbon and many birds.
Best Time: December to May
13. Con Dao Islands
Known For : The Prison Museum Bai An Hai Chua Van Son
Con Dao is an archipelago of fifteen islands well off the southern coast, of which only Con Son is inhabited, reached by a short flight or a long ferry. France and then South Vietnam ran prisons here, and the cell blocks and the cemetery are still open to visitors. Reefs and empty beaches are the draw now, and the distance keeps it far quieter than Phu Quoc.
Best Time: November to February
14. Hanoi
Known For : Hoan Kiem Lake Old Quarter Hanoi Cruise to Halong Bay
Hanoi earns its place here through the Old Quarter: 36 streets of narrow shophouses, each once given over to a single trade, wrapped around Hoan Kiem lake with its red bridge and island temple. The French quarter to the south is broader and quieter. It is a city to walk rather than a view to stand in front of, which sets it apart from everything else on this list.
Best Time: October to April
Vietnam is a line, and most trips work along it rather than out from a base. The north gives you Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh and the mountains at Sapa and Ha Giang, and it is genuinely cold in winter. The centre gives you Hue, Hoi An and the caves at Phong Nha. The south gives you Ho Chi Minh City, the highlands at Da Lat and the islands at Con Dao. Trains and internal flights connect all three, and the practical question is usually which two of the three you can fit.
This post was published by Muhammed Salih
FAQs on Most Beautiful Places in Vietnam
What is the most beautiful place in Vietnam?
Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh for the limestone karst, and Ninh Binh is the quieter of the two because you see it from a rowing boat rather than a cruise ship. For mountains, the Ma Pi Leng pass in Ha Giang beats Sapa now that Sapa town has been built up. For built beauty, Hoi An's old town at night.
Can you visit Son Doong, the world's largest cave?
Only on a permitted expedition, and it takes planning. Access is through a single licensed operator, group numbers are capped for the year, the season is limited by river levels, and places sell out far in advance. It is a multi-day trek with camping underground rather than a day trip. Phong Nha's other caves, including Thien Duong and Phong Nha itself, are open normally.
Is Sapa on the Chinese border?
No, and this gets written a lot. Sapa is a hill town at about 1,500 metres roughly an hour up the road from Lao Cai city, and it is Lao Cai city that sits on the frontier, opposite Hekou. The overnight train from Hanoi terminates at Lao Cai, not Sapa, so almost everyone transfers to a minibus for the last stretch.
Which places in Vietnam are UNESCO World Heritage Sites?
Several are on this list. Ha Long Bay, the old town of Hoi An, the complex of Hue monuments and Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, which contains Son Doong, are all inscribed, as is the Trang An landscape at Ninh Binh. Hanoi's Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is inscribed separately. My Son, near Hoi An, is the other one worth adding to an itinerary.
When is the best time to visit Vietnam?
There is no single month that suits the whole country, which is the main planning problem. The north, including Hanoi, Sapa and Ha Giang, is best from October to April and genuinely cold in December and January. The centre, Hue and Hoi An, is driest from February to August and floods in October and November. The south stays warm all year and is driest from December to April.
How long do you need in Vietnam?
Two weeks does the classic line comfortably: Hanoi and Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh, then Hue and Hoi An, then Ho Chi Minh City, with one internal flight. Ten days means dropping one of the three regions rather than rushing all of them. Sapa, Ha Giang and Son Doong each need three or four days of their own on top.
