Country guide
Long-distance rail, layered cities, mountain landscapes and a strong regional food culture make Vietnam ideal for a focused north or south route.
The short version
Vietnam runs about 1,700 kilometres from north to south, so a first visit works best with a regional focus. Pick the north or the south for two weeks rather than racing the length of the country, and you trade a longer packing list for actual time in each place. If you have three or four weeks, do both and fly the long gap in the middle.
At a glance
The lay of the land
Three regions, a two-hour flight apart. The north is mountains and the bay, the centre is history and beaches close together, and the south is faster, warmer and built for islands.
Pick a region
Hanoi as a base for the terraces of Sapa, the river valley of Ninh Binh and an overnight on Ha Long Bay. Cooler and greener, more mountains than beach.
Scenery · Trekking · Food
Hoi An, Hue and Da Nang sit a short train ride apart, pairing the country's deepest history with easy beaches. The gentlest stretch to travel.
History · Beaches · Tailoring
Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta and the island beaches of Phu Quoc. Warmer and faster, and dry when the north is grey and cold.
City life · Food · Islands
Compare the cities
| Destination | Best for | Days | Cost per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Da Nang city | Beaches · Seafood · Day trips | 1 to 2 days | €3985 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Ha Long Bay coastal area | Scenery · Kayaking · Overnight cruise | 1 to 2 days | €69151 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Hanoi city | Food · History · Street life | 3 days | €4489 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Ho Chi Minh City city | Food · War history · Nightlife | 2 to 3 days | €4695 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Hoi An city | Tailoring · Old town · Beaches | 3 days | €3985 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Hue city | History · Royal food · River trips | 1 to 2 days | €3571 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Ninh Binh province | Scenery · Cycling · Boat rides | 1 to 2 days | €3571 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Phu Quoc island | Beaches · Snorkelling · Sunsets | 2 to 3 days | €56120 Rate 2026-08-26 |
| Sapa province | Trekking · Rice terraces · Homestays | 2 to 3 days | €3576 Rate 2026-08-26 |
Cost per day is a mid-range, per-person figure for a bed, food and local transport, before the bigger paid experiences. It converts to your selected currency.
What it costs
A dorm bed, plastic-stool meals and buses or shared rides.
A cheap private room, street food with the odd sit-down meal, Grab across town.
A decent Airbnb or small hotel, restaurants most nights, the occasional flight.
A per-person day: bed, food and local transport. The span is the point — how you sleep and eat moves the number far more than which city you are in.
When to go
Season is regional here. This is the broad country picture; the north is coldest December to February, the centre floods around October and November, and the south only swaps wet afternoons for dry ones.
Worth routing the trip around
One night on the water among the karsts, not a rushed day trip. Pay for the mid-range boat, not the cheapest berth.
Two days walking between hill villages through the rice terraces. Go on clear shoulder-season days or the view is just cloud.
The hand-held walkway above Da Nang is a half-day from the coast, best early before the tour buses fill it.
Eat here
Food is a reason to route the trip, not an afterthought. Each region cooks differently, and the cheaper bowl a couple of streets back from the water is usually the better one.
The morning-only place with a queue of locals, not the all-day one by the hotel.
A Hanoi lunch. Grilled pork in a bowl of dressing you dip the noodles into.
Iced coffee over sweet condensed milk. A euro, and better than the chains.
The pavement cart that only sells these, wrapping one every thirty seconds.
The essentials
Plan the shape
Hanoi as a base for a Sapa trek, the river valley of Ninh Binh and one night on Ha Long Bay.
Hanoi · Sapa · Ninh Binh · Ha Long Bay
Hoi An, Hue and Da Nang sit a short train ride apart — the deepest history and easy beaches in one stretch.
Da Nang · Hoi An · Hue
Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta and a flat finish on a Phu Quoc beach — warmer and faster than the north.
Ho Chi Minh City · Phu Quoc
Do the north and the south properly and fly the long gap between them rather than racing the whole map.
North · South
Read the fine print
Quality swings hard by operator. Read recent reviews and pay up one tier; the cheapest cabins are where the trip goes wrong.
A sleeper train saves a night’s hotel and shows you the country; the full north-to-south run just burns days. Fly Hanoi–Saigon.
Around lunar new year (late Jan–Feb) family businesses close, prices spike and transport books out weeks ahead.
A made-to-measure suit or dress needs fittings. Order on arrival, not the morning you leave.
Down south
Split a longer trip across both ends and fly the gap in the middle — the seasons rarely line up, and that is the point.
Go deeper
Match your base in each Vietnamese city to the district that makes your evenings easy, with honest price bands from dorm to boutique.
A realistic daily budget for Vietnam, broken into beds, food, transport and activities, with the swing between big cities and small towns made explicit.
What to eat in each region of Vietnam, what it costs, and how to tell the €2 bowl locals queue for from the €8 one aimed at you.
How to move between Vietnam's regions by plane, train, sleeper bus and Grab, with real prices and the transfers worth paying to skip.
