The backpacker grapevine, online and word of mouth, lands Vietnam travelers in areas where Westerners congregate such as HCM City’s Pham Ngu Lao area in District 1. One Westerner I spoke to there said he had heard about it by posting a query on the lonelyplanet.com website about where to find the backpacker social life when he arrived in HCM City.
Located in the east of Ba Vi Mountain Range in Son Tay District in Hanoi, Thien Son-Suoi Nga (Thien Mountain-Nga River) is famous for splendid sceneries with silver-carpet-like waterfalls and misty, dense forests on the mountain slopes.
Only 170 kilometers from HCMC, Cat Tien is an ideal piece of the wild for an adventure trip. At more than 71,000 hectares, Cat Tien National Park has plenty of untamed places that are off the beaten track.
Two festival seasons have been held annually in Con Son Pagoda in the Chi Linh District of the northern province of Hai Duong.
Bai Tru Beach on Hon Tre Islet in Nha Trang City is one of the nicest beaches in Vietnam – a tropical paradise for tourists to enjoy.
Duyen Hai is a coastal district in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, where the Mekong River meets the East Sea.
Cai Mon Church in Ben Tre Province belongs to Cai Mon Parish – one of the oldest parishes in the Mekong Delta founded by a French Catholic priest named Gernot in 1872.
Situated about 50 kilometers from the center of HCMC, Vam Sat Salt-Marsh Forest Ecological Tourist Zone in Can Gio District, is one of the city’s oxygen lungs and a popular venue for day trips.
A unique folk festival celebrating the rural children who look after buffalo has been revived near the central city of Da Nang for the first time in nearly 75 years.
Dinh Co Temple in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province was built after the body of a 16 year old girl washed up on Long Hai Beach 186 years ago.
Binh Dinh Province in south-central Vietnam is considered as a "cradle" of Tuong (classical drama). This art form has developed brilliantly and been connected with the most eminent Vietnamese Tuong composers, of whom Dao Tan (1845 – 1907) is best known.
Even if you are not a Buddhist, Soc Trang Province, the land of pagodas, is a fascinating destination in the Mekong Delta. Because there are a lot of Khmer people living in the province, almost all the pagodas have the same colors and symbolism. Every pagoda is unique, however, so you can visit them all day without getting bored.