Varying Vietnam is a destination for both sun trips and city breaks. Read the Beach Ball Destination Guide and plan your own vacation.
Nature, beaches and bustling cities
Fascinating culture, world-class attractions and reasonable price levels have made Vietnam one of the most interesting travel destinations in Southeast Asia right now.
With more than 94 million residents, Vietnam is a vast and varied country that is difficult to put in one mold according to countryaah. Its colorful culture and multi-generational history show each traveler a unique face. The luxury vacationer Vietnam’s east coast beach resorts are very different from Vietnam experienced when cruising along the Mekong River or on a backpacking trip.
Short for VM by abbreviationfinder, Vietnam is geographically made up of three very different regions. You can admire nature while lounging in the mountains, hiking in the tropical forests or relaxing on the sandy beaches. A total of eight sites in Vietnam have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Southern Vietnam is dominated by the Mekong, more than 4,000 kilometers long, one of the largest rivers in the world. The Mekong has a huge estuary with spectacular beach ramparts and depressions. To the north of the estuary lies the country’s most densely populated settlement, Saigon, more officially Ho Chi Minh City.
The northern part is colored by mountains, the highest peaks of which rise to more than three kilometers. In its deep gorges flows the more than a thousand-kilometer Red River flowing from Yunnan, China, in the delta of which more than 90 percent of Vietnam’s population lives.
The dominant element in central Vietnam, in turn, is the Annam Plateau, which rises to a height of nearly two kilometers. The strip between the plateau and the sea has a beach with dunes and lagoons providing perfect places to relax.
In Vietnam, you can have a relaxed beach holiday in stunning scenery.
Lively and colorful big cities
The crowds and hustle and bustle of Vietnam are best felt in the country’s largest cities, Hanoi and the city of Ho Chi Minh City commonly known as Saigon.
Located in the Red River Delta, Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam with a history of over a thousand years. The city is an interesting mix of government chaos of more than three million residents, a communist legacy, and nearby sites worth seeing.
Ho Chi Minh City, on the other hand, is the largest city in South Vietnam and the most important business center. It has a population of seven million. Unlike Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City has been significantly more exposed to Western influences – this is noticeable in both architecture and a more open atmosphere.
The climate varies from region to region
Vietnam’s climate is divided into both tropical and temperate zones, so the climate between the north and the south varies significantly with the south being a constantly hot zone.
The monsoon is strongly part of the annual cycle, but the amount of sunny weather and rain combined with high humidity are also part of the climatic features. The tropical monsoon lasts north and south from May to October and from September to January in the central parts of the country. On the other hand, the other months are largely dry through.
The traces of war are still visible
For better or worse, the Vietnam War is still part of the country’s identity even after decades. The fighting in the conflict between 1954 and 1975 focused in many respects on the five-kilometer-wide demilitarized zone created during the First Indochina War, in which the Communists of North Vietnam confronted pro-Western forces and the Americans.
The turning point in the war was right here: when North Vietnamese troops finally broke through the border zone, they rolled in full force to Saigon, eventually declaring themselves winners of the war. The wounds of war in Vietnam have still not completely healed. Most prominently, they come in front of the tourist through the pitfalls left by the mines in the landscape – as well as in the newcomers, whose injuries point either to wartime suffering or to minefields left on the ground in the wake of a failed conflict.
In Vietnam, there is still wartime to see from underground Vietnamese tunnels to tank carcasses, anti-aircraft sleeves, bombed bridges and endless burial grounds. For some travelers, these are interesting places to visit. Many of the war history sites have been restored to their original form, a good example being the Vinh Moc tunnels, which are still almost in their original form. Concessions have also been made for tourism: a similar network of Chu Chi tunnels outside Saigon has had to be spread over several tens of cents to accommodate Western tourists to explore the tunnels.
The best way to explore the area is to hire a motorcycle and a driver who will showcase the key battlefields of the war and tell the most amazing stories – often based on their own experiences. Guide to keep the same concerns about danger zones that tourists get lost, which may still be non-explosive material. Trips usually start from Hué or Dong Hasta and last a full day.
