Plan

Phong Nha’s caves vs. the Ha Giang Loop’s motorbike mountains — which fits your trip, and whether you can do both.

Vietnam requires no mandatory vaccinations for most travelers arriving directly from the US, Canada, or Australia, but health authorities recommend several routine and travel-specific vaccines before you go. The tap water isn’t safe to drink, mosquito-borne illness (dengue everywhere, and malaria in some rural areas) is a real consideration outside the main tourist circuit, and…

Tet, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is the country’s biggest holiday of the year, a multi-day national celebration when much of Vietnam shuts down so people can travel home and celebrate with family. In 2027, the first day of Tet falls on February 6. Some family-run restaurants, small shops, and local services close for several…

Three days is the sweet spot for combining Mai Chau and Pu Luong: enough time to settle into a stilt-house homestay, cross over to Pu Luong for its terraces and trekking, and get back to Hanoi without rushing the drive. This itinerary starts in Mai Chau and finishes in Pu Luong, since the roads get…

Pu Luong Nature Reserve is a protected valley in Thanh Hoa province, about 160 kilometers southwest of Hanoi, known for rice terraces that climb the hillsides between limestone peaks, a network of trekking trails linking Thai and Muong villages, and homestays and ecolodges built into the hillside itself. It sits just past Mai Chau and…

Mai Chau is a quiet valley in Hoa Binh province, about 150 kilometers southwest of Hanoi, where White Thai stilt-house villages sit among rice paddies ringed by limestone mountains. Unlike Sapa or Ha Giang, it does not border China, so there’s no special border-area permit to arrange — just a standard Vietnam visa or e-visa….

A 3-day, 2-night trip is the sweet spot for Mu Cang Chai: enough time to reach the district, catch sunrise and sunset light at two or three viewpoints, do one trek or paragliding flight, and make the long drive back without rushing. Two days works if you’re combining Mu Cang Chai with Ha Giang or…

Mu Cang Chai is a mountain district in Yen Bai province, about 300 kilometers northwest of Hanoi, famous for the H’mong-built rice terraces that cascade down its hillsides and turn a deep gold during the late-September-to-October harvest. Unlike Ha Giang or Cao Bang to the north, it does not border China, so foreigners need no…

Two to three days is the ideal length for a Ba Be Lake trip: one full day for the signature boat tour past Puong Cave and Dau Dang Waterfall, a night in a Tay stilt-house homestay, and a half-day for trekking or Hua Ma Cave before heading back to Hanoi. A rushed day trip from…

Ba Be Lake is Vietnam’s largest natural freshwater lake, a 8-kilometer stretch of jade-green water cupped between limestone karst mountains in remote Bac Kan Province, about 240 kilometers north of Hanoi. It sits inside Ba Be National Park, a Ramsar-listed wetland and ASEAN Heritage Park, and most visitors come for a boat trip past Puong…