The best things to do in Vietnam range from ancient pagodas and war history sites to beaches, cable cars, and rooftop viewpoints — and what’s worth your time changes city to city. These guides rank the essential sights for each destination, with honest notes on what’s overhyped and what’s worth skipping. Coverage currently spans Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Nha Trang.
Beyond Big Buddha, Wat Chalong, and a Phi Phi Islands day trip — already covered in our Phuket Travel Guide — the island has a wider range of day trips and activities worth the extra effort: a Phang Nga Bay tour past James Bond Island, snorkeling at the quieter Racha Islands, and an ethical, observation-based…
Beyond the temples and markets already covered in our Chiang Mai travel guide, the city has a handful of distinctive activities worth building a day around: a waterfall you can climb barefoot without slipping, free conversations with Buddhist monks, and a more low-key alternative to Bangkok’s big Muay Thai stadiums. Free Bua Tong Sticky Waterfalls…
The eight best things to do in Bangkok, ranked from essential to skip-if-short-on-time, covering the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Chatuchak Market, and more.
Mai Chau and Pu Luong are built for slow, active days rather than a checklist of sights: cycling through rice paddies, trekking between villages, floating down a river on a bamboo raft, and — if you time it right — watching mist pour through the valley at sunrise. Nothing here requires technical skill, which is…
Mu Cang Chai’s main draw is its four signature terrace viewpoints — La Pan Tan, Mam Xoi, Mui Giay, and Mong Ngua — but trekking between H’mong villages, paragliding off Khau Pha Pass, and visiting the weekend market round out a well-spent 2-3 days. Most viewpoints are free or charge a small entry fee; trekking…
The single best way to experience Ba Be Lake is a half-day to full-day boat tour that strings together its main sights: Puong Cave, Dau Dang Waterfall, Ba Goa and An Ma Islands, and the Ao Tien “Fairy Pond.” Beyond the boat, trekking to Tay and Hmong villages, kayaking on quieter stretches of the lake,…
Ban Gioc Waterfall gets most of the attention, but Cao Bang has enough beyond it to fill a second and third day: a 36-lake alpine complex, a cave and stream tied to Ho Chi Minh’s return to Vietnam, a national park cool enough to see occasional winter frost, and a 400-year-old stone village. None of…
Ban Gioc Waterfall is a wide, multi-tiered waterfall on the Quay Son River that forms part of the natural border between Vietnam and China, and it is one of the largest transnational waterfalls in the world. Nguom Ngao Cave sits just a few kilometers away and is almost always visited on the same day. This…
The best things to do in Buon Ma Thuot split into three groups: coffee-culture sites in and around the city, nature and wildlife destinations that require a day trip, and Ede and M-nong cultural experiences that give the region its identity beyond coffee. Most visitors can cover the highlights of all three in two to…
The best things to do in Moc Chau, from tea plantations and the Bach Long Glass Bridge to waterfalls, dairy farms, and ethnic-minority villages.
