Vietnam Itineraries for Every Travel Style
We all travel differently. Some of us are adventurers while others seek out culture. Still others form memories by interacting with local food.
Vietnam is a country rich in diversity, able to cater to many different travel styles, thanks to its varied terrain including beaches, mountains, and a contrast between megacities and rustic villages, to go along with fascinating history and a spectacularly varied foodie scene.
Here are our top 3 itineraries for adventurers, foodies, and sun-seekers:
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The Explorer
Who it’s for: Those with serious FOMO who want to see it all. If you’re from the West, Vietnam is a long ways away, so best to maximise your trip by seeing, and more importantly, doing everything.
Time: Two weeks. Vietnam is a long country with a tremendous number of unique highlights. Thankfully, relatively inexpensive plane and train rides connect major points of interest.
Overview: Starting in the country’s capital of Hanoi, explore Northern Vietnam including scenic Sapa and UNESCO-listed Halong Bay before flying to Hoi An, another UNESCO-listed site for its remarkable preservation as a medieval seaport. Head down to bustling Saigon, the beating heart of the country and end up in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s lush “Rice Bowl”. From there, Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a quick half-day speedboat ride away, or head back to Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City for your onward flight.
Highlights:
- Hanoi’s Old Quarter is a must, along with ancient temples backed by a thousand years of history. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum also adds perspective to how modern-day Vietnam came about, the final resting place of “Uncle Ho”.
- A vintage overnight train from Hanoi, the colonial-era hill station of Sapa is like stepping back in time. Its terraced rice fields just beg to be trekked and a cable car ride to the top of Mount Fansipan provides gorgeous views over the hills and valleys populated by minority groups.
- Explore the nearly 2,000 islands of Halong Bay on a stylish overnight cruise with the option to get down to water level by kayaking and swimming
- Hoi An’s well-preserved streets and shophouses are ideal for walking, and its beautiful countryside filled with organic gardens and lush rice fields are best viewed from the unique vantage point of a sidecar motorcycle
- Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon) looks chaotic at first glance, but a tour by walking or on a slow-moving cyclo through its neighbourhoods filled with heritage buildings and tree-lined avenues uncovers a completely different side
- The lush Mekong Delta is what many people think of when they think of Vietnam – rustic villages, unending fields of rice, and life lived on the river. With thousands of kilometres of waterways, river cruises showcase the best of countryside life on and by the water with shore excursions to see markets, home workshops, and ethnic villages
See all of the above and more on the Ultimate Vietnam Experience by Victoria Voyages, including meals, transportation, and activities, with tons of optional add-ons, like rock climbing in Mai Chau or a night Vespa tour of Saigon, for an even fuller experience.
The Foodie
Who it’s for: People who travel to seek out new food adventures, indulging like a local and experimenting with dishes and ingredients that can’t be found in their home country. If you’re game to try anything once, enjoying the satisfaction of biting into something you’ve never tasted before, you might just be a Food Traveller!
Time: 12 days. Vietnam has three distinct regions, each with its own flavours, ingredients, and cooking styles. Vietnam has both a world-class street food and restaurant scene, making it one of the best foodie destinations anywhere.
Overview: Travel to six foodie destinations, each with its own twist on Vietnamese cuisine: Hanoi in the north, influenced by neighbouring China; Halong Bay known for its fresh seafood; the ancient imperial capital of Hue where a large number of dishes originated to satisfy the emperors; Hoi An with its multicultural influences dating back to its heyday as an international trading port; Ho Chi Minh City, the foodie capital of Vietnam; and the lush Mekong Delta known as Vietnam’s pantry.
Highlights:
- Cyclo tour through Hanoi’s Old Quarter sampling “pho cuon” (rice flour rolls)
- Checking out Hanoi’s night street food scene, including a lively local beer joint
- Squid fishing in Halong Bay and fresh seafood dishes
- Local specialties in Hue, including fig salad and savoury crepes
- Sampling dishes only found in Hoi An including cao lau noodles and white rose dumplings
- Cooking class in Hoi An with bonus lesson on how noodles and rice paper are made
- Foodie tour of Ho Chi Minh City savouring French-inspired baguette sandwiches and grilled rice paper “pizza”
- Market visit and cooking class
- Day cruise through the Mekong Delta with Indochinese lunch
Eat your way through Vietnam on the Taste of Vietnam itinerary by Victoria Voyages, combining sightseeing with insightful foodie adventures in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta.
The Sun-Seeker
Who it’s for: Travel is great, but no one likes it when you need a holiday to recover from your holiday. While it’s tempting to go all-out on a trip to Vietnam, your body and mind will thank you for building in a few days of relaxation.
Time: 12 days. You could easily spend a month travelling non-stop in Vietnam and still not see everything. But with 12 days, why not focus on the absolute highlights with time left over to enjoy the country’s beautiful beaches?
Overview: See the essentials of Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam including Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, finished off with three days of sun, sea and sand in lazy Phan Thiet on Vietnam’s South-Central coastline.
Highlights:
- Full-day tour of Hanoi including its 1,000-year-old temples and Old Quarter along with its more recent French colonial-era past
- Relaxing overnight cruise through gorgeous Halong Bay, known for its thousands of limestone islands surrounded by emerald waters. Do as much or as little on the cruise as you like, with kayaking, swimming, and hiking opportunities or simply watch the glorious scenery glide on by with a cocktail and perhaps a spa treatment
- Walk through Hoi An’s compact Ancient Town with its Japanese, Chinese, and French influences from when it was a trading port hundreds of years ago
- Enjoy the cool mountain breezes from the colonial-era hill station of Ba Na, famous for its Golden Bridge and old French village
- Tour bustling Saigon with its heritage buildings and world-class street food scene
- End with three blissfully relaxing days on the palm-lined beaches of Phan Thiet, a sleepy fishing village turned beach destination just four hours from Ho Chi Minh City
Experience all of the above and more on the Best of Vietnam itinerary by Victoria Voyages, including meals, accommodation, domestic flights, and excursions. We’ll look after all the details, leaving you to simply relax and soak up your Vietnam experience.