Around the world… in Vietnam
It is possible to travel around the world while staying in Vietnam!
A photo album of a Vietnamese blogger-traveler has just created the buzz in Vietnam. Quang Quick has gathered the most beautiful Vietnamese landscapes and compared them with other famous landscapes of the 5 continents. Enough to make you want to stay looooong time in Vietnam
Rung Tra Tra Su – An Giang
Typical flooded forest of the Mekong Delta, the Tra Su Cajepu forest is to be discovered by boat. Located in the province of An Giang, several excursions bring you there from Chau Doc or Can Tho
Ideal length of visit: 1 afternoon
Ly Son Island
This volcanic island, known for its onions and garlic, will seduce you with its beautiful wild beaches with transparent water. To get there, take a cab from Quang Nam airport to Quang Ngai (for 20€). A boat will bring you early in the morning on the island, in one hour (for 5€)
Ideal length of visit: 2 to 3 days
Moc Chau
It is a popular destination for backpackers because tourism is still underdeveloped. Known for its cow’s milk and green tea, Moc Chau seduces photographers who come to immortalize its flowers on the mountainsides from November to January. To get there, take a bus from My Dinh bus station (north of Hanoi) from 5am to 5pm, or from Yen Nghia bus station in Ha Dong (west of Hanoi) from 5am to 1pm. The journey takes 5 hours
Ideal length of visit: 2 days
Mu Cang Chai
Mu Cang Chai : In Vietnamese, we can use this name to designate a place very far away, isolated, at the end of the mountain. However, Mu Cang Chai is closer to Hanoi than Sapa. The best time to go there is either in May/June, when you can clearly see the stepped rice fields, or in September/October, just before the harvest. It is possible to go there by motorcycle. The path is dangerous for the novices, but for the more seasoned, the magnificent landscapes are worth the effort. Otherwise, buses leaving from Giap Bat or My Dinh (Ha Noi) to Lai Chau go through Mu Cang Chai, the bus leaves at 7pm and arrives at Mu Cang Chai at 2am
Ideal length of visit: 2 days
Doc Let
One of the most beautiful beaches near Nha Trang, Doc Let is a dream destination with its white sand and palm trees. You can take a bus from Nha Trang, or go there by motorcycle from Nha Trang. The bus will stop 1.5km away from Doc Let. Take a cab or walk
Ideal tour duration: 3-4 days, to be combined with Nha Trang
Salt Mountain – Nui Muoi – Bach Moc
3000m of altitude, between Lai Chau and Lao Cai, Nui Muoi is for great adventurers. Its ascent requires 3 days and 2 nights
Lang Son
Lang Son is a city in northern Vietnam. From Hanoi, you can take a bus to Giap Bat, the journey takes 4 hours. Or from My Dinh (Ha Noi), the trip takes 2h30. Lang Son isn’t very far from the Chinese border. It is a cheap shopping place, where you can buy lots of “made in China” products, or cross the border to discover many Chinese restaurants on the other side
Ideal length of visit: 1 day
Hon Khoi
Visit the salt village Ninh Diem (Hon Khoi peninsula, Khanh Hoa province). Production lasts from March to October. You can get there from Nha Trang. The village isn’t far from Doc Let. Take the opportunity to visit the salt village and the beaches of Doc Let
Ideal tour duration: 1/2 day, to be combined with Nha Trang
Ha Giang
The place to be before the Lunar New Year, to admire the cherry blossoms. Ha Giang is the ideal destination for Vietnamese backpackers-bikers, who find pleasure in driving 10 hours non-stop from Hanoi to Ha Giang. Otherwise, you can take a bus: Hai Van’s buses leave Hanoi (My Dinh bus station) at 8:30 pm every day and arrive in Ha Giang at 4:25 am
Ideal length of visit: 1 day
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is one of my favorite cities in Vietnam. I went there 4 times but I can go there again and again
Nha Trang is considered one of the most beautiful bays in the world. The weather is very favorable, you can swim there from January to October
The people of Nha Trang also enjoy it regularly. They regularly go there by motorcycle after their working day, bathe fully dressed in the ocean, and return home by motorcycle
From Nha Trang, you can visit a famous Cham temple, two beautiful and imposing Buddha statues, go to the small islands nearby, go scuba diving, parasailing, bask in mud baths. The pagodas of Nha Trang are very different from Nha Trang seafood can be tasted directly on the beach (as is the case of many Vietnamese beaches)
Ideal length of visit: Lifetime (at least 4 days)
My favorite hotel in Nha Trang remains VinPearl Nha Trang Resort, which has privatized an island and built a cable linking Nha Trang to the island in 30mn. On the island, the hotel has built an amusement park, accessible to all guests. If you do not stay at the hotel, it is possible to go to the island with a ticket. But guests have access to a much more beautiful and quiet beach than the guests of the amusement park. I tell you, having stayed in several Vietnamese luxury hotels, that it remains my favorite hotel
My Son
This ruin of the temples was an imperial city during the Champa dynasty. It is the Vietnamese Angkor Wat
Ideal duration of visit: 1 day, to be combined with your stay in Da Nang
Da Lat
Da Lat is also one of my favorite cities, for its climate, its parks, its very romantic lakes. In Da Lat, the 4 seasons pass in one day. In the morning it is spring, at noon in summer, in the afternoon in autumn and at night in winter. It is the only city where you can grow strawberries. The roses of Da Lat are the most famous and the most beautiful in Vietnam
Da Lat is also known for its haunted houses & heartbreaking love stories
Ideal length of visit: A lifetime. Or at least 3 days
Ban Gioc
The biggest waterfalls in Vietnam, next to the Chinese border
Ideal duration of visit: 2 days, to be combined with the visit of Ba Be (three bays) and the Pac Bo cave. There is a night bus taking you to Cao Bang, near the waterfalls of Ban Gioc
Con Dao
Considered as “paradise to hell”, Con Dao evokes, for the Vietnamese, the prison that the Americans built to torture thousands of Viet Cong
Today, Con Dao is again known for its heavenly beaches and its national park
Ideal duration of visit: 2 days. Regular flights from Ho Chi Minh City
Lang Co
Ideal length of visit: 2 days
Dong Thap
Ideal length of visit: 1-2 days
Mui Ne
Ideal length of visit: A lifetime. Or at least 4 days
Mui Ne is particularly suitable for kite-surfers because other Vietnamese beaches do not have enough wind for this activity. Mui Ne is also a great destination for scuba diving, or just sunbathing ..
Hue
The former royal city. An accent to fall. Hue is home to the ancient royal palace and royal tombs
Ideal length of visit: 3 days
Cam Ranh
Ideal length of visit: 2 days
Ba Na
To combine with Da Nang
Hoi An
Hoi An looks like the old Hanoi district, but better. The visit of Hoi An is to be combined with Da Nang
The ideal time to go there is during the full moon (14th or 15th of the month, lunar calendar) because the whole city celebrates the full moon. There are many ephemeral restaurants, and walking around in the evening with the red lanterns lit is truly an unforgettable experience. Beware, apart from the full moon, in the evening, Hoi An is quite quiet
Ho Chi Minh City
Ideal length of visit: 2 days
Phu Yen
The rocky slope Ganh Da Dia measures 50 m and unfolds on more than 200 m. Because of its plate-like shape of the props, it is called Da Dia. Not very well known, it is better to go there by motorcycle
Ideal length of visit: 1 day
Phu Quoc
Known for its heavenly beaches and its famous fish sauce, Phu Quoc is an island located in the South of Vietnam
Ideal length of visit: 3-4 days. Regular flights from Ho Chi Minh City
Tam Coc – Ninh Binh
Ideal length of visit: 1 day
It is necessary to go there between August and September, the boat trip between the rice fields is a must
Doong Sound
His Doong is for the most motivated. Only one agency organizes the excursions within this immense cave, for the modest sum of $3000 (with porters, oxygen tanks etc.). All tours are fully booked for 2016 but you can book for 2017. Even Vietnamese travelers don’t dare to venture there alone
Hanoi
Mandatory passage, for the kitchen, for the old city, for the restored Sword Lake, for the French architecture of the old French buildings (the markets, the Hanoi Opera House, the big hotels like the Sofitel Legend Metropole)
Halong Bay
Mandatory stop! Even if Halong Bay has become very touristy, sleeping on a boat in the middle of the bay remains a must experience
Sapa
A train will take you to Lao Cai. Take a bus to Sapa. Very touristic, Sapa has developed a lot in the last few years. However, the treks are still good and bring you to the end of the ethnic minority villages. It is better to go to Sapa in summer, preferably with winter or hiking clothes. Nobody believes me but everybody had to buy the clothes on the spot 🙂 So it’s not because it’s 15°C that we aren’t cold. Don’t forget, it’s humid in Vietnam
Treks are for all levels: beginners, intermediate, or experienced, from half a day to 3-4 days
JB did a 5h trek in the rain, but he still has great memories of it
