As part of my 6-month adventure through Southeast Asia, I visited Vietnam. A country revered for its fantastic food, thick tropical jungles, and bustling cities overflowing with motorbikes and streetside vendors selling steaming bowls of noodles.
Its narrow, vertical geography lends itself to either a north-to-south or reserve route. You can easily book night or day coaches directly between locations, or opt for the slower railroad option. I mainly booked transport via the 12Go Asia app or locally via the Grab Taxi app and had no difficulty getting around.
This is a mega one, so if you’d like to read my full guide head over to the substack website or read via the app <3 thanks!
my itinerary 🗺️
Hanoi - the ancient capital, bustling with ancient colonial architecture (4 days)
Ha Giang Loop - an adrenaline-fuelled motorbike loop through the mountainous northern region (3 days)
Hanoi (again) - recovery and recuperation days back in the city (2 days)
Cat Ba Island & Lan Ha Bay - dramatic limestone islands on the northeast coastline (3 days)
Phong Nha - riverside town and national park of tropical forests, underground rivers, and some of the largest caves in the world (4 days)
Da Nang - coastal city, major Miami vibes with stretching beaches and historic French colonial architecture (3 days)
Hoi An - a UNESCO-protected ancient old town famed for its traditional lantern-lit streets, river boat tours, and cooking classes (5 days)
Da Lat - central highlands town loved for its hills, pine forests, lakes, and waterfalls (3 days)
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - the sprawling metropolitan city is known for its famous landmarks including the Independence Palace, Notre-dame Cathedral, and Central post office (4 days)
my highlights! 🍜
There are so many cosy coffee shops, restaurants, and historic sites that I visited along the way, but for this guide, I’ve decided to pull out the standout activities and experiences. Seriously, if you get the chance to visit Vietnam, don’t miss these!
Hanoi - I honestly loved everything about this city. The bustling streets lined with motorbikes, the huge central market, the weaving narrow streets of colonial French architecture. If I were able to relocate anywhere, it would likely be here. Nothing made me happier than sipping on cà phê sữa with my kindle in hand, perched on a balcony watching the ebb and flow of city life beneath me.
I joined a walking tour learning about local history, enjoyed lukewarm beers on plastic chairs amid the chaos of beer street at midnight, and slurped up bowls of gingery veggie pho. The hostel I stayed in overlooked the cathedral in the middle of the old quarter and everything you could want is pretty much within walking distance from here. I’d recommend visiting the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, visiting Cafe Giảng for their famous egg coffee (It tastes pretty similar to a tiramisu), copping some new vintage bits from the central market and 27 Klub or getting dangerously close to a fast-moving locomotive on Train Street.
Top tip: Train Street is technically closed but if you wait at the crossing, cafe owners will be allowed to chaperone you to their stores that line the tracks. Don’t faff about or take selfies on the tracks as police patrol the area to ensure everyone’s saftey.
Ha Giang Loop - This was one of the more expensive activities I splashed out on in Vietnam and boy it was worth every penny. Tld: It’s a once-in-a-lifetime 3 (or 4) day motorbike tour through the northern mountainous region. If you’re interested, drop a comment under this post and I’ll write up a full in-depth post specifically about the loop, but for now, all you need to know is that it’s as dangerous as it is thrilling and defo a bucket list activity for adrenaline junkies.
I experienced it as an easy-rider which meant I sat on the back of a motorbike which was driven by a local pro driver via Jasmine Tours. My group was on the smaller side (maybe about 12 of us) and we’d meet up with the other groups at the sightseeing spots and at the homestay accommodation at the end of each day to sing karaoke and drink ‘happy water’.
Lesser Visited Lan Ha Bay - Ha Long Bay is the go-to, main attraction of Vietnam’s coastline. But the sister cluster of Islands, Lan Ha Bay is equally as beautiful and less busy. I’d recommend booking a day tour on Cat Ba Island (I used Beka Tours) and heading out for a day of swimming, kayaking, and leaping into the turquoise (and chilly) waters of the bay.
Jungle Hiking - One of the first images that comes to mind when you say Vietnam is probably Apocolypse Now style, thick, tropical jungles. If this untouched wilderness is what you’re looking for, then you’ll find it in spades at Phong Nha National Park.
I joined the one-day tour with Jungle Boss where we trekked through the jungle of the Ma Da Valley to explore a few of the massive caves found in the park, including the Tra Ang Cave where we donned hard hats and swimsuits to float into the further depths of the cave’s subterranean river. (Ngl, it pushed my low-level claustrophobia to its limit)
Cooking Class - My main stand-out Vietnamese experience was spending the day learning about Hoi An’s culinary culture on a guided experience. We started the day by meeting our guide for a walking tour through the town’s market, sampling fresh fruits including sweet rambutan, mangosteen, and sour apples dipped in a sweet, spicy, and salty seasoning as we went.
After buying the fresh fish and veggies we’d need for our dishes later, we hopped on a boat heading down the Cam River towards the mangroves. Here we had the chance to ride in one of the area’s unique basket boats, believed to have been designed to outsmart expensive taxing laws imposed by the French during their colonial rule.
From there we headed back to the kitchen where we cracked open a cold can of Saigon beer and got cracking on our dishes. On the menu were meat & vegetarian phở, bánh xèo (crispy Vietnamese pancakes) and gỏi cuốn (fresh spring rolls with prawns). We booked via TripAdvisor with Hoi An Eco Cooking, but there are lots of family-run classes to choose from!
@by.beccamaesave for your next trip to vietnam! 🇻🇳 Vietnam is such a big country and you can’t see everything in a single trip, however we managed to explore mountains, cities and beautiful beaches during our three and a half weeks here. I cant wajt to book my return trip! #fyp #vietnam #travel #backpackinglife #southeastasia #vietnamtravel #hoiantrip #travelvietnam
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accommodation suggestions 🏡
I was on a shoestring budget and stayed in the cheapest hostels I could find, including Hanoi EcoStay 2 hostel, Bititi Dorm in Hoi An & Tigon Hostel in Dalat. For an average price of £5 per night, they went way beyond my expectations. If you’re similarly on a tight budget there are plenty of affordable options on Booking.com and Hostel World.
If you’ve got a bit more cash to splash, these hotels look prettyyyyy nice…
Hanoi - Concon
Ha Long Bay - Le Journey Cruise
Hoi An - An Sen Boutique Villas
Phong Nha - Chap Lay Homestay
Ho Chi Minh City - Silverland Yen Hotel
I hope that persuades you to book a flight asap, I know I’ll be heading back again soon! Tôi yêu Việt Nam <3
by becca mae x
