How many days do you need in Vietnam?

Two weeks covers the country in thirds, with three or four nights in each and a flight between them. Ten days works if you drop one third. A single region is comfortable in five or six.

When is the best time to visit Vietnam?

February to April is the one window that suits the whole country: the centre is dry, the south is still in its dry season and the north has warmed up. October and November bring the heaviest rain to the central coast.

Do you need a visa for Vietnam?

Most visitors apply online. The e-visa is open to every nationality and allows up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, and a list of European and East Asian passports enters visa-free for 45 days. Confirm your own case on the government portal before booking.

Is Vietnam cheap to travel?

Day to day, yes. Street food, local transport and family-run rooms cost very little. The spend goes on domestic flights, Ha Long cruises and the newer coastal resorts, which are priced for visitors.

North or south: which should you pick?

The north for landscape and old streets, the south for food and energy. If you only have a week, fly into Hanoi for the Old Quarter and Ha Long Bay, or into Ho Chi Minh City for the Mekong Delta and the best eating in the country.

Top 10 Things To Do in Vietnam (City Guides) Wimup

Quick answer · where to go in Vietnam

A first trip takes the country in thirds. Hanoi and Ha Long Bay hold the north, the heritage belt of Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An holds the centre, and Ho Chi Minh City opens onto the Mekong Delta in the south. Pick one detour, not both: Sa Pa for mountain terraces, Da Lat for cool air and pine. Flights link the thirds in about two hours each, and February to April is the window that works in all of them.

Jump toCity guides Fun fact Stereotypes Famous Vietnamese Food FAQ

5 Vietnam city guides

Sorted by what travelers are saving this month.

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

Vietnam cut its map from 63 provinces to 34 on 1 July 2025, the largest administrative reorganisation since reunification. Quang Nam province, which held Hoi An, was merged into Da Nang city.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to fit in.

"Vietnam is one long war story"

The realityThe museums and the tunnels are worth your time, but the war ended in 1975 and the country moved on. Almost everyone you meet was born after it, and the conversation is about food, family and business.

"Crossing the road is impossible"

The realityScooters own the street, and they read a pedestrian as an obstacle to steer around. Walk at a steady pace and do not stop. Hesitating in the middle is what causes the near misses.

"Vietnamese food means pho"

The realityPho is a northern breakfast. The centre eats bun bo Hue and the small plates of the old imperial kitchen, the south eats broken rice and hu tieu, and banh mi is a Saigon habit that travelled.

"Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are much the same"

The realityThey sit at opposite ends of the country and behave like different places. Hanoi is older, more formal and properly cold in January. Ho Chi Minh City is hotter, louder and built on trade.

"It is cheap, so everything is cheap"

The realityStreet food, local buses and family guesthouses cost very little. Domestic flights, Ha Long cruises and the new coastal resorts are priced for visitors, and the gap between the two budgets is wide.

Conical hatsScooter swarms at every junctionJunk boats in Ha Long BayLantern-lit Hoi AnTailors who promise a suit by morningEgg coffee and iced condensed milkMotorbike loops in the north

Cultural notes that actually help

Shoes come off at the door of a home, a temple and plenty of small shops. Watch the pile by the entrance.
Pass and receive with both hands, or with the right hand while the left touches the forearm. It reads as respect and costs nothing.
Bargain in markets, not in shops with a printed price. Keep it light, and stop once you have agreed.
Cover shoulders and knees at pagodas and mausoleums. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum turns people away for it.
Eat when Vietnam eats. Pho is breakfast, lunch starts around eleven, and neighbourhood kitchens close early in the evening.
Tipping is not expected. Round up after a good meal or a long ride and leave it at that.
Do not touch anyone on the head, and point with an open hand, never one finger.

Famous Vietnamese faces

The names behind Vietnam's history, letters, cinema, music, sport, science and kitchens. Pick a field.

Võ Nguyên Giáp

The general behind Điện Biên Phủ in 1954, which ended French rule

Nguyễn Du

Wrote The Tale of Kiều, the poem Vietnam quotes from memory

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Zen teacher who took mindfulness practice to a global readership

Ngô Bảo Châu

Fields Medal in 2010 for proving the fundamental lemma

Trần Anh Hùng

Best Director at Cannes in 2023, three decades after his Caméra d'Or

Ngô Thanh Vân

Actor and producer who built the modern Vietnamese action film

Sơn Tùng M-TP

The singer who made Vietnamese pop a regional export

Mỹ Tâm

Two decades at the top of Vietnamese pop, and still touring

Hoàng Xuân Vinh

Won Vietnam's first Olympic gold, 10m air pistol, Rio 2016

Lê Quang Liêm

Grandmaster and 2013 world blitz chess champion

Trần Đại Nghĩa

Engineer who built Vietnam's wartime arms industry from scratch

Luke Nguyen

Chef and presenter who took Mekong cooking to television

Hồ Chí Minh

Declared independence in 1945 and led North Vietnam until 1969

Trần Hưng Đạo

Thirteenth-century commander who turned back the Mongol invasions

Trịnh Công Sơn

Songwriter whose wartime ballads are still sung in every cafe

Đặng Thái Sơn

First Asian pianist to win the Chopin Competition, Warsaw 1980

Hai Bà Trưng

The Trưng sisters, who raised a revolt against Han rule in AD 40

Lý Thái Tổ

Moved the capital to Thăng Long, now Hanoi, in 1010

Nguyễn Trãi

Strategist and poet of the fifteenth-century war of independence

Bảo Ninh

Wrote The Sorrow of War, the novel that broke the official version

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction with The Sympathizer

Nguyễn Hà Đông

Made Flappy Bird, the 2014 game he pulled at the top of the charts

Christine Hà

Blind chef who won MasterChef in 2012 and cooks Vietnamese in Houston

Must-try Vietnamese food

The classics first, then what each stretch of the country is known for. Pick a category.

Bánh mì

Baguette, pâté, cold cuts, pickled carrot and coriander. The French left the bread.

Gỏi cuốn

Fresh rice-paper rolls with prawn, pork and herbs, dipped in peanut sauce.

Bún chả

Grilled pork in a bowl of sweet fish-sauce broth, with cold noodles alongside.

Bún bò Huế

The imperial city's beef noodle soup: lemongrass, chilli and shrimp paste.

Mì Quảng

Turmeric noodles under a shallow, intense broth, with peanuts and rice crackers.

Hủ tiếu

The southern morning noodle, clear or dry, with pork and seafood.

Bánh cuốn

Steamed rice sheets rolled around pork and wood-ear mushroom, eaten fast.

Bún riêu cua

Tomato and freshwater crab broth, sour and light, sold from morning carts.

Cao lầu

Hoi An only: thick noodles, pork, greens and almost no broth.

Cơm hến

Hue baby-clam rice, served cold with crackling and a small bowl of broth.

Bánh bèo

Rice saucers topped with dried shrimp, from the Hue small-plate tradition.

Cơm tấm

Broken rice with grilled pork chop, egg and pickles. Saigon's working lunch.

Bánh xèo

Turmeric crepe filled with pork and prawn, torn up and wrapped in herbs.

Bánh khọt

Coconut rice pancakes the size of a coin, one prawn each.

Cà phê sữa đá

Robusta dripped over condensed milk and ice. Strong enough to plan around.

Cà phê trứng

Egg yolk whipped with condensed milk over coffee. A Hanoi invention.

Bia hơi

Fresh draught beer brewed daily and drunk on plastic stools at the kerb.

Phở

Beef or chicken broth over rice noodles. Breakfast, and judged on the broth alone.

Chả giò

Fried rolls, wrapped again in lettuce and herbs before they go in the sauce.

Chả cá

Turmeric fish fried at the table with dill and spring onion. A Hanoi institution.

Chè

Sweet soups of bean, jelly and coconut milk, served hot or over ice.

Bánh flan

Caramel custard with iced coffee poured over it, which is the point.

Top 10s across Vietnam

When to visit Vietnam