Vietnam from Hanoi to the Mekong: a country you'll want to travel from end to end

Hanoi and the north

Hanoi is the heart of the north. The Old Quarter with its streets named after traditional crafts, Hoan Kiem Lake at its centre, street cafés with tiny low stools and an endless stream of motorbikes create an atmosphere like nowhere else. Be sure to try egg coffee, a local invention.

From Hanoi, travellers head to Ha Long Bay, where limestone cliffs and islands rise out of emerald water; many stay overnight on a boat. Similar scenery, but set among rice fields, awaits in Ninh Binh, where you glide by boat along rivers between cliffs and caves. And in the mountains around Sapa you'll find the famous rice terraces and the villages of the hill peoples.

The centre: Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang

Hue is the former imperial capital, with its citadel and the emperors' tombs. Hoi An is a small historic town of yellow houses, wooden shopfronts and thousands of lanterns that light up every evening. Tailors here will make clothes to measure in a few days, and just outside town there are beaches and rice fields that are perfect for exploring by bicycle.

Da Nang is a modern city with long beaches, the Marble Mountains with their cave temples, and a mountain resort with views over the coast.

The south: Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is the most dynamic city in the country: markets, skyscrapers, French architecture and nightlife. From here people take trips to the underground Cu Chi tunnels and to the Mekong Delta with its floating markets, fruit orchards and narrow waterways. For a beach break in the south, many choose the island of Phu Quoc.

What to try

Vietnamese food is fresh and fragrant, and almost always comes with plenty of herbs.

• Pho: rice noodle soup with beef or chicken.
• Bun cha: grilled pork with noodles and herbs, a Hanoi classic.
• Banh mi: a filled baguette, a legacy of the French era.
• Fresh and fried spring rolls.
• Cao lau: noodles you can only truly taste in Hoi An.
• Vietnamese coffee with condensed milk, hot or iced.

Good to know before you go

Vietnamese people are welcoming, and a few tips will make your trip easier.

• Cross the road calmly and at a steady pace: the motorbikes will flow around you.
• Bargaining is normal at markets, while in cafés prices are usually shown on the menu.
• At temples, wear clothing that covers you and take off your shoes where that is the custom.
• The rainy seasons in the north, centre and south fall at different times, so check the weather region by region.

Staying connected

In Vietnam your smartphone is your best travel companion: hailing a car or a motorbike through an app, finding your way through a maze of streets, translating a menu, buying a train ticket. You can install your eSIM at home over Wi-Fi, so you won't have to hunt for a SIM card at the airport after landing. When a plan's validity begins is shown on the checkout page before you pay: for some plans it starts at the first connection in your destination country, for others at installation or right after purchase. Your main number stays in your phone, and calls and messages to it keep arriving as usual, under your carrier's terms.