Vietnam itinerary: A Charming Journey Through Culture and Cuisine

Hey Adventurer! Vietnam is paradise and has something to offer for every type of traveller. Vietnam is full of beautiful caves and landscapes along with rich history, diverse culture, delicious cuisine, amazing nightlife and vibrant marketplace. Before starting with activities or things to do in Vietnam, let’s look at how Vietnam is divided into three zones: northern, central and southern. From a tourist perspective, the Northern region has Hanoi city, Ha Long Way, Ninh Binh, SAPA while central covers Da Nang, Hoi An, Ba Na Hills and southern covers Ho Chi Minh City. To cover all three regions you need to have ample amount of time to stay in vietnam. You can travel internally in Vietnam via flight / boat / trains / roads(either via public transport or private cabs) as many of the destinations are far away from each other.

If you are a visitor, We would suggest a 7 to 10 days travel itinerary will be fine for visiting this south asian country. Do not plan a 3,4 or 5 days itinerary, it’s not worth spending a good amount of money on a flight ticket and miss most of the beautiful experience due to less time. Now straight to an activity list or things to do in Vietnam.

Explore Ancient Town Hoi An – Step back in time as you walk through the appealing streets of Hoi An Ancient Town. This UNESCO-listed gem is known for its well-preserved architecture, lantern boat tour, and bustling riverside markets. Explore ancient temples, visit traditional tea houses, and indulge in the town’s famous tailor shops for custom-made clothing. Do shopping for leather and silk products, best quality silk and leather are available to buy in Hoi An market.

If you are able to spend a night in Hoi An its really good to explore all above mentioned activities but if you are coming from Da Nang or any other nearby location spend your 40 minutes on a lantern boat tour, it’s the most romantic and amazing experience. 

Monkey Mountain and Marble Mountain Sunset Trek – Monkey Mountain and Marble Mountain stand out as iconic destinations offering travellers a unique and memorable experience, especially during sunset treks.

Monkey Mountain (Son Tra) and Lady Buddha

Located just outside of Da Nang, Monkey Mountain, also known as Son Tra Mountain, is a perfect instagrammable destination offering panoramic views of the city. Beautiful pagodas and 220 feet tall Lady Budha are the most famous attractions to visit on Monkey Mountain trek. This is the one and only place in the world where you will be seeing a “Lady Buddha”.

Marble Mountain (Ngu Hanh Son) and Linh Ungh Pagoda

Just south of Da Nang lies Marble Mountain, a cluster of five limestone hills named after the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Trek before day end to catch the last light illuminating the rugged beauty of Marble Mountain and watch the entire Da Nang city from the top. Navigate through narrow passages, hidden caves, and winding staircases as you ascend the rocky terrain. This might not be an easy trek as passages and stars are naturally carved and footings are a bit difficult. 

Again you can spend a night at Da Nang or come from Hoi An for the trek. Both the cities are very near, so you can choose to stay at one visit or another for activities. 

Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta is a network of tributaries in southwest Vietnam that connects Ho Chi Minh City and Cambodia. The murky waters in Vietnam can be somewhat explained by the fact that the river originates in the Himalayas and flows through China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia before arriving in Vietnam. You can see how important the delta region is to the Vietnamese economy, cuisine, and culture because more than half of the country’s rice and fish come from this area. From the well-known floating markets to the extensive agricultural businesses, life in the area is centred around the water. A wide range of fruits, flowers, and cattle are raised there.

Cam Thanh Coconut Village

This village is home for coconut farming because the soil and water condition perfectly matches the conduction for growing coconut bushes. You can take a unique coconut boat from the entry point of this village and ride through the bushes on coconut farming from the river. Tourists can also experience the round net or cast net for fishing in this region. You can experience the buffalo ride through the peaceful road and become a local farm via dressing like them and working in farm fields. This is one of the most enjoyable experiences in this region.

To get to Cam Thanh Village – it is a 20 minutes ride from Hoi An market area and entry fee would be 30000 VND per person.

Bana Hills

This leisure hill station was colonised by french later it is managed by “Sun World, Sun Group” till now. It holds the world record for “Longest non-stop single track cable car” apx. 5801 metres in length. The only way for anyone to get to Bana Hills is through the cable cars only.

There are lots of things to do, watch, catch sight of and experience. Even if you are a travel enthusiast you can’t cover all of the Bana Hills in one day. There are way too many things in this hill station we will try to cover all of them but there are many more things yet being constructed in this one of its kind leisure hill station. We have separated all the things in below section : –

1. Sun World
2. Goldan Hand bridge
3. Alpine coaster ride
4. French village
5. Lunar castle
6. Eclipse plaza
7. Beer Plaza – the famous dome
8. Wine cellar
9. Multiple cable car ride
10. Theme parks
11. Magical train ride in mountains
12. 3D/4D/5D – movie theatre
13. Theme based Adventure parks
14. Festival based events
15. Pagodas as in temple

As from our personal experience we would recommend at least one day stay at Bana Hills to explore it fully. We stayed 3 nights to get more of this hill station, One Day trip will not be sufficient to cover Bana Hills.

Hanoi 

St. Joseph Cathedral – This church is one of the oldest churches of Vietnam which is a captivating blend of french architecture and catholic culture of french civilisation. It was made in the late 19th century and holds a great significance. Must visit places in hanoi.

Hanoi House cafes – These are some famous cafes which also serve alcohol and become a pub in the evening. This is a very unique concept. You can also get Vietnamese famous “Egg Coffees” in these places.

One Pillar Pagoda – This is a buddhist temple situated in central district of hanoi, the capital of vietnam. The most interesting part of this famous architecture is Liên Hoa Đài which means ‘the lotus pedestal’ is a temple where the architecture foundation is laid on only one pillar. It was originally made in 1045(i.e. too old) . This iconic temple literally situated inside the vietnam’s president house.

Hanoi Train Street – This is a narrow train bypass very close to buildings on both side of the train tracks. These houses are owned by the local people living in them and making their day to day lives. These train tracks were made by the French in 1902 and they are still running till now. Tourists can easily go there to see these narrow train tracks where trains pass by twices in a day while relaxing in local cafes which are open alongside these tracks.

Temple of literature – This is the first national university of vietnam from 1076 to 1779 made by their emperor of that time. This is now a preservation site of their educational steps, tourists can go and see their evolution in terms of education.

Quang Phu Cau Incense Village – The incense village is making colourful and scented sticks since god knows when because even locals are not sure since when. It is a very authentic way for them to make these incense sticks. Tourists can capture beautiful and stunning photos of locals working on these sticks and drying in the sun. It is almost a 1.5hr drive from Hanoi and it will cost around 3200 INR for this day trip with both side transfers.

Halong Bay – Ha long means ‘descending dragon’ as per local lore one of the water dragons which came from heaven stayed near Halong to save them from coming dangers. Tourists can visit Halong day in many ways as these are very big and have beautiful scenic views. 

1. one day trip cruise – 5000 INR / person
2. One day/one night cruise  – 10000 INR / person
3. 2 day / 2 night cruise – 15000 INR / person

In any of these trip packages all things are included entry to any of the bays, caves and ports. Meals are also included along with snacks and water with no extra cost.