Vietnam travel information, Vietnam travel guide - Vietnam at a glance

Vietnam has long time been famous not only for its resounding resilience in national defense war but a unique and rich civilization, spectacular nature settings and friendly people as well. Come to Vietnam , your eyes will be feasted with luscious sceneries of splendid rock formations, brilliant green rice paddies, tranquil beaches and so on. Each place in Vietnam boasts its own distinctive characteristic that lures those once visiting.

Let’s start with Hanoi, the long - standing capital of Vietnam, which is more and more beguiling to tourists for the attractive cultural sites such as Temple of Literature, Ngoc Son Temple, One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda, etc… surrounded by beautiful lakes, shadowed tree-lined boulevards, verdant public parks and resplendent French – style architecture.

Your trip wouldn’t be completed without visiting Ha Long Bay which is considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Area and one of the world’s most remarkable seascapes. It is hard to dispute that claim once visited. More than 3000 picturesque islands together with innumerable spectacular limestone outcroppings, cliffs, arches and caves soaring from the clear, emerald water makes Ha Long the most outstandingly naturally beautiful in the country - incomparable coastal scenery.

Traveling farther north to the rugged mountain region, Sapa seems to be a world away from the fast pace of urban life. It offers an unusual variety of spectacular and charming landscapes, from the superb Fan Xi Pan massif (3,145m), the highest summit in South-East Asia with its perfectly preserved high-mountain vegetation, to the endless paddy-fields tumbling down the slopes in vertiginous staircases and the innumerable limestone peaks and crests emerging from the clouds in the morning. Sapa is an ideal place for those keen on trekking and exploring the lifestyles of ethnic minorities there like the jolly and outgoing H’mong, the quieter and more reserved Dao, or the Black H’mong in unusual rough linen clothes dyed with indigo.

As “imperial poem masterpieces”, the heritage city of Hue contrasts the simple lives of today’s average Vietnamese citizens with the grandeur of the ancient courts of the Imperial City and the tombs of the Vietnamese Kings. Another must-see destination in the Central Coast is Hoi An, which was once the largest trading ports in Southeast Asia drawing lots of rich merchants from Europe, China and Japan, etc.  And it was later compared as “the Venice of Vietnam, a magically preserved Sleepy Hollow of coexisting Asian cultures”. The major attractions of Hoi An today lie on the old polyglot architectural features of wooden buildings, the original traditional street pattern and beautiful white sand beach fringed with palm trees.

Southwards, Ho Chi Minh City , still referred to as ' Saigon ' by many, has preserved its distinctly Asian feeling and ancient culture. Yet within the teeming metropolis are the timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture.

From North to South, Vietnam ’s dotted with numerous attractive destinations that really conceal a wonderful patchwork of hidden charm.