Vietnam Tour Packages

Vietnam occupies the eastern edge of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, curving for more than 1,600 kilometres in a long S-shape from the Chinese border in the north to the Gulf of Thailand in the south. It shares land borders with China to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west, with over 3,000 kilometres of coastline along the East Sea to the east.

The landscape is remarkably varied for a country of its size:

• The northern highlands — mist-wrapped mountains and terraced rice valleys around Sapa and Ha Giang, crowned by Fansipan (3,147 m), the highest peak in Indochina.
• The Red River Delta — the fertile heartland around Hanoi, and the cradle of Vietnamese civilisation.
• The central coast and Annamite Range — long beaches, the imperial city of Hue, and the vast cave systems of Phong Nha.
• The Central Highlands — cool plateaus of coffee plantations and waterfalls around Da Lat and Buon Ma Thuot.
• The Mekong Delta — a green maze of rivers, rice paddies, orchards and floating markets in the far south.

Add thousands of limestone islands in Halong Bay and tropical islands such as Phu Quoc and Con Dao, and you have a country where you can wake in the mountains and fall asleep by the sea within the same week.

Vietnamese culture is a rich weave of indigenous traditions, a thousand years of Chinese influence, French colonial layers and a fiercely independent spirit. Family sits at the very centre of life, and respect for elders and ancestors shapes almost everything — from how a home is arranged to how a meal is served.

Most households keep an ancestral altar, and ancestor veneration blends naturally with Buddhism, Confucian ethics, Taoism and, in places, Catholicism. Temples and pagodas are living places of worship, not museums.

What you will notice

• 54 ethnic groups — from the Kinh majority to the Hmong, Dao, Tay and Cham, each with distinct dress, language and festivals, most visible in the northern highlands.
• The ao dai — the elegant long tunic worn on formal occasions and by schoolgirls across the country.
• Water puppetry — a thousand-year-old art form born in the flooded rice paddies of the Red River Delta.
• Cafe culture — Vietnamese coffee is a daily ritual, drunk slowly on low plastic stools while the street goes by.
• "Face" and harmony — public anger or confrontation is considered deeply impolite. A calm smile achieves far more.

Vietnam packs an extraordinary amount into one country. These are the experiences our travellers talk about long after they get home.

• Cruise Halong Bay or Lan Ha Bay overnight on a traditional junk, kayaking between limestone islands at sunrise.
• Trek the rice terraces of Sapa and stay with a Hmong or Dao family in a mountain homestay.
• Cycle through Hoi An's rice paddies, then have a suit or dress tailor-made overnight.
• Explore the caves of Phong Nha, including Paradise Cave and, for the truly adventurous, Son Doong.
• Take a street food tour in Hanoi's Old Quarter — bun cha, banh mi and egg coffee.
• Glide through the Mekong Delta by sampan, visiting floating markets and fruit orchards.
• Ride the Hai Van Pass between Hue and Da Nang, one of the world's great coastal drives.
• Crawl the Cu Chi Tunnels and visit the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City.
• Unwind in Phu Quoc — white-sand beaches, snorkelling and spectacular sunsets.
• Take a cooking class and learn to roll fresh spring rolls and balance a proper pho broth.

From misty northern peaks to palm-lined southern islands, these are the places we build most Vietnam itineraries around.

• Hanoi — the thousand-year-old capital: the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, French boulevards and the country's best street food.
• Halong Bay & Lan Ha Bay — the iconic seascape of limestone karsts, best experienced on an overnight cruise.
• Ninh Binh (Trang An) — "Halong Bay on land": rowboats drifting between karst peaks and rice fields.
• Sapa & Ha Giang — terraced mountainsides, ethnic minority villages and the spectacular Ha Giang Loop.
• Hue — the former imperial capital, with its Citadel, Perfume River and royal tombs.
• Hoi An — lantern-lit lanes, riverside cafes, tailors and the finest food in the country.
• Da Nang — beaches, the Marble Mountains and the surreal Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills.
• Phong Nha-Ke Bang — a national park of jaw-dropping caves and jungle.
• Da Lat — cool pine forests, waterfalls, flower gardens and coffee plantations.
• Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) — energetic, modern and layered with history.
• Mekong Delta — floating markets, orchards and life lived on the water.
• Phu Quoc & Con Dao — Vietnam's finest island escapes.

Vietnam's calendar follows the lunar year, and its festivals are vivid, joyful and deeply rooted in family and tradition.

• Tet Nguyen Dan (Lunar New Year) — late January or February. The most important festival of the year: homes are cleaned and decorated with peach and kumquat trees, families reunite, and the whole country pauses. Extraordinary to witness, but book far in advance.
• Hoi An Lantern Festival — held on the full moon of every lunar month. Electric lights are switched off and the old town glows with silk lanterns and candles floating on the river.
• Hue Festival — a biennial celebration of royal court music, dance, art and heritage in the former imperial capital.
• Tet Trung Thu (Mid-Autumn Festival) — September or October. A children's festival of mooncakes, lion dances and star-shaped lanterns.
• Perfume Pagoda Festival — spring. One of Vietnam's largest pilgrimages, by boat and on foot into the mountains south of Hanoi.
• Da Nang International Fireworks Festival — early summer, lighting up the Han River.
• Reunification Day (30 April) & National Day (2 September) — public holidays with parades and celebrations.

Exact dates shift each year with the lunar calendar — tell us when you plan to travel and we will build the right festivals into your itinerary.

Vietnamese people are famously forgiving of visitors' mistakes, but a little cultural awareness goes a long way — and will be warmly noticed.

Do

• Dress modestly at temples and pagodas — cover shoulders and knees, and remove your shoes and hat before entering.
• Use both hands when giving or receiving something, especially to someone older — it is a mark of respect.
• Ask before photographing people, particularly in ethnic minority villages.
• Cross the road slowly and steadily. Do not run or stop suddenly — the traffic will flow around you.
• Bargain politely and with a smile in markets. It is expected, and it should be fun.
• Try the street food. Busy stalls with high turnover are your friend.

Don't

• Don't touch anyone on the head, including children — the head is considered sacred.
• Don't point your feet at people or at an altar, and don't point at anyone with a single finger.
• Don't lose your temper in public. Raising your voice causes a loss of "face" and will get you nowhere.
• Don't photograph military installations, checkpoints or border areas.
• Don't drink tap water — stick to bottled or filtered.
• Don't leave chopsticks standing upright in a bowl of rice; it resembles incense at a funeral.
• Don't wear revealing clothing at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where a strict dress code applies.