Most travelers to Vietnam

Most travelers to Vietnam are attracted by the wonderful natural beauty of the stunning S-shaped country, from extensive rice terraced fields in the north to the fascinating bustle of the Mekong Delta in the south. Furthermore, clear natural beaches are also the amazing tourist attractions in Vietnam.

Recently, Lonely Planet, the world’s famous tourist site, has chosen top 7 beaches you should visit at least once in life in Vietnam.

Phu Quoc Island

Located in front of the Cambodia coast, Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam. The island features pristine tropical forests, colorful coral reefs, and great beaches, which is the favorite destination of tourists to enjoy the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere as well as admire the wild beauty of long beaches, natural forests, and pure streams.

Come to Phu Quoc, besides swimming, walking in the night markets, and discovering famous pearl farms, you can also visit scenic spots such as Dinh Cau, Bai Dai, Bai Sao, Phu Quoc prison, myrtle forests, and pepper gardens.  In addition, Phu Quoc is famous for producing the best fermented fish sauce in the world. Therefore, paying a short visit to some fish sauce manufacturing places is also a good idea for your trip.

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Con Dao Island

80 kilometers from the Mekong Delta and 230 km from Ho Chi Minh, Con Dao Island used to serve as a prison for political prisoners during the French colonial period. However, due to immense natural beauty, Con Dao today turns into the heaven of nice resorts, which attracts numerous domestic and international tourists.

Visit Con Dao, you can explore historical relics and experience the special activities like swimming in the clear sea, walking on white sand beaches, diving into pure beaches, or driving along deserted coasts. Moreover, don’t forget to enjoy typical seafood here.

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Mui Ne

Mui Ne is located on the east coast of Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan province, about 250 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. It’s famous for the beautiful beaches with strong waves, huge red sandy dunes as desert, and delicious dishes made from seafood. Moreover, Mui Ne is the kingdom of resorts and one of the most favorite places for those who are fans of beaches to relax and enjoy interesting vacations.

In addition, Mui Ne also possesses a lot of unique destinations like Rom Island, Lao Cao Island, Rang Beach with pristine beaches, majestic landscapes, and fresh air. Especially, in early 2013, Mui Ne was listed in Top most beautiful beaches in Southeast Asia by Skyscanner.

Tra Su melaleuca in the Mekong

The diverse ecological system and magnificent natural scenery have turned Tra Su melaleuca forest in the Mekong province of An Giang into a popular tourist attraction, especially in the high-water season.

Nearly 100 kilometers from Long Xuyen City, each year Tra Su melaleuca forest welcomes 10,000 domestic and international tourists.

best time to travel to Vietnam

With the area of 845 hectares, Tra Su is home to 140 kinds of plants, mainly melaleuca, and dozens of reptiles and birds, including two kinds of birds listed in Vietnam’s Red Book.

Most likely, the best time to visit Tra Su is from the middle of September until the Lunar New Year when the whole forest becomes inundated.

To reach Tra Su forest, visitors have to go for a walk about 500 from the car park. Along the walking path are lotus ponds and rows of green trees as a warm welcome to visitors. At the forest’s gate, tourists take a motorboat or row boat to explore Tra Su.

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You will feel overwhelmed with numerous green melaleuca and water-fern floating on the surface. Along the way, you will see birds perched on tree trunks, bunches of water lilies, and the water’s surface full of water ferns. It’s great to admire the nature beauty and enjoy peaceful vibe of Tra Su melaleuca forest.

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In the early morning or late afternoon, visitors may get a chance to see large flocks of birds flying from or to their nests. However, the forest becomes livelier in the afternoon when thousands of white storks fly and chirp all around the forest. The white of storks contracts with the green of the melaleuca forest, which gives tourists peaceful and relaxing feelings. In addition, there are also many species of other birds and animals.

Visiting Tra Su melaleuca forest in An Giang, Vietnam is an interesting destination for tourists who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Surely, the journey to Tra Su will leave you unforgettable experiences.

Places caffe in ho chi minh

A small 8% of Vietnamese people are drinking domestically produced coffee despite that the country is ranked as the second largest supplier of coffee in the world. The Vietnamese don’t have the strong habit of grabbing coffee to go like what people usually do in North American. For them, caffeinate means taking a break from the heat and chilling in one of the country’s omnipresent cafes scattering across the country.

old quarter Hanoi

Many visitors fall in love with the hustling nightlife of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The city is in the process of developing and growing into one of Vietnam’s most ebullient economic centers, yet it still manages to maintain the strong café culture.

It would be impossible to say the following café are the best in the city. It would take years to visit them all. Anyway, here are one of the most worth to visit mausoleum ho chi minh

Up CAFÉ
269 Nguyễn Trọng Tuyển Street
Tel: +840928 269 269
It’s the ceiling décor, which comprises table and chairs, a piano precariously hung upside down over customers’ heads, on the second floor makes the café stand out. However, a huge flaw is those awfully huge couches that set private partitions and ruin the space.

Additionally, the music is overly sappy. If you intend to visit the place, go with a friend and make a bet about what song is on. Your friend will hear “My heart will go on”, otherwise you pay for the coffee.

The café was put into lots of effort and it could be so nice with a couple of small changes. The place falls under “go once one and see” category rather than as a regular place to work or meet.

things to do in ho chi minh

Du Mien CAFÉ
48/9A Hồ Biểu Chánh, Ward 11, Phú Nhuận District.
It’s a bit difficult to find this hidden place, but that’s also a part making it special. The foreign crowd never seems to come around here, therefore, it feels exotic and local. Du Mien is a big, terraced café with some pools, yet it is in need of some refurbishing. The ambiance is quite impressive and relaxing, at least on weekdays.

Art in the heart

Among a plethora of shops selling trinkets, footwear, clothes, and all things you can find around Hanoi of the Old Quarter is a humble shop doing a brisk trade in selling off original and reprinted propaganda posters dated back to the Vietnam War.

This is a good source for tourists to turn to for both history lessons and art. You can get your family great souvenirs after finishing your backpacking trip.

 mausoleum ho chi minh

The American War is a substitute name for the same war taking place here in the previous century. It’s quite some time since the war ended, but the art works inspired by this phase continue to be created, preserved and be up for selling in many art shops around Hanoi. The shop on Hang Bac street chooses to be low-key, operating without a glitzy name, yet draws a fair share of attention of art-lovers.

Stepping into the shop may have the feeling of entering a time capsule of exhortations to patriotism and  sky-high enemy defeating spirits. All of that are under the watching eye of Uncle Ho.

At first, there’s an initial kitsch value and impatience to browsing amongst the posters which are placed one by one , 50 pieces in one line, separated by cover sheets. But if you take your time, flicking through deeper, more sobering pictures of the Vietnamese struggle for survival and independence, emerge.

The old lady who is the owners of the shop might well have lived through both the American and French wars in Vietnam. It can be interesting to think of the thoughts running through her mind when seeing all these backpackers stepping into her shop to buy these posters that used to be taken deadly seriously.

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A variety of artistic styles are up for buyers’ options, from impressionistic efforts to blocky Soviet graphical influence. Prices are reasonable, only a few dollars each, for you to grab couples of them. High chances are you will quickly fall in love with those images as they are genuinely artistic regardless of their historical impact.

Nixon’s face superimposed on a falling bomb

It’s no surprise that you will see images of Ho Chi Minh, Father of the Nation, who led Vietnam through the war but did not live to see its independence, frequently crop up.

things to do in ho chi minh

The most impressive Uncle Ho image is the portrait of him entirely made with Vietnamese stamps.

Literally hundreds of posters are on display in the Old Propaganda Poster Shop. A great idea is to make a book or historical document about them after interviews and talks with the artists who are still living about the creating process of these images and the influences on their work.

Do you think you will pay the shop a visit? Share with us your thoughts about artworks you find interesting there.

Son Tay Ancient Citadel

If you have the opportunity to visit Hanoi the famous historical site in the suburb of Hanoi – Son Tay ancient Citadel.

Located in Son Tay town, more than 40 kilometers from the center of Hanoi, Son Tay citadel is an ancient and unique military architecture in Vietnam, which was built in 1822 under the reign of King Minh Mang.

Nowadays, the most famous and beautiful citadel in the North attracts numerous of tourists both in Vietnam the citadel is surrounded by a lot of old green trees
Most likely, when visiting Son Tay ancient citadel, the first impression of tourists is the image of ancient trees of hundreds of years. The rough roots get stretched and embrace the moss walls of the ruined ancient gate, which creates the ancient beauty of the citadel. Moreover, there is a moat surrounding the citadel as an addition for its tranquil beauty.

The rough roots of ancient trees of hundreds of years old embrace the moss walls of the ruined ancient gate.
Come back to the past, the citadel was solidly built for protecting the western gateway of Thang Long City (Hanoi now). Its walls, about 4.5 m high, were built of laterite – the typical building material of Son Tay. It currently remains three gates in the South, the North, and the West. All are made of old bricks. Especially, the citadel is surrounded by a moat over 25 meters wide, 4 meters deep and 1,792 meters long, connecting to the Tich River.

Another gate of the citadel.

The walls were built of laterite in Son Tay citadel.

A little romantic in the ancient citadel in autumn.
Today, some works inside the citadels are still preserved such as a flag tower of 18 meters high, Kinh Thien palace, and two lotus ponds in front of Kinh Thien Palace.

The works inside the citadel
The peaceful and ancient scenery of Son Tay Citadel has made it an ideal destination for young couples to take nice wedding photos.

The couple is happy in the wedding photo in Son Tay citadel.
Moreover, due to a lot of green and old trees covering the citadel, it is also an interesting place for walking and relaxing after a long day of hard work.
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The citadel is also an ideal place for walking.
Son Tay Citadel has belonged to the National Heritage of Vietnam since 1994. Along with Co Loa ancient citadel, Hanoi citadel, and Hue Imperial palace, Son Tay Citadel is one of the great symbols of Vietnam’s cultural heritage.

Parks in Hanoi

The sweltering heat in Vietnam If you and your family are staying in the capital city, it’s good to know some cool places to let your children out in the sun and play.

Kinder Park

If you stay in Old Quarter in a rainy day and you think your kids still deserver a interesting, playful day, grab a taxi to Kinder Park for $4-5, one-way. This huge indoor play area is attached to Ho Tay water park.

The site offers games such as rock climbing, role playing in which kids pretend to be doctors and firemen. The pricey entrance fee of 120,000 dong per hour is well worth the hours of entertainment.

Address: 614, Lạc Long Quân Street, Hanoi

Little tip: avoid any play area in the weekends at all cost.

Nghia Do Park

The park deserves the title “Best park for kids in Hanoi”. Taking a stroll in the park every dry and sunny days, you unfailingly find dozens of children cheerfully playing and monopolizing the zipline and other playing equipments in the precinct of the playground.

old quarter Hanoi

The site is also the ideal place for joggers want to enjoy the fresh air in early mornings and late afternoon around the calm lake. The entrance free is as low as 2,000 vnd, plus you can bring along cheap eats bought from the outside right at the gate.

Address: The park faces the Museum of Ethnology on Nguyễn Văn Huyên Street, Hanoi.

Reunification Park

Kids have loads of things to do here like train riding around the park, trying carnival ride, swan boats and running on trails. The park covers a huge area with its lake taking one hour to finish a round of walking.

vietnam things to do

Address: located at the intersection of three roads: Trần Nhân Tông, Lê Duẩn, Hai Bà Trưng.

Hai Van Pass among the world’s top 10 greatest scenic drives

The very famous UK magazine of The Guardian has listed Vietnam’s Hai Van Pass  in Vietnam (Sea Cloud Pass) in their top 10 greatest scenic drives all around the world.

Having the ninth place in the list, Hai Van Pass is a 13-mile road running alongside Truong Son (or Annameses) mountain range on the edge of South China Sea. Standing 500 meters above sea level, “the Sea Cloud Pass” is not only the longest but also the highest and most beautiful mountain pass road in Vietnam. Since 2008, the pass has become well-known worldwide thanks to its appearance on a very popular BBC’s motoring show of Top Gear. Jeremy Clarkson – the former host of the show supposed that the pass road is somewhat like “a deserted ribbon of perfection”, which makes it among the best coast roads in the world.

mausoleum ho chi minh

According to the suggestions of The Guardian, travelers can hire cars or motorbikes to ride through the “see cloud pass” as a very interesting part of a one-day loop. Then, at the top of about 496 meters, you are rewarded with amazingly stunning views.

Here is the complete list of “Top 10 Great Scenic Drives around the World” complied by The Guardian:

Carretera de Sa Calobra – Mallorca
Irohazaka Roads – Japan
The Old Strynefjell Mountain Road – Norway
Grimsel Pass – Switzerland
Serra do Rio do Rastro Road – Brazil
Rim Rock Drive, Colorado – US
The Loneliest Road, Nevada – US
Skeleton coast – Namibia
Hai Van Pass – Vietnam
Road to the Isles – Scotland

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Salt flat in Vietnam

It’s not too much to say best time to travel to Vietnam has an endless beauty. If you used to admire the scenes of yellow rice fields or deep blue seas, you would be inspired with the specialty of coastal regions in Vietnam. The landscape of Vietnamese salt flats is such a wonder.

From December this year to May next year, most fishing villages in Vietnam are busy of making salt for extra income. Along the coastline from the North to the South, you can see numerous salt flats in many places of Vietnam.

It is Phuong Cuu salt field with incredible beauty in Ninh Thuan.
It is Sa Huynh salt flat in Quang Ngai – the place of many ancient culture traces.

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Each salt flat is an insert of beautiful Vietnamese picture. Maybe only people who used to come to these flats can feel their rustic, artless but attractive beauty completely.
From these pictures, you might feel the tough life of salt farmers in Vietnam. A day of them starts from very early morning.
Many parties of farmer with conical hats and rakes head to the seashore.  When the sun comes down, they go back to the gathering place with heavy burdens of salt on their shoulders.

If you have never witnessed the progress of making sea salt, you could not understand how strenuous it is.
They have to work tirelessly under blazing sun through hottest months of the year.
Looking at them, I can truly feel their intense vitality and rising spirit.
Thanks to Vietnamese salt farmers, the sea salt is created and becomes an indispensable thing of human life. If you have a chance to come to Vietnam, take time to enjoy the beauty of these salt flats.

visitor travel sapa

Ham Rong Mountain

The mountain flanks one side of Sapa town. Spend half of a day and you can fully appreciate Ham Rong mountain exhaustively. Once reaching the top of the mountain, you will catch the view of breath-taking scenery offered by Sapa town looking down from the air.

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Stone Church of Sapa

It is also known as the Holy Rosary church, which is located at the heart of the town. The French colonists built the church in the early 20th century. Nowadays, the church still remains its delicate beauty through time. You can enjoy music performances are weekly held at the stadium near the stone house on Saturday.

Cat Cat Mountain village

Passing Sapa old market and sticking to the route heading Fansipan, you will reach Cat Cat after walking about 2.5km. The village has somehow become tourist-oriented but still it’s worth a visit. One specialty of the village is buckwheat flower field. Visitors can binge on photographing that beautiful, vast flower fields. Another attraction is the iron bridge laying above Muong Hoa stream, from which you can contemplate a fall pouring down water impetuously.  Adjacent to the fall, there are some humble shacks where you can stop by and grab a bite to eat: grilled corn, eggs, barbequed meat and drink docynia wine.

Ta Phin mountain village

Coming to Ta Phin, you can have relaxing bath with herbs. The village is the residential area of Dao Do ethnic group. The road up to the village is suitable for anyone who likes a little adventure on their motorbike.

mausoleum ho chi minh

Ancient monastery

The site was erected in Octorber, 1942 and resided by Christian nuns until 1945. From that year, the monastery was abandoned and soon reclaimed by nature. The French-style structure blending in the green of various trees and bushes attracts a fair share of visitors to Sapa.

Lao Chao – Ta Van mountain village

The village is located 7km far from Sapa. You can find limitless terraced paddy fields spreading over Muong Hoa vally, which possesses the largest granary of the two village. The local delicatessens are five-colored sticky rice served with barbeque meat. They taste heavenly.

Wooden bridge on the way to ancient stonefield

Visitor hiring ethnic costumes and posing for photos
Silver fall
things to do in ho chi minh 

The fall is situated 12km far from Sapa. Other mind-blowing sceneries can be contemplated along the way to the site.

Love Fall

O Quy Ho bypass – Cong Troi (Heaven Gate)

Have you been to Sapa? What is the most fantastic experience you’ve been through in the poetic town? Share it with us in the comments.

when visit sapa all things you know

Sapa is a popular destination in Vietnam. If you are sketching a plan to visit the artful land, maybe this article is of much help.

Schedule3 days 4 nights or 2 days 3 nights. That’s quite enough for you to get to visit major attractions in Sapa.

When to visit
It’s not exaggerating to say that Sapa is beautiful all year round. It portrays itself in different charm throughout annual seasons. However, you may want to visit Sapa in April and September, when rice paddy fields are stepping in their gathering season.

You will marvel at the artless and picturesque beauty of terraced paddy fields and photographers will be overwhelmed with the amount of potential art they can create. In winters, Sapa is likely to be freezing cold and covered in snow, which is a rare thing to find anywhere in Vietnam’s winters. This couple-suiting kind of weather lasts from December to February.

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Preparation
Clothes: lightweight and warm travel clothing is prior. Sapa’s summer is quite cool and you should squeeze in your bag a jacket. If you are going to Sapa to see its winter, you need a panoply of warm-keeping wearing items ranging from extreme winter gloves to extra-thick parkas. They allow you to be carefree exploring romantic sapa in winter. Avoid carrying too much stuff since it might take 2-3 days for you to enjoy Sapa thoroughly. There are plenty of clothes and trekking equipment shops in Sapa catering to your various needs.
Shoes: bring sporty footwear. You are going to spend most of the time on your feet walking around.
Personal paper: your ID, driving license is crucial to hire accommodations and to ride you bike legally.
Means of transportFrom Sai Gon: After flying to Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, Jetstar, you hire a room there, waiting till the evening to board a sleeper bus/ train heading Sapa.
From Hanoi:
Trains to Sapa depart at Tran Quy Cap Station.

A one-way ticket for hard/soft seat in sitting compartment costs 200-300k vnd.
A one-way ticket in air-conditioned compartment costs 400-600k vnd.
A one-way ticket in sleeping hardwood compartment costs 600-800k vnd.
Once you reach Lao Cai Station, you can contact your pre-booked hotel staff to be picked up or catch a bus for around 50k vnd.

Sleeper buses to Sapa costs 220-250k vnd/one-way ticket/ person

You should travel train in rain season since roads can be very muddy and dangerous.

List of sleeper buses
It takes around 4 hours to drive from Hanoi to Lao Cai on new high way and one hour from Lao Cai to Sapa. Ticket bus prices vary from 300k to 350k vnd. If you are able to get a slot on a package tour bus, you can have discount price and better service.

Accomodations

You will spend most time of a day away from your room so the pressure on finding a comfortable room isn’t too much. We are categorizing accommodation in terms of price.

Mid-range and Budget
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Luxury
Destinations in Sapa

There are numerous spots in Sapa for your desire to visit to revel in. Yet you should not miss these destinations: Ta Van, Lao Chai, Ta Phin, Cat Cat mountain villages; Ham Rong mountain; Bac waterfall. Since they scatter throughout Sapa, it would be economical for you to hire your own motorbike to move around or a car if you are traveling with your family. Motorbike rent is 80k-120k vnd. Ask your hotel for more car rental information.

On the way to Ta Van and Ta Phin, there is marvelous scenery of terraced paddy fields. Ta Van, Ban Ho and Sapa ancient stonefield can be reached within the same route. Trekking-lovers love to visit Ta Van and Cat Cat in the fall and winter-spring period when the weather shifting to being mildly cold.

Little notes

You may want to ask for permission before take pictures of the locals and visit locals’ house.
Do not buy antiques if the sellers are not aware of their properties.
If you would like to give away gifts, please give them to adults, not children.
sapa
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