Cat Ba Island
Lying to the south of Halong Bay off the north-eastern coast of Vietnam, the 300-or-so karst islands and limestone outcrops of Lan Ha are just as…
Must-see attractions in Northern Vietnam
Cat Ba Island
For one of the best views in Vietnam, head to Cannon Fort, where there are astounding panoramas of Cat Ba Island's jungle-clad hills, the harbour and the…
Bac Ha
This Sunday market is Bac Ha’s big draw. There's an increasing range of handicrafts for sale, but it’s still pretty much a local affair. Bac Ha Market is…
Bai Tu Long Bay
Most Vietnamese visitors make a beeline for Hong Van Beach – and justifiably so. It's nearly 3km of fine, white sand lapped by blue water and backed by a…
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Haiphong
Haiphong’s elegant Roman Catholic cathedral was built in the 19th century and comprehensively restored in 2010. The building’s grey towers are a local…
Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba's beautiful national park is home to 32 species of mammal, including most of the world's 65 remaining golden-headed langurs, the world's most…
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Northeast Vietnam
After 30 years of exile, Ho Chi Minh re-entered Vietnam in January 1941 and took shelter in this small cave in one of the most remote regions of Vietnam,…
Bac Ha
This small market, 20km north of Bac Ha, attracts a growing number of visitors. Some tours from Sapa now visit Can Cau on Saturday before moving on to Bac…
Bai Tu Long Bay
The spectacular islands of Bai Tu Long Bay, immediately northeast of Halong Bay, form Bai Tu Long National Park and are every bit as beautiful as their…
Cat Ba Island
Hospital Cave served both as a secret bomb-proof hospital during the American War and as a safe house for Viet Cong (VC) leaders. Built between 1963 and…
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Northeast Vietnam
Often referred to as the Ba Be Lakes, Ba Be National Park was established in 1992 as Vietnam’s eighth national park. The scenery swoops from towering…
Bac Ha
The outlandish Vua Meo, built in 1921 by the French to keep the Tay chief Hoang A Tuong happily ensconced in style, is a bizarre palace constructed in a…
Haiphong
With a facade embellished with white columns, Haiphong’s neoclassical Opera House dates from 1904. It's usually not possible to view the interior, but…
Sapa
Turfed out of central Sapa and now in a purpose-built modern building near the bus station, Sapa Market is still interesting, and hill-tribe people from…
Halong Bay
Hang Trong has wide-arched entrances on either side and a ceiling clustered with stalactites. It's so named because when the wind blows through its…
Bac Ha
The Coc Ly Market attracts Dzao, Flower Hmong, Tay and Nung people from the surrounding hills. It’s about 35km southwest of Bac Ha. Operators in Bac Ha…
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Sapa
Towering above Sapa are the Hoang Lien Mountains, once known to the French as the Tonkinese Alps and now a national park. These mountains include the…
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Cat Ba Island
A 10-minute walk southeast from Cat Ba Town, the three Cat Co Cove beaches boast the nearest sand to town, though all are being developed with hotel…
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Ba Be National Park
Rimmed by limestone peaks, Ba Be (meaning Three Bays) is in fact three linked lakes, with a total length of 8km and a width of about 400m. Most boat…
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Sapa
The road between Sapa and Lai Chau crosses the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Mt Fansipan, 15km from Sapa. At 1900m it's Vietnam’s highest mountain…
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Halong City
Vietnamese and cruise-ship tourists flock to this cable car that spans the Cua Luc inlet, offering dramatic views over Halong Bay. The views are…
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Northwest Vietnam
One potential stopover between Hanoi and Mai Chau is this centre founded by Hanoi artist Vu Duc Hieu to showcase the culture of the local Muong ethnic…
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Mai Chau
This interesting weekly market, 30km northwest of Mai Chau, makes for a fine excursion. The back section has a small but high-quality section of batiks…
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Northeast Vietnam
Paths follow the the Ngoc Tuyen River through this beautiful cave for about 1km. The entrance has a series of poems carved in Chinese characters by the…
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Sapa
An excellent showcase of the history and ethnology of the Sapa area, including the French colonial era. Dusty exhibitions overview the various ethnic…
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Bai Tu Long Bay
The beautiful 1km-long crescent-moon sweep of Minh Chau Beach, 12km from Quan Lan town on the northeastern coast, is the island's main drawcard. Between…
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Northwest Vietnam
Son La’s old prison was a French penal colony where anti-colonial revolutionaries were incarcerated from 1908. It was destroyed by the ‘off-loading’ of…
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Haiphong
In a splendid colonial building, this small museum concentrates on the city's history, with English translations on displays. The front hall's taxidermy…
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Halong Bay
This huge cave consists of three chambers reached via 90 steps. Inside, ceilings soar up to 25m high, while some rather disco-festive lighting illuminates…
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Haiphong
Du Hang Pagoda was founded three centuries ago. It’s been rebuilt several times, but remains a fine example of traditional Vietnamese architecture and…
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Northeast Vietnam
Tam Thanh Cave is vast and seductive, with a water pool inside and natural ‘window’ offering a sweeping view of the surrounding rice fields.
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Northwest Vietnam
Located 9km east of Muong Te is this traditional-feeling White Thai village. Nearly all of its residents live in elevated wooden houses in a bucolic…
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Ha Giang Province
This grandiose two-storey mansion was built for a local Hmong king by the French in the 1920s in Chinese-Hmong style. Set in a hidden valley in the tiny…
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Ha Giang Province
Leaving Ha Giang, the road climbs over the Quan Ba Pass (Heaven’s Gate) around 40km from the city. The saddle has an information centre and an awesome…
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Bai Tu Long Bay
The only attraction within Quan Lan Town itself is this beautiful 200-year-old pagoda, flanked by the town's communal house and a temple, all of which are…
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Bai Tu Long Bay
Directly north of Hong Van Beach is its slightly scruffier sister, Bac Van Beach. It's quieter, but coarse sand and water not quite deep enough for…
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Bac Ha
Lung Phin market is between Can Cau market and Bac Ha, about 12km from town. It’s less busy than other markets, with a really local feel, and is a good…
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Halong Bay
The popular Hang Sung Sot has three vast chambers – in the second there’s a pink-lit rock phallus unsurprisingly regarded as a fertility symbol. Even less…
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Bai Tu Long Bay
For coastal scenery beyond the beaches, head south from town for 3km, bearing left at the pond, to the flagpole and headland of Mong Rong, where walking…
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Cat Ba Island
Within Cat Ba National Park but accessed from a separate roadside entrance 2km north of Hospital Cave, the multi-chambered Trung Trang Cave is fun to…
