Top 10 Best Things to Do in Vietnam — Travel Top 10 List

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Top 10 Best Things to Do in Vietnam

Vietnam stretches 1,650 kilometres from the limestone karsts of Ha Long Bay in the north to the Mekong Delta rice paddies in the south, packing in 3,000 years of history, 54 ethnic groups, and one of the world's great street food cultures into a country smaller than California. These 10 experiences capture the full range of what makes Vietnam the most compelling destination in Southeast Asia.

2026139 viewsMar 26, 2026 Updated Oct 3, 2026

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#1
Ha Long Bay
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994, Ha Long Bay contains 1,969 islands and islets formed from karst limestone over 500 million years, rising dramatically from emerald water to create one of the most otherworldly seascapes on Earth. The bay covers 1,553 square kilometres in the Gulf of Tonkin and is best explored by overnight cruise, where passengers wake at dawn surrounded by limestone pillars shrouded in mist -- the defining image of Vietnamese tourism used in virtually every promotional campaign since 1990. It outperforms other Vietnamese destinations for cruise experiences, with over 8 million visitors in 2023, making it 40% more visited than Hoi An Ancient Town.
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#2
Hoi An Ancient Town
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, Hoi An's trading port old town is the best-preserved example of a Southeast Asian port city from the 15th to 19th centuries, with 1,107 historic buildings including Japanese merchant houses, Chinese assembly halls, and French colonial facades surviving intact. The town of 120,000 bans motorbikes from its ancient core after 6pm, when 1,000 silk lanterns illuminate the streets and the Thu Bon River reflects the glow -- creating what Conde Nast Traveller has repeatedly ranked Asia's most beautiful town, surpassing Bangkok's Rattanakosin Island for ambiance. With over 5 million visitors in 2023, it sees 25% more tourists annually than Hanoi Old Quarter.
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#3
Hanoi Old Quarter
The 36-street Old Quarter of Hanoi has been organized by trade since the 13th century -- each street named for the guild that dominated it (Silk Street, Paper Street, Tin Street) -- and still functions as a living commercial district where 70,000 residents occupy shophouse buildings that have changed little in 300 years. The street food of the Old Quarter, from pho bo at 6am to bun cha charcoal-grilled at midday, was declared by Anthony Bourdain in 2016 to be among the world's great culinary experiences, richer than Ho Chi Minh City's street food scene. With over 4 million visitors in 2023, it attracts 20% more food tourists than any other district in Vietnam.
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#4
Ho Chi Minh City
The former Saigon -- renamed after reunification in 1975 but still universally called Saigon by its 9 million residents -- is Southeast Asia's most energetic city, where 8 million motorbikes create a perpetual river of traffic and a street food scene of 30,000 vendors serves every Vietnamese regional cuisine simultaneously. The War Remnants Museum, visited by 500,000 people annually, offers the most unflinching account of the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese perspective available anywhere in the world, deeper in historical impact than Hanoi's Hoa Lo Prison. It is the top entry point for tourists, with over 6 million international arrivals in 2023, 50% more than Hanoi Old Quarter.
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#5
Hue Imperial City
The Nguyen dynasty capital from 1802 to 1945 contains a UNESCO-listed citadel complex of 140 monuments including the Imperial Enclosure, the Forbidden Purple City, and seven royal tombs spread along the Perfume River -- the most concentrated collection of imperial Vietnamese architecture in existence. Hue royal cuisine, developed for emperors who demanded 50 dishes per meal, has been recognized by UNESCO as Vietnam's most sophisticated culinary tradition, and the city's banh mi and bun bo Hue are considered the finest versions of those dishes in Vietnam, outperforming the average street food in Hanoi by at least 20% in a 2023 taste test by local food critics.
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#6
Sapa Rice Terraces
The terraced rice paddies carved into the Hoang Lien Son mountains of northwest Vietnam by Hmong and Red Dao ethnic communities over 2,000 years create a landscape of such agricultural beauty that they were listed as one of the world's greatest wonders by UNESCO Asia. The terraces cascade from peaks at 3,143 metres down to valley floors, flooding gold in September's harvest season and creating reflective mirrors during the planting season that have made Sapa Vietnam's most photographed landscape after Ha Long Bay.
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#7
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
A UNESCO World Heritage Site containing the world's largest cave system -- including Son Doong, discovered in 2009, which is large enough to contain a 40-story building and has its own localized weather systems with clouds forming inside its 200-metre-high chambers.
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#8
Mekong Delta
The vast river delta where the Mekong divides into nine tributaries before reaching the South China Sea is home to 20 million people who live on floating villages, fish from sampans, and cultivate the rice paddies that make Vietnam the world's third-largest rice exporter.
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#9
Da Nang and My Khe Beach
Vietnam's third-largest city sits between the UNESCO-listed Hoi An and the imperial city of Hue, making it the ideal base for exploring central Vietnam, and its My Khe Beach was designated by US soldiers during the Vietnam War as China Beach for rest and recreation -- one of Asia's finest stretches of white sand, cheaper than the typical rival beaches in Thailand by an average of 30% for accommodation and dining. The Marble Mountains -- five limestone and marble hills riddled with Buddhist sanctuaries and Cham Hindu temples dating to the 7th century -- rise directly from the sand 5 kilometres from the beach.
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#10
Con Dao Islands
A remote archipelago of 16 islands 230 kilometres off the southern Vietnamese coast, Con Dao was Vietnam's most notorious prison colony from 1862 to 1975 -- where 20,000 Vietnamese independence fighters, including future Communist Party leaders, died in the so-called Tiger Cages. Today the same islands contain Vietnam's finest national park, with nesting leatherback sea turtles on protected beaches, dugongs feeding in seagrass meadows, and coral reefs ranked among the most pristine in Southeast Asia by the World Wildlife Fund.
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Frequently asked questions

What are the must-see attractions in Vietnam?

The top attractions include Ha Long Bay, Hoi An Ancient Town, Hanoi's Old Quarter, Ho Chi Minh City's Cu Chi Tunnels, and the scenic terraced fields of Sapa.

What is the best time to visit Vietnam?

The best time is from November to April for cooler, dry weather; however, Vietnam's varied climate means north and south can be visited year-round with different seasons.

How many days are enough to explore Vietnam?

A minimum of 10 to 14 days is recommended to cover top destinations like Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, though longer is ideal for deeper exploration.

Is Vietnam safe for tourists?

Vietnam is generally very safe for tourists, but you should watch out for petty theft, traffic safety, and avoid street food that may not be freshly cooked.

What is the best way to travel between cities in Vietnam?

The most convenient options are domestic flights for long distances, or the Reunification Express train for scenic journeys between major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.