Most visitors to Vietnam fly into Hanoi in the north and out of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south, or vice versa, and taking in the central highlights (Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang) and organised trips to Halong Bay, Sapa or the Mekong Delta on the way...
It's perfectly rewarding, but there are setbacks (namely that most everyone does it the same way). Here are a few alternatives.
See the Mekong Delta on your own
It used to be that you couldn't visit the Mekong without joining a group tour from Ho Chi Minh City. Though it remains a secret to most, things have changed considerably. You can now hop on air-conditioned buses to towns like Vinh Long or Chau Doc and arrange overnight homestays and private boat trips. It's easy and cheap — as little as $5 or so for a half-day trip to Chau Doc's floating markets — and, if done right, you scarcely see other tourists.
Hire a taxi between Hoi An and Hue
The popular bus ride between these two central highlights now goes via a new tunnel, trimming an hour off the old route — and that's a shame. Skip the bus and hire a taxi for the full day (about $75 either way) and ask them to follow the old road, one of Vietnam's most beautiful rides. It climbs over Hai Van Pass, north of Danang, then past Lang Co beach. Farther north, you can veer off the highway to the often-overlooked Bach Ma National Park for jungle hikes to towering waterfalls and old French colonial homes.
Get your "Halong experience" at Tam Coc
If the touristy hubbub of Halong Bay seems too off-putting, consider the more accessible "Halong Bay of the rice fields" — about two hours south of Hanoi (near Ninh Binh) at Tam Coc, where rowboat rides go
under mountains in a waterway lined by towering limestone cliffs and flooded rice fields. It's a bit touristy too — daytrips from Hanoi arrive by 10am — unless you come on your own: you'll have it to yourself when it opens at 7am. Afterward you can bike or motorbike to nearby hilltop pagodas or Cuc Phuong National Park.
Bac Ha, the "next Sapa"?
Travellers disappointed with pizza joints and opium offers in the streets of Sapa can find more sedate, less-developed scenes in and around Bac Ha, impressively set in the lower mountains a couple hours east. Some visitors come on Sunday for a quick look at the sprawling hill-tribe market that brings Hmong, Tay and Dao villagers in to swap pigs and handicrafts. There's more. Stay overnight to visit nearby villages that hold markets on Saturday and Tuesday too, also hikes and homestays can be arranged in town.
Phu Quoc
Reached by cheap flight from Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc is no longer Vietnam's secret beach destination, but it's still not filled with tourists like Nha Trang. In winter, there's great visibility for snorkelling, while motorbike rides around the island reach even more remote white-sand beaches only enjoyed by a local or two.
Next: Adventurous types
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