1. Make the journey to Bai Tu Long Bay

Bai Tu Long Bay is just to the northeast of worldwide-well-known Ha Long Bay – and its placing expanse is simply as stunning. however, it sees a fragment of the traffic.

increasingly more excursion organizations at the moment are imparting trips to Bai Tu long (“kids of the Dragon”). Or, if you want to go it on your own, you can take the ferry to far-flung Quan Lan Island – the gradual boat from Cai Rong has first-class views.

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Quan Lan has handiest a handful of lodges, and little or no English is spoken – however that’s a part of the joy. once you have taken within the bay, bask on the untouched seashores (the fine stretch along the east coast) and discover the honestly empty roads by means of bicycle. You’ll get the impression that little has changed here for decades.

2. Enjoy farm-to-table food in Bong Lai Valley

may additionally already be to your itinerary, but your taste buds will thank you for venturing to nearby Bong Lai Valley. Farming is necessary to the community right here, and an increasing number of locals are actually beginning their homes to visitors.

Farm-to-fork restaurants will give you a true taste of the local cuisine; Moi Moi’s speciality is beef gradual-cooked in bamboo tubes and delicious veggie peanut dumplings. at the Duck forestall you can feed the ducks and buy drinks and packets of clean pepper. The mythical Pub With bloodless Beer does precisely what it says on the tin, plus there are hammocks and a river to swim in. inside the proper spirit of farm-to-table, they may kill and cook a hen for a shared lunch.

3. Visit minority villages around Kon Tum

the luxurious critical highlands are a highlight for plenty adventurers in Vietnam. The sleepy provincial capital, Kon Tum, with its glorious riverside putting, is mainly lovely.

curiously overlooked by using tourists, the 650 minority villages surrounding Kon Tum are high-quality, welcoming places to go to too. and you’re not likely to peer some other foreigner to your travels. you can live overnight in a communal thatched rong inside the Bahner villages, within easy on foot distance from the centre of city.

4. Take a road trip to remote 

domestic to several ethnic minority organizations, including the Hmong, Dao and Giay, Vietnam’s a long way North

 is the final frontier for intrepid travelers – and nowhere is wilder than Ha Giang. Mountain roads wind thru lush inexperienced landscapes and open out to super vistas, specifically inside the rugged Dong Vang Karst Plateau Geopark.

traffic are required to have a allow to go to the province (without difficulty and cost-effectively acquired in Hanoi).

5. Cycle the Mekong Delta

’s An Binh Island

To experience a slice of island life on your Vietnam adventure, head all the way south to the languid Mekong Delta. The watery rural idyll of An Binh Island is criss-crossed by narrow dirt paths perfect for exploring by bicycle. All routes are fringed with palm trees, with a backdrop of lush orchards and traditional thatched houses, many of which are open as homestays. Staying here overnight and exploring at your own pace is far more rewarding than a day tour organised from Ho Chi Minh City

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6. Drink homebrew at Hanoi’s other Bia Hoi Corner

Bia hoi (a type of draught beer popular in Vietnam) can be found all over the country and, in Hanoi, most visitors head straight for the tourist-laden bia hoi on Luong Ngoc Quyen and Ta Hien in the Old Quarter. Come evening time, the bars, filled with plastic stools at squatting height, are full to the brim with an international crowd sipping bottled beer.

But, to get a flavour of a real bia hoi, try further west on the corner of Bat Dang and Duong Thanh. Here, room temperature 5000VND (20¢) draught beer is served in sticky glasses to a predominantly male clientele.

7. Experience Mai Chau

 hospitality

Surprisingly overlooked by foreign visitors considering its proximity to Hanoi (135km southwest of the city), rural Mai Chau is a world away from Vietnam’s chaotic capital. The valley is inhabited mainly by the White Thai minority, many of whom have opened their traditional stilt houses as rustic homestays. You only need to wander the villages that fan out from Bac Ha to find somewhere to get your head down.