52 Best Sights in Vietnam

As dusk falls, the area directly opposite the walking bridge connecting the Old Town to An Hoi Peninsula is lit by hundreds of silk lanterns, spilling out from little wooden chalets that wouldn't look out of place at a European Christmas market. In the daytime you can come here to watch the lanterns being crafted from wafts of silk and bamboo, but it's not until night, when the lantern sellers are joined by a whole host of mobile craft, jewelry, and souvenir stalls, that this area really comes alive. The night market has the biggest selection of lanterns in town and you can even design your own. While the stalls in between are not particularly notable, you can pick up cute little trinkets as souvenir for very reasonable prices.

A convenient stopover on the trip from Hue to Danang, Lang Co is an idyllic hamlet on a peninsula jutting out into the East Sea. Lang Co Beach is a good place to have lunch and spend the day. For an additional couple of nights of beach indulgence, head toward Banyan Tree Lang Co or its budget-friendly little sister, Angsana Lang Co, which is about 20 km (12.4 miles) away from Lang Co Township. Take the turn off Highway 1 at the sign for the Lang Co Beach Resort; this will lead you to the long, sandy beach. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunsets; walks; swimming.

Tourists come to these five historic mountains to see ancient pagodas, Buddhist sanctuaries, sacred caves, spectacular views of the eastern beaches, and villages where artisans carve marble sculptures. Each of the primarily limestone formations are named after the five elements—kim (metal), moc (wood), hoa (fire), thuy (water), and tho (earth). At Thuy Son Mountain, you can explore several 17th-century pagodas and caves by climbing 156 steps from the base—or take a glass elevator that eliminates a third of the steps in the initial climb, transporting you straight to the foot of Linh Ung Pagoda. Bring plenty of water and take your time, as the steps can be slippery after it rains. It is common to be hassled by locals in Non Nuoc Village who live solely on the production of their stone statues, jewelry, and artwork. Entrance to the Marble Mountains costs 40,000d plus the optional one-way elevator ride.

Just 14 km (9 miles) from either Danang or Hoi An lies Non Nuoc beach, a stunning stretch of white sandy beach overlooking the Son Tra Peninsula to the north and the stately Marble Mountains to the west. Once a popular fishing beach, the area has now become the private playground of some of the finest beach resorts in the area, leaving the surrounding pockets of beach land fenced off for future development. The stretch is home to international standard golf clubs and luxury villas and you can see why it's such a sought-after area—the deserted white sand beaches seem to go on forever and the sea is clean and perfect for swimming during the long dry season that runs from April to September. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: solitude; sunrise; sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

Up until the discovery of Son Doong, the beautiful Phong Nha Cave was the national park's most famous treasure. It’s the park's easiest cave to navigate and there really is no need to visit it with a guide. Buy tickets from the tourism center in the village and hop on a boat from the small pier nearby. The boat takes you on a picturesque journey along the Son River right into the giant river cave where you disembark to explore 1,500 meters inside. Here you'll view the most splendid formations, stalagmites, and stalactites, enchantingly lit in a rainbow of colors. The boat to the cave costs about 360,000d, but this can be split among passengers (maximum of 10 passengers). Don't forget to tip your rower.

This family-run organic bee farm west of the national park has staff as sweet as their harvest. Guided 30-minute tours of the peaceful garden and orchards are free (advanced booking recommended), while souvenirs, honey products, and a menu using farm-fresh ingredients are available at the little open-air café.

Phu Quoc is renowned for its pepper, and a guided tour of this family pepper farm, operating since 1998, includes samples of its tasty products, such as chili salt and pepper tea, made with red peppercorn, cinnamon, and honey. Morning and afternoon cooking classes can also be booked, where you learn to prepare and eat four different dishes. Their café has a short menu of simple Vietnamese dishes and island specialty ruou sim (rose myrtle wine).

Founded in 1653 by the Chinese community, this impressive temple is dedicated to Quan Van Truong, a revered general of the Chinese Han dynasty. The temple is divided into four parts: the front hall, the left and right sections, and the main sanctuary. The entrance leads through a large garden to the temple, where the main altar is, along with a gilt-and-papier-mâché statue of the general standing between two life-size, jolly-looking horses. Quan Cong lends itself to contemplation and meditation, and you get a real sense of that in the rear courtyard, gazing up at the unicorns and dragons perching on the colorful ceramic tiled roof or watching the small school of fish that happily dart around in the pond out front. The carp, symbolic of patience in Chinese mythology, is displayed throughout. Every year, on June 24 of the lunar calendar, Hoi An organizes a ceremony for Quan Cong, and pilgrims, especially merchants, come to the temple to make offerings.

One of Hoi An's ancient family homes, Quang Thang was built about 300 years ago by the current owners' Chinese ancestors. This house has some beautiful wood carvings featuring peacocks and flowers on the walls of the rooms that surround the mossy courtyard. These were sculpted by the craftsmen from the Kim Bong carpentry village, who are renowned for their intricate craftsmanship of the Hue garden houses. It's a beautiful and very well-preserved example of a trader's house, popular with large tour groups.

If Quang Thang House is busy, wait it out with a coffee at Lantern Town restaurant across the road.

Learn the secrets of Vietnamese cuisine at this cooking school located beside Thu Bon River. Half- and full-day cooking classes are available and include a market tour, boat transportation, and either lunch or dinner. Courses cost 550,000d–1,300,000d and commence at Hai Café in Old Town, where they also run evening cooking classes daily (111 Tran Phu Street).

Take your bathing suit and grab a hammock by the pool; complimentary access is offered to all diners and students.

For the best panoramic views of the city and the coastline beyond, forget the expensive skybars and instead take a ride on the Sun Wheel in city-central Asia Park. Scaling 115 meters (377 feet, it's the 10th biggest in the world) and designed by the studio of famous U.S. architect Bill Bensley, the Sun Wheel is a great way to view the geography of Vietnam's fastest-growing city. Beside the all-time favorite Ferris wheel, there are other entertainment spots worth trying.

  If you are in Danang on either a Friday or Saturday night, time your ride to coincide with the fire-breathing display at the Dragon Bridge at 9 pm.

This giant theme park has taken over much of Halong City bay and runs a cable car over the ocean next to the Bai Chay bridge. There are two main areas to the park: a beach water park and the Mystic Mountain complex, which includes the large Ferris wheel you can see from the boats. Tickets for the cable car and sun wheel are 360,000d.

Completed in 2019, this sprawling development of resorts, restaurants, entertainment, and mostly empty shopping venues occupies Phu Quoc's entire southern tip. Sunset Town (Thi Tran Hoang Hon) is a mock-Mediterranean city, with recreations of Italy’s iconic constructions such as the Colosseum and Venice’s St. Mark’s bell tower. From there, the world’s longest three-wire cable car soars 7.9 km (4.9 miles) and nearly 50 stories over the An Thoi archipelago to Hon Thom Island, home to Aquatopia Water Park with its water slides and wave pools and a beach. Opened in 2023, the Kissing Bridge features two 400-meter bridges that stretch over the ocean and nearly meet, so couples on either side can reach across for a photo op.

Believed to be the world's only Buddhist-theme amusement park, Suoi Tien (the name means Fairy Stream) is certainly one of the quirkiest. On the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City, about 20 km (12 miles) from District 1 and behind a giant pair of tusks, it's a vast, sometimes downright odd, complex that contains an amazing diversity of attractions, from waterslides, crocodiles, and dolphins—thankfully, not all in the same place—to graphic depictions of hell, though there are not many signs in English to explain the more bizarre exhibits. There's also an ice palace, 4D movie theater, fun fair rides for smaller kids, a go-kart circuit, and quad biking. Allocate a whole day to exploring the complex, and arrive early to get the land-based activities done before things heat up too much, then cool down in the water park, with its range of slides and pools to suit all ages. Food and drink kiosks can be found throughout the park.

The small zoo is depressing and best avoided.

Doing the water park and then exploring the theme park is going to be a huge day out, so it's probably better to choose one or the other for a day trip.

For now, Thuan An Beach, which lies out on a peninsula 14 km (8 miles) from central Hue, has only one beach resort, leaving an unspoiled, long, sandy stretch of coconut- and casuarina-tree-lined beach all but empty. In the summer months the tranquil turquoise sea and gentle breeze make for the most idyllic break from the city, while in winter it makes for wildly romantic walks, with scatterings of family temples, fishing villages, and Vietnam's largest lagoon to explore. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking; swimming; sunset.

This elegantly designed house was built in 1802 by Tran Tu Nhuc, a 19th-century Mandarin and Chinese ambassador, as a place of worship for the Tran family's deceased ancestors. It's packed with interesting antiquities. In the morning, light floods down through a glass tile in the roof, illuminating the family altar that stands behind three sliding doors—the left for men and the right for women. The central door (designed for deceased ancestors to return home) is opened only at Tet and other festivals; it's an architectural touch common for older residential houses throughout the country.

The altar houses a box with pictures and names of dead relatives, a 250-year-old book that records the Tran family history, and a bowl of Chinese coins representing yin and yang—toss one for good luck. Tours are given in English by members of the Tran family.

A superb example of how Dalat won its reputation as a kitschy destination, this pseudo theme park is popular with honeymooning Vietnamese couples for photographs with "cute" man-made backdrops. Set in a valley that leads down to a lake, the park can keep younger kids entertained for a while, with fairground rides, a miniature train, swan-shape pedal boats, and carriages drawn by very skinny horses. Older kids might enjoy paintball and Jeep rides. The main attraction for adults is to observe tourists delighting in their photo-taking.

Van Long offers shorter boat rides than both Tam Coc and Trang An (they only take an hour or so), but they're far more secluded and serene. This wetland reserve has 32 grottoes and 39 animal species, including rare monkeys and birds. In the dry season, Van Long is the wintering place of migratory birds from the north, making this a great spot to bring those binoculars. 

Local villagers built the 2-km-long (1½-mile-long) Vinh Moc Tunnels during the early 1960s to escape American bombing. The tunnels were later used by the North Vietnamese army to transport goods to Con Co Island. Less claustrophobic than the ones at Cu Chi near Ho Chi Minh City, these tunnels are a testament to the determination and ingenuity of the Vietnamese people under extreme circumstances. Guides are available at the small museum on-site; we suggest grabbing one to get the most out of your visit.

If you have time, head down to the beautiful beach that runs along the eastern perimeter of the tunnels.

The nearly 50-hectare amusement park formerly known as Vinpearl Land has rides, a waterpark, an aquarium, and shows. The park is part of Vinpearl's sprawling mega-development that took over Bai Beach, on Phu Quoc's northwestern coast, which includes a golf course, casino, several resorts, restaurants, an excess of empty shops, and a zoo featuring exotic animals. Free shuttle buses run regularly between it and Duong Dong Town.

This amusement park on Hon Tre Island can be seen from almost anywhere along the Nha Trang coastline; the huge Hollywood-style sign and cable car running across the ocean are impossible to miss. The complex includes a water park, rides, shopping, dining, and an aquarium. Be aware that the park also has animal shows and a zoo. A large commercial center with dining and shopping remains open until 2 am and is still accessible by boat after the cable car stops running at 10:30 pm.

Depart the island well in advance of closing time if you want to avoid very long waiting times for the cable car.

Circumscribed by a walking path, Xuan Huong Lake is Dalat's central feature, naturally a hub for leisurely activity, including walking, biking, and swan-shape paddleboats. The dam-generated lake takes its name from a 18th-century poet, considered one of Vietnam's greatest, known for her daring, witty work.