Things to do in Vietnam: 28 experiences worth the trip

One night aboard, two days from HanoiBook ahead

Sleep aboard among Ha Long Bay's karsts, row through a rock tunnel into an enclosed lagoon and paddle out just before sunset.

Book ahead

Ride pillion over the Ma Pi Leng Pass, where the road hangs above the Nho Que River on the far-north karst plateau.

6 days, 5 nightsTimed entry

Trek into what is said to be the world's largest cave, big enough to hold its own jungle under two collapsed dolines.

No booking needed

Walk Hoi An's old trading port after dark, when silk lanterns light the riverfront, and float a candle on the Thu Bon.

No booking needed

Enter by the Meridian Gate, whose central door was reserved for the emperor, and look out over the walled city of the Nguyen.

Half an hourNo booking needed

Queue at a family counter for the northern original: clear beef broth, flat rice noodles and spring onion, with lime and chilli on the table.

Half a day from the cityNo booking needed

Crawl through a stretch of the tunnels Viet Cong fighters dug northwest of Saigon, past hidden trapdoors and booby-trap pits.

A day, or two with a homestay nightNo booking needed

Walk down through rice terraces still farmed by Hmong and Dao families, from Sa Pa to the villages of the Muong Hoa valley.

30 to 45 minutesNo booking needed

Spoon the custard-like whipped egg off a strong drip coffee at the Old Quarter café founded in 1946 by the man who created it.

A day for Ben Tre, two days with Can ThoBook ahead

Glide in a small rowing boat through narrow coconut-palm canals, or eat breakfast noodles on the water at a dawn floating market.

2 hoursNo booking needed

See the war Vietnam calls the American War told from the Vietnamese side, through photographs, captured aircraft and tiger cages.

Half a day by cable car, 2 or 3 days on footNo booking needed

Ride a train, a 6 km cable car and a funicular to the highest peak in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, straight above Sa Pa.

A full day from Da NangBook ahead

Walk a 150 m golden walkway held up by two giant sculpted hands, high on a former French hill station west of Da Nang.

Half a day from Hoi AnNo booking needed

Walk among brick Hindu temple towers in a jungle valley in the soft early light, before the heat settles in.

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

Sit down at the food counters under the clock tower for broken rice, banh xeo or noodle soup, then bargain at the stalls.

A full day, or two with a night aboardBook ahead

Paddle through rock arches into enclosed lagoons and land on small beaches, in the quieter southern stretch of Ha Long's karst seascape.

20 minutes, queue includedNo booking needed

A light, crackly baguette packed with pate, grilled pork, herbs and pickles, from the shop whose banh mi Bourdain called a symphony in a sandwich.

About an hourBook ahead

Watch puppets act out village life in a pool while puppeteers stand waist-deep behind a bamboo screen.

2 hoursNo booking needed

Climb into a high cave in the Marble Mountains where shafts of daylight fall through holes in the roof onto altars and statues.

An eveningFree

Plastic stools, speakers and dancers spill onto a car-free street on weekend nights: loud, cheap and very foreign-heavy.

1 to 2 hoursFree

Watch the sand turn deep orange in the hour before sunset on dunes right beside the coast road, no tour needed.

Half a day with the drive from Mui NeBook ahead

Ride a jeep up white dunes around a lotus-fringed lake at sunrise, while the sand is cool and the light low.

A full dayNo booking needed

Cycle flat lanes through paddies between limestone towers, then climb about 500 steps for the view over the river bends.

An hour on site, a full day from the cityFree

Watch from the balcony as robed worshippers in white, yellow, blue and red fill the nave of Caodaism's mother temple at noon.

A long lunch or an early eveningNo booking needed

Pick clams, prawns or fish from the tanks, have them grilled with salt and chilli, and eat at a village beach near Hoi An.

2.5 to 3 hours on the waterGo alone or with a tour

Glide through low river caves in a sampan rowed with the feet, with more caves and fewer hawkers than Tam Coc.

A full day for both cavesNo booking needed

Ride a boat up the Son River straight into a cave mouth, then walk a long lit boardwalk inside Paradise Cave.

Half a day as part of Hue to Hoi AnBook ahead

Ride over a mountain spur between Hue and Da Nang to an old hilltop fortress, with lagoon views north and bay views south.