Vietnam Travel Guide: Best Things To Do in Vietnam 2025 4K

Vietnam Travel Guide: Best Things To Do in Vietnam 2025 4K

What’s going on everybody? This is Island Hopper 
TV and today we’re going to show you around 15 of the best places to visit across Vietnam, 
plus some bonus information at the end. So, you’ll want to stick around for that. Located 
here in Southeast Asia, we’re going to go from the north and work our way south, hitting everywhere 
in between. If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam, be sure to share this with your friends and family 
and bookmark the video for later. First up, here we are at Hang Son Dong. This is a cave located 
on the border with Laos. This is the world’s largest natural cave. It’s so big it’s got its own 
ecosystem inside this cave. The cave actually was discovered in 1990 and then the man forgot where 
it was, but he showed British explorers in 2008. So, this is truly a fresh new world wonder. People 
even camp down here. Now, we’re headed to the far north. This is on the border with China. This is 
Ban Gioc. Because it sits on the national border, the falls actually belong partly to Vietnam and 
also China. As you can see, it’s an absolutely spectacular waterfall spanning 300 m in width when 
it’s at its full peak of water flow. The height is set to be 30 m, which is about 98 ft. The best 
time to visit here is probably going to be the rainy monsoon season. That’s June to September if 
you want the most water volume. But if you want the best weather and scenery with blue skies, 
visit during the dry season. That’s October to May. Staying in the north part of Vietnam. Here we 
are at Hanoi. This is the capital city of Vietnam. The name Hanoi literally translates to between 
rivers or city on the bend in the river. They also call it the city of lakes because there are many 
different lakes across Hanoi. Population here is around 8 million. This is the cultural capital of 
Vietnam. I’ve been to Hanoi several times and I’ve never seen blue skies or sunlight anytime I was 
here. It always rains. Maybe it’s just the time of year that I always come in the late autumn months, 
but I just know Hanoi to be a very wet place. This region had inhabitants many thousands of years 
ago. There’s archeological evidence that you can find across this region, but it was under the Ly
dynasty as the capital of Vietnam in the 1000s. And then during the French colonial times, it was 
the administrative capital for French Indo-China. All across Vietnam, you will notice French 
influence and French colonialism. Hanoi was one of those places that does have a French quarter, and 
you will see it in the architecture and food. Now, we’re headed to one of the most beautiful places 
in Vietnam. This is Ninh Binh, located about 2 hours south of Hanoi by road or train. It is located 
along the Red River Delta region. Ninbin is actually a province here in northern Vietnam and 
it’s known as the inland or the landbased Halong Bay, which we’ll be showing you in a moment. So, 
this is not coastal, but it has rock formations that remind people of those islands that you see 
in Halong Bay. The whole area is known as a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can ride boats around 
here, go through caves, and lots of different activities. They have rice patties, dramatic 
limestone peaks like I was talking about that people actually hike up. And then they have some 
ancient historical sites that you’ll want to check out. They have a large Buddhist temple up here 
called Bin Temple. That’s another beautiful place to go. But be prepared to do some hiking while 
out here and getting out there on those rivers. Best time to visit here is going to be between 
March and May or September to November. October is also great because of the harvest season. And 
staying here in the north, we’re actually headed out to Halong Bay. This is about 2 to 2 and 1/2 
hours east of Hanoi. So you can do Hanoi, Ninh Binh, and Halong Bay in a trip. That would probably 
take around 5 days. Give yourself some time. The name itself, Halong, directly translates 
to where the dragon descends to the sea. It is around 2,000 islands and islets located across 
the sea here. And many of the islands are made of limestone. And you can see going around 
here on a boat. Really a spectacular place. One of those places that you probably want to 
go when it’s not rainy season. With the rain season being May to October and peak activity is 
July and August. From about November to April, it tends to be drier and cooler around here. 
Local legend has it the dragons descended into the bay and their tails carved out the valleys 
and filled with water, leaving the limestones, leaving the limestone islands as jewels 
to protect the land. Here you’ll find many island caves that you can explore if you’re on a 
certain type of boat excursion, but most people do a Halong Bay cruise. You can also visit a 
floating village. And you can see where people live on these boats in the bay. These are like 
fishermen. And we’re still up here in the north. We’re at Sa Pa. This is a town. It’s actually a 
district level town. And you can see right here, it’s actually an eastern extension of the Himalaya 
mountains. So those mountains kind of run all the way out here towards Vietnam. It’s sitting at 
an elevation of around 1,500 m. So it’s a bit cooler up here. Known for its beautiful views and 
scenery. They have these terrace rice fields that cascade along the slopes and valleys just going 
deep into the valleys. It’s one of the most iconic peaks. Here is Fansipan and it’s known as 
the roof of Indochina. It looms above Sapa in the background and they have a cable car and you can 
do some trekking to go up to the top of that peak. As you can see, if you’re going to explore around 
the northern part of Vietnam, you might just need 2 weeks if you want to see it thoroughly in 
detail. It’s quite a big country. So, we haven’t even gotten to the south. Stay tuned for that. 
I’m from the US, so I get a tourist visa for 30 days. And I found that 30 days is just barely 
enough time to explore Vietnam. And now here we are in the province of Halong. This is actually 
the Halong Loop. For those of you who are planning to do some motorbike riding around Vietnam, this 
is an area that a lot of people like to explore. Even heading over towards Sapa, just going around 
on a motorbike is very famous. I personally have never done that, but I know a lot of you in the 
audience are probably considering that. Always be very cautious when riding in a foreign country 
like that, but could be a heck of an experience, wouldn’t it? These country roads that wind through 
the mountain on the Halong Loop. Very spectacular. It’s very rural up here. The people still live 
like they did many centuries ago. Now, we’re actually going to head to the south and work our 
way up. We’re going to start in Phu Quac. This is one of the famous islands out there towards 
the Gulf of Thailand. From Phu Quac you would go towards the island in Cambodia called Ko Rong and 
then you would end up over there in Thailand. So a lot of islands along this side. This is the famous 
island on the Vietnam tip. It is the largest island in Vietnam. It stretches 50 kilometers. You 
will see a very modern type village. This is very much a tourist destination with the way they’ve 
built up these island resorts and the shopping all around here. It is still a tropical paradise. 
It’s just not like a real tropical paradise you would get in say Thailand or Philippines. They 
still have some beautiful white sand beaches with turquoise water. Now we’re actually headed up to 
Ho Chi Minh City. This is where Saigon is located. So you’ve got Hanoi in the north and then you’ve 
got Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon in the south. For me, it’s a totally different experience than 
the north. Number one, it’s just drier. There’s not as much lush wet weather that you’re 
going to get down here. I mean, it does rain, but it’s just not as much as you’re going to get 
in Hanoi. I feel like the north is also cooler. You’re not going to get cool weather down here 
in Ho Chi Minh. It’s pretty consistently in the high 20s° C, which is in the low 90s. Just keep in 
mind there’s going to be a bright sun with lots of humidity. You also have great night life here. I 
would say Hanoi isn’t really known for its night life. Whereas here on Bui Vien, this is one of 
those party streets that’s world renowned. I mean, it’s probably top five party street in all the 
world competing with places like Bangalora Road in Phuket, Thailand, and some of the other places 
across Asia. So, lots of nightife here. They also have a modern skyline that Hanoi just does not 
have. They have the Vin Pearl landmark which is the tallest building. So really an upand cominging 
city down here in Saigon. Just outside of Saigon is this area called the Cu Chi Tunnels. This 
is actually from the Vietnam War between the United States and Vietnam. The North was actually 
fighting the South. It was a civil war. The United States defended the South against the North. 
Ultimately, the North won and the Cu Chi tunnels were actually the Vietkong’s effort to actually 
do guerrilla warfare against the Americans. And they were very successful with these booby traps. 
And you’ll find that here at the Cu Chi Tunnels and you’ll see how the Vietkong were actually uh 
defending themselves against the Americans uh and the southern Vietnamese here at Cu Chi Tunnel. 
On the same day that I went to Cu ChiTunnel, I actually went to the Meong River Delta. This is 
one of the largest rivers in all of Asia. And the best part of the Mekong is probably the delta right 
here in Vietnam. And uh you got these islands out here. It’s just a super big river. I mean, I’ve 
been to the Mississippi and I’ve seen other big rivers around the world, but the Mekong River Delta 
is very wide. I mean, it’s a it’s almost like a lake, but it’s still a river. and just exploring 
around here. They have temples, they have bee farms, they have fruit tasting. So, if you’re 
looking for a adventure in the late afternoon, come on out here. I actually enjoyed my time at 
the Mekong Delta. They take you around on these boats to these different types of attractions. You 
can see here I’m tasting natural honey with like a tea. And then they ended up taking me over to 
the fruit farm where I ended up trying rambuton, mango, lychi, and a whole bunch of other different 
types of fruits that I’ve never really tried before. Well, actually now I’ve tried them. But at 
the time, these were all new fruits for me uh in a way that I was able to finally uh you know, try 
some dragon fruit, which is a very famous fruit here in Vietnam, actually. Then I actually got on 
one of these chariots and they took me down to the uh canal system here. And on the canal system, I 
got into one of these paddle boats and they took me out through the canals, which was like this 
really thick, dense jungle. It made me wonder what kind of snakes were out there. And then 
we ended up out in the actual Meong and then we turned back around. So, it was cool to see how 
uh they lived out here. They said that the Mekong River Delta provides all of the food and necessary 
sustenance for the people along the Delta. And it’s just a very rich cradle of food. It’s a food 
basket really right here along the Mekong Delta. So rich in fish and fruits and vegetables, anything 
can grow here. The Mekong is about an hour and a half to two hours south of Ho Chi Minh City. So if 
you’re considering coming down here, uh, expect that kind of drive. Depending on what time of day 
you’re going, you might experience some traffic though. Those K. This is a look at one of those 
canoes through the canal system. Look how thick it is. I mean, you could see why I would wonder 
if there was snakes in the water or anything. But, uh, yeah, really cool. I like this little 
experience here. But you can see there’s also a crocodile farm out here. I think it’s crocodile 
or alligator farm. I couldn’t help but notice how big those crocodiles were. So, I was like, 
what happens when it floods out here? Do these crocodiles end up getting out of their pens and 
into the mong? And they were like, oh no, there’s no crocodiles in the Mekong. But hey, it was still 
a question that I had. You can see the temple here and right next to the temple, they actually 
have these bamboo huts. If you guys wanted to stay right there along the Mekong River, you can do that 
in one of these huts. That seemed like something cool to do. Anyways, from the north, we’re headed 
to the central area. This here is Da Nang. Da Nang has actually become one of the most famous cities 
in all of Southeast Asia and Vietnam. And it’s happened basically over the last 5 to 10 years. 
So, this is a relatively new uh famous attraction, Da Nang. They call it the Miami of Vietnam or 
the Cancun of Vietnam. I mean, I don’t know what you want to compare it to, but it’s out here in 
Vietnam, so it’s got its own unique appeal. It’s just a bunch of highrises being built along this 
uh golden white sand beach shoreline. They’ve got hotels out here, like resorts. Kind of reminds me 
of Hua Hin and Thailand in a way. But uh yeah, they’ve got lots of tourist activities. We did 
a full video on all of these places. If you wanted to see our Da Nang video, our Ho Chi Minh 
City video, or Hanoi, I’ll put links down below in the description, and you guys can watch those 
more in detail. But Da Nang is definitely up and coming. You don’t want to skip the central part 
of Vietnam. One thing that’s made Vietnam really famous is the value that you get here because 
it’s considered one of the most affordable tourist destinations in the world at the moment. 
Uh the economy is growing fast though, so we don’t know how long it’s going to last because they’re 
probably going to be raising the prices over the next 10 years. So I would say now is a good time 
to get out to Vietnam if you wanted to explore it. And here in Danang definitely definitely 
one of the premier destinations. Now you can see why I say you probably are going to need 
about 30 days to explore around Vietnam if you want to do it properly. I mean, sure, you could 
do it in 10 days, you could do it in 2 weeks, but if you want to do Vietnam correct, you need 
about 30 days. Or you just pick either the south, the central, or the north and just explore that 
in detail. Each region is worth about 5 to 7 days worth of exploring. I would say the south you 
could probably do in 3 days. You could probably do the central region here around 3 to 4 days and 
then you could do the north if you wanted to do Halong Bay then bin and see some of the waterfalls 
and the highlands. You could probably do that in 5 days. So you’re looking at around a 2e trip 
thereabouts depending on if you want to skip Phu Quac which you probably could if you wanted. 
And about 45 minutes south of Danang is a very picturesque village along the waterfront here. 
This is Hoi An and it’s known for its evening time uh ambiance. On the water you’ll see these 
kayaks and then you’ll see lanterns. You’ll see a beautiful village to walk around. It’s 
actually an amazing place to just wind around and walk through all of the different village roads 
and alleyways. So, you don’t want to miss Hoon. I would say you could do three days in Danang and 
then two days in Hoi An and get the full experience that way. But a lot of people that I’ve talked to 
and know, they just hang out in Danang and go back and forth between Hoi An and Danang for like weeks 
on end because they love the affordability of the area and just the convenience and the vibe. 
It’s really uh laid-back here in this whole little region. Hoi An and Danang, they’re very close 
together. There’s another place that you can go while here. It’s Bana Hills. Uh it’s going to be 
hot down there in Danang and Hoi An, but then you go up to Ba Na Hills and you’re up in the clouds. 
So, that’s something to do. And they’ve got those golden hands on that bridge. It’s kind of like a 
French amusement park up here. They’ve got a cable car, which is the only way that I know how to get 
up here. I asked if you could just drive up here, but from what I can tell, the only way to get 
up here is by cable car. So be ready for that. Now we’re actually headed to Nha Trang, also known 
as Nha Trang. And uh here you’ve got a little baby Da Nang. It’s kind of up and coming. It’s like 
as Da Nang rises, so too will Nha Trang. Just not as popular. In fact, this is more famous with 
Russian tourists at this moment. But uh I really like Nha Trang. Um they’ve got highrises along 
the beach. They’ve also got a fishing village nearby. They’ve got an island amusement park out 
there in the distance that you can hang out. I’ll be honest with you, I never really wanted to swim 
in the ocean near Danang or Nha Trang. It’s not like Thailand where the ocean is is inviting, but uh 
still nice views. They also have a gorgeous temple uh that you can visit while in Nha Trang. What I 
ended up doing the first time I came to Natrang was taking a train from Ho Chi Minh City to 
here. It was a slow moving very old train. It was a sleeper train. Great price but took 
too long and uh I would probably fly from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha trang if I were to do it again 
until they actually complete the highspeed rail which I hear is in the works. Not too sure 
about that. But as of right now, the trains in Vietnam are very old and take a long time. 
Now we’re actually headed up to the ancient city of Hue. Now Hue is actually closer to Danang. It’s 
still central Vietnam. Uh you probably get there from Danang about an hour and a half to 2 hours 
northwest and you can see it’s just this ancient archaeological area. You can learn a lot about the 
history of the region. For those of you who are headed up to Hanoi without taking a plane, you’ll 
probably want to stop from Da Nang to Hanoi here in Wei. There’s also another stop that I’ll show you 
here. It’s a national park. It’s Pong Na Kong and right here is a eco park you could say. Uh for 
those of you who want to check out more nature on your way up to Hanoi. It is a national park. 
They have spectacular scenery, underground rivers, vast cave networks, and it’s just like Halong Bay 
in a way, but just not as famous. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. Now, let’s talk about 
some of the lesser known hidden gems, the up and coming places like Dalat. I want to tell you 
about that place because that’s a small village kind of like Hoi An except it’s up in the mountains 
a bit and it’s got a unique charm to it that you may want to explore. Beautiful countryside 
and waterfalls up here. Then you’ve got Con Dao Islands. I would say this is probably more of the 
nature lovers type island. It’s a bit further out into the sea and harder to get to than Phu Quac, 
but you may like it if you’re someone who wants to explore some tropical islands. As you can see, 
it’s just spectacular out here. Going to conclude this episode of Vietnam. Watch Philippines best 
places to visit next. Click the link right here. [Music]

In this Vietnam travel guide we assist you in planning your vacation to Vietnam In this best places in Vietnam travel video we show you the top attractions. We show you the things to do in Vietnam. This Vietnam travel vlog goes from the North of Vietnam to the South of Vietnam then to the central part. We visit Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hoi An and much more. If you plan to visit Vietnam in 2025 then this is the most up to date list you will find for when you visit Vietnam. If you want to watch our other Vietnam travel vlogs you can check our Ho Chi Minh video and Hanoi video where we show you around those cities in detail. This Vietnam travel documentary is for people who plan to visit Vietnam for 30 days or more.

Watch More Vietnam Videos:
Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide: https://youtu.be/Mvsa17OMq-I
Best Things To Do in Da Nang Vietnam: https://youtu.be/Z8cQDARqiYk
Best Things To Do in Hanoi: https://youtu.be/YcSIbqLYqT8

Vietnam Travel Guide
(Timestamps)
0:00 Vietnam Intro
0:25 Hang Son Doong
0:52 Ban Gioc
1:28 Hanoi
2:34 Ninh Binh
3:46 HaLong Bay
5:03 Sa Pa
6:14 Ha Giang Loop
6:54 Phu Quoc
7:42 Ho Chi Minh City
8:28 Bui Vien Walking Street
8:57 Chu Chi Tunnels
9:38 Mekong Delta
12:43 Da Nang
15:02 Hoi An
16:05 Ba Na Hills
16:34 Nha Trang
17:48 Hue
18:25 Phong Na Ke Bang
18:51 Da Lat
19:10 Con Dao
19:30 Outro

#Vietnam #Travel

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