Da Nang is increasingly becoming a travel hotspot in Southeast Asia. Located midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, this city is geographically blessed with a river and seafront, and surrounded by mountains. It wasn’t long ago that travellers bypassed Da Nang on the way to and from Hoi An. Nowadays Da Nang has […]
Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors
Hanoi has a population of over 8 million people and is broken up into 30 administrative districts. This soon-to-be megacity is a confusing mess of streets with seemingly as many motorbikes as there are people. [Motorbikes in the Old Quarter.] If you are visiting Hanoi for the first time it may not seem apparent where […]
Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by bus
Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh is 240 km apart by road, and getting the bus is the cheapest way to travel between the two cities. Despite the relatively close distance and flat terrain, the roads are congested and not built for highway cruising. Google Maps says the trip can be done in 5 […]
Vietnam Railways – A guide to every line, tickets, and FAQs
Getting the train in Vietnam is the classic way to see the country. The long North-South line that travels along the coast is often listed among the best train routes in the world. While the train system is old and slow, it beats taking the bus, and you will see more than flying from point […]
Pham Viet Chanh – The coolest street in Saigon
Pham Viet Chanh Street and Ward 19 in Binh Thanh District has emerged to become one of the coolest neighbourhoods in Ho Chi Minh City. This up-and-coming area next to District 1 could be described as the Brooklyn of Saigon. Ward 19, Binh Thanh District, HCMC Travel readers would be familiar with the annual “best of” […]
Visiting every province in Vietnam
Having been based in Vietnam off and on for a number of years, I have been to most of the main tourist hot spots in that time. When the world went crazy in March 2020, I came back to Vietnam knowing that travel international travel was not going to get back to normal anytime soon. […]
Notes on Phu Quoc 2021- The tourism developments that have transformed this tropical island paradise
It had been six years since I was last in Phu Quoc, and things have changed fast there, even by Vietnam’s standards. The last time I visited I called it Southeast Asia’s next big thing. I was thinking in the context of it becoming a more known destination. The megaprojects that now dominate the island […]
Notes on Vung Tau – A weekend at the beach of Saigon
Vung Tau is a coastal city in the Southeast region of Vietnam, in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. While Vung Tau is technically not the closest beach to Saigon, it’s the most accessible nicest beach to Saigon. Thus it is regarded as “the beach of Saigon”. [A Saigonesque skyline is growing on the Back Beach road […]
Notes on Con Dao – From prison island to pilgrimage paradise
Con Dao is a group of islands off the coast of Vietnam, about 230 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. There are 16 islands, with the largest (Con Son) being home to the main town, port, and airport. [Hon Troc – one of the islands of the Con Dao island group.] Con Dao is […]
Notes on Soc Trang – Big Buddhas and superb soups deep in the Delta
Soc Trang is the capital of Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. It’s not a big tourist destination, but it has some wonderful Khmer temples in and around the city. Soc Trang is the closest mainland port to Con Dao, so this is a faster trip than the boat from Vung […]
