10 Must Do Activities in Vietnam

The Mekong River delta does not have any traffic jams or skyscrapers. What it does have is the chance to meander leisurely up and down the river. Moreover, the river delta’s natural environment has been conserved extremely well, something which is so hard to come by these days. You can sit on a bamboo raft and drift slowly far down the river surrounded by jungle on both sides. This is a lot of fun and the natural scenery is beautiful to behold. Or, you can take a motor boat and speed along the surface of the water.

The Thap Ba Hot Spring Center in southern Vietnam’s Nha Trang has long been famous both in Vietnam and throughout the rest of the world. They have a saying: “I'd rather go without seafood than miss out on the mud bath!”. This place is particularly suitable for women. They can soak themselves in sticky mud and let the warm and smooth minerals soak into every inch of their skin leaving it smooth as a baby’s bottom. The spa center is rather far from downtown Nha Trang. The center offers single-person VIP wooden baths as well as multi-person mud pools. There are lots of options to choose from. A 20-minute mud bath followed by an unlimited hot spring and swimming pool experience will cost around CNY 60 yuan.

In central Vietnam, for about one hundred kilometers down the coastal road from Da Nang to Hue, one side is faced by cloud shrouded mountains while the other side faces the blue blue sea. National Geographic rates the winding coastal road up the Hải Van Quan pass as one of the Top 50 Places of a Lifetime, calling it a perfect combination of modern civilization and nature. Other than simply journeying from Da Nang to Hue, you can also make a point of renting a motorcycle and riding it up the pass. It is often covered by clouds, and sometimes fog, or even heavy rain, with visibility limited to only 5 meters, but descending from the pass the skies clear again , and it is a magical experience, a three-dimensional adventure that you really ought to experience first-hand.

In Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, you can see the most authentic water puppet show. The water puppet show at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre has Vietnam’s most distinctive traditional folk art. This puppet show is unique in the world and is also considered by the Vietnamese to be a folk art treasure. Accompanied by a Vietnamese-style orchestra, the performers are hidden in the background in the water. They manipulate the puppets with bamboo poles and long lines, and make the puppets come “alive” to perform. In the past, this art form was only for the aristocrats of the royal palace to appreciate. When you come to Hanoi, to the capital city of Vietnam, how can you even imagine missing the opportunity to see a performance of the national treasure?

Champo Island is located 20 kilometers east of Hoi An. Hoi An is an ancient city in central Vietnam which was once a stop on the Maritime Silk Road. In the waters around Champo Island, you will find corals, seaweed and other types of marine life. From July to September underwater visibility reaches 15 to 30 meters, which also attracts divers. In addition to snorkeling, you can also take a trip out in a bamboo basket boat for some sea fishing. After catching it, you can take your catch to a farmhouse restaurant to be cooked. The seafood sold by the fishermen here is also very good. They sell it by the bowl. It’s cheap and the bowls are big!

In southern Vietnam’s Mui Ne, you will find the most amazingly eye-catching white sand dunes. Unable to see the far edge of the endless rolling dunes, you will have the illusion that you are deep within the desert. The lake next to it, however, is surrounded by lush vegetation, producing a fantasy scene of being “half desert and half ocean,” where everything that meets the eye is pure and clean. The sunrise at the white sand dunes is the most beautiful in Mui Ne. As you walk slowly along the soft and delicate sand up to the top, the horizon widens before you and you can see an oasis not far off. In this place of blue skies and white clouds, half sand and half water, you can often capture the most atmospheric of photographs.

Located 150 kilometers to the southeast of the capital city Hanoi, Halong Bay is one of the most famous scenic spots in Vietnam. It is famous because of the enchantingly beautiful scenery and has been listed as a World Natural Heritage Site. There are thousands of craggy karst peaks sticking up out of the calm waters of the bay. Because the rocks here are similar to Guilin’s landscape in China’s Guangxi province, it is also known to the Chinese as the "Guilin of the sea." When traveling at Halong Bay, there are three major types of trips you can take. As a general rule, they all include a self-service open air barbecue on the boat, a visit to the local fisheries, a visit to one of the houseboats, and an outing from the main boat in a kayak or paddle boat.

The Áodài is Vietnam's traditional outfit for women. Tailored tightly at the chest and sleeves, the two sides flow loosely to the ground but are open up to the waist. When you walk, the front and back flow in the breeze. An Áodài is worn with a pair of flared trousers that really highlight the woman's beautiful curved body. There are many places in Vietnam where you can buy a Áodài, but if you want to order a tailor-made one, you should definitely go to Hoi An. There are many tailor shops scattered about the streets of Hoi An. You choose your fabric and get measured up, and in many cases, fabric chosen in the morning will be ready to wear as a garment by the afternoon of the same day. Put on an Áodài out in the streets and you’ll find yourself immediately in the camera’s focus!

In addition to heritage sites, Hue—an ancient city in central Vietnam—is also famous for having Vietnamese cuisine’s “dishes of the imperial court.” Located next to the Imperial City, the “Garden Restaurant” of Hue is a bit out of the way but you’ll find people from around the world flocking there to eat. For as little as 10 US dollars, visitors can enjoy a Hue Court Feast considered the pinnacle of Vietnamese food art. During the banquet, diners will be able to enjoy the delicacies while listening to music of the imperial court. The food of imperial Hue is regarded as the pinnacle of Vietnamese cuisine. Each and every dish is a harmony of color and taste, perfectly matching yin with yang and hot with cold. When you go to an imperial banquet, there is no menu for you to order off of. There is only a complete set meal. There are 8 dishes in total, and the price is calculated according to the number of diners (number of set banquets). Each banquet costs 10 US dollars. Some of the dishes may change according to the availability of seasonal ingredients.

The famous "Crazy House" is located in southern Vietnam’s “Flower City” Da Lat. Resembling a dead and rotten tree, this hotel designed by the daughter of the former Vietnamese president is the most famous building in Da Lat. Visitors enter the building through a huge hole in the tree. They climb up stairs that resemble tree stumps and find themselves inside rooms that have a dark and unusual style. There’s a spider themed room with a spider's net shaped skylight in the ceiling. The Eagle, Tiger, and Bear Rooms have the animal elements incorporated in their doors, windows, fireplaces, pillows, furniture, and other decorations. There’s even an exciting rooftop walkway to climb about which allows visitors to look down upon the Crazy House and its environs.