7 Must-See Places in Vietnam
A Journey from North to South
Vietnam doesn’t reveal itself all at once. It unfolds gradually, through the scent of soup simmering on a sidewalk stove, the mist hugging a limestone cliff, the soft ripple of lanterns overhead.
Each region feels like a completely different country, and every stop brings its own rhythm, texture, and breath. PB Travels invites you to explore a route that cuts through the heart of Vietnam, taking you through destinations that feel less like a checklist and more like a slow burn.
So if you’re ready to fall in love with a country that’s constantly shifting yet deeply rooted, these are the seven places to start with.
1. Hanoi: The Capital That Carries Its History Lightly
No matter how loud the traffic gets, Hanoi always finds a way to stay graceful. A city of lakes, old-world charm, and morning rituals, it pulses with a quiet dignity that you notice most in its small moments.
Locals practise tai chi beside Hoan Kiem Lake. A vendor sets out tiny plastic stools for her first bowl of pho. Nearby, train tracks snake through a neighbourhood that hasn’t changed in decades.
There’s chaos, yes, but also deep poetry. This is a city that has lived, healed, and kept moving. Spend some time here, and you’ll leave with a deeper respect for how cities carry memory.
2. Ninh Binh: A Landscape Painted in Green and Stone
Ninh Binh feels cinematic, like someone took all the best parts of Vietnamese countryside and pressed them into one breathtaking province. Towering limestone karsts shoot up from flooded rice fields, while rowboats drift lazily through quiet caves.
It’s easy to lose track of time here. Between hikes up Hang Mua for views that silence even the most talkative travellers, and visits to temples tucked into cliffs, Ninh Binh invites stillness.
PB Travels includes this northern gem as part of your journey, offering you time to explore the hidden corners that feel untouched by hurry or noise.
3. Ha Long Bay: Where Water Meets Myth
When the fog lifts off the bay in the early morning, Ha Long becomes something else entirely. The sea holds hundreds of limestone islets that jut from the water like half-sunken monuments.
You could kayak through caves, swim in the stillness, or just sit on the deck of a wooden junk boat, watching as the horizon blushes into evening.
There’s movement everywhere, but it’s never rushed. Everything slows down out here. PB Travels gives you time on the water, so you can enjoy how the pace drops and the world feels ancient.
4. Hoi An: Golden Walls and Floating Lights
Hoi An doesn’t shout. It glows.
With its mustard-yellow facades, hanging lanterns, and gently flowing river, it offers something cities often forget: Gentleness. On certain evenings, locals release lit candles on paper boats into the water. There’s no announcement or performance. It just happens.
Walking through the old town is like slipping into a memory you didn’t know you had. The scent of incense drifts past tailors, bakeries, and silk shops. Everything is touched by some quiet kind of magic.
This isn’t just a sightseeing stop. It’s a place to pause, feel, and walk slower.
5. Quang Binh: Caves, Jungles and Otherworldly Beauty
Quang Binh doesn’t dress itself up. It doesn’t need to. Beneath its surface lies a world that feels ancient, silent, and impossibly grand.
This is where you’ll find Hang Sơn Đoòng (Son Doong Cave), the largest cave on Earth. Inside are caverns big enough to fit skyscrapers, and ecosystems that thrive in total darkness. There’s also Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng, a national park brimming with underground rivers and jungle-tangled trails.
It’s a place of scale. Of echo. Of feeling very, very small in the face of something vast. It’s a journey that will take you beyond the surface, into landscapes that remind you how little we know of the world under our feet.
6. Ho Chi Minh City: A City That Moves Fast and Feels Deep
Some cities unfold slowly. Ho Chi Minh doesn’t wait around.
The minute you arrive, it’s motion. Motorbikes stream past, food sizzles on every corner, and neon signs light up the night like it’s always just getting started. But look closer, and there’s more than speed.
You’ll find old French architecture, hidden rooftop cafés, and museums that still carry the heaviness of war. The contrast is sharp, but it works.
It’s a trip that brings you through both the buzz and the backstories, showing a city that is as unapologetic as it is unforgettable.
7. Phu Quoc: Salt Air and Slow Afternoons
There’s something healing about this island. The wind is softer here; the water, warmer. The sky never seems to end.
Phu Quoc is all slow tides and empty beaches, peppered with palm trees and fishing boats that sway with the breeze. Seafood is caught fresh each morning. Hammocks stretch lazily between trees. There’s nothing to chase.
After the full stretch of Vietnam — the cities, the caves, the crowds — this is where you come to breathe.
This is a scenic destination on your journey; on this sunlit shore, where time forgets to move and you’re not in a hurry to remind it.
Final Reflection: A Country That Can’t Be Summed Up
Vietnam is a country that demands time, curiosity, and the willingness to be surprised.
Each place has its own pace and poetry. Each region carries its own silence, its own storm, its own scent. And through it all, there is a thread of resilience, beauty, and endless complexity.
This seven-stop journey offers a beginning. But it won’t be the end.
Let Vietnam stay with you. Long after the trip is over, it will find ways to echo.
