This section provides more detailed information on all the localities mentioned in the tours discovering Vietnam.

1. Ba Be
Location: 214 km north of Hanoi.
Sightseeing: an area of waterfalls, rivers, deep valleys, lakes and caves amidst rocks and towering peaks and Ba Be National Park. Tour to villages of Tay and Dao tribes and Cho Ra minority fair.
Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants and guest houses.

2. Ba Na
Location: 39 km west of Danang.
Sightseeing: a French hill station built in 1920 including waterfalls, forest and colonial style villas. Old buildings, cable cars, steep road to Mount Ba Na (1420 metres above sea level) & Mount Chua (1487 metres above sea level) were open to visitors in 1999.
Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants and hotels.

3. Bac Ha
Location: 100 km east of Sapa.
Sightseeing: a little town with weekend hill tribe fairs at Bac Ha, Lung Phin, Can Cau, and remote villages of Flower H'mong, Dao, Phula groups. An exciting combination with trip to Sapa.
Facilities & services: tourist class guest houses and restaurants.

4. Bac Ninh
Location: 30 km and 45 minutes by car from Hanoi.
Sightseeing: traditional handicrafts: folk paintings at Dong Ho, wood carvings at Dong Ky and But Thap pagoda. Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants.

5. Bao Loc
Location: 185 km north of HCMC, 114 km from Dalat, 4 hours by car from HCMC.
Sightseeing: a short visit to Dambri Falls (20 km west of Bao Loc), silkworm workshops and tea plantations. Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

6. Buon Ma Thuot
Location: 363 km from HCM City (on NR14), 182 km from Nha Trang, 55 minutes by plane from HCM City. Sightseeing: tour to villages of M'nong and Ede ethnic groups, elephant rides to Yokdon National Park and to the Ban Don elephant-training village, dugout ride on Lake Lak, visit to waterfalls, trek through jungles and gong show.
Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants, accommodation at hill tribe villages.

7. Can Tho
Location: the biggest city of the Mekong Delta, 173 km from HCM City, 4 hours by car, 4 hours by hydrofoil. Sightseeing: boat ride to the bustling Cai Rang & Phong Dien floating markets. Visit to Khmer pagodas and villages in Soc Trang, 60 km from Can Tho. Sampan ride to Bang Lang stork reserve, 35 km from Can Tho. Facilities & services: international standard hotels, restaurants, boat and sampan ride.

8. Cao Bang
Location: 272 km from Hanoi.
Sightseeing: home of the Nung and Tay ethnic minorities with Ban Gioc Falls (85 km from Cao Bang) and Pac Bo caves (60 km from Cao Bang) President Ho Chi Minh's hideout in the early days of the resistance war against the French in 1941.
Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

9. Cao Lanh
Location: capital town of Dong Thap Province, 162 km southwest of HCM City.
Sightseeing: boat ride to the Xeo Quyt cajeput forest, the My An stork reserve, the Tam Nong flamingo reserve and the Plain of Reeds.
Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

10. Cat Ba Island
Location: 80 km from Hai Phong, 45 minutes by hydrofoil from Hai Phong, 4 hours by boat from Halong. Sightseeing: an archipelago comprising 366 small and big islands with a primeval national park and beautiful beaches, bays and caves. Treks through forests can be arranged.
Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

11. Chau Doc |
Location: 290 km from HCM City, on the lower tributary of the Mekong River, 6 hours by car and 5 hours by hydrofoil from HCM City.
Sightseeing: a commercial and religious center of the Mekong Delta and near the Cambodian border, also a Vietnamese, Khmer, Chinese and Cham cross-cultural town where you can visit Lady Temple, Tay An pagoda, Mount Sam and houseboats with fish-breeding rafts.
Facilities & services: International standard hotels and restaurants.

12. Con Dao Islands
Location: 180 km south of Vung Tau, 1 hour and 15 minutes by helicopter from HCM City (three flights a week), 14 hours by ship from Vung Tau.
Sightseeing: a group of 16 islands and islets with popular sites: Con Dao National Park, unspoilt beaches, vivid coral reefs and notorious tiger cages in former colonial prisons.
Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants

13. Cu Chi tunnels
Location: 70 km from downtown HCM city, 1 hour and 45 minutes by car.
Sightseeing: the intriguing hide-out tunnels dug by local guerrillas and Ben Duoc War Memorial.
Facilities & services: Ben Duoc restaurants, shooting range and canoeing on the Saigon River.

14. Dalat
Location: 300 km from HCM City, 6 hours by car or 50 minutes by plane from HCM City.
Sightseeing: a city of cool climate and romantic landscape with mountains, pine hills, waterfalls, flower gardens and ethnic minority villages, an ideal place for golfing.
Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants, golf courses, paragliding, hang-gliding, parachuting, ect.

15. Danang
Location: 1010 km from HCM City, 1 hour and 10 minutes by plane, 17 hours by train from HCM City. Sightseeing: the fourth largest city in Vietnam, the gateway to the central provinces and a sea port with nice beaches and resorts. A central place to World Heritage sites: My Son, Hoi An and Hue.
Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants, resorts and water sports: jet skiing, parasailing, surfing, etc.

16. Dong Ha
Location: 74 km north of Hue, 1 hour and a half by car from Hue.
Sightseeing: vestiges of the Vietnam war in Quang Tri, Dong Ha, the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Truong Son Cemetery and the DMZ with the Ben Hai River, Hien Luong Bridge and the Vinh Moc Tunnels.
Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

17. Dong Hoi
Location: 162 km from Hue, 4 hours by car from Hue.
Sightseeing: a town with a nice river, sand dunes and beaches. Famous for the untouched Phong Nha Cavern (47 km northwest of Dong Hoi) explored by the Royal Society for Exploration of Caves in 1990, 1992 & 1994. Opened in early 2000, Tien Son in this cave complex is the biggest and the most stalactic cave in Vietnam.
Facilities & services: boat ride, tourist class hotels and restaurants.

18. Dien Bien Phu
Location: 490 km and 1 hour by plane from Hanoi.
Sightseeing: a small town ringed by high mountains and populated by Thai minorities and famous for the decisive battle which put and end to French colonialism in Indochina in 1954. Historical sites include the Dien Bien Phu Museum, Eliane Hill, De Castries' bunkers and a memorial to French soldiers, Muong Phang, 36 km northeast of Dien Bien Phu, is now easily accessible where you can find General Giap's legendary tunnels.
|Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

19. Halong
Location: 170 km and three hours by car from Hanoi.
Sightseeing: Halong Bay, a World Heritage with spectacular limestone formations, caves and beaches.
Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants, boat ride and helicopter ride on the bay.

20. Hanoi
Location: capital of Vietnam, 1,760 km or 2 hours by plane from HCMC, 1 hour and 45 minutes from Bangkok by plane, 1 hour and 50 minutes by plane from Hong Kong.
Access: accessible from different provinces in Vietnam by plane, car, train and boat.
Sightseeing: a city of lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public parks still retains its old architecture, traditional pagodas and historical vestiges: the Temple of Literature, the old quarters, Lake Hoan Kiem, Ngoc Son Temple, Quan Su Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, ect. Home to a variety of museums: the History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, the Ethnology Museum, the Army Museum, etc.
Facilities & services: an international and domestic airport, international standard hotels, exhibition halls, art galleries, conference centers, international banks, shopping arcades, stylish restaurants, theaters, nightclubs, bars, cafes.

21. Ha Tay

Location: 12 km west of Hanoi.

Sightseeing: Thay pagoda (30 km from Hanoi), Tay Phuong Pagoda (37 km from Hanoi), the Van Phuc silk-weaving village, the Chuong conical hat market, Ba Vi National Park and golfing at the Dong Mo golf course.

Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants and the Dong Mo golf course.

22. Ha Tien

Location: 390 km and 8 hours by car from HCMC, 3 km from the Cambodian border.

Sightseeing: a completely different picture of the Mekong Delta with towering limestone formations in the Gulf of Thailand, stalactic caves, Lake Dong Ho, Mui Nai beaches and turtle farms.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

23. Hai Phong

Location: 105 km from Hanoi, 2 hours and a half by car or train, 2 hours by plane from HCMC.

Sightseeing: a sea port and third largest city in Vietnam with 300-years-old Du Hang pagoda and Hang Kenh communal house. Vinh Bao, 37 km from Hai Phong, is a new destination for exploration of traditional villages in the Red River Delta.

Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants.

24. Ho Chi Minh City

Location: the largest city in Vietnam, about 1,760 km south of Hanoi, one hour and a half by plane from Hanoi.

Access: one hour and 50 minutes by plane from Singapore, one hour from Bangkok, and two hours and 45 minutes from Hong Kong by plane, over 24 international airlines having flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City, a gateway to other cities and provinces in Vietnam by plane, car, train or ship.

Sightseeing: Vietnam's most modern and dynamic city still retains its old charm with colonial style buildings: Notre Dame Cathedral, the City Hall, the Municipal Theatre, ect., old pagodas such as Thien Hau, Giac Lam and the busy markets of Binh Tay and Ben Thanh, etc.

Facilities & services: an international and domestic airport, international standard hotels, exhibition halls, art galleries, conference centers, international banks, shopping arcades, stylish restaurants, theatres, nightclubs, bars, and cafes.

25. Hoa Binh

Location: 74 km west of Hanoi, 1 hour and a half by car.

Sightseeing: nearest of Muong and Dao hill tribe villages from Hanoi. A major gateway to the northwestern area in which mountainous landscape and colourful ethnic culture blend perfectly.

Facilities & services: boat ride on the Da River, local home stay, tourist class restaurants and hotels.

26. Hoi An

Location: 970 km from HCMC or 30 km south of Danang.

Sightseeing: most attractive ancient town in South East Asia: centuries-old houses, communal houses, uncanny pagodas constructed in Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese styles and traditional handicraft villages.

Facilities & services: boat ride on the Thu Bon River, cultural show, international standard hotels and restaurants.

27. Hue

Location: 1100 km from HCMC, one hour and a half by plane or 20 hours and 35 minutes by train, 110 km north of Danang, 3 hours by car.

Sightseeing: Vietnam's former imperial capital and recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage. Highlights include old citadels, magnificent imperial tombs, solemn ancient pagodas and royal families' old houses.

Facilities & services: boat ride on the Perfume River, international standard hotels and restaurants.

28. Kontum

Location: 585 km from HCMC via Binh Duong, 47 km north of Pleiku and 235 km north of Buon Ma Thuot.

Sightseeing: a small and peaceful highland town featuring old wooden cathedral & seminary, the former battlefield of Dakto (55 km north of Kontum) and Bahnar and Sedang hill tribe villages.

Facilities & services: hill tribe village stay, tourist class hotels and restaurants.

29. Lai Chau

Location: 490 km from Hanoi, 105 km from Dien Bien and 195 km from Sapa.

Sightseeing: lovely town surrounded by mountains, rice fields, deep river valleys, Thai hill tribe villages and fantastic suspension bridges on the Da River, Expeditions by boat up & down the Da River valley can be organized.

Facilities & services: boat ride on the Da River, tourist class guest houses and restaurants.

30. Lang Son

Location: 150km north of Hanoi, 3 hours by car and 5 hours by train from Hanoi.

Sightseeing: a mountainous province bordering on China with a thriving market town, Nung, Tay, Dao hill tribe villages and limestone caves (3.5 km from Lang Son).

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

31. Lao Cai

Location: 330 km from Hanoi, 10 hours by car or train and 34 km from Sapa.

Sightseeing: gateway to Sapa and lying on the Chinese border.

Facilities & services: guest houses and tourist class restaurants.

32. Mai Chau

Location: 134 km from Hanoi, 60 km from Hoa Binh.

Sightseeing: trekking to untouch villages of Thai, Muong and H'mong minorities.

Facilities & services: tourist class guest houses, local home stay and restaurants.

33. My Son

Location: 47 km west of Hoi An, 70 km from Danang.

Sightseeing: the My Son Holy See with several brick temples built between the 7th and 13th centuries.

Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants.

34. My Tho

Location: 70 km south of HCMC, 2 hours by car and 1 hour and 45 minutes by hydrofoil from HCMC.

Sightseeing: boat ride on the Mekong River to orchards on Thoi Son island, sampan ride on tidal creeks, and city tour including Vinh Trang pagoda, a fruit market and the Dong Tam snake farm.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels, bungalows, restaurants, boat and speedboat ride.

35. Nha Trang

Location: 450 km north of HCMC, 8 hours by car, 1 hour by plane and 8 hours by train.

Sightseeing: a famous coastal destination with pristine beaches, off-shore islets, Cham towers, hot springs and some water sports: scuba diving, snorkeling, jet skiing, wind surfing, ect. Whale Island, 60 km north of Nha Trang, is a little paradise for nature lovers with simpel bungalows and aquatic activities.

Facilities & services: boat ride to off-shore islands, international hotels, resorts and restaurants.

36. Nam Dinh

Location: 90 km south of Hanoi, 2 hours by car and also accessible by train from Hanoi.

Sightseeing: Tuc Mac temple and Pho Minh tower (3 km from Nam Dinh) are the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) palatial complex with beautiful architecture.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

37. Ninh Binh

Location: 91 km south of Hanoi, 2 hours by car and also accessible by train from Hanoi.

Sightseeing: Hoa Lu is the ancient capital of Vietnam with centuries-old Dinh and Le dynasty temples, sampan ride to Tam Coc with huge limestone columns rising right from paddy field valleys, the Binh Dong caves, Phat Diem cathedral (28 km south of Ninh Binh) and Cuc Phuong National Park (55 km west of Ninh Binh).

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

38. Phan Rang

Location: 345 km north of HCMC and 6 hours by car.

Sightseeing: a town on the way of interesting tourist sites: Cham vestiges and Cham traditional handicraft villages producing terracotta and weaving brocade.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

39. Phan Thiet

Location: 200 km north of HCMC and 5 hours by car.

Sightseeing: a new holiday destination with white sandy beaches and Mui Ne sand dunes (22 km from Phan Thiet), beach resorts, Cham vestiges, famous fish sauce workshops.

Facilities & services: camping sites, international standard resorts, hotels and restaurants.

40. Phu Quoc island

Location: 45 km from Ha Tien, 1 hour and 5 minutes by plane from HCMC, 3 and half hours by Express boat from Rach Gia.

Sightseeing: a mountainous and forested island with purest beaches, fishing villages, fascinating streams, pepper gardens and fish sauce workshops; an exciting destination for snorkeling, angling and countryside trekking.

Facilities & services: boat ride to the An Thoi Islands, international standard restaurants, hotels and resorts.

41. Phu Tho

Location: 85 km from Hanoi.

Sightseeing: the 15th century Hung temple dedicated to the earliest kings of Vietnam (100 km from Hanoi).

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

42. Pleiku

Location: 540 km from HCMC via Binh Duong and 1 hour and 45 minutes by plane, 190 km from HCMC.

Sightseeing: tour to villages of the Bahnar and J'rai tribes, elephant ride at Nhon Hoa village, treks along the Ba river valley and gong shows.

Facilities & services: elephant ride, tourist class hotels and restaurants.

43. Qui Nhon

Location: 690 km north of HCMC, 1 hour by plane and 12 hours by train.

Sightseeing: a small coastal town between Nha Trang and Danang with beautiful and interesting Cham towers. The Tay Son Museum, 60 km from Qui Nhon, displays relics of the Tay Son rebellion in the 18th century and presents a lively martial art show.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

44. Sapa

Location: 37 km from Lao Cai, 400 km from Hanoi, full day by car, 10 hours by train.

Sightseeing: a famous hill station with a beaten track for trekking and exploring the highest mountain peak in Indochina-Fansipan (3143 m above sea level) and a colourful market of ethnic tribes (Black H'mong & Red Dao).

Facilities & services: restaurants, hotels and an international standard resort.

45. Son La

Location: 317 km west of Hanoi.

Sightseeing: a place for a stop to visit the Thuan Chau ethnic minority market place and the Ta Tong caves or for an overnight stop on the way to Dien Bien Phu.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotel and restaurants.

46. Tam Duong

Location: 50 km from Sapa.

Sightseeing: stunning landscape at the foot of Hoang Lien Son Mountains, a stop a break on the way to Sapa or for a visit to market places of the H'mong, Dao, Lu tribes and tea plantations.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

47. Tay Ninh

Location: 110 km from HCMC, 2 hours by car, a town near the Cambodian border.

Sightseeing: The Cao Dai Holy See temple, a place of pilgrimage of Caodaism, a unique religious cult in southern Vietnam, cable car ride to the 280-meter-high Mount Black Lady, which used to be a staging area of the National Liberation Front and a US relay station.

Facilities & services: tourist class restaurants, hotels and mountain cable cars.

48. Thai Binh

Location: 108 km southeast of Hanoi and 2 hours by car.

Sightseeing: the 12-century Keo pagoda dedicated to the legendary monk Khong Minh Khong, a miraculous galenist (10 km from Thai Binh), a good place for lunch on the way from Ninh Binh to Hai Phong.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

49. Thanh Hoa

Location: 150 km south of Hanoi, 3 hours by car.

Sightseeing: capital town of Thanh Hoa province with the 15th century citadel of the Ho dynasty (50 km from Thanh Hoa) and Sam Son Beach (about 16 km southeast of Thanh Hoa).

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

50. Vinh

Location: 300 km south of Hanoi, 6 hours by car, a gateway to Laos by road 8 (380 km from Vientiane).

Sightseeing: President Ho Chi Minh's native village of Kim Lien, Cua Lo Beach, Cuong Temple dedicated to King An Duong Vuong.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

51. Vinh Long

Location: 140 km and three hours by bus from HCMC

Sightseeing: boat ride on the Mekong river and to Binh Hoa Phuoc island and a visit to local homes, orchards and boatyards. The newly-built My Thuan Bridge spanning the large Mekong River is worth visiting.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants, boat ride, local home stay and local home lunch.

52. Vinh Phuc

Location: 62 km from Hanoi.

Sightseeing: the 18th-century Binh Son tower a typical Vietnamese structure, Tam Dao (90 km from Hanoi), a hill station with a national park endowed with precious herbs and rare insects at an elevation of 897 meters.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants.

53. Vung Tau

Location: 125 km east of HCMC, 2 hours and a half by car or 1 hour and a quarter by hydrofoil.

Sightseeing: a languid seaside town known as Cap Saint Jacques by the French with nice beaches, French villas, serene pagodas on the mountains and an exciting greyhound race track.

Facilities & services: international standard hotels and restaurants, and water sports: jet skiing, parachuting, ect.

54. Yen Bai

Location: 180 km from Hanoi, also accessible by train.

Sightseeing: a stop-over place for overnight stay on the way to Sapa.

Facilities & services: tourist class hotels and restaurants