Culture. Nature. Food. History. And everything you need.
Recommendations based on authentic experience.
🛵 Attractions - Top attractions (min. 3) in each town
👄 Food - Must-eat local food at each place, in-depth food guides upcoming (Hanoi & Hoi An food guide available)
🌏 Stay - Options (min. 3) for each location: dorms, homestays, hotels
Solo travel tips, useful personal opinions, and easy booking links are included.
*This guide is constantly being updated.
**Appreciate tips (at the bottom of the page) if you find this helpful!
If you have time, visit the largest Buddhist complex in Vietnam, right here in Ninh Binh.
🎟️ Entrance is free, but to get to the top of the pagoda, Bao Thap Tower, is 50,000 VND.
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Food
Local highlight - Mountain goat soup or goat meat
Stay
Highly recommend Halise Home for the homestay option. If you’re looking for a hostel option, the Banana Tree Hostel would be a great one.
Ha long means “descending dragon”. UNESCO Heritage. Marvel at thousands of limestone cliffs and islands.
🔸Opinion: I saw a lot of trash floating even when my tour was passing by Halong for a short 15mins. Very sad. It is exactly like those YT vids shown. I see none at Lan Ha and the guide said the villagers are being educated about irresponsible trash habits that harms the environment.
🔸Note: Halong and Lan Ha bay are govern by separate districts. The tour I took had both licenses to go into both bays.
Regarded as “forgotten haven”. Smaller than Ha long but a lot quieter and a different kind of beauty.
🔸Opinion: I saw a lot of trash floating at Halong bay even when my tour was passing by for a short 15mins. Very sad. It is exactly like those YT vids shown. I see none at Lan Ha and the guide said the villagers are being educated about irresponsible trash habits that harms the environment.
🔸Note: Halong and Lan Ha bay are govern by separate districts. The tour I took had both licenses to go into both bays.
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Many people have chosen not to head to Halong Bay directly, including me, because of 3 reasons: ➊ Halong bay is very polluted due to mass tourism (I’ve seen enough YT vids & reviews), ➋ Tours packed 100 people on the boat with rushed itineraries, ➌ Expensive (>USD 500 for 1 day, it’s just not it for me)
It is more value for money to head to Cat Ba Island and take a tour from there, which includes Lan Ha Bay (the more feminine bay).
Popular local beach. It can get really crowded over the weekends.
It was so crowded on a Sunday that I decided to leave so I did not explore the coastal trails.
Duration 2.5hrs. Activities: Zipline, mudbath, kayaking etc.
🎟️ High season (1 Feb to 15 Sep): 450.000 VND / pax
🎟️ Low season (16 Sep to 31 Feb): 250.000 VND / pax
A theme park in the Danang hills. Medieval village. Flower gardens. Cable cars. Buddhist temple. Best for photo ops. Famous for Golden Hands Bridge.
🎟️ 750,00 VND / 31 USD
🕐 7.00 am - 9.00 pm
🔸Opinion: Frankly, abit too touristy. I’m not a big photo op person so I will rec skipping if you’re the same.
✅ I was here
Most iconic attraction in Danang. 150m long. The hands symbolizes God’s hands, as if you’re standing in his palms overlooking Danang.
It’s in Ba Na Hills. So buying the ticket will ensure you to this bridge.
🔺Tip: Be sure to be there super early, and I mean the moment it opens. I thought it was crowded when I got there. It was the worse at few hrs later when I was leaving.
✅ I was here
Fire show starts 9pm, Sat & Sun only. Gets really crowded. Night market is at the end of the bridge (head of dragon).
🕐 9.00pm - 9.15pm. Sat & Sun only.
🔺Tip: Gets really crowded so be here early!
✅ I was here. But it was weekdays so I did not watch the fire show.
Clean beach. Clear waters. Activities: banana boat, parasail, snorkel, swim. Beach bars. Relax and unwind.
Sun bed rental ~40,000 VND / 1.70 USD
Popular with the locals but the beach is long so it’s not very crowded. Locals are there before sunrise and sunset (to avoid sun).
Lots of local food stalls. Souvenir shopping. Bustling. Right below Dragon bridge. Perfect night walk after the show.
🕐 6.00pm - 12.00am
🔸Opinion: If you’re non-Asian you will enjoy it because it’s nothing like you’ve seen. If you’re Asian, you’ll know it’s not cheap and maybe a bit touristy. The food I had was meh so 🫣
Love a new hotel! Opened Apr 2023. Strong AC. Good privacy curtain. Pitch black fr. Nice breakfast. Highly recommend.
🔸Opinion: Dorm bed may be too small if you’re a tall person/claustrophobic. A guy I met (~175cm) said he had to curl up. Not enough hangars in the room.
✅ I was here.
Entrance: 120,000 VND / 5 USD
Walk around Ancient Town (or Old Town), you can easily find food and souvenirs around. I recommend a guided tour to further appreciate how the histories of different cultures connect in Hoi An.
The entrance fee helps raise funds for the preservation of the world heritage as well as its thousands of old buildings.
The Old Town housed:
- Japanese bridge: a local icon with a legendary monster tale that controls earthquakes and floods
- dry & wet market: where locals buy fresh ingredients
- cloth market sector: where tailored clothes are made
(highly recommend a local history tour to learn more!)
Opening hours: 6am onwards till late. Ba Le Well is a historic old well from the 10th century situated in front of the Market, that has never run out of water.
Types of markets:
- Local street food stalls
- Fresh fruit & vegetables
- Live seafood
- Meat & poultry
Entrance fee: Free if you bought the old town ticket (120,000 VND).
Built in 1690, for the Chinese ethnic group from Fujian province. Community gathers here to make decisions and celebrate festivals. It is now also a shrine to worship the Goddess of the Sea, Thien Hau, among other gods.
Image credits: https://www.goteamjosh.com/blog/fukien
Rice fields are all over Hoi An. You can just ride a scooter and go past the fields, and say hi to some farmers with their buffalos. You can also take a bicycle tour that brings a group around.
Sunset at rice fields was such a magical moment for me.
Rice crops harvest period:
- First harvest: May.
- Second harvest: September.
Price ranges: 100,000 to 200,000 VND (5.60 - 8.20 USD).
Basket boat tours include:
- cruising the river around the coconut palm forest
- crab fishing
- basket boat performance (if you wish to be spinned, add 100,000 VND)
It is a cool experience but if you ask a local, they have never done this tour before so it is a bit touristy.
However, the basket boats were crafted meticulously with waterproofing ingredients, designed to fish in shallow waters by Cham people, who settled in Hoi An 2,000 years ago.
One of my favorite places in Vietnam. The beach was so quiet, chill, laid-back and non-touristy. 100% recommend.
It did get crowded at night when the locals joined, giving a different kind of excitement and energy.
I especially love this beach bar that gave us free towels to chill on the sunbed under the shades, tucked around the end of the beach.
Opening hours: 8 - 5:30pm.
Ticket:
- Village entrance: 35,000 VND / 1.44 USD.
- Museum: 40,000 VND / 1.65 USD.
- Combined: 70,000 VND / 2.88 USD.
Most people recommend exploring the place without a tour, so there is ample time to enjoy the activities and even a free pottery lesson (you'll have to buy a souvenir afterward as an appreciation).
The pottery village consists of 36 households, employs over 100 locals and generate 40,000 handcrafted pottery goods.
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Stay
You can either stay near the Old Town or stay at the other side, at An Bang Beach.
Nice, cozy hostel with a good-sized mingling-type of pool. Great vibes. 10mins to An Bang beach and restaurants.
Tour packages are not the cheapest. Try to compare with others if you're keen on taking one.
Listed as a National Monument in 2006. Built during the Champa Kingdom. Supplied fresh water to fishing, merchant boats and traders.
There are a lot of small market stalls nearby, selling souvenirs and local toys.
Opening hours: 6am - 7pm.
Located directly at the pier and the harbor road, Tan Hiep market consists of 2 areas.
- Indoors, very small market of fresh seafood and dried specialties such as shrimp, squid, dried fish, or rim are sold. Also local food can be tested here before buying.
- Outdoors, local vendors sell jewelry and souvenirs made from shells, snails or stones. Perfect gifts for friends and relatives at a nice price.
Built in 18th century to worship the business of bird’s nest and its protective gods. Every year on March 10, residents organize a great ceremony for the new harvest of bird’s nest.
Located at Huong beach, at the second village on Cham Island on the southern end.
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Stay
There are two villages. The main and bigger one is called, Bai Lang Village and the smaller one is called, Bai Huong Village. As a solo traveler, I didn't want to be entirely disconnected so I stayed in the main village.
Entrance fee: Free.
The dragon temple enclosure is made with 12,000 beer bottles. Beneath the tower, is a tunnel that demonstrates the 18 levels of hell in Buddhism. A special architectural mosaic of Da Lat city.
For convenience, Xuan Huong Lake is around the city center and Dalat Night Market. For nature, go into the hills such as area Phường 11, where there are a lot of cafes and BBQ restaurants with great views to wake up to.
Entrance fee: 40.000 VND/pax (1.64 USD).
AKA the Reunification Convention Hall, is a landmark in HCM. Designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam.
The location that ended the Vietnam War on 30 April 1975, when the North Vietnamese Army tank crashed through its gates.
This statue memorialized a symbol of love from the Vietnamese people for President Ho Chi Minh.
The square becomes alive with lights and musicians in the evening, and a landmark attraction ideal for unwinding after a long day.
Backstory: Among the 20th-century revolutionaries, Ho Chi Minh waged the longest — and in terms of human lives sacrificed, the costliest — battle against colonial power. The forces he led fought and defeated the Japanese, the French and finally the Americans in his fight for Vietnamese independence.
The 2 Cu Chi Tunnel locations have different entry fees.
1. Ben Duoc: VND 110,000/pax (4.52 USD).
2. Ben Dinh: VND 90,000/pax (3.70 USD).
Taking a tour is common since agencies arrange transport and food. Cost around USD 50.
It's an immense network that served as as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters.
They were also the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968.
Day tours & multi-day tours from HCM city available.
Mekong Delta is intensively developed for agriculture. 20% of Vietnamese live in this region, the river connects many villages and goes across countries.
Read more: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/guide-mekong-delta-vietnam
Opening hours: 7pm - 2am, Sat & Sun. Bustling nightlife for young locals and tourists.
For more detailed coffee shop, restaurants recommendations: https://vietnamdiscovery.com/ho-chi-minh-city/attractions/bui-vien-street/
Opening hours: 9am to 12am.
Trendy food hall that offers many Vietnamese street food.
Opinion: As a Southeast Asian, it definitely looks touristy, and wouldn't be surprised if they charge twice the amount you can probably get at a local stall. But it is very convenient and can probably host larger groups easily in there.
Vietnamese baguette sandwich: Bánh Mì. Rice paper rolls: Gỏi Cuốn. Vietnamese broken rice with egg meatloaf, grilled pork/chicken, and salad: Cơm tấm. Vietnamese rice noodle soup: Pho - the taste change from north to south where the north are said to be lighter and gentler and the south made it sweeter, bolder and fattier.
★彡[ᴄᴀʀʀɪɴᴇ.ᴀɴᴅ.ʜᴇʀ.ꜱᴏʟᴏ.ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟꜱ]彡★
Hey, fellow adventurers! 🌺
I'm Carrine – A spirited female solo traveler with a passion for adventure, exquisite cuisine, and the thrill of exploration.
Fueling my love for travel, I'm sharing my itineraries for free where like-minded female travelers can enjoy exploring the beauty of our planet conveniently.
Here's what you can expect from me:
🔥 Local Street Food
🗺️ Authentic Travels
😴 Accomodation Tiers
I believe in offering free information and I hope you enjoy what you find on your travel journey.
If you'd like to thank me, show your support by saving this guide and follow me on IG! 🫶🏼
★彡[ᴄᴀʀʀɪɴᴇ.ᴀɴᴅ.ʜᴇʀ.ꜱᴏʟᴏ.ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟꜱ]彡★
Hey, fellow adventurers! 🌺
I'm Carrine – A spirited female solo traveler with a passion for adventure, exquisite cuisine, and the thrill of exploration.
Fueling my love for travel, I'm sharing my itineraries for free where like-minded female travelers can enjoy exploring the beauty of our planet conveniently.
Here's what you can expect from me:
🔥 Local Street Food
🗺️ Authentic Travels
😴 Accommodation Tiers
I believe in offering free information and I hope you enjoy what you find on your travel journey.
If you'd like to thank me, show your support by saving my guides! 🫶🏼
IG: @carrine.travels
Booking.com: https://www.booking.com/index.html?aid=8081585