10 best places to visit in Vietnam 2023 - Recommended by Lonely Planet
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Loading... - Feng Huang
- 20 Feb 2023
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With its dizzying metropolises, blissful islands and immense national parks (not to mention a legendary cuisine!), Vietnam tops many travelers’ bucket lists.
The highlights of the country are innumerable, but there are some spots that simply can’t be skipped.
Here’s our list of the top places to visit in Vietnam.
Halong Bay
Halong Bay’s stunning combination of karst limestone peaks and sheltered, shimmering seas is one of Vietnam’s top tourist draws. But with more than 2000 islands, there’s plenty of superb scenery to go around. Definitely book an overnight cruise and make time for your own special moments on this World Heritage wonder – rise early for an ethereal misty dawn, or pilot a kayak into grottoes and lagoons. Prefer your karst landscapes a little less crowded? Try the less touristy but equally spectacular Lan Ha Bay, located a little way to the south, or Bai Tu Long, to the north.
Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park
Vietnam’s headline natural wonder is the jaw-dropping Hang Son Doong, one of the world's largest caves, located in the heart of Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park. The images of ant-like travelers shining head torches around the vast, empty caverns tug on the wanderlust strings; however, unless you have a cool $3000 to spend on a tour, you won’t be able to enter this subterranean marvel. But fear not because Phong Nha-Ke Bang has a wealth of other caves that you can clamber, crawl, boat or zipline through for a fraction of the cost, including Hang Én, which boasts its own beach. More so, there are plenty of attractions above ground, including guided treks around the oldest karst mountains in Asia, home to tigers, elephants and 300 species of bird.
