How to visit Vietnam on a budget

Stepping into the bustling heart of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) offers a captivating blend of old-world charm and vibrant modernity that leaves first-time visitors awestruck. The city is soon to host the prestigious World Travel Awards Asia & Oceania Ceremony at the GEM Centre on the 6th September.

The conventional wisdom about traveling to Southeast Asia during the rainy season is that you shouldn't. But the conventional wisdom is wrong, says Supratik Guha, general manager at Anantara Angkor Resort.

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Russians have this year shunned Vietnam, traditionally a popular retreat for its travellers, with a war-induced halt on direct flights and the appeal of rival destinations among factors that have kept its biggest-spending visitors at bay.

One of the many aspects travel gets flogged over is its carbon emissions. If you’d like to contribute to setting the planet on fire, getting on a plane works. What about if you don’t? What about if you’d prefer to reduce your emissions? Skipping domestic flights is the obvious first step, but what next? With this in mind, I decided to track my carbon emissions over my recent three-week trip to Vietnam. Here’s what I found.

With palm-framed beaches, magnificent markets, captivating cities and misty mountains enveloped by rice terraces and rainforests, Vietnam is certainly a great place for grown-ups. But how does it rank if you're traveling with kids? 

Whether you’re planning to bask on the beaches, scramble through the jungles, time-travel in historic townships or set up as a digital nomad in hip Hanoi, the chances are you’ll need a visa to visit Vietnam, except for short visits of less than 15 days.

Vietnam serves up a generous dose of Southeast Asian magic at any time of year, but some seasons are easier for travelers than others.

Once war-torn, now sublime, Vietnam is long, lovely and languorous.

Adventures abound in Vietnam. You can climb the heights and scuba dive the lows, immerse yourself in culture or just kick back on the sand, confident in the knowledge that a fantastic meal is waiting for you at the end of the day. But there are things to know before you go, to avoid pitfalls in paradise. These are our top tips. 

Vietnam takes the imperial grandeur of China and the waterlogged landscapes of Southeast Asia, stirs in a double dose of rich history and fabulous flavors and serves the resulting cocktail over ice as the sun dips behind the mountains.

Wrapped around the east coast of mainland Southeast Asia like a mythical Naga serpent, Vietnam naturally lends itself to overland travel. Its two biggest cities – Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – are divided by 1100km of rice paddies, tropical jungles, historic townships, wartime relics, national parks and sandy beaches, and most people plot an itinerary that takes in both of these lively hubs.