Top 12 Tourist Attractions in Vietnam

Vietnam (Việt Nam) is a long, thin country in Southeast Asia. Once a lesser-known destination, Vietnam has become widely popular in recent years. With Ha Long Bay is one of seven natural wonders of the world. and Hanoi consistently ranked among the world's top 10 destinations by TripAdvisor. In addition, Hoi An is a beautiful city in Vietnam, just south of Da Nang. The Ancient Town of Hoi An is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here are 12 top tourist attractions in Vietnam:

12. Ba Na Hills

cc by Binh Huynh

Ba Na Hills is a hill station and resort located in the Trường Sơn Mountains west of the city of Da Nang, in central Vietnam. The station, advertised as "the Da Lat of Danang city" by local tourism authorities, was founded in 1919 by French colonists. Linh Ung Pagoda is situated near the station, with a cable car nearby to carry tourists to and from the resort. The Ba Na Cable Car, opened on 29 March 2013, holds the world record for longest non-stop single track cable car at 5801 metres in length.[wiki]

11. Cu Chi Tunnels

cc by Lim Ashley

The tunnels of Cu Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. The Củ Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels have become a popular tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to crawl around in the safer parts of the tunnel system.

10. Mỹ Sơn

flickr/Petr & Bara Ruzicka

Mỹ Sơn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Central Vietnam, and is believed to be the longest inhabited archaeological site in Indochina. Much of the site was destroyed by US carpet bombing during the Second Indochina War. It is considered one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia, and one of the most important heritage sites of this nature in Vietnam. It is commonly visited as a day trip from Danang and Hoi An cities.

9. Mekong Delta

cc by Bertrand Duperrin

The Mekong Delta is the region in southern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea. It is a very rich and lush area, covered with rice fields, that produces about half of the total of Vietnam’s agricultural output. The Mekong Delta has been dubbed as a "biological treasure trove". Over 1,000 animal species were recorded between 1997 and 2007 and new species of plants, fish, lizards, and mammals has been discovered in previously unexplored areas, including the Laotian rock rat, thought to be extinct.

8. Phu Quoc Island

cc by Vy Vu

Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam. Known for its white-sand beaches and resorts, most of which are along the palm-lined southwest coast. One of its beaches, named Bai Dai (Long Beach), was chosen by the ABC News as one of five beautiful and clean beaches. More than half of the island’s landmass is part of a national park featuring dense jungle and mountains, popular for motorbiking, hiking and wildlife viewing.

7. Hoan Kiem Lake

cc by Richard Hopkins

Hoan Kiem Lake, also known as Hồ Gươm, is a lake in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The lake is one of the major scenic spots in the city and serves as a focal point for its public life. Hoan Kiem means “returned sword”, and the name comes from a legend in which King Le Loi was given a magical sword by the gods, which he used to drive out the invading Chinese.

6. Nha Trang

cc by Aleksandr Zykov

Nha Trang is Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town, known for its beaches, scuba diving and offshore islands. The city is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Being a coastal city, Nha Trang is a centre for marine science based at the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute. The Hon Mun marine protected area is one of four first marine protected areas in the world admitted by the IUCN. The city has developed into a popular destination for international tourists, attracting large numbers of backpackers, as well as more affluent travelers on the south-east Asia circuit.

5. Sapa Terraces

cc by Jorge Cancela

Sapa is a frontier township and capital of Sa Pa District in Lào Cai Province in north-west Vietnam. Popular with trekkers, it overlooks the terraced rice fields of the Muong Hoa Valley, and is near the 3,143m-tall Fan Si Pan peak, climbable via a steep, multiday guided walk. When being seen from afar, the terraced rice fields look like a picture of nature with heart- catching beauty keeping tourists to stay for admiration for a while. This picture however has its colour changed seasonally, exhibiting its most alluring charm when the new crop begins, green rice grows and the field is lush with ripening rice. Recommend foreigner who travel alone should go with a local tour guide.

4. Imperial City (Hue)

cc by Dennis Jarvis

The Imperial City is a walled fortress and palace in the city of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. The grounds of the Imperial City are protected by fortified ramparts 2 kilometers by 2 kilometers, and ringed by a moat. The water in the moat is routed from the Huong River (Perfume River) through a series of sluice gates. This enclosure is the Citadel (Kinh thành). Inside the Citadel is the Imperial City (Hoàng thành). Within the Imperial City is the Purple Forbidden City (Tử cấm thành), a term similar to the Forbidden City in Beijing. Access to the innermost enclosure is restricted to the Nguyễn imperial family. It is a popular travel destination in Vietnam.[wiki]

3. Hoi An

Hoi An Old Town

Hoi An is a beautiful city in central Vietnam, just south of Da Nang. The heart of the city is still the Old Town, full of winding lanes and Chinese-styled shops. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, coastal beaches include the wide, palm-lined Cửa Đại and An Bang.

2. Son Doong Cave

flickr/Bac Ha

Son Doong Cave (Vietnamese: Hang Sơn Đoòng) is a solutional cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Vietnam. Found by a local man named Hồ Khanh in 1991 and was recently discovered in 2009 by British cavers, led by Howard Limbert. Saudi Arabia Crown Prince, who has successfully conquered the world’s largest cave Son Doong in the year 2014. Words cannot express how magnificent, Son Doong Cave is very nice light reflection inside with many beautiful colours. The caves offer scenaries you'll probably find no where else in the world. It is mixture of many kinds terrain for trekking and hiking. There are up-hill, down-hill, climbing rock, jogging forest, and walking in the sand like at beach with very beautiful places for camping. It is one of the utmost natural wonders of the little-known world.

1. Ha Long Bay

cc by Wei Chang

Ha Long Bay, in northeast Vietnam, is known for its emerald waters and thousands of towering limestone islands topped by rainforests. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. The top tourist attraction in Vietnam, Halong Bay attracts visitors year-round with peak season between late May and early August. January to March is often cool and drizzly, and the ensuing fog can make visibility low, but adds bags of eerie atmosphere.