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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is Vietnam's largest city and is the powerhouse driving the country's rapid economic development. Being the centre for trade in Vietnam, Saigon fairly hums with energy from dawn to dusk, and life in the second city is fast-paced, dynamic, cosmopolitan and exciting.

At just three-hours from Ho Chi Minh City, Phan Thiet and its beach at Mui Ne offer a great break from the hustle and hassles of the big city. The town itself retains some of its charm, and the colourful harbour, home to Phan Thiet's large fishing fleet, is a popular sight with visitors. 

Dalat, nestled amongst the green, rolling hills of central-southern Vietnam was originally opened up thanks to the French physician Dr Alexandre Yersin, who promoted the town's charms and recommended the mountain air to French colonials. The city's temperatures hover between 15ºC to 25ºC, offering a cool respite from the baking plains below and the Mekong delta to the south. It for this and the beautiful greenery so reminiscent of Europe that the city has become known as the "City if Eternal Spring".

Beach Life - this pretty much sums up the exciting yet charming resort town of Nha Trang, which lies on the coast about eight hours' drive north from Saigon, and two hours east of Dalat. The town is surrounded by green hills, and its deep-blue bay is fringed with a glorious crescent of golden-white sand. It is this beach which lends Nha Trang its "picture-postcard" image, and it is this beach around which life in the town revolves.

The historic coastal riverside town of Hoi An has been known to travellers since at least the middle of the last millenium, when it was a major port of call for merchants from Japan, China and even Arabia. These traders made use of the port's facilities and built a formidable town, until its importance waned as the Hoi An river silted up and international focus shifted to the coastal port of Danang.

Situated roughly half way up the Vietnamese coastline, Danang is a difficult place to pigeonhole. It is technically a city, but is small enough to walk across in a couple of hours. In itself, the city is neither attractive nor very interesting, yet it contains some worthy diversions, and Danang's environs have plenty to offer.

Hugging the banks of the Perfume River, the royal city of Hue retains a regal air, despite the ravages of both war and time on its ancient palaces and other historic buildings. Once the capital of Vietnam, and home to imperial dynasties and the ruling mandarin elite, the town itself was witness to all of the horrors of the American-Vietnamese war when it was over run by communist forces during the Tet offensive of 1968, and it took American and South Vietnamese forces over a month to evict them from their refuge in the ancient citadel.

Just a short two-hour drive from Hanoi, Haiphong is one of Vietnam's major ports and an international gateway to the world. This port town however, retains an elegance and charm imbued by the elderly French-colonial buildings and a sleepy, almost provincial feel reinforced by the relatively slow pace of life evident in Haiphong. Activities in Haiphong itself are limited to strolling the quiet streets and taking in the scenery and vignettes of everyday life, although the major draw for groups to the city is its proximity to the glorious scenery of Cat Ba island and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay, both easily accessible by boat or rapid ferry.

Home to many of Vietnam's northern minority tribes, the picturesque village of Sapa is located high in the hills some 400 kilometres northwest of Hanoi, nestled between the peak of Mount Fansipan and China's southern border. It also finds itself bridging the gap between an ancient cultural heritage and the development of a popular tourist destination.

The Mekong Delta - or Cuu Long in Vietnamese - consists of nine branches (the Nine Dragons) of the mighty Mekong River, which begins its long journey to the South China Sea in the mountains of Tibet. The delta is the life-blood of southern Vietnam, nourishing the region's rice paddies, vegetable plots and fruit orchards.

Located in the Gulf of Thailand just off the coast of Cambodia & Vietnam, the heart-shaped island of Phu QUoc is rapidly becoming one of Vietnam's premier tour destinations as visitors discover the charms of its white sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters.

The town of Vung Tau is located just 130 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City, easily accessible from Saigon via fast hydrofoil, car or bus. The resort town is split pretty much into two areas: Front Beach which houses mist of the more expat-oriented hotels, restaurants and bars, and Back Beach which caters for tourists and Vietnamese holidaymakers. Between the two lies a steep hill which boasts a huge statue of Jesus at its summit with great views across the town, beaches and ocean beyond.