How To Use This E-Book
Getting around the e-book
This Insight Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration for your visit to Vietnam, as well as comprehensive planning advice to make sure you have the best travel experience. The guide begins with our selection of Top Attractions, as well as our Editors Choice categories of activities and experiences. Detailed features on history, people and culture paint a vivid portrait of contemporary life in Vietnam. The extensive Places chapters give a complete guide to all the sights and areas worth visiting. The Travel Tips provide full information on getting around, activities from culture to shopping to sport, plus a wealth of practical information to help you plan your trip.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Vietnam are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Vietnam. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
2015 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
Vietnams Top 10 Attractions
From the buzz of Ho Chi Minh City to the languid charm of Hanoi, the eye-popping scenery of Halong Bay and the ethnic diversity of Sa Pa, prioritise for your trip with our selection of Vietnams must-see sights.
Top Attraction 1
Halong Bay . The Unesco World Heritage Site of Halong Bay is a magical landscape of more than 3,000 limestone crags and outcrops riddled with caves and half submerged in the indigo-coloured bay. Spend the night on a sailing junk and visit one of the floating fishing villages. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 2
Ho Chi Minh City . This is Vietnams economic powerhouse, with all the best that an international city has to offer. Downtown District 1 has trendy bars and cafs, superb restaurants, plus lots of shopping opportunities and historic sites galore. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 3
Mui Ne . Ancient Cham towers, Chinese assembly halls, whale temples and Vietnams largest reclining Buddha are all located near Mui Ne, but its the sprawling beach and kite-boarding that draw crowds to Vietnams fastest-growing resort destination. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 4
Sa Pa . The town of Sa Pa is perched amid stunning highland scenery and is home to numerous ethnic minorities with thriving cultures. The Sunday-morning market in Bac Ha hosts merchants from the Nung, Dao, Tay, Thai, Flower Hmong and other hill tribes, clad in their colourful traditional dress. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 5
Nha Trang . This area has a lively nightlife with a plethora of bars and restaurants around the beach. The main reason to visit, however, is found in the bay, where divers and snorkellers head out to the surrounding islands for a close-up view of the countrys finest coral reefs. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 6
Hue . The city of Hue sits at the heart of the country, straddling mazes of moats and canals, lotus lakes and the sleepy Perfume River. The Imperial City, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was home to the Nguyen dynasty, whose kings and queens now rest in elaborate mausoleums nearby. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 7
Hanoi . This vibrant city is both the political and cultural capital of Vietnam. One of its highlights is the Old Quarter, nicknamed 36 Streets after the 36 merchant guilds located along their respective streets. This and other pockets of nostalgia make for a charming, French-influenced city. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications
Top Attraction 8
Con Dao Archipelago . Once home to Vietnams most notorious prison, the Con Dao Archipelago is now the countrys finest marine reserve, known for its sea turtle conservation programme and secluded resorts on remote beaches. For more information, .
Peter Stuckings/Apa Publications