Vietnam: Insider’s Guide

The insider advice on this page is from two of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Southeast Asia: Sandy Ferguson and Ethan Crowley of Asia Desk.

Trusted Travel Expert

Sandy Ferguson and Ethan Crowley

Sandy and Ethan craft tailor-made itineraries that take travelers to multiple destinations in Southeast Asia and combine five-star creature comforts with authentic local experiences. Both grew up in the region: Sandy graduated from the International School of Bangkok in 1969 while his father was serving in the Vietnam war and has planned trips to the region for more than 30 years; Ethan was raised in Cambodia and is fluent in Khmer. Sandy now splits his time between Saigon and the U.S., while Ethan keeps the office running in South Carolina. This team is always candid about what works best for travelers, and, just as important, what doesn’t. They have a vast network of powerful contacts in the hotel industry—which translates into status for you—and a wonderful selection of on-the-ground hosts, all charismatic locals whom Sandy considers family (some of them really are!).

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Expect trips orchestrated by Sandy and Ethan to start at $800 per day for two travelers, including accommodations, breakfast daily and some lunches, transportation, private guiding, and all entry fees while sightseeing; minimum booking requirement of $5,000.

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Where to Stay and Eat

Hotels worth the splurge
In Hanoi: The Sofitel Legend Metropole is not just the best hotel in Hanoi, it’s part of the history of the city. In fact, every evening a local historian leads guests through its history, including the bomb shelter under the pool bar. The Heritage Wing underwent extensive renovations in 2023.

Cyclos outside the Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi. Photo: Ethan Crowley

In Hue: The Azerai La Residence, another hotel set in a historical building, was constructed from a 1940s-era art deco design as an exposition hall and residence for the French governor general of Indochina when visiting the emperor in Hue. It overlooks the Citadel and Perfume River. For a real treat, stay in the Resident Suite on the third level: You’ll have to negotiate stairs, but the view and the feel of days gone by is worth it!

In Hoi An: There are two distinct locations to choose from: on the beach, or in town a short walk from the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Old Quarter. The Four Seasons Nam Hai was the first—and remains the finest—luxury-class beach resort in the area, and the beach-front villas along the famed white-sand China Beach are an ultimate luxury. Although a 20-minute drive from the old town, it offers secluded relaxation with all the amenities of a Four Seasons.

In Quy Nhon: Zannier Bai San Ho, the most recent hotel from Belgian hotelier Arnaud Zannier, has recently opened on an untouched bit of beach, tucked between the craggy mountains of the central highlands and the azure waters of the Pacific. Ethan and Sandy love the hotel’s design and simplicity, especially the textures and color palate, which pay homage to Arnaud’s fashion background. It’s great value to boot.

In Saigon: The newest, and undoubtedly best hotel in Saigon is not going to open until the city’s new metro opens: The Mandarin Oriental Saigon sits on a prime spot at the top of Saigon’s grand Le Loi Boulevard, kitty-corner from the Opera House and a few steps from Ben Thanh Market. Until the Mandarin opens, the Deluxe Park rooms off the pool at the Park Hyatt Saigon a few blocks away are a quiet respite in this bustling metropolis.

Best bang-for-your-buck hotels
In Hoi An: The beach villas at the Boutique Hoi An Resort offer a wonderfully comfortable waterside location just down the coast from the Four Seasons; the same views at a third of the cost! A value favorite is the Little Riverside, just steps away from the Old Town. The Little River suites are comfortable and well appointed, with balconies overlooking the river. You can’t beat the location—or the price!

Can’t-miss restaurants and culinary experiences
Ethan and Sandy can arrange a progressive dinner through the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods. You’ll discover Hanoi’s venerable food culture by visiting several specialty eateries, each famous for a single dish. Try bún cha (grilled pork in fish sauce with noodles) and visit the small restaurant frequented by Anthony Bourdain for bánh cuốn (Vietnamese rice pancakes stuffed with pork and mushrooms). End the meal with one of the city’s egg lattes, a rich blend of sweetened condensed milk, coffee, and meringue.

In Hue, head to the outstanding Lạc Thiện Restaurant near the old Imperial city. Here the banh khoai—a dish created to fulfill the Emperor’s extreme demand for tasty food, which literally translated means “happy cake”—resembles a big smile and comes folded like a taco. Coffee lovers should try the nearby Hue Café Roastery, which has a quirky 1970s décor—go for the salted or egg latte, both delicious.

Getting around as the locals do in Saigon. Photo: Ryan Damm

Saigon is at its best at night, so why not venture out on the back of a scooter to experience the bustle of the city? Sandy and Ethan can provide you with an opportunity to (safely) immerse yourselves in Vietnamese culture by exploring side streets and back alleys where local people congregate. Taste authentic Saigon cuisine, experience genuine interactions with locals, and relax in traditional cafés with Vietnamese music. While you may find a version of this experience online, when you book through Sandy and Ethan you can rest assured that your scooter driver has been thoroughly vetted and and that you are hitting all their personal favorites.

For comfort food, head to Saigon’s excellent Chuck’s Burgers or Jake’s BBQ. Pasteur Street Brewing, tucked into an alley off Pasteur Boulevard, serves excellent local craft brews, including their famed Jasmine IPA, which they export throughout Southeast Asia.

Dishes to try

In the north, it’s bún cha: grilled pork in fish sauce with noodles. That’s the meal that Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain shared in Hanoi, at Bún Cha Huong Lien—which used to be worth a visit, before it got famous. Now there’s a line of tourists to get in. Instead, ask your local host to take you to their favorite bún cha place.

Bún cha is a popular Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and rice noodles served with herbs. Photo: Shutterstock

In the south, it’s banh xeo, crisp and savory crepes; Sandy’s favorites are stuffed with beef and bamboo shoots. There is a local place, Thanh Dieu, with four branches in HCM City that serves the absolute best in in town.

What to See and Do

Don’t miss
Dalat, known as the City of Love, was founded in 1893 by a French doctor who recognized the recuperative benefits of its mile-high elevation. The town overlooks lakes and is surrounded by pine tree-covered hills and has some of the most beautiful old colonial buildings found in all of Asia. In 1940, a few years after the rail line was built to Dalat, France’s Vichy government decided that Dalat would be the summer capital for all of Indochina. During the war years the French living in Vietnam prospered greatly, selling staples like rubber, coffee, and rice to the Japanese armies fighting in Asia. Unwilling to repatriate their profits to occupied France, a massive building boom—mostly of elegant villas and government buildings—fueled Dalat’s economy. It was also during this period that Dalat became a university center for colonials and Vietnamese alike.

For a great day trip from Hanoi, visit the breathtaking region of rice paddies and karst hills at Ninh Binh. It’s best to make a day of it and spend a few hours on a small boat poling though the beautiful countryside.

Don’t bother
The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi is really aimed at Vietnamese visitors, mostly school groups. Plus, the lines are long for just a quick view of embalmed Uncle Ho, making it all a bit of a letdown.

Unless you are a war-history buff, you may want to skip the Cu Chi Tunnels. The site is owned and operated by the Vietnamese military and can feel kitschy. Nevertheless, the tunnels provide insight into the tenacity of the Vietnamese in their wars of independence.

Hidden gem
Quy Nhon is off the main tourist path and still quite sleepy, but you’ll be rewarded with unspoiled beaches and beautiful countryside. For a throwback to a luxury era, make the journey from Da Nang on the new Vietage luxury train, and spend the night at the stylish Zannier Bai San Ho, (see “Hotels worth the splurge,” above).

The mountains meet the sea in Quy Nhon. Photo: Shutterstock

Bragging rights
Outside of Hue, join Tu, one of Sandy and Ethan’s local hosts, for lunch at home in a traditional Vietnamese village. Tu’s parents were born in Vietnam during the French colonial period, came of age during the American war, and have lived through the transition into socialism and later into the modern free-market period. They have a wealth of life experience to share and can offer insights into Vietnamese culture and history that few visitors can access.

Hanoi is a center for the fine arts in Vietnam, and Sandy has an exclusive arrangement with an expat gallery owner to explore the local scene with her leading the way. Sandy has also spent many years working with veterans on both sides of the Vietnam conflict, and he knows a number of colorful characters—both American and Vietnamese—who will greatly enhance your understanding of Vietnam’s history.

Explore My Son with one of the people who’s helped preserve it. Photo: Ethan Crowley

In central Vietnam, explore the ancient Cham ruins of My Son with Mr. Nguyen Thuong Hy. Part artist, part historian, part architectural preservationist, Mr. Hy has dedicated over 30 years to researching and beautifying these ruins; he even lives in a recreated ancient cottage that he built on a nearby hill. He knows every brick of the site and enjoys walking the grounds with travelers to add extra insight.

Downtime
The best place in Vietnam for downtime is the coastal area around Nha Trang. Even if you stay outside of town, set aside time to explore this beautiful city, which has some of the best seafood, beef barbecue, and fresh beer found anywhere in Southeast Asia. Once the capital of the great Cham empire, some remnants like the Po Nagar tower are quite well preserved. More recent sites like the Yersin Museum, a tribute to French-Swiss explorer and bacteriologist Dr. Alexandre Yersin, who founded Dalat, can be found within the compound of the Pasteur Institute. Additionally, the Oceanography Institute, established in 1923, was one of the first centers for scientific research in Vietnam and is an important location for tropical oceanographic research to this day. Nha Trang Bay is protected by a collection of large off-shore islands that can be explored by fast boat; for a real local experience, take the Vinpearl cable car out to Hon Tre Island one afternoon.

Best for thrill-seekers
There are a wide variety of adventures to be had in the Dalat highlands: If you’re looking for a challenge, trek to Tiger Cave and along the Laba River, crossing two suspension bridges. Never rapelled by rope down a cliff? Sandy’s guys can show you how up on Langbian Mountain, and then hike with you to a Lak tribal village. Or an easy, 12-mile mountain-bike ride takes you through countryside with lakes, rivers, farms, and pine forests. For the most hard-core, there’s white-water rafting, spelunking, and canyoning, all in the high elevations above 5,000 feet.

Beach Basics

Danang’s Nam O Beach, once known as China Beach. Photo: Shutterstock

Vietnam has more than 1,000 miles of coastline, but the best beaches are concentrated toward the central and southern parts of the country.

Danang’s beach used to be known as “China Beach” during the war; it’s long and very wide, with the blue Pacific generating great waves for surfing. Staying just to the south, near Hoi An, allows you to combine cultural and dining opportunities with your beach R&R. Make time as well for an excursion by private speedboat to the Cham Islands. These eight small islands, nine miles offshore, make up the Cu Lao Cham Marine Park, where you can go snorkeling or diving on pristine coral reefs, enjoy a seafood BBQ lunch, and relax on some of Vietnam’s most untouched beaches. Stay at the Four Seasons Nam Hai.

Further south lie the transparent turquoise waters of coastal Nha Trang, an abundance of offshore islands, and the old-world charm of colonial-era hotels and villas. Nha Trang has been a beach resort since the late 1800s, when the French dubbed it the Riviera of Indochina. This resort town is well known for its miles of shoreline, fantastic seafood, and the friendliness of its people. The city is flanked by nearly six miles of prime sand where the water is warm year-round. Tran Phu Boulevard is Nha Trang’s most famous thoroughfare and runs the length of the beach, with most major hotels located along it. Unlike many Vietnamese cities where the primary mode of transportation is the motorbike, the people of Nha Trang still walk or use a bicycle as their means of getting around, adding greatly to the tranquility of the town.

Crystalline waters off the Con Dao archipelago. Photo: Shutterstock

In colonial times, the Con Dao Islands, a 45-minute hop from Saigon by plane, were known as “Hell on Earth” because of the French prison where thousands of Vietnamese nationalists were incarcerated. But with beautiful white-sand beaches, great diving and snorkeling, sea turtle hatcheries, and hiking trails criss-crossing Con Dao National Park, today it is a magnet for nature lovers as well as history buffs. (The prison complex is being preserved and is the largest colonial-era building in all of Vietnam.) Most of the coastline is untouched by development, with towering palm trees hanging over long stretches of postcard-perfect white sand. The Six Senses Con Dao is the best-known luxury resort in the islands; 31 of its 50 villas are on a private beach with full facilities (including Six Senses’ signature free ice cream).

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