Bai Sao beach - Photo Credit - Tim Russell
30 Cool Things to Do in Vietnam
Coming to Vietnam & want to avoid the touristy stuff? Or coming back for a repeat visit & want to do something different? Here’s our list of 30 fun & non-touristy things to do in Vietnam…
- Go to a rural wedding – you can’t beat rice wine shots at 6am
- See Vietnam the way the locals do – from a motorbike, with a Vietnam Vespa Adventures scooter tour or an evening street food crawl with XO Tours
- Join the locals on a tiny plastic stool for bia hoi on the pavement in Hanoi
- Spend a day relaxing & eating seafood at Bai Sao beach in Phu Quoc, the most stunning beach in the country
- Think about swapping that internal flight or long road journey for a relaxing, scenic ride on Vietnam’s ramshackle but charming trains
- Get out of the tourist areas & visit some authentic wet markets, eg Tan Dinh in HCMC
- Get up early & join the locals for morning exercises in a local park, or around Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi
- Eat oc (shellfish/snails) on the street at night
- Spend the night in an ethnic minority stilthouse in Mai Chau
- Smile at everyone you meet – it really does work
- Escape from the modern world at Jungle Beach, a hand-built eco resort on a private beach near Nha Trang
- Befriend your hotel’s security guys – they’ll be your best friends if you have any problems with rogue taxi drivers
- Do a cooking class on the beach at Mui Ne Cooking School, the most idyllic cooking class location in Vietnam
- Go for a blind massage
- Find & join in a game of da cau (shuttlecock) in a park – not as easy as it looks but it’s good fun
- Act like Andrew Zimmern & try some bizarre food – minced snake, grilled scorpion & field rat are on many restaurant menus
- Spend the night in a jungle lodge at Cat Tien National Park, home to many endangered species
- Cross the road in Saigon or Hanoi – a real sense of achievement when you make it intact to the other side!
- Ride a motorbike over the Hai Van Pass at 5am on a clear summer morning, and see sunrise at one of Vietnam’s most spectacular spots
- Visit Cholon (Saigon’s historic Chinatown) by cyclo – vibrant markets, magnificent colonial buildings and great Chinese food
- Try out your handicraft skills at a lantern-making workshop in Hoi An
- Take a private blessing ceremony at a colourful Cao Dai temple
- Go trekking in Con Dao’s national park to observe wild monkeys
- Drive the spectacular coast road from Quy Nhon to Tuy Hoa
- Enjoy a relaxing couple of hours at a local hairdresser for a haircut, hairwash and head massage – the whole lot will cost less than $2 in many places
- Get some friends together & rent a private karaoke room with a couple of cases of beer
- Try night fishing for squid off the coast of Phu Quoc
- Visit Binh Thuy ancient house in Can Tho, where the film The Lover was shot – and contribute to its upkeep
- Visit the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Cham Island near Hoi An – sail there on a traditional ghe nang boat, and stay in a village homestay
- Get off the tourist trail in the Mekong Delta – avoid My Tho & Vinh Long, & try Ben Tre, Sa Dec or Tra Vinh instead
Big thanks to Kris Goetghebeur, Scott Bowen, Craig Anderson, Tin Bien, Tim Scott, Jake Catlett, Naya Ehrlich-Adam, Mario Jukic, Irina Kim and Irene Wong for sharing their suggestions.
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