On the south coast of Vietnam, a small fishing village called Mui Ne is surrounded by two giant sets of sand dunes. With an organised tour which includes pick up and drop off, you can get a lift in a 4x4 to the top of the dunes, just in time to watch the sunrise. For as far as the eye can see, the dunes encapsulate the view, making you feel alone in the desert.

In the north of Vietnam, Ninh Bin is a province with large mountains, caves and enormous rice fields. You can rent a bike and stroll through the rice fields to admire the beauty of such a vast land, or you can take a boat tour to the grottes of Trang An, which offers 3 different routes and an insane view all along. Once again a world heritage site, the story and unique monuments are worth the detour and definitely worth a few days exploring Ninh Bin.

Hanoi is such an old city and is filled with history and culture. You can go on the train track and have coffee sitting down on the plastic chairs and table. The city is full of restaurants, small local shops and strolling around is an experience in itself. I also recommend the Ho Lao prison, where the site has been very well preserved from time. It is very interesting about the history of the place and to get a feeling of what they went through and experienced.

One of my favourite experiences and best memory of Vietnam is a two day boat tour of Halong Bay, the world heritage site. You cannot really go without a tour unfortunately, because you need to go on a boat, and having a tour provides an English speaking guide, which tells you all about the history of places you visit. You pass by floating villages, kayak in the bay, have Vietnamese traditional food and explore caves and they make sure you don;t miss out on anything. I absolutely adored the tour as it brought me places I would have never experienced without the tour.

The city is so full of history and culture, I highly recommend having a few days to explore and visit the war remnant museum reflecting the country’s war past, the CuChi (underground) tunnels and the artillery that was used during the war. The city is als full of markets, where you can buy pretty much everything. It truly is a vibrant and enormous city, so not being rushed makes you appreciate your surroundings and the business of the city.