Heading to Vietnam? Here are 5 top things you’ll want to have on your itinerary.

Lanterns in Hoi An

Heading to Hoi An has to include a trip to the lantern shops. We spent so long choosing, I actually didn’t know how I was going to decide on which one I liked as there were so many that I just loved. We ended up getting two as I couldn’t pick! Once you’ve selected the ones you want, you’ll buy a collapsed version which is wrapped so it can be transported home. Prices of the lanterns can vary massively but you can politely negotiate with the shop staff for a fairer deal. 

Hai Van Pass

I’ve written a whoooole blog about it so I won’t say too much, but if you want to live your best Top Gear life, the Hai Van Pass is the one. Either drive it yourself or enjoy a sit back and relax experience with an easy rider. It was truly a highlight of our month in Vietnam!

Have a Banh Mi from Bahn Mi 25

Food is always a top priority wherever I am, and I was SO excited for Vietnamese food. I loved the Pho & Bun Cha’s but there is something about a freshly cooked Bahn Mi. Between the early 1800’s and 1954, Vietnam was a French Colony so the Bahn Mi is a result of the French influence. Whilst the French did many bad things in Vietnam, they did do one good thing and that was introducing the locals to baguettes. Taking the plain baguette, the Vietnamese locals turned it into a delicacy. The Bahn Mi is a truly delicious combination of freshly cooked baguette stuffed with meats, pickled veggies and spicy sauces. The fillings vary but the best ones are the traditional ones. 

Send a post card at the Saigon Central Post Office in Ho Chi Minh

I love sending postcards – I’ve written them from most of the places I’ve travelled, so when we found out that the Saigon Central Post Office was famous for sending postcards it was rocketed to top of my to do list in Ho Chi Minh. The post office is a beautiful building so even if you’re not interested in sending a postcard, the building is worth a look. I would recommend sending one. I’ve always sent them to someone, but looking back now, I wish I’d also sent one to myself with a little note on what I’d done that day, something to look back and read from past me. Anything to keep the travelling memories alive! 

Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels 

The last thing on this list is something that cannot be missed – the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels are such a huge part of Vietnam’s history and give you the chance to experience what life was like during the Vietnam war. The site includes a chance to walk (or crawl, really) through a section of the 100’s of kilometre long under ground tunnels that linked multiple military bases together, where soldiers spent hours living deep underground with limited oxygen. Now, when you experience the tunnels, there are large fans built in to bring the temperatures down and some have also been enlarged to allow tourists to access.

Whilst you’re at the site, you’ll also visit the museum filled with remnants of bombs, weapons, soldiers belongings and watch demonstrations of gruesome booby traps that the Vietnamese soldiers built. It was hard to comprehend what life was like, but a few seconds in the tunnels will quickly raise your heart rate enough to give you a glimmer of how horrific the condition were. To set the scene even more, in the background you’ll hear the echo of AK-47’s from the onsite firing range.

The whole tour was so informative, I knew a little about the tunnels before we visited but it’s nothing like seeing them in real life. We visited a lot of other museums in Vietnam, but seeing what we had read about in person was shocking. I thought I could imagine how small the tunnels were from what we’d read, but they’re even smaller than what you think.

Most of this essential itinerary list is a fun little activity, but it’s so important to understand the history of where you’re visiting too so the tunnels are probably one of the most important things to do. Some of the museums were limited in English translation, or just huge roughly translated paragraphs which made some of the museum quite intense with a bit of an overload of information, so if you’re not keen on visiting the museums but you want to know more, visiting the tunnels is the thing to do. Our tour went from Ho Chi Minh and we booked it through Trip Advisor. The tour also included the travel to and from the tunnels as they’re around 2 hours from the city. Just to note, a lot of the tours vary in price but are all the same when you arrive at the tunnels, I would just recommend booking a bus with AC! 

Have you done any of these activities in Vietnam? I’d love to know!