Why Vietnam
The country runs sixteen hundred kilometres north to south, and that means two simultaneous climates. When Hanoi is cold and hazy in January, Saigon is at thirty-two degrees. So there is no such thing as "the good season for Vietnam": there is a good season for the north, one for the centre and one for the south, and they never quite coincide.
The centre — Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An — takes its typhoons from September to November, exactly when the north turns pleasant. A north-to-south itinerary in October crosses that window.
Entry and stay
The regime depends on nationality and you must check your own. Vietnam runs two separate systems: a visa exemption for certain nationalities, each with its own permitted length, and an electronic visa open far more widely.
The e-visa is applied for on the national immigration portal and is valid for up to ninety days, multiple entry. It can be neither extended nor renewed in country: when it expires you must leave. The passport must have six months' validity on the date of entry.
The only official site is evisa.gov.vn. Numerous intermediaries charge for a service that is not one.
Source: France Diplomatie and Vietnam's national immigration portal, checked on 22 September 2026. Exemption lists change regularly.
Getting around
The Reunification Express runs down the coast from Hanoi to Saigon. It is slow — over thirty hours end to end — but the soft sleepers are comfortable and the Hue–Da Nang section, which crosses the Hai Van pass along the sea, is worth the trip on its own.
Sleeper buses cover everything else, including the places the train misses. Domestic flights are plentiful and cheap, and save a full day on Hanoi–Saigon.
In the cities, Grab replaces the taxi and shows the price up front, by car or by motorbike. It is the simplest way to avoid haggling.
Money
The dong is counted in tens of thousands and the notes resemble one another: mistakes by a factor of ten are common at first, in both directions.
Cash dominates well beyond hotels and large chains. Cash machines are everywhere but charge a flat fee per withdrawal, which penalises small repeated ones.
Health
No vaccination is required to enter. The real subject is food and water: sealed bottled water, care with raw vegetables and reheated dishes.
Insurance covering repatriation is not a comfort extra here: internationally equipped hospitals are concentrated in Hanoi and Saigon, and an evacuation from the centre or the highlands is expensive.
Before you go
Riding a motorbike requires a licence recognised locally. Without valid equivalence, insurance does not cover an accident — and this is the leading cause of serious injury among visitors.
Prices quoted to foreigners are not always those quoted to locals, particularly in markets. That is not illegal, it is custom; asking the price before consuming settles it.