Vietnam

Vietnam runs roughly 1,650 kilometres north to south, and the weather does not move as one system. Hanoi and the north have a subtropical year, the central coast has its own late-year rainy season, and Ho Chi Minh City is tropical year-round. Building a route around the seasons is the single most useful planning decision.

Best time by region

• North (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa) — October to April is cooler and drier; December to February can be genuinely cold in the mountains.
• Central (Hoi An, Hue, Da Nang) — February to August. September to November brings heavy rain and occasional flooding.
• South (Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong, Phu Quoc) — December to April is the dry season; May to November is wet but usually in short bursts.

Visa for Indian passport holders

Vietnam offers an e-visa for Indian travellers, applied for online before travel, and there have been short-lived exemption schemes in recent years. The e-visa is the reliable route, and it needs a passport-style photo and a clear scan of the passport data page. Apply at least a week ahead, longer in peak season, and check that the entry point you name on the application matches your actual arrival airport.

Getting there and around

There are direct flights from India to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with one-stop options through Bangkok, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. Internally, flying is cheap and saves days on the long north-south distance. Overnight trains are good value for the Hanoi–Hue and Hue–Da Nang legs, and the Hai Van Pass road between Hue and Hoi An is worth doing by car.

The classic route

Two weeks usually looks like Hanoi, Halong Bay, a flight or train south to Hoi An, then Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. Ten days means choosing either the north or the south and not trying to do both properly.

For a ready-made itinerary, see our Asia tour packages, or start with visa services for the e-visa.