Perhaps no country brings so many stark memories to mind for people of my generation than Vietnam. Growing up toward the end of the war, listening to daily casualty reports on the evening news, the conflict left a deep impression. Never in a million years did I think I'd consider Vietnam as a vacation destination — and yet here it is on my bucket list.

The shift started at trade shows and tourism conferences where Vietnam kept coming up. It accelerated after Janet and I attended an event hosted by the Vietnam Ministry of Tourism in Washington D.C. — cultural performances, supplier presentations, and, my favorite part, the opportunity to sample authentic Vietnamese cuisine. What really landed the hook was the research I did for a few clients interested in visiting. The deeper I dug, the more interested I became. Touring Vietnam takes you through an extraordinary range of history, landscape, food, and culture in a single two-week itinerary. This review covers the full journey from north to south — Hanoi, the countryside, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City — using the National Geographic Journeys "Explore Vietnam" itinerary operated by G Adventures as the spine.

The Tour at a Glance

The Journey, North to South

Day 1 — Hanoi: Arrival

The tour begins in Hanoi. Day 1 is an arrival day — no activities scheduled, just a welcome meeting with your National Geographic Expedition Leader in the early evening to meet the group and get oriented. An arrival transfer is included.

Day 2 — Hanoi and Mai Chau Valley

The morning is spent in Hanoi with a guided tour of the city's most historically significant sites. The first stop is Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum — the embalmed body of Vietnam's founding leader is on display inside, though I'll confess that part holds limited appeal for me personally. More compelling is the Presidential Palace nearby, a graceful French colonial building designed as his official residence, which Ho Chi Minh famously declined to use. From there, the tour moves to Hoa Lo Prison, known to American POWs as the Hanoi Hilton. Built by the French in 1896, it later housed American prisoners of war during the Vietnam conflict. Veterans have mixed feelings about visiting; others find it an important and sobering hour.

After the prison, guests board a cyclo — a three-wheel bicycle taxi — for a ride through the Old Quarter. The Old Quarter is the heart of old Hanoi: winding alleyways, hundreds of small shops, street food vendors, temples, and the particular energy of a neighborhood that stays open long after the rest of the city quiets down. Don't leave without spending time here on your own.

In the afternoon the group transfers south to the Mai Chau Valley for a two-night stay at a lodge. Mai Chau is a patchwork of rice paddies, emerald hills, and villages belonging to the White Thai ethnic minority — a world away from the city in every respect.

Day 3 — Mai Chau Valley

A full day in the valley. The included activity is a walk through the countryside, with a visit to a rural market for a fruit tasting and an introduction to local customs and tribal life. An optional lunch at a village home is available for an additional cost and worth taking if offered — it's the kind of experience that doesn't translate to a brochure.

Day 4 — Return to Hanoi

The drive back to Hanoi includes a stop at KymViet Enterprise, a G Adventures-supported program that teaches embroidery and sewing skills to people with hearing impairments. Guests tour the workshop, meet the staff, learn to make a small handicraft, and pick up a few words of sign language. It's one of the tour's most quietly affecting stops — not something you'd find on a standard Hanoi itinerary.

The afternoon in Hanoi is free. If you haven't already, this is the time to find Bún chả Hương Liên in the Hai Bà Trưng district — the hole-in-the-wall made famous when Anthony Bourdain brought President Obama there for dinner during his 2016 state visit. The owners have since enshrined the table in glass. The "Combo Obama" — bún chả and seafood spring rolls with a cold Bia Hà Nội — reportedly cost under $10 for two. It's still on the menu. Also worth the afternoon: the Temple of Literature (built in 1070, Vietnam's first university), the Ngoc Son Temple on an island in Hoan Kiem Lake, and the streets of the Old Quarter itself. Egg coffee and coconut coffee are Hanoi specialties worth trying; they read stranger on paper than they taste in the cup.

Day 5 — Ha Long Bay

After breakfast the group transfers to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from turquoise water. The scale is hard to convey — the karst formations extend in every direction as far as you can see, and the light changes everything about how they look hour to hour. The group boards a traditional-style wooden junk boat for an overnight cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay, the more secluded section of the bay that sees less traffic than the main Ha Long area. The afternoon includes a cruise of the bay's karst formations and a visit to Me Cung Cave with a local guide. Kayaking is available as an optional add-on.

Day 6 — Ha Long Bay to Hue

An early lunch on the junk boat before returning to land and transferring back to Hanoi for a short internal flight south to Hue. The internal flights are included in the tour price — a significant practical detail on an itinerary that covers this much geography. Hue served as the imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty (1802–1945) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was also the site of the Tet Offensive in 1968, one of the Vietnam War's most pivotal and brutal confrontations — a history that sits alongside the architectural grandeur in ways that are worth understanding before you arrive.

Day 7 — Hue

A guided tour of the Imperial Citadel — a walled complex of palaces, gardens, and temples that served as the seat of the Nguyen emperors. Inside is the Forbidden Purple City, the private quarters of the imperial family, much of which was destroyed during the Tet Offensive and is still being restored. In the afternoon the group visits the imperial tombs along the banks of the Perfume River, each one a distinct architectural statement from a different emperor. The day also includes a visit to a Buddhist nunnery and lunch in the tradition of Vietnamese vegetarian cuisine — which is considerably more interesting than that description makes it sound.

Day 8 — Hue to Hoi An

The drive south to Hoi An crosses the Hai Van Pass, one of the most scenic drives in Vietnam — the road climbs steeply along the spine of a mountain range before dropping to the coast on the other side. Hoi An is a remarkably well-preserved 15th-century trading port and UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town is a network of narrow streets lined with merchant homes, tailor shops, and lantern vendors, the buildings leaning toward each other overhead in the way of very old cities. The afternoon includes a lantern-making workshop — Hoi An is the lantern capital of Vietnam, and making your own is one of the tour's included highlights. Optional: a visit to a local tailor for a custom-made shirt. Hoi An's tailors are fast and reasonably priced; build in a fitting and pickup if your schedule allows.

Day 9 — Hoi An: Oodles of Noodles

One of the tour's signature experiences. The morning starts with a guided market visit with staff from Oodles of Noodles, a G Adventures-supported program that trains local youth in the culinary arts. The market section alone is worth the morning — dozens of varieties of fresh noodles, local produce, and the organized chaos of a Vietnamese market in full operation. The group then takes the ingredients to the Oodles of Noodles training kitchen to learn to prepare several noodle dishes and eat what they've made for lunch. It's a genuinely fun morning, and the food is excellent.

Day 10 — Hoi An: Free Day

A full free day in Hoi An. Optional activities include a day trip to My Son, a cluster of moss-covered Hindu temples dating from the 4th to 13th centuries — the architectural legacy of the Cham civilization that controlled this coast for over a thousand years. My Son was heavily bombed during the war and the ruins are haunting in that specific way of places that have been destroyed and not rebuilt. Also optional: the Thu Bon River boat trip, a sunset boat ride, or simply the beach at Cua Dai. Hoi An rewards slow exploration and has some of the best restaurants in Vietnam.

Day 11 — Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City

A short internal flight brings the group to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon — Vietnam's economic engine and the largest city in the country. The energy is entirely different from Hanoi: faster, louder, more international, and more immediately commercial. Optional activities on arrival include a cyclo tour past the Notre Dame Cathedral, the ornate Central Post Office, and City Hall; a visit to the War Remnants Museum (powerful and difficult — not for the faint-hearted, but important); and a tour of the Reunification Palace, where the North Vietnamese tanks rolled through the gates on April 30, 1975, marking the end of the war.

Day 12 — Cu Chi Tunnels

The included full-day excursion is to the Cu Chi Tunnels — the network of underground passageways that served as a base for Viet Cong forces throughout the war. The tunnels extend for over 150 miles beneath the jungle floor and contained subterranean hospitals, ammunition depots, kitchens, and living quarters. Sections have been widened for tourist access and you can crawl through a short stretch. It is claustrophobic, illuminating, and one of the most memorable single experiences on the itinerary.

Day 13 — Departure

The tour ends in Ho Chi Minh City. Departure transfers are available to book separately through G Adventures or your travel agent. If time allows before your flight, the Ben Thanh Market is a short distance from most hotels and a good final hour in the city.

What to Know Before You Go