VietnamHa Long Bay, Ancient Towns & Street Food Heaven

Southeast Asia's Best-Kept Secret

Vietnam is Southeast Asia's most underrated destination for Indian travelers — and Indians now get 45 days visa-free. The country stretches 1,650km from north to south and packs extraordinary diversity: the ancient capital of Hanoi with its French colonial boulevards and the world's best street food, the mythical karst landscape of Ha Long Bay, and the perfectly preserved UNESCO trading town of Hoi An lit by hundreds of silk lanterns at night.

The overnight junk cruise on Ha Long Bay — kayaking through hidden lagoons between 2,000 limestone karsts rising from emerald water, swimming off karst beaches, and watching the scenery change colour as the sun moves — is one of Asia's three or four unmissable experiences. The train journey from Hanoi through the mountains to Da Nang is equally spectacular. And Hoi An is the most atmospheric town in Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese food is one of the world's great cuisines — Pho, Banh Mi, Bun Cha, and the extraordinary Hoi An specialties of Cao Lau noodles and White Rose dumplings. A Vietnamese cooking class in Hoi An is genuinely one of the best travel experiences available anywhere. Tripharbr covers the full north-to-central circuit and handles all the logistics that make Vietnam complex — domestic flights, Ha Long cruise bookings, and train reservations.