Chapters

MEKONG DELTA Vietnam’s southern tip is full of rice farms, rivulets of the mighty Mekong River, floating markets and some of the country’s friendliest people. Go on tours, or on your own.
MUI NE Five hours north of Saigon, Mui Ne is the new go-to weekend getaway, with great $40 beach ‘resorts’ and plenty of wind-surfing off the gold-sand beach.
PHU QUOC New hope for big-time beach destination, Phu Quoc is still (mostly) off the radar, with many beaches left untouched for the time being.
SAIGON Commercial and almost in-your-face friendly, Saigon is less ‘Ho Chi Minh City’ than ever, with glittering skyscrapers and fading French colonial buildings crowding ever-crammed streets. It lacks Hanoi’s quaint, reflective spirit — but it’s hard not to love.

Itineraries

If you have one week, see ‘American War’ sites around Saigon (including a half-day trip to nearby Cu Chi Tunnels), and take a three-day trip to the Mekong Delta. Finish with beach time in Phu Quoc.

If you have a little more time, try to see the Mekong on your own. It’s easy and you’ll get more out of the river towns without groups at your elbow.

If you want to get way off the beaten track, explore the back neighborhoods of Saigon (like District 10), and head to ‘deep Mekong’ to see the beaches near Ha Tien or the Tra Su bird sanctuary outside Chau Doc (no guidebook-toting tourists there — no guides know about it yet!)

My Favorites

Mekong Delta homestays. Some tours arrange homestays, but you can do it on your own too (easiest from Vinh Long). I did, and ended up on an army cot in a former VC’s home on an island. He never let language barrier get in the way of a long-winded conversation.

Chau Doc on your own. Near the Cambodia border, Chau Doc’s great to show up and plot your own day. I hired a guy to take me aboard floating village homes and floating market boats — then we bought a fish from a guy and took it to a restaurant to cook. The next day I had another guy take me to a bird sanctuary for a creepy dusk ride over moss in a place no guidebook knows about.

Staring. In Saigon it’s practically a past time. Find a Trung Nguyen coffee spot and do like everyone does: sit and look. Even the backpacker zone around Pham Ngu Lao has fascinating spots.

Luxury hotel splurges. Saigon’s central Park Hyatt beats the French-era relics in town. There are two great Victoria hotels in the Mekong: in Can Tho and Chau Doc. Phu Quoc’s La Veranda is nice (but neck-in-neck with the budget choices); Phong Lan is a (very) secluded private villa.

Phu Quoc by motorbike. Most people stay on the central west coast, but better beaches are found by motorbike over clip-clappedy wood bridges and dirt paths.