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Ninh Binh is a good base for exploring quintessentially Vietnamese limestone scenery. Few Western tourists head here, but many Vietnamese flock to nearby sights, including the nation’s biggest pagoda and the Unesco World Heritage–listed Trang An grottoes.

Practically obliterated during the American War, Vinh was rebuilt with East German aid – hence the brutalist concrete architecture dominating downtown. The only reasons to stop here are if you're a Ho Chi Minh devotee (he was born in a nearby village), or if you're heading to Laos.

South of Hanoi, Ninh Binh province is blessed with natural beauty, cultural sights and the Cuc Phuong National Park. Highlights include boat trips amid karst landscapes at Tam Coc and the Unesco World Heritage-listed Trang An Grottoes.

Just off the Danang Beach coastal road, the Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son) consist of five craggy marble outcrops topped with pagodas. Each mountain is named for the natural element it’s said to represent: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth). The villages that have sprung up at the base of the mountains specialise in marble sculpture, though they now astutely use marble from China rather than hacking away at the mountains that bring the visitors in.

Notable for its extensive mangrove forest, Can Gio is a low, palm-fringed island sitting at the mouth of the Saigon River, some 25km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City. It was formed from silt washing downstream from the river, so don’t expect any white-sand beaches. A few hopeful resorts have sprung up along the murky 10km shoreline.

Highlights of the Danang region include the city's impressive urban energy, the rapidly evolving beach scene to the east of the river, and more remote and spectacular coastal scenery of the nearby Son Tra Peninsula. Look forward to some of Vietnam's best seafood and street food. It's worth booking a walking tour with a local to best understand Danang.

Vietnam's capital races to make up for time lost to the ravages of war and a government that as recently as the 1990s kept the outside world at bay. Its streets surge with scooters vying for right of way amid the din of constantly blaring horns, and all around, layers of history reveal periods of French and Chinese occupation – offering a glimpse into the resilience of ambitious, proud Hanoians.

The spectacular karst limestone landscapes around Ninh Binh and Tam Coc are ideal for exploring by boat or bicycle, and there are stellar opportunities for caving and trekking amid the fast-developing travellers' scene of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Dong Hoi, the coastal gateway to Phong Nha, also has an enjoyable low-key beach scene and good restaurants.

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. A chaotic whirl, the city breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride.

Dalat is an alternative Vietnam: the weather is spring-like instead of tropical hot, the town is dotted with French-colonial villas rather than socialist architecture, and the surrounding farms cultivate strawberries, coffee and flowers instead of rice.