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Highlights of this area include the vibrant city of Danang, the former imperial capital of Hue, and the very popular but undeniably stunning historic port town of Hoi An. The best beach scenes are at An Bang near Hoi An and Lang Co near Danang, and for nature fans there is good hiking and birdwatching in Bach Ma National Park. Ancient Cham history is fascinating at My Son, and the compelling Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) showcases the poignant and tragic stories of the American War.

There’s much more to northeast Vietnam than Halong Bay. The sinking limestone plateau, which gave birth to the bay’s spectacular islands, continues for some 100km to the Chinese border. The area immediately northeast of Halong Bay is part of Bai Tu Long National Park.

Rugged, craggy and jungle-clad Cat Ba, the largest island in Halong Bay, has experienced a tourism surge in recent years. The central hub of Cat Ba Town is now framed by a chain of low-rise concrete hotels along its once-lovely bay, but the rest of the island is largely untouched and as wild as ever. With idyllic Lan Ha Bay just offshore, you'll soon overlook Cat Ba Town's overdevelopment.

Tra Vinh, one of the prettiest towns in the Mekong Delta, is a peaceful place to explore the region's little-touted Cambodian connection. Around 300,000 ethnic Khmer live in the surrounding province and the area is dotted with more than 140 Khmer pagodas. With wide boulevards shaded by lines of trees, the town itself is more symbolic of the French colonialist era, but get beyond the outskirts and you'll soon discover that Khmer culture is still alive and well in these parts of Vietnam. Tra Vinh also has a small but active Chinese community, one of the few such communities that remain in the Mekong Delta region.

Dong Hoi is a pleasantly untouristed port and seaside town. It enjoys an attractive location, clinging to the banks of the Nhat Le River, and has beaches to the north and south. Recently established air links to Haiphong (for Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island) and the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai promise to significantly increase the city's appeal as a destination. Dong Hoi also has excellent transport links to the Phong Nha region.

Quang Ngai city is something of an overgrown village, so most visitors only drop by for a spot of grazing at lunchtime. The few travelers who venture here for longer usually do so to pay their respects to the victims of the most famous atrocity of the American War at nearby Son My.

Gateway to the Mekong Delta, My Tho is the capital of Tien Giang province and an important market town – although for the famous floating markets, you’ll need to continue on to Can Tho.

Once upon a time, Mui Ne was an isolated stretch of shoreline where pioneering travellers camped on the sand. Times have changed and it's now a string of beach resorts, which have fused into one long coastal strip. These resorts are, for the most part, mercifully low-rise and set amid pretty gardens by the sea. The original fishing village is still here, but tourists outnumber locals these days. There are a handful of luxury hotels (and a smattering of cheap guesthouses) but Mui Ne is mainly a midrange resort.

Lang Co is an attractive island-like stretch of palm-shaded white sand, with a turquoise lagoon on one side and 10km of beachfront on the other. As a beach resort it's more geared to Vietnamese day trippers than Western travellers, but if the weather's nice the ocean is certainly inviting (if you stay away from the central section, which could be cleaner). High season is April to July. From late August to November rains are frequent, and from December to March it can get chilly.

Few parts of Vietnam stir the imagination with the lure of adventure quite like the highlands. The ribbon that is the Ho Chi Minh Hwy winds its scenic way past coffee plantations, pine-studded mountains, rice paddies with their wallowing buffalo, enormous reed-covered lakes and peaceful villages, laying down the challenge of a two-wheeled journey.