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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.

A French-era hill station, this national park reaches a peak of 1450m at Bach Ma mountain, only 18km from the coast. The cool climate attracted the French, who built over a hundred villas here. Not surprisingly the Viet Minh tried hard to spoil the holiday – the area saw some heavy fighting in the early 1950s and again during the American War.

Cat Tien comprises an amazingly biodiverse area of lowland tropical rainforest. The 72,000-hectare park is one of the outstanding natural treasures in Vietnam, a true jungle, and the hiking, mountain biking and birdwatching here are the best in the south of the country. At weekends and public holidays it gets busy with domestic tourists – it's worth calling ahead to book the most popular excursions.

Just 3km north of Hoi An, An Bang is one of Vietnam’s most happening and enjoyable beaches. At present there's a wonderful stretch of fine sand and an enormous horizon (with less of the serious erosion evident at Cua Dai), and with only the distant Cham Islands interrupting the seaside symmetry. Staying at the beach and visiting Hoi An on day trips is a good strategy for a relaxing visit to the area.

Yok Don nationalpark i södra Vietnam ska istället erbjuda etisk elefantturism.

The epicentre of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho is the largest city in the region and feels like a metropolis after a few days exploring the backwaters. As the political, economic, cultural and transportation centre of the Mekong Delta, it’s a buzzing town with a lively waterfront lined with sculpted gardens, an appealing blend of narrow backstreets and wide boulevards, and perhaps the greatest concentration of foreigners in the delta. It is also the perfect base for nearby floating markets, the major draw for tourists who come here to boat along the many canals and rivers leading out of town.

Wow, the vistas. This is Vietnam's big-sky country; a place of rippling mountains, cascading rice terraces and the winnowed-out karst topography for which the region is famed.

Nowhere in Vietnam is changing as fast as Danang. For decades it had a reputation as a quiet provincial town, but big changes are ongoing. Stroll along the Han riverfront and you'll find gleaming new modernist hotels, and apartments and restaurants are emerging. Spectacular bridges now span the river, and in the north of the city, the landmark new D-City is rising from the flatlands. Venture south and the entire Danang Beach strip is booming with hotel and resort developments.

Heading east of Hoi An, new housing and hotels mix with older rice paddies, and the riverbank meanders for around 5km to sandy beaches. This palm-fringed coastline extends north to Danang, and despite the development, there are still a few quieter stretches; it's a good area to explore independently on two wheels.