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This eponymous provincial capital isn't unpleasant; the climate is mild, and winter days can bring a chilly welcome relief from the heat when a thick fog clings to the banks of the Bang Giang River. But you'll most likely use the city as a base to explore rural Cao Bang province, one of the most beautiful regions in Vietnam.

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.

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.

Dien Bien Phu (DBP) plays a star role in Vietnam's modern history. It was in the surrounding countryside here, on 7 May 1954, that the French colonial forces were defeated by the Viet Minh in a decisive battle, and the days of their Indochina empire became numbered.

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.

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.

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.

Towering limestone pillars and tiny islets topped by forest rise from the emerald waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1994, Halong Bay's scatter of islands, dotted with wind- and wave-eroded grottoes, is a vision of ethereal beauty and, unsurprisingly, northern Vietnam's number one-tourism hub.

Mustiga nudelkok, frasiga rispannkakor, färskpressad passionsfruktjuice och vidunderlig cao lau. Vi reser från södra till norra Vietnam och testar Asiens bästa street food.

This stupendous coastline of ravishing white sands and azure bays is Vietnam's premier destination for beach holidays.