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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.

Pronounced ‘hway’, this deeply evocative capital of the Nguyen emperors still resonates with the glories of imperial Vietnam, even though many of its finest buildings were destroyed during the American War.

Dong Van is the Ha Giang region's most popular overnight stop and, not coincidentally, is home to some solid accommodation and food. But the real reason to come is for the Sunday market, one of the region's biggest and most colourful. The town is also a good base for day treks around nearby minority villages and nearby sights such as the Lung Cu flag tower and the Lung Cam Cultural Tourist Village.

The high-rise, high-energy beach resort of Nha Trang enjoys a stunning setting: it's ringed by a necklace of hills, with a turquoise bay dotted with tropical islands.

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.

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.

Welcome to an alternative reality populated by European royalty, film stars and the otherwise rich and secretive. For the average punter not able to afford an uber-luxurious hotel, this place doesn’t exist. Well, at least not before 2017, when the mother-of-all flashpacker retreats opened here on a private bay.

Vart du än på bron dig vänder, står din lycka i stenhänder. Ja, så är fallet på den nyöppnade Golden Bridge utanför Da Nang i Vietnam.

Northeast Vietnam includes Halong Bay, one of the region's biggest draws. Reasons to linger after your boat trip include the lesser-known but stunning Bai Tu Long Bay, the intersection of nature and culture that is Ba Be National Park, the otherworldly karst landscapes outside of Cao Bang and the urban options in Haiphong.

Ha Giang is the final frontier in northern Vietnam, an amazing landscape of limestone pinnacles and granite outcrops. The far north of the province has some of the most spectacular scenery in the country – if not the region – and the trip between Yen Minh and Dong Van, and then across the Mai Pi Leng Pass to Meo Vac, is quite mind-blowing. Ha Giang should be one of the most popular destinations in this region, but its distance from just about everywhere else keeps visitor numbers at a low level.