Salzburg

Steadily being transformed into a vast new city, Tuy Hoa is characterised by its vast plaza and multi-laned boulevards. It’s a possible overnight stop to break up a longer journey, especially for cyclists brave enough to tackle Hwy 1, but most visitors are just passing through.

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.

Buon Ma Thuot can trace its origins back to a simple rural settlement: the Ede name translates as ‘Thuot’s father’s village’. But Buon Ma Thuot (pronounced ‘boon me tote’) has long outgrown its rustic origins and is now a thoroughly modern, affluent city.

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.

Plonked about midway between My Tho and Can Tho, Vinh Long is a major transit hub and the capital of the province. For travelers, it's a gateway to island life, Cai Be floating market, abundant orchards and rural homestays.

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.

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.

A large, prosperous coastal city, Quy Nhon (pronounced ‘hwee ngon’) boasts a terrific beach-blessed shoreline and grand boulevards. Its seaside appeal and tidy, litter-free streets make it the kind of place that affluent Vietnamese couples choose to retire to, spending their final days ocean-gazing and promenade-walking.

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.