Vietnam
Limestone bays, lantern-lit old towns, rice terraces and two very different cities at either end — Vietnam is a long, narrow country that rewards travellers who pick a half and give it time.
A country that runs
north to south, and changes as it goes
Vietnam is shaped like a shoulder pole with a basket at each end — that is the country's own image for itself, and it is exact. The Red River delta and Hanoi hang at the top, the Mekong delta and Ho Chi Minh City at the bottom, and between them a thin coastal strip carries the imperial city of Hue, the port of Da Nang and the trading town of Hoi An. The two ends sit in different climates, eat differently and keep different hours, and the distance between them is a two-hour flight or a day and a half on a train.
For Indian travellers it is one of the easiest long-haul countries in Asia to do well. Non-stop flights from Delhi and Mumbai take about five hours, the e-visa is applied for online without a visit to an embassy, the time difference is an hour and a half, and vegetarian food is not a special request — Vietnam has a Buddhist tradition of meat-free cooking, and every town has restaurants marked chay that serve nothing else.
What makes the country more than a beach-and-city break is its variety in a small space. Ha Long Bay's limestone islands, the flooded karst valleys of Ninh Binh, the rice terraces of the northern mountains, the caves of Phong Nha and the river life of the Mekong are all within a day of a major airport. The only real decision is which half to see first.
When is your Vietnam?
There is no single Vietnamese season. The north has a cool winter, the centre has a monsoon that arrives in autumn, and the south is warm all year with a wet half. Most itineraries are timed for the region that matters most to them.
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Vietnam visa — what you need to know
Indian passport holders need a visa for Vietnam, and for a holiday the practical route is the e-visa, applied for and paid for online through Vietnam's official e-visa portal (evisa.gov.vn), the Immigration Department's own portal. There is no embassy visit for the e-visa and the result is delivered by email.
The portal states that the Vietnam e-visa is valid for a maximum of 90 days, single or multiple entry, and that the fee is 25 US dollars for a single-entry visa and 50 US dollars for a multiple-entry visa, paid through the portal's own payment gateway. It also states plainly that the fee is not refunded if the visa is not granted. The e-visa is issued to foreigners who are outside Vietnam at the time of applying, not to anyone already in the country.
The portal publishes its own processing time and it is the only figure to plan against; we do not repeat one because it changes and because the working-day figures elsewhere on the site belong to the in-country invitation route and to residence registration, not to the online tourist e-visa. Apply well before you book anything non-refundable, and treat public holidays in Vietnam — Tet above all — as days when nothing moves.
The e-visa is applied for at evisa.gov.vn, also reached as thithucdientu.gov.vn. Many commercial sites imitate it, charge a service fee on top and are not the Immigration Department. The official application asks for a recent portrait photograph — 4 by 6 centimetres, JPG, under 2 MB, facing straight, no hat, no glasses, plain clothing, white background — and a clear image of the passport data page. Everything is declared in English and must be accurate; the portal says an application with dishonest information is denied.
An e-visa is only valid for entry and exit through the international border gates the Government designates, and the portal carries the list. Every airport Indian travellers use — Hanoi Noi Bai, Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat, Da Nang, Cam Ranh for Nha Trang and Phu Quoc among them — is on it, as are named sea ports and land crossings. If you plan to arrive overland from Cambodia or Laos, check that the specific crossing is listed before you rely on it.
Entry rules change. the Embassy of Viet Nam in New Delhi is the place to confirm the position for an Indian passport and for anything the e-visa does not cover — a longer stay, work, or a temporary or emergency passport, which the portal states cannot be issued a visa. Final visa decisions rest with the Vietnamese authorities.
For all Vietnam journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.
Travel Vietnam intelligently
Vietnam is safe, cheap to move around and easy to eat in. The things that catch people out are small and practical.
Vietnam travel FAQ
The questions Indian travellers ask most often before booking Vietnam.
Vietnam for every kind
of traveller
The country is long and each region suits a different trip. These are the combinations that work, rather than a list of everything in it.
The capital's Old Quarter, its lakes and its food, then Ha Long Bay for a night on the water and Ninh Binh for karst valleys you row through.
Sapa and Mu Cang Chai in the north-west, where rice terraces climb whole mountainsides and the villages are Hmong, Dao and Thai.
The imperial capital, the coast road over the Hai Van Pass, and Hoi An — a trading port preserved whole, lanterns and all.
Da Nang's long city beach, Phu Quoc island off the south-west coast, and Nha Trang's bay — each with a different season.
The country's commercial capital — rooftop bars, French-era buildings, war history — and the delta to the south, where the river is the road.
Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park, UNESCO-listed for its karst, holds river caves you enter by boat and, for the committed, Hang Son Doong.
Vietnam suits couples who want a country with a beach in it rather than a beach with a country attached. The classic shape is a city, the bay and the coast.
Short flights, boats everywhere, mild food and cities that are lively rather than difficult. Vietnam is an easy first Asian country for children.
Each region cooks differently — Hanoi's restraint, Hue's imperial small plates, Hoi An's noodles found nowhere else, the south's sweetness and herbs.
Tell us how long you have and whether you want the north, the centre and coast, the south, or a run down the whole country, and our travel designers will shape the route around it.
How far in advance
should you book Vietnam?
Vietnam books late without much trouble, with three exceptions: Tet, the northern high season from October to December, and anything with a permit or a small boat.
North, or centre and south — the season follows the choice, not the other way round.
Fly into one end and out of the other. Non-stop from Delhi and Mumbai; check which days serve Da Nang.
On the official portal, once dates and the arrival gate are fixed. Confirm with the embassy if anything is unusual.
Ha Long Bay cabins, Phong Nha expedition caves and Sapa lodges have the least capacity.
What to pack
for Vietnam
A tropical south, a monsoon coast and a north with a real winter — what you pack depends on the half you chose and the month.
A light rain jacket earns its place in any month, and a warm layer is not optional for Hanoi, Sapa or a Ha Long Bay deck between December and February. The south needs neither.