Vietnam Luxury Cruises

A visit to the north is not complete without a trip to Halong Bay, where placid waters give way to more than 3,000 limestone karsts and wind-sculpted limestone formations that jut from foggy lagoons. Dotting the bay are tiny islands bordered by white sandy coves and hidden caves, adding to the majestic landscape of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Adding to this naturalist’s dream is the biodiversity of islets, grottos, and Cat Ba Island National Park.

Hue (pronounced hway), bisected by the Perfume River and 13 km (8 mi) inland from the South China Sea, in the foothills of the Annamite Mountains (Truong Son Mountains), stands as a reminder of Vietnam's imperial past. The seat of 13 Nguyen-dynasty emperors between 1802 and 1945, Hue was once Vietnam's splendid Imperial City. Although it was devastated by the French in the 19th century and again by fighting between the Vietnamese Communists and the Americans in the 20th, the monument-speckled former capital has a war-ravaged beauty.

Romantically referred to by the French as the Pearl of the Orient, Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon) today is a super-charged city of sensory overload. Motorbikes zoom day and night along the wide boulevards, through the narrow back alleys and past vendors pushing handcarts hawking goods of all descriptions.

Home to some of Vietnam's best beaches and dive sites, the coastal city of Nha Trang is a magnet for those seeking sunshine and underwater adventure. Backdropped by mountains, white sandy coves shelter lovely bays and distant islands. The capital of Khanh Hoa province, Nha Trang has developed more of an infrastructure for tourists than other cities but still has a few temples and such to remind you that you're in Vietnam.