Top 10 Places You Can’t Miss in Central Vietnam

Central Vietnam, the region of many beautiful tourist attractions in Vietnam

You may have heard about Son Doong cave, the largest grotto in the world? You might get your friends shared about charming beauty of Hoi An ancient town? Or being fascinated with the viral clips on internet about enchanting Golden Bridge & Ba Ha Hills? They are tourist attractions in Central Vietnam, but not only limited to those ones, there are much more to explore in this region.Middle Vietnam is a large region with long coastal line of scattered beautiful sandy beaches, a number of pristine natinal parks, world-famed UNESCO cultural & natural heritage sites, friendly people & warm climate around the year. What an ideal region to spend your family’s vacation at any time of the year.In this blog, we would delight your travel thirst with TOP 10 PLACES TO VISIT IN CENTRAL VIETNAM, which will be useful for you to plan your coming trip to Central Vietnam.

Top 10 awesome places to visit in Central Vietnam

If you have a short holiday & would love to visit only Central Vietnam,it will be convenient & cost-saving to connect your flights directly to Da Nang international airport or you can easily book any domestic air routes either from Hanoi or HCM city to Da Nang, Hue, Quang Binh, Nha Trang or Da Lat for a short break here.

Landing at Da Nang, the biggest & the most liveable city in Middle Vietnam, you can arrange your overnight in Da Nang city or Hoi An ancient town, which are 30km away from eachother.Most of our Western tourists love to spend their nights in Hoi An ancient town, while Asian travellers tend to stay in Da Nang township.Whichever is fine & convenient to explore these following top 10 amazing tourist attractions in Central Vietnam.

1. Golden Bridge & Ba Na Hills – the most viral places in Vietnam

Just 26km far from Da Nang city, Golden Bridge & Ba Na Hills are mustsee tourist attractions for any travellers doing trip to Central Vietnam.Golden Bridge is a beautiful creativity of new architecture (including two mossy giant hands holding a 150-metter-long golden bridge) set harmoniously with natural landscapes of forests, mountains & constant clouds – creating picturesque beauty and bringing memorable experiences.A lot of tourists enjoy taking a stroll around the Golden Bridge, feeling like walking on the clouds across the hands of the God of Mountain. Besides Golden Bridge, tourists also enjoy the visit to Linh Ung Pagoda, Fantasy Park, Wax Museum, French Village Area, Le Jardin D’Amour Flower Garden, Cellar Debay, Linh Phong Bao Thap…when coming to Ba Na Hills.

You can do a day trip but it will be best to enjoy the pleasant climate & complete beauty of Golden Bridge – Ba Na hills on a 2 day/1 night journey, spend your night on a luxury hotel atop of the hills.

2. Hoi An Ancient Town -the world UNESCO cultural heritage.

Hoi An was ever a busy international seaport where worldwide businessmen used to garther to exchange their products & therefore made their influences to local architectures.Presently, Hoi An is a picturesque town with numerous yellow ancient houses of interesting mixed achitectures among Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese & French altogether.As a result, Hoi An ancient town was recognized as the world UNESCO heritage site in 1999 and has been selected as a top place to visit among tourists doing their trips to Vietnam.

Coming here, you will be impressed by its numerous exquisite yellow ancient houses, lanterns in various shape, size, and colour, incredible street food such as Banhmi, Banhxeo, Cao Lau…The best time for sightseeing in Hoian is on the 14th of every lunar month, one night before the full moon when the town becomes even more festive than usual, active and marvellously decorated with colourful lights and lamps along every lane.

3.My Son Holly Land-  A Masterpiece of Cham Architecture in Vietnam

Only 1 hour drive from Hoi An ancient town, you can reach My Son Holly Land, which was ever the capital of Cham Pa Kingdom between the 4th and 15th centuries. Often being compared with Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Borobudur in Indonesia, Cham architectural achievement are extremely glorious & long -lasting in Vietnam.The complex comprises more than 70 architectural works of temples & towers that connect to each other by complicated red brick designs. However, it has yet been unable to figure out the reasonable explanation for the linking material, brick baking method, and construction technique of the Cham.Even these days, this still remains a secret for us to explain.

Due to the time & the past wars, some temples & shrines were destroyed, the remains are reflecting the typical sculptural works as well as the cultural values of the Cham nationality. They are also vivid proof, confirming the history of a nationality living within the Vietnamese community boasting of a rich cultural tradition.

With its cultural, historical & architectural values, My Son Holy Land was honorably recognized as a World Heritage site in 1999 and is recommended as a place to explore in your Central Vietnam journey.

4. Hue Royal Palaces & its monuments – the notable imperial achitecture in Vietnam

A visit to Da Nang will be more interesting if you add Hue on your list to visit the last imperial capital of Vietnam under the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945.With its past history, Hue owns many cultural heritages including royal palaces, citadels, tombs of Nguyen Kings, ancient temples & pagodas, and it will be nice to enrich your knowledge about Vietnam’s last dynasty & history & royal achitectures.Besides Hue’s royal architecture & unique history, cuisines in Hue will be a big appeal to any history & food buff as well.A visit to Hue is highly recommended with a tourguide along as he knows a lot of stories about the life of people here that you can not find in any books.

Between January & April is the period regarded as be the best time to visit Hue.During this time, it is the spring time in Hue and the weather is perfect for any outdoor activities.The average temperature stays between 20℃ to 24℃, making it more comfortable to go outside. The rainfall is also at its least in these months, so you don’t have to worry about that rains will ruin your vacation. It is neither too hot and humid nor too cold and wet during the day – really ideal to have a day out exploring the city’s highlights

5. Bach Ma national park, wonderful hideaway for outdoor adventurers.

Located between Da Nang & Hue, Bach Ma National Park is dubbed as the heaven on the ground for nature-lovers & you can do a visit on day trip while journeying from Da Nang to Hue.If you are nature lovers & outdoor adventurers, this garden with short & long treks across the jungles could be the right choice for you to conquer Hai Vong Dai summit, to admire fabulous waterfalls & enjoy the tranquil natural beauty. 

6. Quang Tri, the hot spot of Vietnam – America war for your great historical insights

Journey further north from Hue to Quang Binh, you will pass Quang Tri province, the DMZ between the North & the South during Vietnam – America war. At that time, Quang Tri was a border line separated Vietnam in two, therefore, this strategic land did play a really important part for both sides. Many attacks, bombs & deaths for both took place in this part of Vietnam.Nowadays, Quang Tri is a must-see place for travellers who are interested in Vietnamese history.Travel to Quang Tri, the attractions can’t be missed to visit are Hien Luong Bridge, 17th parallel, Khe Sanh, Ta Con airport, and Vinh Moc underground tunnels, Truong Son Martyrs’ cemetery…. ,which will provide you more about the horrors of this war & appreciate the value of our peace….These are the famous tourist sites which annually attracts a lot of foreign tourists, especially the US Veterans who always desire to come back to visit the old battlefield…..

7. Phong Nha – Thien Duong grottos, typical caves of amazing beauty in Central Vietnam

Not far from Quang Tri, further north, you will be in Quang Binh, which owns the amazing titles :  the Kingdom of Caves and UNESCO natural heritage in Central Vietnam.The two most popular caves in the National park are Phong Nha and Thien Duong cave you must pay a visit when travelling to Quang Binh.Thien Duong cave is the longest dry cave in Asia, looks like a landscape painting. The cave can reach up to 72 m high and up to 150 m wide. There are a series of white crystal stalactites (limestone deposits) resembling natural pillars and many other spectacular formations. Phong Nha cave is not only a natural legacy of the world, which is famous for its rock formations looking like the “Lion”, the “Fairy Caves”, the “Royal Court”, and the “Buddha”. This cave is 7729 m long, contains 14 grottos, with a 13,969 m-long underground river. It is also a relic system of the historic Ho Chi Minh trail, a secret hiding place for floating bridges during the US war.

8. Quy Nhon, a hidden gem in Central Vietnam

9. Nha Trang, the city of beautiful beaches & bays

Slightly travel south from Quy Nhon, you will encounter Nha Trang, which has long been a pradise for beach vacationers to enjoy long white sandy beaches with crystal blue water.For beach breaks in Central Vietnam, besides Quy Nhon& Da Nang, Nha Trang should be listed as the top place to indulge inVietnam.Nha Trang bay, the second most beautiful bay of the country will satisfy outdoor adventures on a day cruise to admire the landscapes, swim on a deserted island or snorkel to view the ocean’s life.Nha Trang is warm with enjoyable sunlight in different months of the year, the service is good with various options for accommodation from standard to high-ending ones – which could meet any of your demands for unforgetable moments in Nha Trang.

10. Da Lat, the city of eternal spring

As a tourist city developed by French in Central Highlands Vietnam, Da Lat features a pleasant climate all year around and is famous for its romantic and flowerful beauty.For honeymoon holiday, most Vietnamese couples choose to spend their valuable time in Da Lat, where they can enjoy beautiful landscapes of hills, springs, waterfalls combine harmoniously & have happy time spent there.The nature of Da Lat brings people not only happiness but health and the life love.

Best time to visit Da Lat is in dry season between November & April when you can experience the highest temperature in the year & the lowest one.The sky is always bright and the weather is pleasant – nice for your photo hunting, outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, trekking, cruising and horseback riding. Trip to Da Lat, you can easily catch daily flights from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city or car transfer from coastal city of Nha Trang.