Luxurious vacations in Vietnam offer some of Southeast Asia’s most memorable experiences. This magnificent country snakes in a thin and lovely S-shape down the eastern side of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, stretching about 2,000 kilometres from the Gulf of Tonkin to the Mekong Delta, boasting a nearly unrivalled spread of sandy beaches. The northern Red River Delta, sometimes referred to as the home of Vietnamese culture, is where the old city of Hanoi is situated. It features a combination of broad, tree-lined boulevards and little, alleyways that are packed with products. Halong Bay, on the Bay of Tonkin to the east of Hanoi, offers breathtaking vistas. In this location, limestone outcrops emerge from the early haze.

Vietnam’s “rice bowl,” the Mekong Delta, is located in the south of the country and is home to conical-hat wearing ladies, floating markets where produce is heaped high on wooden boats, and stunning patchworks of rice paddies. Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) buzzes with energy; it is a city that never sleeps, where French colonial buildings and modern skyscrapers jostle for space. Vietnam is progressing; the north and south were reunited in 1986, and the government started to loosen its tight centralist rule, though both regions still prefer to maintain their distinct identities.