3 reasons to visit dazzling Vietnam

Varied Vietnamese locations and emphatic enivronments

The three main cites in Vietnam – Hanoi in the North, Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon) in the South, and Da Nang in Central Vietnam – are incredibly diverse destinations.

Winters can be a little brisk in the Northern highlands, yet it’s clement all year round in the impressive islands of the South. Locales that are only short distances apart can feel markedly different in charcater and disposition. All of which makes touring through the country brilliantly contrastive with new adventures and aesthetics around every corner.

And Vietnam really does have some astonishing aesthetics: there’s the wonderfully meditative seascapes of Ha Long Bay; the world’s biggest cave in Son Doong; and the emphatic mountain scenery of Ha Giang and waterfalls of Cao Bang.

You’re going to need a smart phone with a good camera and to stock up on plenty of profound adjectives (see above) to use on your accompanying social media posts, that’s for sure.

And don’t forget to tag us – @heathrow–airport – if you fly from Heathrow.

Luscious food and captivating coffee culture

Some of the colours on a typical Vietnam plate are really magnificent. The food is fresh, vibrant, insanely healthy and beyond delicious.

Bowls of scrumptious steaming noodles (pho) are the main order of the day and the secret to their sumptuous flavours is not the slivers of beef, boiled chicken or the noodles themselves, but the stock in which the ingredients infuse.

This broth – clear in the North and murkier in the South – is usually made with star anise, clove and cinnamon to create an invitingly sweet edge that’ll keep you coming back for me.

There’s plenty of competition on a typical Vietnamese street for your foody affection and thousands of cafes serving another traditional favourite in creative new ways: coffee.

Local cafes are cool and contemporary with the black stuff viewed more as an artform and social cement rather than something you quickly snaffle on the way to the office. Vietnamese people love to socialise over coffee, with a huge array of different formats available, including coconut coffee in summer and creamy egg coffee in winter.

Just the thought of Vietnam is enough to make your mouth water.

Vibrant cities and unlimited scope for adventure

If there’s one place to get lost in and try new things, it’s Vietnam.

You can be happily embroiled in its throbbing, spirited cities one minute, overdosing on culture and cuisine. Then take short sojourns further afield to remote wildernesses seemingly from another world.

Adventure-seekers will feel rightly assuaged by some of the escapades on offer, including climbing in Huu Lung, caving in Phong Na and canyoning in Da Lat.

For those of you that want to experience Vietnam at its very best, we also recommend doing it on two wheels: cycle rides through rice paddies or longer exploits on motorbike will reveal even more of the country’s charm and afford the opportunity to meet the incredibly warm and friendly locals.

There are 54 ethnic minorities in the country and you’ll be welcomed with a smile – and tonnes of interesting history – wherever you choose to go next.

As we said at the very top, Vietnam is wonderful, colourful, flavourful and full of all sorts of other splendour, making it one of the most diverse and exciting places on Earth.