Central
Stretching roughly from the former DMZ at the Ben Hai river in the north down to include Quang Nam province, Central Vietnam offers the visitor perhaps the richest range of historical sights, from recent to ancient. What's more, there are ample natural distractions as well.
Map of Central Vietnam
Base map image © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC BY-SA
The Sights of Central Vietnam
Working from north to south, here's a sampling of the highlights of a visit to central Vietnam:
Hue
The old imperial capital of Hue requires three or four days to see. In addition to the citadel, a smaller version of China's forbidden city, visitors will want to take in the Thien Mu pagoda and the royal tombs of the emperors.
Hai Van Pass
The drive by bus, van or private car from Hue to Danang by the Hai Van Pass has to be one of the most scenic drives in Southeast Asia. The drive takes you through rice fields dotted with guard towers from the war, up through many beautiful hills and bays until reaching the summit of the pass, from which you descend into Danang.
You can, of course, make the trip in either direction.
Danang
Although rather unremarkable itself, there are several sights in and around Danang that make it a good base to explore from. The Cham Museum on the city's waterfront contains many important artifacts from the Cham empire which ruled central Vietnam from a kingdom pre-dating Angkor Wat. There's also a war museum in Danang, as well as the long beach made famous by American television.
Other nearby attractions include Marble Mountain, a large limestone outcrop riddled with caves variously used as Buddhist temples and VC hideouts.
My Son
The kingdom of Champa flourished from the second to the fifteenth century. What remains of this kingdom can mainly by found at My Son, which is a day trip from Danang or Hoi An.
Hoi An
This very picturesque village seems at first glance to have been lost in time for a few hundred years. Of course, it is now very heavily touristed but it is definitely worth the trip. Hoi An is our choice for the best place to end a Vietnam tour as it affords the best shopping as well as being a very relaxed place.
In this section
The guidebooks will tell you that there's not much to see in Danang. They may have a point. Certainly, there are no big attractions, ancient monuments, or even much shopping, but Danang has that small town charm which makes people watching an enjoyable pastime, if you like that sort of thing.
There are, however, a few notable things to see in Danang. Your first stop should probably be the Cham Museum.
According to more than one guidebook, the drive from Danang to Hue is the most scenic in all of Vietnam. I've no reason to argue with that. Soon after leaving the town, you start climbing steeply upwards and are soon rewarded with a panoramic view of the bowl-shaped bay of Danang. Oh, and lest you think that's a great looking vacation spot at the bottom of the picture, you should know its a leper colony.
The old city of Hoi An was the most pleasant surprise of our first trip. All the guidebooks will tell you that the city is a picturesque village “lost in time” as it were. Jaded Asian travelers that we are, we expected a Singapore-style block or so of old buildings gutted and rebuilt to look like what we think old buildings should look like, but with all the modern amenities, like air conditioning.
The old imperial capital of Vietnam from the 18th century until early in the 20th was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. There are many things to see in and around Hue, so you will want to spend two or three days, at a minimum, exploring the sights. If you visit in the spring or fall, when the whether is cool and dry, you may want to rent a bicycle since most of the sights are not far from the city and the terrain is relatively flat.
If you've spent some time in Vietnam before arriving in the Danang and Hoi An area, you might be thinking that Vietnam was always under the influence of China, up until the French moved in. A visit to My Son shows that there was a lot of Indian influence long ago. The kingdom of Champa flourished from the second to the fifteenth century. What remains of this kingdom can mainly by found at My Son, which is a day trip from Danang or Hoi An.
