Ten days across the whole country: Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in the north, the island of Phu Quoc in the far south, then Da Nang and Ba Na Hills in the centre. It is the most complete Vietnam trip we run, and it is also the one where timing matters most, because it touches all three of Vietnam''s climate zones and they do not agree with each other.

The season, and why the window is narrower than you would like

Vietnam is not one climate. It is three, and this itinerary visits every one.

• North (Hanoi, Ha Long): best October to April. Typhoon season July to September.
• Centre (Da Nang, Ba Na Hills): best February to August. Rainy September to December, peaking October and November, which is also the typhoon and flood window on the central coast.
• South (Phu Quoc): dry November to April. Wet May to October, with rough seas.

Lay those over each other and only one window works for all three. January to April, and February to April is the best of it. October to December is excellent in the north and dry in the south but lands squarely in the central flood season, which is why a blanket "October to April" recommendation for this route is wrong at the front end. Nearby Hoi An flooded three times in twenty days in November 2025.

Expect the north to be cool and sometimes misty in February. That is the price of a dry centre, and the karst scenery arguably looks better for it.

One collision: Tet, Vietnamese New Year, falls on 6 February 2027, with the holiday roughly the 3rd to the 11th, which sits inside the recommended window. Restaurants and shops close for the core days, some museums shut for the first three, and domestic flights, which this trip uses twice, sell out for about a week either side. Tell us your dates early and we will work around it.

The visa, plus the Phu Quoc trap

Vietnam opened its e-visa to all nationalities in August 2023, so a Nepali passport holder applies online: up to ninety days, single or multiple entry, USD 25 or USD 50, officially about three working days but allow five to seven. Passport valid six months with two blank pages.

Apply only through the Vietnam Immigration Department portal on the .gov.vn domain. Copycat sites charge two to four times the real fee for the same visa and collect your passport and payment data. Quick tell: the government portal takes bank transfer and does not ask for card numbers.

Now the part specific to this itinerary. You will read that Phu Quoc has a thirty day visa exemption. It does, and it does not apply to you. The exemption only covers travellers arriving on the island directly from abroad, or transiting a Vietnamese international airport without clearing immigration. This trip lands in Hanoi, clears immigration, tours the north, and then flies down domestically. That is not exempt, and the exemption cannot be used to fly back to the mainland either. People are refused boarding over this misunderstanding. You need a normal e-visa, and we will confirm in writing which basis you are travelling on.

Separately, a Vietnam Digital Arrival Card became mandatory at Phu Quoc airport from 1 June 2026, filed online within seventy two hours of travel. It is an extra form, not a substitute for the visa.

Getting there

No airline flies Kathmandu to Vietnam direct. Everything connects, most sensibly through Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, and door to door is usually around eighteen hours. Some of the cheapest fares route through mainland China at Chengdu or Guangzhou, and whether a Nepali passport can transit there without a Chinese visa depends on the exact airport and routing. Ask us to check that before booking on price alone; it is a real trip ender.

The Ha Long cruise, including the part you will search for

The Wonder Sea capsized in Ha Long Bay on 19 July 2025 in a sudden thunderstorm, killing thirty nine people. Investigators focused on how quickly the squall arrived and on weather warnings not reaching vessels. Since then the authorities have tightened weather triggered suspensions, vessel monitoring and safety equipment rules.

What that means for your booking: the Quang Ninh maritime authority suspends departures when winds are high, and decides on the morning. Not the operator, not us. If your sailing is suspended we substitute a land itinerary and confirm in writing how the cruise component is handled. Anyone guaranteeing a sailing is not being straight with you.

Cruise permits are zone specific too. The core Ha Long zone, Bai Tu Long and Lan Ha Bay are three different areas with different crowd levels, and we will tell you which one your boat sails.

Two cable cars, two honest descriptions

Ba Na Hills: the cable car holds several Guinness records and was, at its 2013 opening, the world''s longest non stop single track line. We phrase it that way rather than making a flat world record claim, which is contestable now. The Golden Bridge queues badly from mid morning, so the early start is worth it, and the summit is often in cloud. Atmospheric, but the view is not guaranteed by anyone.

Hon Thom on Phu Quoc is a cleaner claim: 7,899 metres, and it holds the Guinness record for the longest three wire cable car crossing the sea. Hours shift by season and it closes in high wind, so we confirm for your dates.

The boat day off Phu Quoc

Boats leave An Thoi harbour and work through the southern archipelago. The snorkelling in the dry season is good and the water is clear. It is weather dependent, so the route changes or the day moves if the sea is up. Some operators now run it as three islands plus the cable car rather than four.

On the safari and theme park day, one thing worth saying rather than glossing: Vinpearl Safari attracts periodic visitor criticism about animal conditions. There has been no sanction or closure, and many visitors enjoy it, but we are not going to write welfare boasting copy that a review can contradict. If it would bother you, we will swap the day.

Money over ten days

The dong runs around twenty four to twenty five thousand to the US dollar. Count the zeros.

Cards work at hotels and larger restaurants, usually with a three to four percent surcharge. Street food, markets, island taxis and boat tips are cash. ATM fees are twenty two to fifty five thousand dong per withdrawal, with caps of about two to five million, and island machines sit at the low end, so draw the maximum each time rather than paying the fee repeatedly. US dollars are not a payment plan.

Getting about, and the motorbike answer

Use Grab, Xanh SM or Be in all three regions; the fare is fixed in the app. Rigged meters in street taxis are a common complaint, on Phu Quoc especially.

Do not rent a motorbike. Vietnam recognises only the 1968 Vienna Convention international permit and Nepal is not a party to it, so a Nepali licence and IDP are not valid. Riding anyway voids your travel and medical insurance in an accident regardless of fault.

Crossing the road in Hanoi: the traffic does not stop, so walk slowly and predictably and let it flow around you.

Health and drones

Tap water is not drinkable anywhere in Vietnam, and street stall ice is sometimes made from it. Dengue is endemic year round, worst in the south, and the mosquito bites in daylight, so use repellent during the day.

Leave the drone. Legal flying needs Ministry of Defence approval applied for at least fourteen days ahead, and unauthorised aerial filming carries fines in the millions of dong. Ha Long and Phu Quoc are exactly where people expect to fly one.

Who this trip suits

Travellers who want the whole country rather than one corner, and who accept two internal flights and three unpackings to get it. Four of the ten days involve travel. If that sounds like a lot, the six day Hanoi, Ha Long and Da Nang trip covers the north and centre only, and the Family Tour swaps Da Nang for Ho Chi Minh City at a gentler pace.