Vietnam’s very best destinations for adventure

A backpacking haven for decades, Vietnam has long attracted adventurous types.

And while the road less travelled is more difficult to find these days, there are still lots of activities for you to try to get your blood pumping fast (or ever-so-slightly elevate your heart rate). From exploring the caves of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park to kayaking around the islands of Ha Long Bay, here’s our run down of some of the best adventure activities the country has to offer.

Where: Quang Binh province, Central Vietnam

When: December to March

Vietnam’s caves attracts plenty of adventure travellers each year, and nowhere more so than Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. The jagged, pinnacle Annamite mountains which make up this wild national park extend deep into Laos and preserve huge tracts of rainforest. They are pocked with tens of thousands of caves, including Son Doong – discovered by local explorer Ho Khanh in 1990, and explored only in 2009, which has the largest cave caverns in the world. The Phong Nha cave system after which the park is named is one of the longest in the world at nearly 45 kilometres, and there’s a labyrinth of underground rivers and dry, terraced, suspended, dendritic and intersecting caves.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park offers plenty of choice for adventurers – from in the dark rushes along fast underground streams to sedate tour boats drifts in the dark and deep cave exploration involving multi-day sleep overs in dark caverns. And the forests themselves have spectacular biodiversity. The park protects rare fauna and flora, including 154 recorded species of mammals and 314 birds, with new species discovered as recently as autumn 2024.

Read next: Our guide to Vietnam’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Where: Lao Cai Province, North Vietnam

When: October to April

Rugged peaks and ridges rippling around Fansipan – Vietnam’s highest mountain – rivers rushing through valleys speckled with red-roofed hill tribe villages, bamboo groves, terraces of golden rice paddies… Sapa’s landscapes offer plenty to hikers looking for short trails or multi-day walks. Most of the most beautiful longer walks lie around the Muong Hoa River, which is celebrated for its extensive terraced rice fields and tribal villages. Or you can clamber through the muddy jungle to the peak of Fansipan itself or take a cable car. Walks are easy to organise in Sapa or before you arrive with companies like trekkingtoursapa.com.

Read next: 7 of Vietnam’s best walking and hiking routes

Where: Khan Hoa Province, South Vietnam

When: February to October

There’s decent reef diving around Vietnam’s myriad islands, from the marine reserve at the Cham archipelago in the centre to Con Dao and Phu Quoc islands in the south. But the central southern coastal resort of Nha Trang offers the best infrastructure (with myriad dive shops in town), and the widest choice of dive sites. These range from easy dives at Hon Mun Island Marine Park and the coral gardens at Mama Hanh to swim throughs around Madonna Rock and deeper dives over huge table corals at Tiger Wall and North and South Reef. While the diving at Nha Trang compares favourably to locations in Cambodia and South Eastern Thailand, don’t expect Eastern Indonesian levels of biodiversity – much of the South China Sea has been overfished.

Read next: Vietnam’s best beaches and islands

Where: Long Don Province, South Vietnam

When: November to June

Backpackers have long been flocking to this lovely little town in central South Vietnam for adrenaline-pumping light adventure. The most popular activity is a full day’s canyoning, which involves climbing and abseiling down a series of thundering waterfalls, light hiking in the jungle and river swims. Most tours cater for beginners – with training and practice on a dry cliff before beginning the waterfalls descents. And Dalat has more sedate activities on offer too – including multi-day river kayaking and wild camping excursions, mountain biking, tours of the waterfalls by Jeep and easy hikes up 2,167 metre-high Lang Bian Mountain.

Where: Quang Ninh Province, 177 km east of Hanoi, North Vietnam

When: September to November and March to May

Image search Vietnam and you will get dozens of pictures of Ha Long Bay’s archipelago of karst mountains jutting from a bottle-green South China Sea. Undoubtedly the country’s most famous attraction, the best way to see it is on a one- or two- day cruise. Adventurers should choose one which includes kayaking around the peaks, exploring the many caves and cycling between the villages on the largest island of Cat Ba. These are some of the easiest adventure excursions in Vietnam – with calm seas, flat bike rides and illuminated caves, making them doable for most visitors.

Where: Bin Thuan Province, South Vietnam

When: November to April

Where Vietnam turns west at Mui Ne, there are steady prevailing winds sweeping off the South China Sea, which have blown the region’s red and coconut white sands into towering ergs and rolling dunes. The sand boarding here is great, and easy. Taxis or tours will get you to the dunes and equipment can be rented from shops throughout the town. There’s excellent wind and kitesurfing, too, for around 70% of the year, and especially between November and March, when light morning breezes offer perfect conditions for beginner and afternoon winds (which can reach up to forty knots) leaving even experienced surfers with their adrenaline pumping. Shops throughout Mui Ne offer classes and/or board rental.

Where: Huu Lung, Lang Son Province (100 km north of Hanoi), North Vietnam

When: December to February

Vietnam’s karst mountains offer wonderful opportunities for rock climbers and boulderers. There are so many locations that there’s even a guidebook to the best sites, written by Luca De Giorgio and Gavi Piper, outlining the best traditional climbs, bouldering, deep water solo ascents and artificial walls throughout the country. There are many great destinations – from Butterfly Valley on Cat Ba island in Ha Long Bay to the face climbs at the Dragon’s Belly on one Ninh Binh’s crags, but it’s the Yen Thinh Valley in Huu Lung which is slowly becoming legendary among climbers. This remote valley two hours drive from Hanoi offers a stunning range of different crags, from overhangs and vertical walls and three-dimensional climbs up stalactites. Many of the crags face north (allowing for climbing in the shade) and all are set over golden rice paddies dotted with tiny villages and grazing buffaloes. There’s no infrastructure in the immediate area, but the region is well-visited by climbers with around 180 documented routes, spread over 14 areas, all well equipped with stainless steel bolts. Climbers should bring an 80-metre rope and at least 16 quickdraws. Viet Climb (based in Hanoi) offer guided trips.