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Site map

I'll be building this page over the coming weeks. If you know of any Vietnam-related sites which you think should be included, I'd love to hear about them. Please send me details by email (if your browser supports it), or using the contact form. Many thanks.

Tourist offices & embassies

• Ambassade de France en Vietnam - large site with lots of info and links to related French sites.
• American Embassy, Hanoi - most useful for its travel information, focusing on crime and safety.
• Embassies and Consulates - for a list of all foreign embassies and consulates in Vietnam.
• Vietnam Embassy, USA - in addition to current visa regulations, carries a useful list of Vietnam embassies and consulates around the world.
• Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) - this site, confusingly called "Vietnamtourism", is best for its regional and cultural information, covering music, food, village traditions, festivals, customs etc. Also lists foreign embassies and consulates in Vietnam.

General travel information

• Asiatour - tourist info for selected cities and archived news clippings posted by Diethelm Travel, Bangkok.
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office London - up-to-date, level-headed advice about the safety of travel in Vietnam.
• Global Access - catering to disabled travellers worldwide, this site has useful tips, links and a bulletin board.
• Internet Travel Guide: Vietnam - Peter Geiser's labour of love contains a wealth of information gleaned from various sources.
• 1000 travel tips: Vietnam - one of several trip reports posted by independent budget travellers, this is a good place to pick up ideas about where to go (due to be updated October 2000).
• ThingsAsian.com - the renamed DestinationVietnam has broadened its scope as it aims to become the "largest Asian travel site" out there. It comprises a store, art gallery, forum and an "interactive" travel section (in the making) with listings of places to stay, eat, sights etc. So far, it's still best for its travel articles by professional writers as well as travellers or expats with a story to tell. You can search by country, author or subject-matter.
• Utopia Travel & Resources: Vietnam - information for gay and lesbian travellers from a specialist travel agency. Links to related sites.
• Vietnam Adventures - well-thought out site with useful tips on getting there, and articles on travel and culture. Also posts air fare deals (from the US) and special offers at partner hotels (mostly upmarket); online booking.
• Vietnam Online - Hanoi-based site with business and travel directories for Hanoi and HCMC, plus the online version of Vietnam Investment Review.
• World Factbook: Vietnam - packed with useless and useful facts and figures garnered by the CIA.

Specific regions

• Chau Doc - photo-essay be a former resident of Chau Doc.
• Images of Hanoi - large, fairly chaotic site, but lots of interesting stuff hidden away. Good for music clips, poetry, and - of course - images of Hanoi.
• Our Hoi An Shopping Experience - if you're thinking of going clothes shopping in Hoi An, read this site first. In July 2000 Brenda and M spent a fortune in the tailors of Hoi An. This is a summary of their findings: the good, the bad and where to find them (including a map).

Accommodation

http://six-senses.com/ana-mandara
• Ana Mandara - Nha Trang's top hotel. It's worth a peek even if you can't afford to stay there.
• Coco Beach - recommended beach resort at Phan Thiet on one of Vietnam's best beaches. Online reservation service.
• Hanoi Daewoo Hotel - details of one of Hanoi's premier hotels. Online reservation service.

Transport

• Biking Southeast Asia with Mr Pumpy! - off-beat Australian, Felix Hude cycled from Vientiane to Hoi An and around the Mekong Delta. Essential browsing for anyone thinking of cycling in Vietnam.
• Cycle Vietnam - well-presented travelogue of a 1200-mile, 14-day cycle ride from Hanoi to HCMC in 1994.
• Mike Spradbery's biking page - first-hand account of cycling through Vietnam, packed with great tips.
• Vietnam Airlines - useful schedule of international and domestic flights. Also details of special offers.

Health

• Travel Health Online - indenpendant, ad-free site that's well-designed and informative. Not surprisingly, its best on health matters rather on the general travel information - it's still worth reading, but bear in mind that some info is out of date while some is overly alarmist.

Arts, culture & language

• Explore Vietnam - best for its well-presented historical information, including a data-base of famous people. Also other background information.
• Images of Hanoi - large, fairly chaotic site, but lots of interesting stuff hidden away. Good for music clips, poetry, films and links to related sites.
• Viet Music - focuses on the modern music scene, with details of the latest releases. Real Audio and MPEG2 files for download.
• Vietnam Pictures Archive - another good place to sample a range of Vietnamese music.
• Viettouch - good-looking site that's best for its coverage of Vietnamese art and the current top artists.
• Voices of Vietnam - article on traditional music by specialist Philip Blackburn, with audio clips.

Social issues

• Amerasians of Vietnam - small site providing support for Amerasians still living in Vietnam: noticeboards, links to related organisations and some background information.
• Ethos - UK based charity working with Hmong in Sapa.
• Danang/Quang Nam Fund - NGO providing direct aid to Agent Orange Victims, the homeless, hungry and others in particularly difficult circumstances in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam.
• Save the Bru - a charitable organisation (Cedar Point Foundation) providing medical, educational and other humanitarian assistance to Bru minority villages near Khe Sanh.
• WWW Hmong Home Page - vast collection of resources relating to Hmong history, culture, language etc.

Weather

• Weather Underground - today's weather and 5-day forecast for Hanoi. Also possible to search on historical data.
• USA Today - today's weather, 4-day forecasts and monthly averages for Hanoi & HCMC.
• Yahoo! Weather - current conditions and 4-day forecast for 16 Vietnamese cities.

Currency converters

• Yahoo! - find today's Dong exchange rate against a host of currencies.

Getting connected

• Backpackers' Café - lists a few places where you can log on in Vietnam.
• The Cybercafé Search Engine - another place to try.
• Internet Cafe - new list of internet cafes etc. maintained by Internet Hoc Mon in Saigon. By no means comprehensive, though it may grow.

Travelogues & home pages

• Andrew Lam - Saigon-born writer Andrew Lam maintains an archive of his articles and short stories. Understandably, he focuses on Viet Kieu, Amerasians, refugees and other dispossessed peoples.
• Andy Brouwer's Vietnam Tales - the enthusiasm shows through loud and clear in Andy's '97 travelogue.
• Back Home - journals of former refugee, Hy Lam, who first returned to Vietnam in 1991. Follow-up trips in '93, '95 & '97.
• Beautiful Patterns, Common Threads - record of teacher Avi Black's 6-month tour through Southeast Asia, aimed at students grade 6-12. In Vietnam he covers HCMC, the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands (Da Lat and around).
• Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam - George Moore trawls the internet for this collection of useful sites, discussions and news items.
• Cycle Vietnam - well-presented travelogue of a 1200-mile, 14-day cycle ride from Hanoi to HCMC in 1994.
• From Hanoi to Saigon - 1998 trip by bus, car and train. Contains some good practical advice.
• From Phnom Penh to Vietnam - seasoned traveller Monroe tells of his adventures - some a bit gruesome - through Vietnam.
• Hitchhiking Vietnam - Karin Muller takes you on a rattling good ride through Vietnam. On the way, she gives excellent travel tips and cultural insights.
• Light Ruck - extracts from a book www.loftpress.com of the same name by Tom Lacombe, who served in the Central Highlands as a rifleman with the 4th Infantry Division in 1969.
• Our Hoi An Shopping Experience - if you're thinking of going clothes shopping in Hoi An, read this site first. In July 2000 Brenda and M spent a fortune in the tailors of Hoi An. This is a summary of their findings: the good, the bad and where to find them (including a map).
• Run Across Vietnam - if you've ever thought of running in Vietnam, read Mark Colegrave's account first. And if you want to know more, he's happy for you to email him.
• ThingsAsian - good selection of articles focusing on Asia by professional writers as well as travelers or expats with a story to tell. You can search by country, author or subject-matter.
• Twelve Days in May - photo-journal of a 12-day concert tour by the choir of Florida State University.
• Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand - two Canadians travel round the northwest mountains, then down to Saigon, Nov 1997-Feb 1998.
• Vietnam Notes - a teacher's journal describing day-to-day living and working in Ho Chi Minh City.
• Vietnam Veteran's Home Page - most of interest (to the general traveller) for trip reports by returning Vets in the "Visit to Vietnam" section.
• Virtual Visit to Vietnam - part of the Vietnam Veterans' Home Page, featuring trip reports by returning Vets and a photo gallery.
• Vietnam Xin Chao - a touch outdated (Dec 97-Jan 98), but still worth a look for its pics and destination highlights.
• Web Travel Review: Vietnam - hosts a couple of interesting Vietnam pieces - on which readers can comment - as well as photo essays.

Photo galleries

• Chau Doc - Thinh Le's portrait of his birthplace and its people.
• Chi Tran - a Vietnamese-American rediscovers his homeland and its young generation after twenty years away.
• Cycling Vietnam - photo essay of a solo cycling trip through the Mekong delta.
• Jeroen Neele Photo Gallery - inspiring collection that makes you want to hop on the plane straight away.
• Gregg Butensky - select photos of a 1993 trip.
• Hemichrysler's Phototravellers.net - evocative series of annotated photos in various categories: people, urban, countryside, cham towers and motor.
• Images from Asia - a number of stylish shots of Vietnam from Phu Quoc to Sa Pa by Felix Requejo. Also covers Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Nepal.
• Lindsay Hill: Vietnam - photo essay of Lindsay Hill's cycle ride through south Vietnam on his way round SE Asia, and some of the irresistable kids he met along the way.
• Mekong Region - photo essay of a trip through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1997 by Swiss student-journalist Marcel Stoessel.
• Terra Galleria - Culture, traditions and landscapes of every corner of the country are illustrated in 300 photos resulting from 10 weeks of travel by photographer Quang-Tuan Luong. Includes a photographer's guide to Vietnam.
• Vietnam Pictures Archive - extensive photo display arranged by subject area, backed up with music and video clips, text and links to other photo sights.
• Vietnam Interactive Portfolio - E. Kenneth Hoffman went to Vietnam as a photographer with the US Army in 1969. His portfolio records the effect of the war on the Vietnamese people and how it uprooted their lives.
• What Tomorrow Brings - a combat photographer's memoirs of Vietnam featuring the work of Roger Hawkins, formerly of the 221st Signal Company (Pictorial). Each shot is accompanied by a brief caption detailing the story behind the picture.

Living, working and studying in Vietnam

• Brockport Vietnam Project - opportunities for American undergraduates and graduates to study in Da Nang, and to participate in community service activities.
• Communist Party of Vietnam - the official Communist Party web site is dry as dust, with - not surprisingly - masses of information on Ho Chi Minh, as well as classic texts from Marx and Engels.
• EFL in Asia - big collection of EFL links, including job notice boards. A good place to start browsing.
• Foreign Direct Investment - new site by the Ministry of Planning and Investment intended to promote inward investment. This is how things work in theory.
• Frontier - environmental research and development agency running volunteer-based projects in Vietnam and elsewhere. Volunteers assist with biodiversity surveys and socio-economic work with local communities.
• GoAbroad.com - Great database of study, volunteer and job opportunities around the world, backed up with handy travel information.
• Living in Vietnam - information about expat life in Vietnam. Interviews, articles and forum. Includes a city guide (Hanoi and Saigon) and real estate services.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) - useful information on the political structure and current leaders (with brief biographical details).
• Vietnam Study Centre - private Vietnamese language school in HCMC.
• VietVentures - business directory catering to foreigners investing in Vietnam. It covers the main business news, and offers a good range of background cultural information. They're also developing a travel section.

Travel & tour agents

• Artisans of Leisure - luxury, private and individually tailored tours from this New York-based operator. Tours include such interesting and unusual options as contemporary style in Vietnam, family tours and culinary tours.
• Asia-Pacific Convention & Tourism - Hanoi-based travel company offering one-day excursions up to multi-day trips plus the full range of travel services.
• Atlas Tours & Voyages - Saigon-based tour company with multilingual staff and glowing testimonials.
• Buffalo Tours - well-rated private operator in Hanoi offering a range of tailor-made tours: climbing Fansipan, kayaking in Ha Long Bay, trekking and motorbiking. Also provides helpful background information.
• Common Ground Journeys - this not-for-profit tour operator specializes in accompanied bike trips through Vietnam in aid of educational charities helping disadvantged children.
• Diethelm Travel - Thai travel agent with offices now in HCMC and Hanoi.
• Explore Indochina - those with a taste for adventure - and a desire to get way off the beaten track - should feast their eyes on this site offering tailor-made biking tours.
• Franko's Vietnam Tours. Well-regarded luxury rail tours from Australian travel agent.
• Global Spectrum - US-based Vietnam specialists offering a range of tours, including a couple of virtual options.
• Green Bamboo Travel - detailed listing of tours and prices by a Hanoi agent.
• Griswalds Vietnamese Vacations - quality tailor-made tours for singles, couples, families and small groups from an Australian company, whose Vietnam base is the Kangaroo Café in Hanoi.
• Handspan Adventure Travel - Hanoi-based tour company specialising in small-group adventure tours with the emphasis on "responsible" tourism. Tours include trekking, kayaking and motorbike and 4WD expeditions, with mountain biking, diving and wind-surfing, and cooking tours in the offing.
• Huong Giang Travel - Well established Hue-based travel company offering country-wide tailor-made and group tours.
• Intrepid - Australian company with some unusual tour options. They have agents in various countries and also offer online booking.
• Mekong Star Company - offers boat trips on the Mekong in a converted rice barge. From one-day trips ($80 per pax) to two days with a night on board ($150-180).
• Offroad Vietnam - well-run individual and small-group adventure tours by motorbike, bike and all manner of offroad vehicles from a reliable Hanoi-based operator. Covers Laos, Cambodia and Thailand as well as Vietnam.
• Orient Tours - Netherlands-based company offering a broad range of tours, from beaches to hiking.
• Queen Café Travel-Internet - tour itineraries from this well-known travellers' café in Hanoi, but no prices.
• QIXO.com - compares airfares from around 20 different travel sites.
• Sea Canoe - offers the opportunity to paddle round Ha Long Bay.
• SinhBalo Adventures - surprisingly jazzy site from Sinh (ex Sinh Cafe) who runs one of Ho Chi Minh City's most highly rated tour agents. Fun images, good photos, vignettes of the main tourist sites, and - of course - tour details.
• Symbiosis - mostly tailor-made tours, but also train and biking packages from this UK-based company.
• Tulip Tours - well-designed site with lots of information from an agent in HCMC. Offers gourmet and architectural tours as well as the more standard fare.
• Utopia - specialist in gay and lesbian travel.
• VeloAsia - San Francisco-based company with a long track record of arranging Vietnam cycling tours.
• Vietnam Tour - informative, up-beat website offering the services of Mr. Nhut "Nick" Le Duy, a private guide based in HCMC.
• Visit Vietnam - UK-based Tennyson Travel Ltd offers a range of organised tours as well as tailor-made holidays.
• Vyta Tours - private company based in HCMC. Offers cycling and motorbiking tours, scuba diving and tailor-made itineraries.
• Voyage Vietnam - young, enthusiastic Hanoi-based outfit running mostly motorbiking tours through the back roads of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China. Fully licensed.

News & media

• Far Eastern Economic Review - the interactive version of FEER posts occasional articles on Vietnam. Searchable archives.
• Vietnam Business Journal - current and archived extracts from the paper magazine.
• Vietnam Democracy Newsletter - monthly publication by the Free Vietnam Alliance (FVA), a coalition of around 35 Vietnamese pro-democracy groups. Archives going back to 1995.
• Vietnam Economy - online version of the Vietnam Economic Times. Fulsome legal and business info, including the full text of some laws.
• Viet Nam Flash - a round up of "not so serious" news about Vietnam. Fun to read for its host of bizarre stories.
• Vietnam Insight - forum for the anti-Communist, pro-democracy opposition. Archived articles and links to similar sights.
• Vietnam-Related General News - fairly expensive subscription news service carrying all the major domestic and international sources.
• Viet Nam Net - round up of national and regional news, plus good practical information on business and investment, but very slow.
• Viet Nam News - online version of Vietnam's national English-language daily. A bit dry, but interesting snippets from the national press, plus exchange rate info and archives. You can also download Vietnamese fonts.
• Vietnam News Agency (VNA) - free daily news, plus a range of subscriber-only services.
• Vietnam Web - has useful links to various online papers in Vietnam.

Environment

• BirdLife International Vietnam Programme - great resource for full-on twitchers and anyone interested in environmental issues in Vietnam.
• World Conservation Monitoring Centre - biodiversity profile for Vietnam (1994).

Newsgroups & chat forums

• Asia Travel Message Forums - useful round-up of Asia-related travel forums, newsgroups and BBS.
• clari.world.asia.vietnam - posted news items.
• Jan Dodd's Forum
• rec.travel.asia - the (next!) best place to post travel-related questions.
• Yahoo! Vietnam Travel Club - new site where you need to register to post messages, but can browse for free.

Lists of links

• Turn Around - an excellent collection of travel-related links for disabled travelers.
• Vietgate - large number of links and a web search facility.
• Vietnam San Diego Online - large collection of links focusing on news, business, entertainment and travel.
• WWW Virtual Library: Vietnam - over 1000 links, but last updated July 1998 and no search facility.
• Yahoo! - Yahoo! is always a good place to start.