Vietnam Coracle: Independent Travel Guides to Vietnam

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Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & Spa, Vietnam, Independent Review

Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort | Independent Review

A large, elegant & family-friendly oceanfront resort with architectural features echoing the style of the nearby Old Quarter in Hoi An…

Green Bay Resort & Spa, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, Independent Review

Green Bay Phu Quoc Resort | Independent Review

A lush & peaceful location in the northwest of Phu Quoc Island, Green Bay is set in beautiful grounds featuring rustic-luxury villas & two infinity pools…

Victoria Chau Doc Hotel, Mekong Delta, Independent Review

Victoria Chau Doc Hotel | Independent Review

A colonial-themed hotel on the banks of the Mekong River near one of the region’s most culturally diverse towns…

Nam Nghi Coral Peninsula, Phu Quoc, Independent Review

Nam Nghi Coral Peninsula | Phu Quoc

Occupying a promontory draped in tropical foliage & surrounded by blue seas & coral reefs, Nam Nghi is a luxurious resort in a special natural setting…

The Anam Mui Ne, Independent Review

The Anam Mui Ne | Independent Review

The latest luxury resort on the sands of Mui Ne beach, The Anam is an elegant, Indochine-themed property…

Timothe Beach Apartments, Vịnh Hòa, Phú Yên, Review

Timothe Beach Apartments | Independent Review

On a secluded, sweeping bay on the south-central coast, Timothe Beach Apartments is a tropical paradise at affordable, mid-range prices…

Four Points Danang by Sheraton Hotels

Four Points by Sheraton Danang | Independent Review

On the seafront road along Danang’s long, sweeping beach, the Four Points by Sheraton is a high-rise hotel with a rooftop pool, bar and excellent views…

Mövenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc, Independent Review, Vietnam

Mövenpick Resort Waverly Phu Quoc | Independent Review

An enormous, five-star accommodation on a long beachfront with great facilities, the Movenpick is ideal for large families with children or travelling groups…

Lahana Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, Independent Review

Lahana Resort Phu Quoc | Independent Review

An excellent, tasteful mid-range resort on a lush hillside with a fabulous infinity pool overlooking the trees & ocean….

InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort, Independent Review

InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort | Independent Review

Immaculately clean, well-designed, well-maintained, well-run & luxurious, the InterContinental features outstanding facilities, spacious & well-equipped rooms & a great beach…

Lotus Home, Phu Quoc Island: Independent Review

Lotus Home Phu Quoc | Independent Review

Located on the island’s beguiling east coast, Lotus Home is a small, mid-range, ‘pier-style’ resort featuring photogenic bungalows above the sea on a long, wooden jetty…

Gold Coast Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Gold Coast Phu Quoc | Independent Review

In the northwest of the island, Gold Coast is a mid-range resort with excellent food, a good beach, easy access to local life & superb views of Phu Quoc’s rugged northern bays & jungles

Premier Village Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Premier Village Resort Phu Quoc | Independent Review

A luxurious resort in a spectacular location comprised of large villas with private pools, two beaches & a plethora of high-end facilities. Premier Village would usually be out of my budget. But, due to unique pandemic-related circumstances, my friends & I were able to stay for a reduced rate…

The Pier Phu Quoc Resort, Vietnam, Independent Review

The Pier Phu Quoc Resort | Independent Review

A small, modern, mid-range resort on Phu Quoc’s lesser-known east coast, The Pier occupies a fabulous position beneath jungled hills with sweeping coastal views.

Camia Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Camia Resort, Phu Quoc | Independent Review

A lush, tasteful & understated property with a narrow but beautiful beachfront & two elegant infinity pools, Camia Resort is a good value mid-range place to stay on Phu Quoc Island…

Amiana Resort & Spa, Nha Trang, Vietnam

Amiana Resort Nha Trang | Independent Review

Ten kilometres north of Nha Trang, Amiana Resort features a long seafront, lush gardens & several enormous, highly photogenic infinity pools…

Lak Tented Camp, Lak Lake, Dak Lak, Vietnam

Lak Tented Camp | Independent Review

With luxury safari-tents & lakeside bungalows spread over a lush hillside on the shores of Lake Lak in the Dak Lak highlands, Lak Tented Camp is an atmospheric accommodation with a deep attachment to the natural environment…

The Shells Resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, Independent Review

The Shells Phu Quoc | Independent Review

Quirky but classy, The Shells is a modern resort on the west coast of Phu Quoc Island, offering generously proportioned rooms with sea-views & lots of light & space…

Ivory Falls Villa Resort, Di Linh Highlands, Vietnam

Ivory Falls Villa, Di Linh Highlands | Review

Surrounded by coffee farms, tea plantations, rice paddies & fruit trees, Ivory Falls Villa is a quiet, secluded & peaceful place to stay in the mountains & valleys of the Central Highlands…

Fusion Suites, Vung Tau | Review

With an immaculate rooftop infinity pool & sky bar with 360-degree views of the city & sea, Fusion Suites is set to become one of the most photographed places in Vung Tau…

Victoria Can Tho Resort, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Victoria Can Tho Resort | Mekong Delta

A handsome, colonial-style hotel on the banks of the Mekong River, Victoria Can Tho is an excellent place to stay with lots of ambience & plenty of amenities to match….

Bamboo Cottages, solar-powered resort, Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam

Bamboo Cottages Off-Grid Resort, Phu Quoc Island

Situated on one of Phu Quoc Island’s most attractive & least developed bays, Bamboo Cottages is a small, tasteful, mid-range beach resort powered by solar energy….

Escalade Resort, Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam

Escalade Resort, Cam Ranh Bay

A small-scale, affordable mid-range resort with dazzling sea views over one of the prettiest bays in Vietnam, Escalade Resort, Cam Ranh is tasteful, good value for money & great place to unwind….

Vu Linh Homestays, Thac Ba Lake, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam

Vu Linh Homestays, Thac Ba Lake

Vu Linh is a rural commune on the eastern shores of Thac Ba Lake, where several excellent homestays offer atmospheric lodgings & access to the lake & local community….

Pan Hou Village Ecolodge, Ha Giang, Vietnam

Panhou Village Ecolodge, Ha Giang

Deep within the folds of steep mountains & plunging valleys, Panhou Village Ecolodge is set in the middle of a remote & seldom-visited part of Ha Giang, Vietnam’s northernmost province….

Elegant Suites Westlake, hotel & serviced apartments, Hanoi

Elegant Suites Westlake, Hanoi

Comfy, smart & luxurious but unpretentious, Elegant Suites is a great alternative to staying in the cramped streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Located in the well-to-do district of West Lake, it’s a chance to see a different, albeit more affluent, side of the capital. The facilities are fantastic & it’s perfect for families, couples, or business travellers….

Ba Be Lake homestays, Bac Kan Province, Vietnam

Ba Be Lake Homestays

At Ba Be Lake, limestone cliffs meet the placid water at right angles, creating a spectacular backdrop to Vietnam’s largest natural lake. On its southern shores, where the terrain is slightly less vertical, several dozen homestays offer cheap, atmospheric accommodation & excellent home-cooked food….

Hoi An Waterway Resort, Vietnam

Hoi An Waterway Resort

Sitting on the palm-studded banks of a narrow channel, Hoi An Waterway Resort boasts river views, superbly designed rooms, a low-key ambience, lush gardens & a good swimming pool. Low rates make Hoi An Waterway excellent value for money….

Villa Hue Hotel, Hue City, Vietnam

Villa Hue Hotel

This gem of a hotel is located on a quiet yet central street in Hue, walking distance from the Perfume River & Royal Citadel. Drawing on modern, French colonial & Imperial Vietnamese decor & design, Villa Hue is superb value for money…

Aira Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa, Lao Cai, Vietnam

Aira Boutique Sapa Hotel & Spa

On the edge of Sapa town, Aira Boutique is a brightly-painted, alpine-style lodge affording spectacular vistas across the plunging, mist-filled valley, with the jagged peak of Mount Fansipan casting a long shadow over the scene. Aira is one of Sapa’s best higher-end accommodations…

Floating Lotus Lake Homestays, Mekong Delta

In the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, a collection of bamboo & palm-thatch huts on wooden stilts above a sea of lotus flowers, offer a night in a hammock or on a futon under a mosquito net, just a few feet above the frogs, the fish & the flowers…

Lasenta Boutique Hotel, Hoi An, Vietnam

Lasenta Boutique Hotel, Hoi An

A comfortable & aesthetically pleasing synthesis of the exotic & the familiar, the modern & the traditional, and Asian & European elements, Lasenta Boutique Hotel is yet another addition to Hoi An’s list of excellent value, mid-range accommodation…

Binh Chau Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Minera Binh Chau Hot Springs Resort & Spa

Just a couple hours’ drive from Saigon, Binh Chau Hot Springs Resort & Spa has improved it’s facilities and aesthetics in recent years: it’s now a lush, relaxing and satisfying retreat from the city….

Liberty Central Hotel, Nha Trang

Liberty Central Hotel, Nha Trang

Liberty Central Nha Trang is a contemporary, stylish, high-rise hotel just a block from the beach. Featuring elegant, minimalist decor, extraordinary sea views, rooftop bar & its own section of beach, Liberty Central is a solid place to stay in Nha Trang….

The Myst Dong Khoi Hotel, Saigon, Vietnam

The Myst Dong Khoi, Saigon

The Myst is a new, quirky, stylish & elegant boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Saigon. From its enigmatic exterior to its eccentric interiors, The Myst is a bold & unique addition to the high-end hotel scene in Ho Chi Minh City…

Leman Cap Resort, Vung Tau, Vietnam

Leman Cap Resort, Vung Tau

Sitting on the rocks above Vung Tau’s attractive seafront promenade, Leman Cap Resort is an excellent option for expats or mid-range travellers looking to escape Saigon for a couple of nights by the sea…

Victoria Nui Sam Mountain Lodge, Chau Doc, Vietnam

Victoria Nui Sam Mountain Lodge

Built on a rocky escarpment near the summit of a scared mountain, Victoria Nui Sam Lodge offers tasteful, well-appointed rooms with fantastic views over acres of rice fields. It makes a great stopover when travelling through the Mekong Delta…

Hotel Nikko, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hotel Nikko, Saigon

Ever since it opened a few years ago, Hotel Nikko has set the standard for modern, sleek, chic, high-end accommodation in Saigon. Its success has spawned many decent imitators in the city, but Nikko still has the edge over its competitors…

Silk Path Hotel, Hanoi

Silk Path Hotel, Hanoi

Walking distance from Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake, the Silk Path Hotel offers clean, crisp, modern and comfortable rooms in the capital. Stylish yet restrained, Silk Path is a good, solid mid-range hotel for couples or families visiting Hanoi…

Accommodation in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam

Cat Tien National Park: Where to Stay

Traditional longhouses, luxury safari tents, bamboo huts, camping under tall trees: accommodation in & around Cat Tien National Park is atmospheric, good value and, more often than not, environmentally & socially responsible…

Silverland Jolie Hotel & Spa, Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Silverland Jolie Hotel & Spa, Saigon

Pseudo-colonial decor, a very central location, good river views, and a lush rooftop bar and spa make Silverland Jolie a cosy nest in which to base yourself while visiting Saigon…

Vinh Hy Bay Resort, Ninh Thuan, Vietnam

Vinh Hy Bay Resort

Vinh Hy is a gorgeous natural harbour between Phan Rang and Nha Trang. At the centre of the pretty bay and fishing village, there’s an excellent-value place to stay. Vinh Hy Resort is perfect if you’re on a road trip along the coast…

Ocean Dunes Resort, Phan Thiet, Vietnam

Ocean Dunes Resort, Phan Thiet

On the beach in Phan Thiet City, the Ocean Dunes Resort is excellent value for money. Offering high-end amenities at mid-range prices, the Ocean Dunes is a great option for budget travellers looking for a slice of luxury and, because of its wide greens spaces, for families…

Mango Bay, Phu Quoc | Independent Review

A long-time favourite beach retreat for travellers & expats, Mango Bay is still the best place to stay on Phu Quoc Island in its class & price bracket. Mango Bay offers guests both comfort & a connection to nature, but not one at the expense of the other…

My GIVI Bike Box, Vietnam Coracle

My GIVI Bike Box

This is the story of my GIVI bike box, bearer of my baggage on all my road trips. Convenient, secure, durable and stylish, my bike box has allowed me the freedom to go anywhere and see everything, which is what motorbiking is all about….

The Northern Hotel, Saigon, Vietnam

The Northern Hotel, Saigon

In the shadow of downtown Saigon’s high-rises, the Northern Hotel sits on a quiet street in the affluent yet quirky enclave known as the Japanese district. A five minute walk from such major landmarks as the Opera House and the Saigon River, the Northern Hotel offers very comfortable, mid-range accommodation…

The Grand Ho Tram Casino & Resort

The Grand Ho Tram Resort & Casino

Big, indulgent & exceptionally good quality, The Grand Resort & Casino marks the beginning of the transformation of the quiet & unassuming coastline of Ho Tram, into what is hoped will become Vietnam’s answer to Macau & Las Vegas….

Edenstar Hotel, Saigon

Edenstar Hotel: Saigon Mid-Range

Centrally located with a rooftop pool and sleek modern rooms, Edenstar is a solid Saigon mid-range hotel. Catering to all types of visitors, Edenstar is on a narrow street, lined with tall trees, and within walking distance of most of Saigon’s major attractions…..

Ma Maison Boutique Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Ma Maison Boutique Hotel, Saigon

Hidden deep within a network of alleyways, Ma Maison is a warm, bright boutique hotel in a typical, local Saigon neighbourhood. Decorated in French Provençal fashion and located away from the city centre, Ma Maison plugs travellers straight into genuine local life…

Hanoi Impressive Hotel, Vietnam

The Hanoi Impressive Hotel

In the quiet, shaded alleyways, behind the neo-Gothic façade of St Joseph’s Cathedral, the Hanoi Impressive Hotel is my go-to place to stay when visiting the capital. At around $45 a night, it’s fantastic mid-range value…

Thanh Kieu Resort, Phu Quoc Island

Thanh Kieu Beach Resort, Phu Quoc Island

The unsung hero of seafront, mid-range accommodation on Long Beach, Thanh Kieu Resort is an exceptionally lush, peaceful, and unassuming place to stay on Phu Quoc Island. It’s been my go-to resort for years…

Victoria Resort, Phan Thiet

Victoria Beach Resort, Mui Ne

One of the first luxury resorts to grace the sands of Mui Ne, Victoria Resort & Spa is still one of the best places to stay on this popular beach on Vietnam’s southeast coast. With lush tropical gardens & a long stretch of beach, Victoria is far more spacious than its competitors…

Hotel Du Parc, Dalat

Hotel Du Parc, Dalat

The Hotel Du Parc offers excellent value mid-range accommodation in the Central Highlands’ city of Dalat. Housed in a French building from the 1930s, this hotel has colonial ambience with modern amenities at very reasonable prices…

The Lunch Lady: A Diary

The Lunch Lady: A Diary

Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh is The Lunch Lady. Her famous ‘rotating menu’ (she serves a different dish each day) is a huge draw for locals, tourists & foodies from around the world. I ate lunch here everyday for a week to see how good it really is…

My Motorbike, Stavros, 200,000km in Vietnam

My Motorbike, Stavros: 200,000km

A week ago, my motorbike (known affectionately to me as ‘Stavros’) turned 13 years old & the odometer ticked over to 200,000km….

Ana Mandara Villas Resort, Dalat, Vietnam

Ana Mandara Villas, Dalat

17 beautifully restored French colonial villas on a pine-studded hillside, Ana Mandara Resort & Spa keeps the romance of Dalat alive. Luxury accommodation in the Central Highlands doesn’t get more atmospheric than this…

Juliet's Villa Resort

Juliet’s Villa Resort

Surrounded by coffee farms, tea plantations, rice paddies & fruit trees, Juliet’s Villa Resort is a family-run, quiet, secluded & peaceful place to stay near Di Linh, a part of the Central Highlands most travellers overlook….

Ho Tram Beach Boutique Resort & Spa

Ho Tram Beach Boutique | Independent Review

A tasteful, understated & peaceful resort within easy reach of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Ho Tram Boutique is a favourite retreat of mine….