Vietnam offers visitors a great variety of natural scenery, covering as it does 15 parallels of latitude. It has 3,260 km ( 2,024 miles) of coastline, with innumerable gulfs and inlets, the most famous of which is HaLong Bay, considered to be one of the natural wonders of the world. Running north – south for over 2,000 km (1,242 miles), national Highway 1 carries tourists from the Red River Delta to the Mekong Delta, two river basins characterized by the seasonal monsoons typical of Asia – across small plains lining the coast like a string of beads, and through mountain passes at whose beauties the eye can never tire of looking.

The hills and mountains covering two-thirds of Vietnam territory differ in both their geological origin and flora and fauna, and despite severe damage from war and uncontrolled exploitation, in some places retain their primeval characteristics. The highland regions are inhabited by 54 ethnic groups, each with its own traditional dress, language and customs.

Tourists can get acquainted with Vietnam's millennia-long history and the ancient culture of a nation which for the past 4,000 years has had to struggle tirelessly to preserve its independence and national identity while at the same time absorbing the quintessential features of other cultures, from India, China and nations of the West. In every province tourists can visit historical and archaeological sites belonging to different periods of history.