1. Hue – Hoi An
Though these two UNESCO’s heritages are closely connected with a system of roads, their absolute differences surprise almost every tourist who ever comes here. While one side is well-known with the magnificent and marvelous beauty of temples, palaces; the other side is quite the reverse with its simplicity in appearance and the warmth of people who dedicate their whole lives to farming and breeding. On the route connecting these places, you will have beautiful views from Hai Van Pass, Ngu Hanh Mountain, little fishing villages under the mountain, Lang Co Bay and various traditional handicraft villages. When in Hoi An, don’t forget to visit the famous tailor shops here and don’t skip the chance of getting some silk costumes made, since the town is filled with skillful and professional tailors, who are capable of making you a made-to-measure shirt in just 3-4 hours. Hoi An by night is even more brilliant if you come visit it on full moon nights. It is then when the whole town will turn off the lights and raise up the red lanterns, in some sense is to reconstitute the life of hundreds years ago. However, if you visit the town on ordinary days, don’t hesitate to get yourself some street foods here. The tasty, simply made street foods will enchant you.
2. Hoi An – Kham Duc
Vietnam is quite narrow in the mainland area, yet the country’s coastline spreads out for about 3,000 kilometers, which is why being 40 kilometers apart from Hoi An, you can possibly find everything completely different: landscapes, culture, life, plants, people… If you come visit Hoi An following the route from Hue, you might be interested in the images of pretty little villages lying behind rows of bamboos. If you follow the route to Phuoc Son – a smaller town and the start point of South of Truong Son Mountain Chain, you will get to see chains of significant mountains, winding roads and sometimes, lonesome houses on the mountains. Along this route you will get to visit Cham Towers – a national pride with the history of thousands of years; also come to some specific traditional trade villages of the area, get to know more profoundly about the country’s history and culture in places where just 40 years ago, still known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
3. Kham Duc – Kon Tum
Leaving Kham Duc, you will be officially entering into the highlands with beautiful heaven-like landscapes: canyons, slopes, waterfall and foggy-filled places. On a long road of 160 kilometers, you will get to visit local villages with different cultural aspects and traditions. You will have chances to get to know the local people here, and luckily, you might have them invited to taste the very specialties of their land. Besides, you can come visit various historical monuments which are closely attached to the Vietnam War, such as: Phuong Hoang Airport, Yen Ngua Hill, 611 Height… Once reach Kon Tum, we will take some time to visit the wooden church of Kon Tum and Vinh Son Orphanage, where minority orphan children are raised. Listening to their stories and struggles will help you to have a deeper perspective towards the ethnic groups’ culture and traditions. If possible, we recommend that you buy some small gifts like notebooks, textbooks…for the children in Vinh Son Orphanage to encourage them in pursuing a better life.
4. Kon Tum – Chư Sê
From Kon Tum, you will reach Chư Sê – a small town located about 30 kilometers distant from Pleiku and is well-known as Vietnam’s land of pepper. Beside pepper, Pleiku is quite famous with its other different types of trees such as rubber trees, tea and sugarcane trees. In Chư Sê – Pleiku, you might not experience going through rough roads or contemplating the magnificent landscapes, but you might be enchanted by interesting cultural features since there are various ethnic groups living here. You will get to visit Bana ethnic group’s church, Giarai ethnic group’s village, get to know about the King of Fire, King of Water and the gods people in the area worship.
5. Chư Sê – Buon Ma Thuot
On the route of Chư Sê – Buon Ma Thuot, you will once again experience the cultural differences. If during the past 3 days of touring, you have seen the typical communal houses (or Nha Rong) of northern highlands’ ethnic groups, then once you reach Buon Ma Thuot, you will find many Nha Dai instead of Nha Rong. And instead of the massive rubber forests, there will be large coffee farms. You will get to visit coffee plantations, get to know the local people and understand how they plant coffee, also you will have chance visit the Southeast Asia’s biggest coffee museum. While in Buon Ma Thuot, it is recommended that you taste a cup of coffee found in any random street coffee shop here. Sipping slowly a wonderful cup of coffee and contemplating the sight here would never be a bad choice.
6. Buon Ma Thuot – Dak Mil
Leaving the land of coffee, following southern direction will you step into Dak Mil – a small town of Dak Nong Province, lying just about 3 kilometers distant from the border of Cambodia. On the way to Dak Mil, you will get to visit Dray Nu Waterfall and Dray Sap Waterfall – 2 biggest waterfalls in Vietnam; you can go swimming freely at the natural pool lying under the waterfall. If we have spare time, we can enjoy a wonderful lunch with BBQs on the spot. Also you will get to know local people on the route to see how they make coal.
7. Dak Mil – Dong Xoai
Dong Xoai is the final destination of the area of Central Highlands; it is from here that you will see differences in almost every aspect of life such as territory, climate, plants, houses and culture… During the Vietnam War, Binh Long – Dong Xoai was a crucial base of the Vietnam Army in Southeast Central Highlands, which also made this place become so famous. This was the place in which the army forces assembled, weapons, fuel transported from the North following Ho Chi Minh Route to the South Battlefield. On the way to Dong Xoai, you will get to see many historical locations.
8. Dong Xoai – Sai Gon
On the way from Dong Xoai to Sai Gon, you will get to visit Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu Chi is a very familiar name which reminds of the war’s violence and human’s creativity. Get to the tiny, narrow tunnels, seeing the unexploded grenades and the remains of tanks, you might have a more profound perspective towards the war and how Vietnamese people, with just some old AK assault rifles and bamboo stakes could win the war. Once you reach Saigon, it is recommended that you spend at least 2 hours to visit one of the museums around the city. And also taste some street foods, which people claim to proud of as the most delicious street foods in the country.