Have a rough itinerary in mind

Given that Vietnam is not a small country, establishing a general schedule for your Vietnam vacation is essential. You don't plan anything in detail, but you do sketch out a route that you'd like to take in Vietnam. Three weeks is the minimal amount of time required to go from one end of Vietnam to the other.

This is close to the optimum time to visit Vietnam, as you'll need at least a month to fully tour the country. If you have less than three weeks, you will have to skip a few destinations, but the key is to consider how many places you want to visit.

You should include in travel time as well. If you're moving from one town to the next closest (which is excellent), keep in mind that there are no late-night buses available for overnight trips. Traveling to the next town takes 4 to 5 hours, and the best you can do to shorten travel time is to catch the early or last bus (around 5 to 6 PM), which still leaves time to visit sites. If you're short on time, domestic flights are almost as cheap as or less expensive than rail tickets.