This Is the Vietnam We Came For 🇻🇳 ｜ Phong Nha, Ninh Binh & Hanoi

Northern Vietnam ended up being our favorite part of an incredible 75-day journey through Vietnam. 🇻🇳 After traveling from Saigon through southern and central Vietnam, we continued north through Phong Nha, Ninh Binh, and Hanoi — and somehow Vietnam just kept getting better.
Our journey through Northern Vietnam began in Phong Nha, home to some of the largest and most spectacular cave systems in the world. We explored Paradise Cave, zip-lined into Dark Cave, covered ourselves in mud, visited the Botanical Garden, and spent hours riding a motorbike through the mountains and countryside surrounding Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park.
The motorbike rides alone made Phong Nha one of our favorite stops in Vietnam.
But then we arrived in Ninh Binh.
Surrounded by enormous limestone karst mountains, rice fields, rivers, caves, temples, and tiny roads winding through the countryside, Ninh Binh quickly became our favorite destination of the entire 75-day trip.
We explored the area by bicycle and motorbike, climbed Hang Mua for one of the most famous views in Vietnam, visited Thai Vi Temple, traveled by boat through the caves and mountains of Trang An, explored the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, and visited the enormous Bai Dinh Pagoda complex.
Some of our favorite moments weren't even at the major attractions. Riding through the countryside, finding small temples hidden among the mountains, eating incredible Vietnamese food, and simply exploring Ninh Binh without much of a plan became some of the most memorable experiences of our entire trip.
Finally, after traveling Vietnam from south to north, we reached Hanoi.
We spent our final days exploring the chaotic streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter, walking around Hoan Kiem Lake, visiting Ngoc Son Temple, seeing the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ba Dinh Square, and experiencing one of Southeast Asia's most fascinating capital cities.
Vietnam surprised us constantly during these 75 days.
Saigon gave us our introduction to the country. Da Lat showed us a completely different side of Vietnam. Nha Trang brought us to the coast. Hoi An and Hue introduced us to centuries of Vietnamese history and culture.
But Phong Nha and Ninh Binh were where we truly fell in love with Vietnam.
This is the final episode of our three-part journey traveling Vietnam from south to north, but considering how much of the country we still haven't seen, we have a feeling it won't be our last.
If you're planning a trip to Vietnam, considering backpacking through Southeast Asia, or simply wondering what traveling through Northern Vietnam is actually like, we hope this video gives you a glimpse of why this country became one of