Best Day Trip From Hoi An: Khe Tan Reservoir (2026 Guide)
Most visitors spend all their time in Hoi An’s Ancient Town. Lanterns, the river, the Japanese Covered Bridge, and not much beyond that. If you’re staying more than a couple of days, one of the best day trip from Hoi An is waiting just past the town limits. Khe Tan Reservoir was one of my […]
Cam Kim Island Guide 2026: Hoi An’s Quiet Countryside Escape
Most visitors to Hoi An never leave the Ancient Town. They walk the lantern streets, cross the Japanese Covered Bridge, eat at a riverside restaurant, and consider the town seen. Just across the river from Hoi An, a short bridge ride away, lies Cam Kim Island. Almost nobody goes there. And it ended up being […]
Hidden Places in Hoi An: 5 Spots Beyond the Old Town
Most visitors to Hoi An spend one or two days walking the Ancient Town, taking photos of the lanterns, and moving on to the next city on their route. I stayed nine days. And somewhere around day four, I started riding out past the edge of the Old Town to see what was actually out […]
Vietnam Sleeper Bus Tips 2026: Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Ride
During my 50 days traveling across Vietnam, I used sleeper buses for almost every single long-distance journey. Hanoi to Sapa. Sapa back to Hanoi. Ninh Binh to Hue. Hue to Hoi An. Hoi An to Da Lat. Da Lat to Ho Chi Minh City. These Vietnam sleeper bus tips aren’t pulled from a generic travel […]
Hidden Places in Hue: 4 Spots Most Tourists Never Visit
Most travelers visit Hue for the Imperial City. And while it’s worth seeing, my favorite memories from Hue have nothing to do with it. After spending my first two days exploring the city, I started riding further out. Trying roads that didn’t have anything obvious at the end of them. Looking for hidden places in […]
Hue Abandoned Water Park Guide 2026: What to Know Before You Visit
Most people visit Hue for the Imperial City. I ended up at an abandoned water park on the outskirts of the city instead. The Hue Abandoned Water Park is one of the strangest places I visited in all of Vietnam. Part abandoned theme park. Part urban exploration site. Part local curiosity. And one of those […]
Hue Travel Guide for Slow Travel: 5 Days Beyond the Imperial City
Most travel guides for Hue spend 80 percent of their time on the Imperial City. This one won’t. Not because the Imperial City isn’t worth seeing, it is, but because that section of every Hue travel guide already exists in abundance. What doesn’t exist is a guide for the version of Hue that opens up […]
Riding a Scooter in Sapa, Vietnam for First Timers: Everything You Need to Know
I rented a scooter three times trying to reach Ta Van village in Sapa, Vietnam. Three times, I had to turn back. Not because of the roads. Not because I couldn’t ride. But because the fog rolled in so thick I couldn’t see 5 meters ahead. Riding a scooter in Sapa, Vietnam for first timers […]
Sapa Trekking Without a Guide (2026): Solo Routes, Tips & My Experience
Can you do Sapa trekking without a guide? Should you? And what does it actually feel like to walk those mountain trails alone? I spent 7 days in Sapa in January 2025. And my self-guided trek to Lao Chai village was the highlight of my entire week. No tour group. No guide explaining things I […]
Vietnam Itinerary for Slow Travel: My 50-Day Route Through the Real Vietnam
Planning a Vietnam itinerary for slow travel changes everything. Instead of rushing through the country in two weeks, ticking off temples and moving on, you actually get to live in the places you visit. I spent 50 days traveling through Vietnam. And this slow travel Vietnam approach showed me a side of the country most […]