Vietnam
Vietnam
Bia Hơi, Tiny Stools & Beautifully Organised Chaos
Vietnam runs on three things: scooters, coffee and beer so fresh it was brewed this morning. In Hanoi, the evening starts on a plastic stool roughly the height of your shin, a glass of bia hơi in hand that costs less than a parking meter, while a river of motorbikes flows past close enough to high-five. Further south, Saigon's craft brewers are making IPAs that would hold their own in Portland, and the coffee is strong enough to restart a stopped heart — sometimes whipped with egg yolk, which sounds wrong and tastes extraordinary. Somewhere in between, a bridge in Da Nang breathes actual fire, women in Ninh Binh row boats with their feet, and dinner may include things you'd normally see in a nature documentary. Vietnam doesn't do subtle. It does generous, loud, delicious and slightly bonkers. Pull up a stool.
Featured Tour
Our expert-led small group tour in Vietnam
Private & Custom Vietnam Experiences
Want Vietnam with just your group? We can arrange private departures and custom itineraries, from Hanoi beer-street evenings to Saigon craft brewery days.
Private Vietnam Group Tours
Your friends, your dates, our itinerary — beer streets, breweries, street food and the fire-breathing bridge, with a guide who knows where locals actually drink.
Custom Vietnam Adventures
Want more coffee, more caves or more craft beer? Tell us what you're into and we'll build a Vietnam trip around it.
February to April and November are the sweet spots. Tết (Lunar New Year) is spectacular but some businesses close.
Vietnam Highlights
Why Vietnam Matters
Vietnam drinks more beer than almost anywhere in Asia — and does it sitting on very small furniture.
Top 3 in Asia
Beer Drinking
Only China and Japan drink more beer. Vietnam takes cheers very seriously
Under £1
Bia Hơi
Fresh draught beer brewed daily, served on the street, gone by nightfall
World #2
Coffee
The world's second-largest coffee producer — and it shows in every cup
65 Million+
Motorbikes
Crossing the road is a skill. You'll master it by day three
From Fresh Street Beer to Saigon Craft (With Rice Wine in Between)
Beer arrived in Vietnam with the French in the late 1800s, but the Vietnamese made it their own. Bia hơi — literally "fresh beer" — is a light, unpasteurised lager brewed daily and delivered to street corners in kegs and plastic jugs each morning. It's meant to be drunk the same day, which nobody finds difficult. Every city has its local champion: Bia Hà Nội in the north, Huda in Hue, Larue in Da Nang, Saigon Special in the south, and locals defend their regional beer with real passion. Then came the craft revolution. From the mid-2010s, brewers in Saigon began making serious IPAs, stouts and sours using Vietnamese ingredients — Phu Quoc pepper, local cacao, lemongrass, dragon fruit and robusta coffee — and the scene has spread north to Hanoi and Da Nang. Older than all of it is rượu, Vietnamese rice wine (really a spirit), distilled in villages and sometimes infused with herbs, fruit or things best not asked about. Then there's the coffee: thick, strong, dripped through a phin filter over condensed milk, or whipped with egg yolk into Hanoi's famous egg coffee. Vietnam's drinks culture isn't about rarity or ceremony. It's about sharing, toasting and ordering another round.
Egg coffee (cà phê trứng) was invented in Hanoi in the 1940s when milk was scarce, so a bartender whipped egg yolk with sugar and condensed milk instead. It tastes like tiramisu you can drink. The original café is still pouring it today.
Why Tipple Tours Goes to Vietnam
We go to Vietnam because it has one of the most sociable drinking cultures on earth and almost nobody plans a trip around it. Bia hơi corners in Hanoi turn complete strangers into toasting partners within minutes — "một, hai, ba, dzô!" is the only Vietnamese you need on night one. The craft beer scene in Saigon has gone from non-existent to genuinely exciting in barely a decade, with brewers using local ingredients like passion fruit, lemongrass, coffee and jasmine. Rice wine (rượu) is still made at home in villages and poured with pride and very little regard for measurements. And the food — from Hanoi's street stalls to Hoi An's market kitchens to Saigon's late-night grills — is so good and so cheap it feels like a clerical error. Add caves, rivers, lantern-lit old towns and a bridge that breathes fire, and you have a trip that's equal parts beer tour, food adventure and organised chaos. Exactly our kind of place.
Weird Facts & Local Legends
The Tiny Plastic Stool
Vietnam's street-drinking furniture is designed for people roughly half your height. Nobody knows exactly why. Everybody sits on them anyway. By the second beer, your knees will have made peace with it.
The Bridge That Breathes Fire
Da Nang's Dragon Bridge is shaped like a golden dragon and, on weekend nights, it breathes fire and then sprays water over the crowds. It is exactly as ridiculous and brilliant as it sounds.
Rowing With Your Feet
In Ninh Binh, boat rowers often paddle with their feet, leaving their hands free for steering, chatting or checking their phones. The limestone karsts around them are so dramatic they were used as a filming location for Kong: Skull Island.
Basket Boats
Near Hoi An, fishermen use round bamboo basket boats that look like floating washing-up bowls. Some boatmen will spin you in circles at speed. Hold on to your drink.
The Cheers Count
Vietnamese drinking etiquette involves a lot of toasting. "Một, hai, ba, dzô!" (one, two, three, cheers!) can happen every few minutes, and it's polite to join in. Pacing yourself is a sport.
Things to Do in Vietnam
Hanoi Beer Streets
Pull up a tiny stool in the Old Quarter, order a glass of bia hơi brewed that morning and watch the scooter river flow past. Ta Hien and its neighbouring lanes turn into one big open-air bar every evening.
See the Vietnam tourSaigon Craft Brewery Crawl
Saigon has one of Southeast Asia's most exciting craft beer scenes, with brewers using lemongrass, passion fruit, Phu Quoc pepper and local coffee. Taprooms range from industrial-chic to hidden up three flights of stairs.
Explore craft beerStreet Food Adventures
Phở for breakfast, bánh mì for lunch, grilled everything for dinner — and, for the brave, duck embryo, crickets and snails. Everything adventurous is optional. Everything delicious is strongly encouraged.
Ask about the foodCaves, Rivers & Karsts
Glide through limestone caves in Ninh Binh, where the scenery is so dramatic Hollywood borrowed it. Your rower may be using their feet. This is normal.
See the itineraryCoffee Culture
Egg coffee in Hanoi, coconut coffee in a lantern-lit café, iced phin coffee with condensed milk in Saigon. Vietnam's coffee is strong enough to fix any hangover the beer created.
Coffee recommendationsRice Wine Toasts
Rượu is Vietnam's home-distilled rice spirit, often poured by proud hosts in small glasses with frequent toasts. Sip respectfully. Say "dzô" loudly.
Learn about rượuBest Time to Visit Vietnam
February to April, or November
Late winter and spring bring pleasant weather down the country: cooler in Hanoi, warming up in Hoi An and hot in Saigon. November is also lovely as the rains ease. Summer is hot, humid and stormy in places — great for cold beer, less great for walking.
Key Events & Festivals
- Tết (Lunar New Year, late January/February) — the biggest celebration of the year; some places close
- Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival — monthly, on the 14th day of the lunar month
- Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (early summer)
- Vietnam craft beer festivals in Saigon and Hanoi (various dates)
Solo Travellers Welcome — Own Room Included
✓ Own room at no extra cost for solo travellers
Coming to Vietnam on your own? Your own room is included at the per-person price — no single supplement and no roommate lottery. Vietnam's street-side drinking culture is wonderfully sociable, and our small group means you'll have someone to toast with from the first evening.
Getting to Vietnam
By Air
- Airport
- Hanoi Noi Bai (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat (SGN). Our tour flies into Hanoi and out of Saigon
- Flight Time from London
- Around 12-13 hours from London direct
- Airlines
- Vietnam Airlines flies direct from London. Plenty of one-stop options via the Middle East and Asian hubs.
- Visa
- UK citizens can currently visit visa-free for up to 45 days. Many other nationalities need an e-visa, which is applied for online. Always check the latest rules before you book flights.
Pro Tip
Book an open-jaw ticket: into Hanoi, home from Ho Chi Minh City. A return from Hanoi means an unexpected 1,700 km detour at the end of your trip.
Local Tips for Vietnam
Cross the road slowly and steadily. Scooters will flow around you. Sudden stops and sprints confuse everyone.
"Một, hai, ba, dzô!" means "one, two, three, cheers!" Expect to hear it often. Join in.
Bia hơi is brewed daily and best drunk fresh. Prices are tiny, so tip your stall host with a smile and another round.
Carry some cash. Street stalls and small bars rarely take cards.
Choose busy street-food stalls. A queue of locals is the best food-safety certificate there is.
Drink bottled or properly filtered water, and pace yourself with the rice wine. It is stronger than it looks.
Tipping is not traditional but always appreciated, especially for guides and drivers.
Vietnam Travel FAQs
Do I have to eat the adventurous food?
What is bia hơi?
Is there really a craft beer scene?
What is Vietnamese rice wine?
Is Vietnam good for solo travellers?
Do I need a visa?
Ready to Explore Vietnam?
Join one of our small group tours and experience Vietnam like a local.
