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Are you a beach bum or an adventure lover? It does not matter that you are interested in a relaxing trip, a cultural trip or an adventurous one, Vietnam has it all. Owing to gorgeous natural landscapes, paradise beaches, dynamic cities and unique culture, Vietnam can offer you a vacation with various possibilities.

Vietnamese Traditional Dresses & Costumes

If there’s one thing that people can’t get enough of from Vietnam, it’s the clothes. The colourful, intricately detailed Vietnamese clothing has become well-known worldwide for its bold look and for the variety of individual stories woven into its fabric. The traditional dress, the Vietnamese Ao Dai, is a garment of intense national pride for Vietnamese people; it is highly-revered inside Vietnam as well as out for its sleek elegance. However, the wealth of Vietnamese costumes runs deep, and a population on the cusp of 100 million, including 54 individual ethnic backgrounds, creates a lot of scope for fashion.  The textile industry continues to reach a huge market outside of Vietnam. In the first quarter of 2018, textiles were the country's second-biggest export, creating $7.83 billion, which is 15% higher than last year. So why is there such a scramble for Vietnamese textiles? What are the traditional Vietnamese Dresses that create such a stir around the world? Vietnamese Traditional Costumes Ao Dai  There’s no other place to begin than the iconic Ao Dai Viet Nam. Pronounced ‘ow zai’ in the North and ‘ow’ yai’ in the South, the words literally translate to ‘Vietnamese Long Dress’. The Ao Dai has made incredible transformations from its birth during the 15th century to today where it remains a very popular garment for special events like Vietnamese New Year, weddings, graduations and various national holidays.  Ao Dai in Vietnamese New Year The original Ao Dai was a horrendously unflattering affair dreamt up by a Southern Vietnamese lord, Lord Nguyen. It was a blended design borrowed from the Chinese Ming Dynasty and Cham ethnic tribe, featuring a long and baggy, colourless tunic with four panels and worn by both men and women. Over the years, it went through many transformations. Men gradually lost enthusiasm with the whole thing and female members of high-society began adopting an increasingly slimmer and more elaborate version while peasants remained with the more practical, conservative option. It wasn’t until French colonialism arrived that the Ao Dai really took off. Cat Tuong was a French-trained artist who revolutionalised what soon become the official national dress, making it much more fitted and in true colonial style, requiring a tight-fitting corset. That modern version went through the standard 20th-century fashion mill, appearing in many, many different styles throughout the decades until its appearance today as the simple, colourful and graceful Vietnamese national dress. Ao Dai Where to buy Ao Dai in Vietnam Modern day Ao Dai are very popular holiday souvenirs from Vietnam and are great to wear at either formal or informal events.  Modern day Ao Dai Several tailors in Hanoi range from just $30 to about $200, but anyone on a stringent budget might consider heading to nearby Van Phuc Silk Village, where entire Ao Dai can be picked up for $15.  You’ll never see more Ao Dai as you do in Hoi An. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed town in the centre of the country has Vietnamese tradition at its heart, with even the local schoolgirls sporting ao dai as their uniform. It’s hard to move for the number of tailors who will create your perfectly-fitted ao dai, and you will have an incredible amount of choice when it comes to materials and style. Ho Chi Minh City has a good amount of markets where fittings can be done, but anyone scared of the authenticity of the material can look around a boutique, where standard ao dai range from $13 to around $200. For anyone with a bit more disposable cash, finely-embroidered and luxury silk ao dai can be bought from about $300 to $1000.  Non La This may not be as recognisable by name alone for most tourists, but one look at the Vietnamese conical hat and all you can think of is Vietnam. The Nón Lá Việt Nam comes in very handy in the countryside – if it’s not raining then it’s hot, if it’s not hot then it’s raining, if it’s not one or the other then it’s both. The Non La provides full protection from these elements while also gracing its wearer with a humble stylishness, one that has worked its way out of years of simple practicality to become somewhat of a modern-day art canvas. Non La Vietnam The ascent of the Vietnamese cone hat to a symbol of national pride started quite possibly about 3000 years ago, depicted on two ancient relics from around this time. Very little has changed in terms of the design; the 16 circles of bamboo covered with palm leaf are the standard formula and it is one of the few crafts that has resisted any form of industrialisation because machines cannot replicate the level of human dexterity necessary to make it. Nowadays, the Non La features regularly in traditional dance performances and in the world of art, with many artisans around the country capable of stitching romantic images into the hats. This is especially the case in Hue , a city near the centre of the country where the Non La gained the most popular because of the region’s persistent rainfall and sunshine. Here, the Non La became the Non Bai Tho, translating to ‘poem hat’, a truly amazing regional variation that features poems and images of Vietnamese folklore that only become visible in sunlight. Non Bai Tho Where to buy Non La The Vietnam cone hat is a popular yet not easily transportable souvenir among tourists. In the big cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, tourists can find cheap productions in souvenir shops around the centres, starting from as little as $3. Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi and Binh Tay Market in HCMC are the best areas to haggle and get a great deal. Hue is the best place to get a genuine and beautiful Non Bai Tho. There are 15 villages around Hue that have Non Bai Tho production as their main trade. Visit any of these villages personally to get the most authentic, best deal on Non La in the country. Ao Yem - A Vietnamese Traditional Cothing A less popular item of Vietnamese traditional clothing among travellers, the Áo Yếm Việt Nam is a very simple garment worn as underclothing or on its own. It comprises merely of a single square piece of cloth with corners cut away and straps added, tied loosely around the body with a rounded collar (co xay) or a V-neck (co xe) at the top. The Ao Yem Vietnam has a similar story to many other items of Vietnamese national clothing. It was first depicted at a similar time to the Ao Dai and has gone through very little stylistic change over the hundreds of years since then. An Ao Yem is usually one single colour and it’s normally pretty mild, but the more vivid and bold Ao Yem come out during festival time in the villages around Vietnam. Ao Yem Where to buy Ao Yem The Ao Yem has fallen out of fashion in the 20th century with the invention of the bra, but tourists can still find them in shopping malls around the country. Hoi An would be the best place to get this beautiful garment tailor-made; its simple nature means it should be made fairly quickly and at a very reasonable price. Check the best trips to Hue and Hoi An to discover more about the land of Vietnamese traditional costumes: Highlights Of Vietnam Holiday Package , Essence of Vietnam , Central Vietnam Holiday , or Ultimate Vietnam Holiday Vietnam Ethnic Tribal Dress While 86% of the population of Vietnam is of the ethnic background ‘Kinh’, the remaining 14% are members of various ethnic minority tribes around the country, each forging a specific identity from before Vietnam was unified as one country. In Vietnam, ethnic tribe clothing can vary wildly depending on the tribe’s customs, but most share a common theme of featuring very colourful and very elaborate repeated patterns, with many clashing items worn at once. H’mong The H’mong hill tribe comprise about 1.2% of the country’s population and are split into subsections depending on the colour of the dresses that they wear: Black, White, Blue, Red, Green and Flower H’mong. They live in the northern provinces of Vietnam and, for those who can, congregate every Sunday at Bac Ha Market in Sapa; a usually drab stretch of concrete that comes alive with the amazing colours of the H’mong traditional clothing. Tourists can visit this market to find intricate, hand-woven labours of love from around $10. Check our best tours to Sapa to discover more about Vietnam Ethnic Tribal Dress:  Sapa Trekking & Bac Ha Market , Sapa Trekking & Explore , Discover The Best Of Sapa , or Best of Sapa Excursions  H'mong's Dress Dao A more modest representative of the Vietnam hill tribes, the clothes of the Dao are not quite as vibrant as the H’mong, but they are still sub-categorised depending on their attire: Red Dao, the Dao with long tunics, the Dao with white trousers etc. The Red Dao are the most famous of this group, donning a light, flowery top with a bright red hat featuring an array of tassels and silver coins. There are Red Dao villages close to Sapa that sell full outfits to foreigners. Heading straight to the source and buying from them is a great way to help the local community. Dao's Dress Lolo Split into three main groups: the Black Lolo, Red Lolo and Flower Lolo, these northern Vietnamese tribes have some of the most labour-intensive clothing to make. The plain black of the turban and trousers is a canvas for some very intricate patterns of many shapes and sizes. The repeating motifs can take months to create, meaning the prices for these wonderfully ornate pieces of Vietnamese ethnic tribe dress are usually a bit higher than others. Lolo people's dress

The Best Time to Visit Sapa

The four distinct seasons of Sapa affect the landscape and the activities of its people in many ways. Higher than Hanoi, both in terms of altitude and latitude, Sapa features its own micro-climate, one shared by other hill regions in the north like Ha Giang and Cao Bang. The main hub of Sapa Town has come a long way since its use for military purposes by the French in 1922, with layers of Western and Vietnamese culture adding to that of the original ethnic minorities of the region. The hurricane of tourism has passed through Sapa in recent years and now a visit to its many golden rice paddies, sky-scraping mountains, rippling green hills and humble hill tribe villages is an essential part on any itinerary of Vietnam. The Stone Church in Sapa The best time to visit Sapa changes depending on the reason of your stay. While the distinct seasons make it easy to know when the Sapa weather will be less than optimal, the reasons to visit Sapa are numerous in amount and some are even enhanced by the colder and wetter weather that occurs at certain times. Sapa’s weather is in constant flux and its unpredictability often frustrates travellers to the region. Comprehensive guides are tough in this beautiful but volatile region, but here is our attempt at finding the best time to visit Sapa. Sapa in Spring Mid-February to Mid-May in Sapa The Sapa scene in spring looks like something straight out of a storybook. Romance is in full flow as peach blossoms spring up between mid-February and mid-May, creating a splash of vivid pink to add to the brilliant blue sky and crisp green rice paddies of the Sapa palette. Spring is very much peak season in Sapa, so be prepared for higher prices and more tourists. Sapa in Spring Temperature If it is comfortable trekking you’re after, then there’s no better time to visit Sapa than spring. The temperature rises quite a bit over the months of March, April and May; averaging about 15°C (59°F) at the start but 20°C (68°F) by the end. Though naturally colder than most of the rest of the country, the heat of the sun is not so debilitating that you feel your energy drain just by standing under it, like you might during the same month in Hoi An or Ho Chi Minh City. Rainfall Morning drizzles during spring are not uncommon, but the clouds are really just testing the waters before the summer deluge. Heading out later is usually the key to staying dry, but the impulsiveness of the quickly congregating clouds will have other ideas. The difference between the start and end of spring is massive, with March producing about 120mm per month compared to the threefold increase by May, which produces 370mm. Visibility  The rolling mist that descends around Sapa essentially does so whenever it feels, often here and gone within the blink of an eye. The best chance for avoiding the fog is in its sunniest month, April, which boasts about 6 hours of sunshine per day and is the perfect month for any potential photographers visiting the region. What to do in spring in Sapa The beautiful spring weather brings the beautiful people of Sapa out in full force. Boisterous festivals are thrown after the start of the new lunar year, which falls either at the end of winter or start of spring depending on the lunar calendar. The Gau Tao Festival, celebrated by the H’mong people, the most prominent minority tribe in the region, is initially a solemn religious affair before a few days of music, dancing and sport put everyone in a very festive mood. As with spring throughout the world, the best time to visit Sapa for its gorgeous flower blossoms is between February and April. Pink cherry blossoms, white pear flowers, purple plum flowers and the yellow of small shrubs become ubiquitous, turning Sapa into a vast, colourful wonderland and giving photographers many amazing backdrops to shoot some of their best work. Children in Sapa Sapa in Summer Mid–May to Mid-September Once the clouds have made their vague threats in April and early May, they are ready for the downpour of summer. This is easily the wettest season in Sapa, but rains tend to wash away the debris of foreign tourism, replaced by domestic tourism pretty much exclusively in Sapa Town and other hubs. A visit between June and September might be a brave endeavour, but it’s likely to be a quiet one out amongst the remote paddies. Temperature Naturally the hottest season in the region, heat joins the other components of Sapa’s weather in going full force. Averages are still a very comfortable 21°C (70°F), but highs of around 26°C (79°F) can feel a little draining if experienced for multiple hours while trekking in the sun. Nights are warm, however, which lends a lovely twilight atmosphere throughout the region. Rainfall If you haven’t invested in a fashionable Vietnamese poncho during your summer visit, you might want to consider getting a fairly substantial one. 80% of all of Sapa’s rain falls within summer, with July and August producing almost 500mm of rainfall each. As miserable as this sounds, the warm weather and the much quieter trekking trails actually lend Sapa a calm, contemplative vibe, one that’s hard to find in busier areas around the country. Visibility The vast clouds that devour hilltop villages and the peaks of mountains are a fairly common sight during summer in Sapa. However, the mist rolls quickly in the region, and a bit of patience can be rewarded with rapidly cleared skies and the opportunity to get breathtaking pictures of the retreating fog as it unveils rice paddies and whole villages in its wake. If you’re into photography, there’s really no better time to visit Sapa. Sapa in Summer What to do in summer in Sapa The swirling kaleidoscope of colours that Sapa’s rice paddies progress through each year reaches their greenest stage in summer. The reflective blue of the water that is common in the rice paddies during spring is replaced with young rice seed and picture-perfect layers of lush green descending all the way down to the valley floor. The Summer Tourism Festival is a planned event to stir up tourism in this quiet season. Starting quite early, in May, and lasting until the end of June before the torrential rain really kicks in, the Summer Festival in the square of Sapa Town gathers various traditions of far-reaching hill tribes in Sapa and displays them together. This is a great way to absorb some of the traditions of the hill tribes that you wouldn’t usually have time to go and see.Check our best tours to visit Sapa: Best Of Sapa Explore , Sapa Trekking & Bac Ha Market , North Vietnam & Sapa Excursions , Highlights of North Vietnam . Sapa in Autumn Mid-September to Early December Autumn in Sapa has no need for festivals to drum up tourism, it simply lets its natural beauty speak for itself. The period between mid-September and early December is one for the romantics, as vast seas of golden rice stretch out in every direction and the sky opens up to a deep blue and a fervent sun; creating, in many peoples’ eyes, the perfect conditions and the best time to visit Sapa. Rice fields in Sapa Temperature From the heat of summer, the temperature falls from about 20°C (68°F) through the end of September to 14°C (57°F) at the start of December. This can cause a few chilly shivers when the wind picks up on the trek, but really it is the ideal trekking temperature. Rainfall The later on in autumn that you decide to head to Sapa, the more chance you have of avoiding the rain. From about 320mm in September to barely 40mm in December, the anger of the summer clouds subsides and leaves Sapa in a calm, if occasionally wet, state of being. Sapa’s weather in autumn is just as unpredictable as it is in spring, so be ready with that poncho in case you see the clouds moving swiftly in. Visibility Views of the rice harvest are the prime reason to come to Sapa during autumn and this is why peak season prices and traffic are in full flow around Sapa Town. Getting out of Sapa Town and into nature, with its long, clear days with 4 or 5 hours of sunshine is a much better alternative. The sun really accentuates the gold of the rice and also provides some almost biblical scenery courtesy of the shadows it casts with occasional clouds. What to do in Autumn in Sapa At this time of the year, Sapa gets back to its roots. There is no song-and-dance, no spectacle for tourists, just local people going about their local work in the fields, on the mountains or at the house. The idyllic scenes of the fields being tilled are quintessential Asia and trekking is the best way to see it all happen. Many Sapa trekking tours operate around this time, but the routes are rarely crowded due to the vast area that Sapa covers, meaning tourists have spread thinly around. Towards the middle of the season is absolutely the best time to visit Sapa for camping, an activity that ideally requires no rain, moderate temperatures and clear visibility, all of which are present during autumn. Sapa Winter December to Mid-February Sapa in winter conjures the most magical images for Vietnamese people about their homeland. The region is sometimes covered with a blanket of snow during its short winter, a complete novelty for the Vietnamese, many of whom have neither seen nor touched snow directly before. Visits to Sapa during winter are essentially solely for this, as snow never fails to get national news coverage and drum up big interest throughout the country. Winter in Sapa Temperature Usual lows of about 6 or 7°C (45°F) at this time are not uncommon, every so often dipping even lower during the night. With averages just about scraping double digits at 10 and 11°C (52°F), it’s a fair assessment to say that it’s pretty cold in Sapa in winter. The upshot, however, is that this puts a lot of tourists off, giving you much more freedom to frolic around the white rice paddies. Rainfall Snowfall in Sapa, no matter how romantic the image, is still a rare phenomenon. It is cold, drizzly rain that usually trickles languidly across the province, making treks pretty uncomfortable and camping experience a miserable experience. Though the averages of just about 40mm per month suggest a generally dry time, these rains often come in the form of a persistent sprinkle rather than in one torrent like the other months do, meaning they can last for hours. Visibility All that light sprinkling requires lots of grey clouds to carry it out. Towards the end of autumn, dark clouds like to shift over the Sapa landscape and settle in for the long haul. Just about 3 or 4 hours of sunlight a day over December and January means that Sapa becomes quite a dark place, with the fog sometimes settling about 15 feet from your face. Sapa is covered with fog What to do in Winter in Sapa After such a dour assessment of Sapa in winter, you’ve probably written it off already. Honestly, you’d be right to do so, but if it’s the only time that you can go and you’re determined to make it work, then there are a few events towards the end of the season that you can try to catch to liven things up. Nowadays, due to global warming, the orchid and peach blossom starts towards the back end of winter and spectacular new blooms can be seen as early as January around Fansipan Mountain. If you’re lucky to catch this at the same time as the snow, then you’re in for a real photographic treat. The Giay hill tribe perform a ceremony called Roong Pooc in January to wish for a good harvest in the upcoming year. This comes in the form of a shuttlecock throwing game followed by general festivities. Roong Pooc became so popular in the past that many other hill tribes around the region made their own versions, giving you many opportunities to see authentic hill tribe culture in Sapa.