Camping in Vietnam

Angel Eye Mountain - also known as God Eye Mountain or Núi Thủng - is a limestone karst peak in Cao Bằng with a perfectly circular 50m hole piercing through its summit, set in the Thang Hen valley where the surrounding flatland floods into a 15-hectare lake each rainy season.

Ba Be Lake is Vietnam's largest natural freshwater lake - a 8km-long body of water set within a national park of karst limestone mountains, primary forest, and Tày ethnic minority villages in Bắc Kạn province, one of the most genuinely wild nature destinations in the northern highlands.

Ba Hòn Đầm is a cluster of three small islands in the Bà Lụa Archipelago, Kiên Lương - undeveloped, rarely visited by foreigners, and reached by a 30-minute boat from Kiên Lương pier, with clear water, rocky coves, and basic overnight options on the island.

Bidoup Núi Bà National Park protects the largest remaining tract of highland cloud forest in southern Vietnam - a 70,000-hectare wilderness of montane jungle, endemic birds, and multi-day trekking routes 50km north of Đà Lạt.

Bù Gia Mập National Park is one of the last intact lowland rainforest blocks in southeastern Vietnam - a 26,000-hectare wilderness on the Cambodian border in Bình Phước with gibbons, gaur, and multi-day trekking routes through primary jungle.

Bùi Hui Grassland is a highland meadow at 700m elevation in Ba Tơ district, Quảng Ngãi - a wide-open landscape of rolling hills, sim berry shrubs, and cool mountain air, home to the H're ethnic minority and one of Quảng Ngãi's most scenic camping destinations.

Cát Bà National Park covers 17,000 hectares of the island's rugged interior - the last habitat of the critically endangered golden-headed langur, with jungle trails to a 331-metre summit viewpoint over Ha Long Bay and Lan Hà Bay simultaneously.

Cát Tiên National Park is the most accessible serious wildlife destination from Ho Chi Minh City - a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of 72,000 hectares protecting lowland rainforest, over 350 bird species, and the Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre.

Chứa Chan is located in Xuân Lộc District, about 90 km east of Ho Chi Minh City. The mountain sits just off National Highway 1A and is easy to reach by motorbike or car, with the journey taking around two hours from the city. Most visitors start at the parking area at the base of the mountain, where two routes begin: a long concrete staircase leading to Bửu Quang Pagoda, and a quieter forest trail used by hikers heading to the summit.

Dầu Tiếng Lake is the largest artificial reservoir in Vietnam - a 270km² expanse of water on the Tây Ninh and Bình Dương border, surrounded by forest and used for irrigation, with sunrise photography and lakeside cycling as the main visitor draws.

Núi Dinh is a 504m coastal peak in Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province - the highest point in the region, with forested trails, a summit pagoda, and panoramic views over the Vũng Tàu peninsula and the South China Sea.

Đồi Nhái Beach is a 3.8km undeveloped stretch of coastline near Phước Tỉnh in Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu - no facilities, no crowds, and one of the better sunrise spots on the southern coast within 100km of Ho Chi Minh City.

The Hai Tac Islands are a remote archipelago of 16 islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Kien Giang coast, historically known as the Pirate Islands. One of the least visited island groups in Vietnam, with coral reefs, white sand beaches, and almost no tourist infrastructure.

Hang En is the third largest natural cave in the world, hidden deep inside Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park in Quảng Bình. Reaching it requires an 11km trek through jungle, river crossings, and the remote Bru-Vân Kiều village of Bản Đoòng - with a night camping on a white sandbar inside the cave itself, under a ceiling 145 metres high filled with thousands of nesting swallows.

K50 Waterfall in Kbang district, Gia Lai is one of the Central Highlands' most spectacular hidden falls - a 50-metre cascade in primary jungle that requires a full-day trek through Kon Ka Kinh National Park to reach, rewarding those who make the effort with one of the most remote natural scenes in the region.

La Ngâu Stream in Tánh Linh district, Bình Thuận is a jungle river cutting through the interior lowlands of Vietnam's south-central coast - a sequence of natural pools, small rapids, and overhanging forest that offers one of the most accessible wild swimming and camping experiences in the region.

Langbiang Mountain is the highest peak in the Đà Lạt plateau at 2,167 metres - a twin-peaked massif rising above pine forest north of the city, home to the K'Ho ethnic minority, with a summit trek rewarded by panoramic views over the entire Central Highlands.

Masara Hill in Đức Trọng district, Lâm Đồng is a 30-hectare expanse of open grassland that turns pink from mid-November to mid-December - one of the few places in Vietnam where this seasonal transformation happens at scale, and largely unknown to foreign visitors.

Mẫu Sơn is one of the few places in Vietnam where snow falls - a 1,541m massif in Lạng Sơn province near the Chinese border that experiences genuine subalpine conditions in winter, with frost, occasional snowfall, and a sea of clouds that makes it one of the most dramatic landscapes in the northeast.

Mũi Trô is a tiny, nameless-on-most-maps fishing village on the Bình Thuận coast - a handful of houses, round basket boats, and a rocky pebble beach that almost no foreign traveler has visited, sitting 2km off the road near Cô Thạch beach.

Nam Du is Vietnam's southernmost island archipelago - a group of 21 islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Kiên Giang, with some of the clearest water in southern Vietnam, untouched outer islands, and a fishing community that has operated without resort infrastructure.

Phi Liêng Waterfall is a remote multi-tier waterfall in Đam Rông district of Lâm Đồng - deep in the forest north of Đà Lạt, far from the tourist circuit, with a wide base pool suitable for swimming and an approach through highland forest and K'Ho community villages.

Son Doong is the largest cave in the world - big enough to contain a 40-story skyscraper, with its own weather system, jungle, and river inside. Access is by 4-day expedition only, with a strict annual quota of 1,000 visitors, making it one of the most exclusive natural experiences on earth.

Tà Đùng Lake in Đắk Nông province is called the 'Hạ Long Bay of the Central Highlands' - a vast reservoir studded with 37 forested islands rising from the water, formed by the flooding of Tà Đùng National Park, offering kayaking, island camping, and some of the most unusual inland scenery in southern Vietnam.

The Ta Năng - Phan Dũng Trek is Vietnam's most celebrated multi-day wilderness route - a 3-day crossing from the Lâm Đồng highlands to the Bình Thuận coast through remote forest, river valleys, and grassland used by nomadic cattle herders.

Tà Xùa in Trạm Tấu, Yên Bái is a jungle trek through one of northern Vietnam's most atmospheric moss forests - ancient trees draped in green moss and lichen, a trail that climbs through primary forest to a series of dramatic rocky outcrops with panoramic views over the Mông valley below.

Thang Hen is one of Vietnam's most extraordinary lakes - a cluster of 36 interconnected lakes on a karst plateau at 900 metres elevation in Cao Bằng, their water an intense turquoise-blue from dissolved limestone minerals, surrounded by forested cliffs and almost entirely unknown to international travellers.

Tri An Lake is a large reservoir in Dong Nai province, 60km from Ho Chi Minh City, formed by the Tri An hydroelectric dam on the Dong Nai River. A popular weekend camping and kayaking destination for city residents, with forested islands, calm water, and dramatic sunset views.

The White Sand Dunes of Mũi Né are Vietnam's most surreal landscape - vast white dunes stretching to the horizon beside two freshwater lakes, nicknamed the 'Sahara of Vietnam', best experienced at sunrise when the light turns the sand pale gold and the lakes reflect the sky.

Yavly Waterfall is a remote cascade deep in the forest along the Tà Năng - Phan Dũng trekking route, one of the most celebrated multi-day wilderness treks in southern Vietnam. Reached only on foot after a full day of hiking through grasslands and primary forest, it is the kind of waterfall that has to be earned.

The Yên Minh Pine Forest is an unexpected stretch of highland pine on the Ha Giang Loop between Quản Bạ and Đồng Văn - a 10km section of road through dense Pinus kesiya forest at 1,200 metres, with morning mist threading between the trees and a completely different atmosphere from the surrounding karst landscape.