Vietnam occupies the eastern and southern part of the Indochinese peninsula in south-east Asia. It has land borders to its north with China, and to the west with Laos and Cambodia. Its extensive east coast looks over the South China Sea.

Vietnam’s land is mostly hilly and densely forested, with small amounts of level land. It has two extensive alluvial deltas formed by the Red River in the north and the Mekong River in the south. Between these two deltas is a long, relatively narrow coastal plain.

The country is an ideal beach destination with some of Asia’s top surfing and diving scenes. It is also great for cultural sightseeing with colonial-era buildings, open-air markets, stunning cuisine, its landscape of rice paddies, rugged mountains, and untouched hill-tribe villages.