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An archipelago of 14 islands, Con Dao is the hidden jewel along the country’s along coastline. For a long time Con Son, the largest of the islands, was Vietnam’s Robben Island. Used as a penal colony by both the French and the Americans, the dilapidated remains of the prisons, including the infamous Tiger Cages, serve as a stark reminder of the brutality of the times. Many of those killed in the prisons were buried at Hang Duong Cemetery, including Vo Thi Sau, Vietnam’s most famous war heroine, who was executed on the island in 1952.

Now the islands are becoming a leading light in the country’s eco-tourism industry. Several of their beaches are the breeding grounds for the endangered Green Turtle. Each year from April to November, turtles return to the beaches where they were born to hatch their own offspring. Some 50000 hatchings make their way into the sea. The Con Dao National Park Authority arranges tours to the breeding grounds on Bay Canh Island with overnight stays. The best time to see the turtles is in June and July.

The marine park also has a rich marine life, with 1300 species so far identified, including 342 species of hard coral. The best diving and snorkelling is off the coast of Hon Ba Island, although you can dive around Bay Canh if you want to combine diving with turtle watching. Visibility is best from March to May.

Con Dao is also home to the dugong. This endangered animal can even be seen in the main Con Son Bay on occasions. The best time to spot the ‘Little Mermaid’ is in December and January.

The islands are not really set up for mass tourism yet. The local authorities have ambitious development plans for Con Dao, and a Six Senses hideaway is currently under construction, but part of the station and bicyles de rigueur, this is rural Vietnam at its truest. Put on your hiking boots and set across Con Dao National Park, passing derelict colonial buildings and deserted fruit plantations. You might be lucky enough to spot a Con Dao Monkey or a Black Squirrel, both of which are endemic to the island.

To see what the future might have in store for Con Dao, you need only visit the island of Phu Quoc. This erstwhile island hideaway has in Ho Chi Minh City. Tourism has been benefited from the island’s relatively infertile land as over 70 percent of the island is protected as part of the Phu Quoc National Park.

The second of Central Vietnam’s Unesco World HeritageSites rests largely in the shade of its smaller but more dominant cousin. While Hoi An’s ancient town is a must on any travellers itinerary for Vietnam, Hue is sometimes bypassed especially by tourists on a whistle-stop tour of the country. Whilst it may not have the quaint old world charm of its near neighbour, in the citadel and the royal tombs, Hue does have two of the country’s most impressive sites. As with most good things in life, the deeper you dig the more you find there is to discover.

Protected by 10km long, two meter thick walls and the Perume Tiver, the immensity of the citadel is impressive. In front of the walls and facing the river is a 37 meter high flagpole, the tallest in Vietnam.

Like a Russian doll, the citadel consists of a city within a city. Commenced in 1804, the Imperial Enclosure was the administrative centre of the dynasty. At its heart lies the Forbidden Purple City, where only the Emperor, his family, servants and trusted mandarins were allowed to set foot. Although the site suffered greatly during both the French and American Wars, a ruffled charm still engulfs the place

Hue’s other main draw is the royal tombs that spread along the banks of the Perfume River to the south of the city. Accessile either by boat or motorbike, part of the attraction opulence, reflecting the decline of the dynasty that ruled the country from 1802 to 1945.

Thien Mu Pagoda is to the south west of the city. The original pagoda was built in 1601, although it has been rebuilt many times since. It is seen by many as the symbol of Hue

Beyond the obvious sites, the massive appeal of Hue is simply wandering around the city, crammed with interesting monuments, pagodas and old buildings, often in incongruous settings. Of particular interest are the garden houses.

Designed according to the principles of Feng Shui, the houses offer a harmony between architecture and nature. The ubiquitous expanse of water makes for a very tranquil setting. Many are open to the public on an informal basis, some even offering food or accommodation. Kim Long, the area between the citadel and Thien Mu Pagoda, is a good place for discovering garden houses, including the Temple of Princess Ngoc Son on Nguyen Chi Thanh street. Hue’s temple of Literature is also located nearby

Hue is also famous for its cuisine. Thanks to Emperor Tu Duc, Imperial Hue cuisine has a reputation for being some of the finest in the country. For those on a less than royal budget, the city also has some excellent street food including the spicy noodle soup excellent street food including the spicy noodle soup “bun bo hue” and local rice cakes, “banh beo” and “banh cuon”. One thing is for sure, you will never go hungry in Hue – neither for food nor culture

I’m going to break travel writer ranks and make a bold but honest statement: the main beaches at Cat Ba island just aren’t that marvelous. There. Said it. Shot me, slander me or write indignant letters to my editor, I don’t care.

Of course, they’re not terrible and I’m sure with a weighty thesaurus and some time (maybe years) spent buried neck deep in the bleak pebbles of England’s worst beaches they could be made to sound utterly lovely. But compared with the breathtaking postcards of Central Vietnam’s coast they pale noticeably. And the town in summer becomes as painfully crowded as the sand.

But there’s an unexplored side to this island that makes it worth the few-hours’ trip from Hanoi. Cat Ba National Park is a place so replete with flora that the honey produced with flora that the honey produced there is touted as some of the best in Vietnam. The bees have so much to feed upon (1561 species of flora belonging to 186 families).

Despite this only 10% of Cat Ba’s 450 000 annual visitors actually make it into the park and fewer than that enjoy any of the hikes on offer, whether to the lookout on top of the mountain, to Viet Hai village or to Frog Lake. Yet fewer still head off to explore the small fishing and farming villages that dot this island of only 18000 people.

For 150 000VND for little over a half-day trip my guide Khan, who runs a barber shop and a small tourism business with his wife, took me around the less-explored regions of Cat Ba.

Like Ha Long or Tam Quoc, Cat Ba is filled with limestone karsts; they poke out from the land pretty much anywhere the crops don’t grow. And little Cat Ba seems to grow everything, lychess especially. While driving Khan pointed out oranges, lychees, jackfruit, bananas, longan, arrowroot, persimmon, sweet potatoes and beans growing. Stopping at Gia Luon village, he told me the best oranges were grown here.

Gia Luon is small and there are absolutely no tourist attractions to speak of, but as a stop off for a quite and shady beer it’s more than comfortable. Unlike other villages on the mainland, the local rich bloke hasn’t knocked up some frightenningly huge concrete housethen painted it pink and turquoise. Things are more low-key.

After we drove to a small port connecting Cat Ba to the mainland. Picturesque as it was, it’s virtually useless for the tourist looking for another way back to Hai Phong City and then Ha Noi. Boats only transport tour groups and skipper, after thinking hard, estimated a lone passenger would have to pay at least 2 million VND.

Hien Hao village, like the better-known Viet Hai, hosts home stays, but unlike most places in Vietnam it’s not an ethnic minority village. Hien Hao is a very ordinary but very pretty Vietnamese village; houses are the standard vrick and cement, with patterned tile floors and beds made from split bamboo. New, communal bathrooms have been put in for the benefit of guests.

Khan was one of the architects of this project and proundly tells me that every house in the village is his home, or at least 50%. As we drove slowly through lanes overhung with trees and flowers he made a pint of waving to everyone.

The home stay project, which as of writing had hosted approximately five separate groups in over a year, was dreamt up as a means to keep people from peaking in the national park poaching in the national park by offering a new source of income.

The village, whilst enjoying views of neighboring gardens rather than soaring mountains, is undoubtedly pretty and very, very peaceful. And the residents, stocking bia hoi kegs and about 300 different kinds of fruit are friendly, if a little confused at what to do with you.

An interesting excursion within the village is to see the beehives. We visited one honey farm run by Duc, who’s been bee-keeping 20 years and claims he is now totally immune to bee stings. The air soft with the noise of hives, we squatted to look at honeycombs, honey (250 000VND/ 650ml bottle) and the five litre glass vats of young bee wine he brews using only honeycomb, honey and bee larvae mixed with rice wine.

We had no time to stay the night and pressed on along the intra-island road to the two ports near Phu Long fishing village in the northwest. The scenery as you hug the coast leading north, beaches interspersed with mangroves and the occasional small stilt restaurant standing in water, is lovely. Not dramatic; there are no waves crashing against cliffs, but the peace and inland views are worth it. If you choose the bus over the hydrofoil at Cat Ba town’s main port, this is the route you’ll take but it’s best seen from the over-air vantage of a motorbike

Driving back, we passed though many smaller villages, going by deserted beaches until reaching the town. Despite the straw cowboy hats, painted shells and one noisy disco of downtown Cat Ba, you’re better off inland on this island.

Tipping according to a percentage of the bill is not expected but it’s enormously appreciated. For a person who earns US$50 per month, a US$ 1 tip is about half a day’s wages. Government-run hotels and restaurants that specifically cater to tourists usually have an automatic 10% service charge – whether much of this (if any) actually goes to the low-paid staff is questionable.

In general, if you stay a couple of days in the same hotel it’s not a bad idea to tip the Staff who clean your room – US$0.50 to US$l should be enough. You should also tip drivers and guides, especially on trips out of the city.

Men you deal with will also greatly appreciate small gifts such as a pack of cigarettes (women almost never smoke). But make sure it’s a foreign brand of cigarettes:! people will be insulted if you give Vietnamese cigarettes. The 555 brand (said to be Ho Chi Minh’s favourite) is popular, as are most US brands. Most of the usual kinds of gifts (chocolates and sweets, coffee-table books etc) are acceptable, as long as they are foreign-made.

It is considered proper to make a small donation at the end of a visit to a pagoda, especially if the monk has shown you around; most pagodas have contributor boxes for this purpose.

Many foreigners just assume that even Vietnamese person is out to rip them off. That just isn’t true -you needn’t bargain fen everything, but there are times when bargaining is essential In touristy areas, postcard vendors have a reputation for charging about five times the going rate. Many cyclo and motorcycle drivers also try to grossly overcharge foreigners – try to find out the correct rate in advance and then bargain accordingly. Bargaining is common – ever with the police i you are fined!

Remember, the concept of ‘face’ is important in Asia. Bargaining should be good-natured – smile, don’t raise your voice and don’s get argumentative.

Some seem to take bargaining too seriously, and take it personally if they don’t get the goods for less than half the original asking price. By publicly venting their frustration, people just end up looking foolish. Don’t let yourself get angry. Once the money is accepted, the deal is done-if you harbour hard feelings because you later find out that someone else got it cheaper, the only one you are hurting is yourself.