Viet Nam among 20 best places to visit in January: Wanderlust

In its article, Wanderlust describes that Viet Nam, at the 8th place in the list, is a safe bet in January.

"The weather is similarly pleasant, dry and sunny–with only slight differences between the north and south. Crowds have yet to arrive post-Christmas, so you've got the chance to experience this uber-popular country in relative peace", noted Wanderlust.

"You'll never get bored of Viet Nam's varied cities: Hoi An, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue, the perfect city for cycling enthusiasts," the article said.

It said natural beauty is around every corner in Viet Nam, too. There's Ha Long Bay and the lesser-known Lan Ha Bay, both accessible from Cat Ba Island, and one of the world's biggest caves, Son Doong Cave.

Viet Nam welcomed about 1.87 million international arrivals in the first nine months of this year, 16.4 times higher than the same period last year but down 85.4 per cent compared to the same time in 2019 before COVID-19 broke out, announced the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The majority of the arrivals were from Asia (1.31 million tourists, up 13.3 times from last year), followed by Europe (261,600 tourists), America (209,600 tourists), Oceania (84,600), and Africa (6,400).

International arrivals by air reached nearly 1.66 million, accounting for 88.6 per cent of the total.

The Southeast Asian nation fully reopened borders to tourists from March 15. The country aims to welcome 5 million international arrivals this year./.