Direct flights have started, Danes can stay 45 days without a visa, and the food alone is reason enough to go.
For years, a trip from Denmark to Vietnam meant changing planes somewhere in the Gulf or Asia and waiting for the connection. Since December 2025 you can board in Copenhagen and get off in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Airlines flies the route three times a week. With a Danish passport you need no visa for the first 45 days, and that exemption runs until 14 March 2028, according to the Vietnamese embassy in Copenhagen.
So what is there to see?
North to south
Vietnam has more than 3,000 km of coast. In the far north, limestone mountains and terraced rice fields around Hà Giang lead up to a flagpole at Lũng Cú, the northernmost point of the country. On the north-east coast, rock islands rise out of the water in Hạ Long Bay. Further south, the caves of Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park became part of a joint World Heritage site with Hin Nam No across the border in Laos in 2025. At the southern end, the Mekong Delta is a maze of rivers, orchards and floating markets. Off the south-west coast lies the island of Phú Quốc, which Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked third among the world’s islands in 2025.
Towns with a past
Vietnam has nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the newest, the Yên Tử complex, was added in July 2025. Among the others are the imperial city of Huế, the Mỹ Sơn temple sanctuary, the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long in Hanoi and the old trading port of Hội An, which is now part of the city of Da Nang. These are not frozen museum pieces. In Hội An and in Hanoi’s old quarter, people still live and work along the streets that visitors walk.
Eat first
Many trips start with a bowl of phở at a stall on the pavement. At the other end of the scale, the 2025 Michelin Guide for Vietnam lists 181 places in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Nine have a star, and 63 have a Bib Gourmand, which is Michelin’s mark for good food at a fair price. Add Vietnamese coffee and cooking that changes from north to south, and you can plan a whole holiday around meals.
A country on the move
Travel writers have noticed. Condé Nast Traveler readers put Vietnam among the world’s 20 best countries in 2024. Lonely Planet put the coastal city of Quy Nhơn on its Best in Travel 2026 list of 25 destinations. In 2025 Vietnam received a record 21.2 million international visitors, 2.8 million of them from Europe.
Many Danes know Vietnam from news pictures of a war that ended in 1975. The country a visitor meets now is a different place. Income per person has risen from under USD 500 in 1986 to about USD 5,000 in 2025, and the World Bank says the share of people living on less than USD 4.20 a day fell from 14% in 2010 to under 4% in 2025. Young people learn languages and technical skills, and the country has become a big producer of electronics. Raising productivity and skills is the next task on the country’s own list.
A Danish thread
The two countries have a link at the very top. Prince Henrik, the late husband of Queen Margrethe, spent part of his childhood in Hanoi, then part of French Indochina. From 19 to 21 October, King Frederik and Queen Mary receive Vietnam’s President Tô Lâm on a state visit. It marks 55 years since Denmark and Vietnam established diplomatic relations.
Before you go
Flights: Vietnam Airlines, Copenhagen to Ho Chi Minh City, three times a week.
Visa: none needed for stays up to 45 days. Your passport must be valid for at least six months, and you may be asked to show a ticket out of the country within the 45 days. For longer stays, apply for an e-visa, valid for up to 90 days.
Time: two weeks is enough for the north or the south. With three weeks you can do both.
Sources
Vietnamese Embassy in Copenhagen (visa exemption, Resolution 44/NQ-CP of 7 March 2025). Vietnam Airlines press release, 31 December 2025. Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and General Statistics Office, visitor figures for 2025. UNESCO World Heritage List and decision 47 COM 8B.6. MICHELIN Guide Vietnam 2025. Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2024 and 2025. Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2026. World Bank, Viet Nam overview. The Danish Royal House.
Photographs: credits are given in each caption.
Flight information and entry conditions are subject to change. Please reconfirm with the airline and relevant authorities before your trip. The featured image is an AI-generated illustration.