Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An and Ha Long in Vietnam are listed in the Top 25 Destinations in Asia and receive the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice: Asia Destination Awards in 2013. A ceremony to honour the Top 25 Destinations in Asia of TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site, will be held in Singapore on June 18.
The fifth annual awards recognise 412 outstanding destinations in 38 markets across the globe.
The Travelers' Choice Destinations awards honour top travel spots worldwide based on millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers.
Award winners were determined based on the popularity of destinations, taking into account travellers' favourites and most highly rated places.
Of the Top 25 Destinations in Asia, Hanoi ranks 14th ; Ho Chi Minh City, 15th; Hoi An in central Quang Nam province, 17th; and Ha Long in northern Quang Ninh province, 25th.
TripAdvisor writes on its web “The charming Vietnamese capital has aged well, preserving the Old Quarter, monuments and colonial architecture, while making room for modern developments alongside. Hanoi may have shrugged off several former names, including Thang Long, or "ascending dragon," but it hasn't forgotten its past, as sites such as Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison attest. Lakes, parks, shady boulevards and more than 600 temples and pagodas add to the appeal of this city, which is easily explored by taxi.”
It describes Ho Chi Minh City as “Vietnam's bustling largest city sets the cultural and economic pace for the country”; and Hoi An as “the city on the central Vietnamese coast is a well-preserved example of the important Southeast Asian trading port it was from the 15th-19th centuries”. It encourages travellers to visit Ha Long Bay “for an up-close look at its amazing limestone islands, rock formations and caves”.