Vietnam
Quy Nhon
Ancient Cham brick towers watching over fishing coracles bobbing in a crescent bay.
The Cham towers are a thousand years old and still standing. Red brick, no mortar, built using a firing technique nobody has been able to replicate. They watch from the headland over a bay where round basket boats — thung chai — bob like enormous walnuts among the fishing nets.
Quy Nhon is the capital of Binh Dinh Province on Vietnam's south-central coast, sitting at the heart of what was once the Champa kingdom. The Twin Towers of Thap Doi, dating from the twelfth century, rise directly above the harbour where fishermen still use traditional round bamboo basket boats. The coastal road south passes through a sequence of largely undeveloped crescent beaches backed by coconut palms. Ky Co and Eo Gio — a beach and a cliff formation respectively — have gained attention but remain far quieter than comparable spots in central Vietnam. Bun cha ca, a fishcake noodle soup unique to the region, is served at stalls throughout the city. Anantara and Maia resorts have established on private peninsulas, positioning Quy Nhon as an emerging luxury coastal destination.
Solo
Empty beaches, Cham ruins within walking distance, and a food scene built around fishing boats that land their catch each morning — Quy Nhon is the coast without the crowds.
Couple
Private-peninsula resorts, Cham tower sunsets, and the gentle pace of a coastal city that hasn't yet been discovered by mass tourism.
- Twin Cham brick towers from the twelfth century stand on a headland directly above a working fishing harbour.
- Round basket boats — thung chai — bob like giant walnuts in the bay while fishermen sort their catch at dawn.
- The coastal road south passes empty crescent beaches backed by coconut palms with almost no development.
- Anantara and Maia resorts occupy private peninsulas, offering spa treatments beside Cham archaeological sites.
Banh xeo jumping shrimp pancakes frying loudly on street-side skillets.
Bun cha ca fishcake noodle soup with a broth deeply flavoured by fish bones.
Tarrafal de Monte Trigo
Cape Verde
No paved road until 2021. For centuries, every supply arrived by boat across open ocean.
Japca Monastery
Moldova
The Dniester curls so tight below this cliff monastery the river nearly meets itself.
Nukubati Island
Fiji
Seven bures on a speck of sand beside the world's third-longest barrier reef.
Heron Island
Australia
Wade across a coral cay at low tide, then watch turtles nest under the stars.
Hue
Vietnam
Incense smoke drifting through the bombed-out ruins of an imperial citadel.
Suoi Giang
Vietnam
Three-hundred-year-old tea trees draped in fog, their silver buds harvested by hand in the clouds.
Hoang Su Phi
Vietnam
Rice terraces so vertiginous they look like topographical maps carved directly into the sky.
Hoi An
Vietnam
Mustard-yellow merchant houses glowing under thousands of silk lanterns beside a tidal river.