So my cousin Priya literally just got back from her honeymoon in Vietnam last month (mid-October maybe?) and I've been bothering her non-stop about it because honestly, the photos she posted made me question every life decision I've made. Like, I'm not even engaged but I'm out here planning hypothetical honeymoons now. Anyway, she called me yesterday while I was trying to fix my broken ceiling fan and we talked for like two hours about the whole trip and now I have SO many thoughts.

Okay so here's the thing. Everyone and their mother goes to Maldives or Bali for honeymoons, right? And don't get me wrong, those places are gorgeous (I'm not a monster), but Priya said Vietnam was just... different? She kept using the word "unexpected" which I think means she didn't expect to ugly cry at a beach in Da Nang but here we are.

Wait, let me back up. She initially wanted to do Thailand because she'd been there before and felt "safe" with it (her words, not mine). But her now-husband Arjun was like, let's do something we've BOTH never done. And honestly? Best decision ever, according to her tear-filled recap while I was standing on a chair trying not to electrocute myself.

The resort situation is actually insane

So Priya stayed at this place called InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort and I literally gasped when she told me the price. I think it was around ₹45,000 per night? Maybe ₹50,000? My brain kind of short-circuited at that point. But then she showed me pictures and okay, I get it. The rooms are basically built into a cliff and you wake up to the ocean trying to touch your balcony. She said their bathtub – their BATHTUB – had a better view than most hotel rooms she's stayed in.

The thing is (and Priya will probably kill me for saying this), she's usually a budget traveler. Like, the girl who brings instant noodles in her suitcase kind of budget traveler. But she told me something that actually made sense... she was like, "I'm gonna be married for hopefully 50 years, I can splurge on 7 days." And honestly? Fair point.

They also did two nights at Six Senses Ninh Van Bay and this is where it gets ridiculous. You can only reach the resort by boat. ONLY by boat. There's no road. Priya said she felt like a celebrity escaping paparazzi or something (she's dramatic but I love her). The villas are either on the beach, over water, or on the hillside and they picked the water one because... well, obviously.

Here's what nobody tells you though – and this is super important – these fancy places often have honeymoon packages that include stuff you'd pay extra for anyway. Like couples spa treatments, private beach dinners, that whole situation. Priya said their Vietnam honeymoon tour kind of thing through this travel agent (I forgot the name, something with Thomas in it?) bundled a lot of this together and it actually saved them money compared to booking everything separately. I'm terrible at math but even I could see that made sense.

Hot take: Skip Hanoi for the honeymoon

Okay people are gonna hate me for this but I think Hanoi is better for a regular vacation, not a honeymoon. Like, it's beautiful and the food is incredible (Priya wouldn't shut up about some bun cha place) but it's also chaotic? Lots of motorbikes, lots of humidity, lots of... activity. When you're trying to have romantic moments, the last thing you want is to be sweating through your clothes while dodging traffic.

Priya and Arjun did one night there at the Sofitel Legend Metropole (gorgeous hotel, she showed me pictures of the pool area) but she admitted they should've just used that time for the beaches instead. They spent most of the Hanoi day doing a cooking class which was fun but like... you can do cooking classes anywhere?

I'm probably wrong about this but I feel like honeymoons should be more about doing nothing together, not running around sightseeing. Does that even make sense? Like, you have the rest of your lives to see temples and museums. Those two weeks after your wedding should be about sleeping in and ordering room service at 2 PM and not wearing real pants.

The Anam in Cam Ranh is apparently a hidden gem

This is where Priya got really animated on the phone. She stayed here for three nights and said it was her favorite part of the whole trip. I'd never even heard of Cam Ranh before (geography was not my strong subject) but apparently it's less touristy than Nha Trang which is nearby.

The Anam is styled like a 1920s Indochine resort? I think that's the era? Anyway, very vintage, very elegant, lots of white buildings and dark wood. Priya said it felt like stepping into a different time period. They have this incredible pool that's like 50 meters long (or was it 150? I'm remembering this wrong probably) and she basically lived in it for three days.

But here's the cool part – it's way more affordable than the other places. Like around ₹20,000 per night? Maybe ₹25,000? Still expensive by normal human standards but for a 5-star honeymoon resort situation, that's not terrible. And Priya said the service was somehow BETTER than the more expensive places because there were fewer guests so the staff actually remembered their names and preferences.

Hoi An for the culture bit (but make it romantic)

Okay so Priya insisted they needed at least ONE cultural experience that wasn't just lying on beaches drinking coconuts. (Arjun apparently was perfectly fine with ONLY beaches but she won that argument.) They did two nights at the Four Seasons Nam Hai in Hoi An and honestly, this might be the move?

Hoi An is that town with all the lanterns. You've definitely seen pictures even if you don't know it. Super photogenic, super romantic at night when everything lights up. And the Four Seasons there is ridiculous – it's not even really a hotel, it's like a bunch of private villas spread across this massive property with three pools and a beach.

Priya told me they did a private lantern-making class at the resort which sounds cheesy but she got emotional talking about it so clearly it meant something. They made lanterns together and then released them on the beach that night. (Is that environmentally okay? I should probably fact-check that but I'm not gonna rain on her parade.)

The town itself is a 10-minute drive away and they went there one evening to walk around. She said it was packed with tourists but somehow still magical? The whole place turns into this golden glowing situation at sunset. They got custom tailored clothes made in like 24 hours which is apparently a thing there. Arjun got three suits for less than one suit would cost in Delhi. I'm still processing that.

The weird Vietnam honeymoon packages thing explained

So I kept asking Priya HOW she planned all this because I'm the kind of person who gets overwhelmed booking a dinner reservation. She said they used one of those Vietnam honeymoon packages through a travel company and honestly, it was worth it for the peace of mind.

Here's what I learned: these packages usually include hotels, transfers, some activities, and a local contact person in case stuff goes wrong. Priya said having the transfers arranged was HUGE because she didn't have to figure out how to get from Da Nang to Cam Ranh to Hoi An with all their luggage. Someone just picked them up with a nice car and drove them.

The package also included breakfast at all the hotels (obviously), one spa treatment at each place, and a couple of private tours. She said the total cost was around ₹3.5 lakhs per person? Maybe ₹4 lakhs? For 10 days. Which sounds like a lot until you realize 5-star hotels in Vietnam aren't cheap and flights from Delhi were like ₹60,000 each during peak season.

But – and this is important – she said some of the Vietnam honeymoon tours she looked at were super rigid with fixed schedules and she specifically avoided those. She wanted flexibility to just... do nothing if they felt like it. So she picked a semi-customizable package situation where they had some planned activities but also lots of free time.

Things Priya wishes someone told her

My phone was dying by this point but I managed to get these notes down:

Vietnam is WAY more expensive than Thailand or Bali for luxury stuff. She thought it would be cheaper but nope. The high-end resorts there charge similar to what you'd pay in Maldives.

October was perfect weather-wise (mid-80s, not too humid) but it's also peak season so everything costs more and you need to book like 6 months ahead. She booked in April for an October trip.

The food is incredible but it's not really spicy? She kept expecting Thai-level spice and was confused when everything was so mild. Apparently Vietnamese food is more about fresh herbs and balance or something. (I'm just repeating what she said, I've never been.)

Internal flights are CHEAP. Like stupidly cheap. She paid ₹3,000 for a flight from Da Nang to Cam Ranh which would've been a 7-hour drive. Just... fly everywhere.

Everyone speaks English at the fancy resorts but almost nobody speaks English in the towns. Download Google Translate before you go. Her phone died in Hoi An and they couldn't figure out how to order food for like 20 minutes and it became this whole stressful thing.

My random conclusion I guess

I'm definitely not saying Vietnam is better than other honeymoon destinations because how would I even know, I haven't been to most of them. But based on Priya's emotional phone call and the 400 photos she sent me (I'm not exaggerating, I counted), it seems like a really good option if you want something that's beautiful and romantic but also feels a little less... done to death?

Like, your coworkers have probably all been to Maldives. How many people do you know who honeymooned in Vietnam? Exactly.

I'm gonna stop rambling now because I need to actually fix this fan before it falls on my head. But yeah, if you're planning a honeymoon and want the fancy resort experience without doing the exact same trip as everyone else, maybe look into it?

Also if anyone reading this has been to Vietnam, am I totally off base here? Priya might've just had rose-colored glasses about the whole thing because she was on her honeymoon. Let me know I guess.