Where to Travel in Vietnam After Watching ‘A Tourist’s Guide to Love’

Netflix’s A Tourist’s Guide to Love, starring Rachel Leigh Cook, Scott Ly and Ben Feldman, was filmed in Vietnam, and the new romantic comedy is reigniting interest in traveling to the country, long a beloved destination of foodies and nature lovers.

Feldman — who recently shared his Vietnam travel diary with THR — visited Hoi An in central Vietnam and savored his stay at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai, Hoi An (from $855 a night). “Hoi An is just the most charming city on planet Earth. It has this Venetian-style canal going through it, and at night, when the sun goes down, they light all these beautiful lanterns and make wishes on them and set them off into the water. I would go back to Hoi An in a second,” says Feldman.

The Four Seasons in Hoi An recently introduced a new culturally focused four-night package including excursions to two UNESCO-designated treasures, including the Imperial City of Hue’s pagoda and tomb complex. An optional add-on includes a local food tour via Vespa — the resort’s La Sen restaurant transforms into a street food market every Saturday night — or visit to the ruins of My Son Champa Sanctuary.

A Tourist’s Guide to Love shot scenes all across Vietnam — from Hoi An and the leafy capital city of Hanoi to such other cities as Da Nang, Hà Giang and Ho Chi Minh City.

In Hanoi, Capella Hanoi (from $350 a night) opened in 2021 with 47 uniquely decorated rooms and suites featuring plenty of exuberant operatic flourishes thanks to designer Bill Bensley, plus a handful of transportive dining outlets including an authentic Japanese teppanyaki for wagyu-focused dinners. The latest offering: a $184,000 (starting rate) three-night Royal Suite experience including one-way private Gulfstream jet flight on Sun Aviation from L.A. to Hanoi (noshing on Nobu en route) with fully customizable cultural experiences, outings, and decadent dining.

To the south, the beachfront resort Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (from $1,167 a night) just opened Ninh Van Green, Vietnam’s first in-resort solar complex, with 800 solar panels shading an organic garden, plus The Farmhouse destination dining serving 100 percent plant-based menus that are almost fully prepared with the garden’s bounty. Half a million local stingless bees churn out honey at the Bee Residence, and the resort’s new telescope station is manned by an astronomer for viewing celestial bodies.

Vietnam even has options for island escapes. For relaxing indulgence in opulent digs there’s Regent Phu Quoc (from $349 a night), new in 2022, with its own luxury yacht, a Japanese-French fine dining restaurant, rooftop gin bar, and suites and villas that can be personalized with virtually any imaginable amenity. The ocean-view swimming pools lined with cabanas are enchanting.

And Six Senses Con Dao (from $1,272 a night), also in the country’s sunny south, has unveiled a new Yogic series and sustainable renovation of its singular four-bedroom oceanfront pool villa made of reclaimed teak wood, where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt once stayed (from $5,900 a night). 

A version of this story first appeared in the April 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.