Vietnam’s landscapes, resorts and cuisine have been honored multiple times during 2014 by international travel websites and organizations. Tuoi Tre News offers several of them for review.

Vietnam among best places to visit in 2015: Fodor’s

British newspaper chooses Vietnam as one of world’s best countries for travel

The country as a whole

1.  Vietnam ranks 20th on the Fodor’s Go List 2015 released on December 16.

Fodor’s recommends Vietnam to its readers for its historic but fast-changing cities and stunning landscapes, fabulous food, the true friendliness of the people and reasonable costs.

Fodor’s is part of Random House LLC, which is the U.S. division of Random House, the world's largest trade-book publisher, according to its website.

2.  The Southeast Asian country also placed 17th on a list of 20 countries deemed as the best travel destinations of the Telegraph Travel Awards 2014 on December 8.

The awards are annually given away by British newspaper The Telegraph on the basis of one of the most reliable reader travel surveys in the world.

Around 90,000 people partook in a The Telegraph survey to vote for their favorite travel companies and destinations.

3. Vietnam was listed in late September among the best countries for solo travelers by New York-based travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

The list was created based on two concerns for people when they travel alone, namely safety and if the destination is a happy place, the magazine said in its September issue.

The Southeast Asian country is described as one of the “safest, friendliest countries” for “solo adventure” by the magazine.

The country’s locations, tourist attractions

1. Vietnam’s UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay and Son Doong Cave- the world’s current largest- were listed in early December among the world’s 10 most beautiful places to visit by British website Globalgrasshopper- a website specializing in providing travel tips and inspiration.

Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh and Son Doong Cave in Quang Binh Province the central region ranked third and seventh on the list of the 10 most breathtakingly beautiful places on the planet, respectively, compiled by the website.

2. Da Nang City in central Vietnam in early December  led the “World’s Destinations on the Rise” category of the 2014 Travelers’ Choice Awards given by travel site TripAdvisor.

The city beat nine other destinations around the world to rank first, including Limassol (Cyprus), Bodrum City (Turkey), Naha (Japan), Hurghada (Egypt), Kazan (Russia), and Manaus (Brazil.)

The coastal city was also ranked highest in the “Asia’s Destinations on the Rise” category.

3. The UNESCO-recognized Hoi An Old Town in central Vietnam in mid November was listed among the world’s top 25 destinations with the highest-rated hotels.

The list was made by world-renowned hotel booking website Agoda.com and based on the reviews submitted by the website’s users, who were also required to score hotels on a scale of 0 to 10 in six categories.

Hoi An ranked 10th in the list of 25 best hotel destinations thanks to its affordable price.

4. Quang Binh Province in the central region in early November ranked 8th out of the world’s top 52 places to go this year and was the top spot in Asia in a list issued by The New York Times thanks to its enormous, world-renowned Son Doong Cave- the world’s current largest of its kind.

5. In early October, Cua Van fishing village, located in the northern province of Quang Ninh, which is home to the resplendent UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay, was ranked ninth out of the 16 most beautiful coastal towns in the world by famous US travel magazine Travel + Leisure.

6. Three Vietnamese places in early October were picked among the top 25 destinations in Asia by travel website TripAdvisor.

Hanoi was ranked second on TripAdvisor’s best destination list, beaten only by Beijing of China, while Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An Ancient Town in central Quang Nam Province placed 9th and 14th, respectively.

7. Two beaches in central Vietnam in late July have recently been named in the “Top 25 Best Beaches in Asia” category of the 2014 Travelers’ Choice Awards on travel site TripAdvisor.

Cua Dai Beach in Hoi An Ancient Town and Non Nuoc Beach in Da Nang City won the award along with other stunning beaches in Southeast Asia.

8. UNESCO-recognized Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh in early June ranked fourth among the top eight green spaces and national parks selected by world-renowned hotel booking website Agoda.com. The picturesque bay earned an average point of 4.23 out of 5.

9. In mid May, Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang was cherry-picked as one of the lost paradises found at 10 unassuming beaches around the world, according to the Singaporean newswire AsiaOne.

The list, introduced by the newswire, is handpicked by the online travel agent ZUJI, promising to offer tourists a relaxing vacation away from the hustle and bustle in large cities.

10. Ha Long Bay in mid February was listed in the Top 10 Valentine’s Day Retreats among other romantic destinations around the world by National Geographic’s book “Four Seasons of Travel.”

The bay is introduced as “a vision of astonishing beauty” with more than 1,600 islands.

11. In late January, Hanoi was in the top three while London was marked as the worst in a list of 100 cities for best hotel rooms, according to a survey by travel metasearch website Trivago.

Global visitors to London have marked its hotels as the worst due to overpriced minibars, lousy breakfasts and slow service.

The country’s resorts and other tourist facilities

1. The Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Resort, located in Nha Trang- the capital city of central Khanh Hoa Province, was mentioned in an article published on December 8 in the U.K.’s Huffington Post magazine as one of the world’s 10 most amazing places for a spa treatment.

Written by travel writer Jane Anderson, the article provides a list of 10 of the world's dreamiest locations for a spa treatment, which can pamper even the most fastidious clients.

The Six Senses Ninh Van Bay occupies the eighth place on the list. 2. The InterContinental Da Nang Sun Peninsula Resort, located in central Da Nang City, won the World’s Leading Luxury Resort category of the 2014 World Travel Awards (WTA) on December 7.

This is the first time a Vietnamese resort has taken home the prestigious award, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Crowned by the WTA in October as Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort and Vietnam’s Leading Resort, the Vietnamese resort defeated other esteemed nominees to win the World’s Leading Luxury Resort category with the highest votes from travel professionals and industry players from around the world, the resort’s website reads.

3. The Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Resort, located in south-central Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang, was also named among 12 categories of this year’s Smith Hotel Awards by boutique guide and booking agent Mr & Mrs Smith in mid November.

The Vietnamese resort sealed the top spot in the category of “The sexiest bedroom” for its five ravishingly romantic Water Villas, which are set right on the ocean and overlook a coral reef.

4. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (VME) in early October was chosen among the 25 best museums in Asia by travel website TripAdvisor.

According to TripAdvisor, the VME meets strict international standards for quality. The evaluation is based on the number of comments, and their content, given by tourists who visit the site to rank an Asian destination they have traveled to.

The VME, located in Hanoi, was ranked 4.5 out of 5 stars, and thus placed 4th among the 25 most attractive destinations for tourists.

5. The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi in mid September was named one of the world’s 100 best hotels by Fodor, a New York-based publisher of travel and tourism information.

The hotel is among the 11 establishments across the globe to win the Enduring Classics category of Fodor’s 100 Hotel Awards aiming at recognizing the most incredible hotels in the world.

The country’s hallmark delicacies

1. “Bun cha,” (rice noodles with grilled pork and meatballs,) a Vietnamese dish which originated in the capital city of Hanoi, was chosen in mid November as world’s best street food by the internationally-renowned National Geographic Travel website.

The selection was made based on comments from National Geographic Travel’s Facebook fans, who were asked to share the best lip-smacking street eats they’ve sampled around the globe.

2. An article on the American news website Huffington Post published in late September introduced “cao lau” (noodles served with pork and greens and little broth), which is an iconic dish from central Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province, home to the UNESCO-recognized Hoi An Ancient Town.

The delicacy had previously earned “The Worth of Asia Cuisine” recognition from the India-based Asian Record Organization late last year.

The author described the dish as one of Vietnam's iconic, mysterious dishes, as its recipe remains protected from outsiders.