Vietnam is the easternmost nation on the Indochina Peninsula. It borders China to the north, Loas to the northwest, and Cambodia to the southwest. On the country's east coast lies the South China Sea. With a populaton of over 85 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.

The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi (it had served as the capital of French Indochinaand North Vietnam), and the largest and most populous city is Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon).

Vietnam extends approximately 331,688 square km (128,066 sq mii) in area. There are four regions: the North around Hanoi harbors some of the most magnificent views of Vietnam; the Central Coast is the home of still recent Vietnamese kings and features one of the nicest old seacoast town; the Central Highlands are hilly and covered with lush forest, features tribes and the occasional elephant, but is still accessible to the more adventurous; the South is the economic engine of Vietnam, built around Ho Chi Minh City but also covering the lush and little-visited Mekong Delta, the rice basket of Vietnam.

Vietnam is large enough to have several distinct climate zones. The South is hot, humid and tropical, with temperatures hovering in the 25-30°C all year round, but it rains the most from May to November. The North has four distinct seasons, with a comparatively chilly winter (temperatures can dip below 15°C in Hanoi), a hot and dry summer and pleasant spring (March-April) and autumn (October-December) seasons. However, in the Highlands both extremes are amplified, with occasional snow in the winter and temperatures hitting 40°C in the summer. In the Central regions the weather is somewhere in between, only just to confuse things here the rainy season is in the summer, not the winter.

Vietnam has international airports at Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang. The national currency is the dong (VND), which has stabilized in the past few years but is difficult to find or exchange outside Vietnam. Bills are available in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000, 50000, 100000, 200000 and 500000 dong. In 2003, coins were also introduced in denominations of 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 dong. U.S. dollars are widely accepted, the standard exchange rate for small quantities being 16000 dong to US$1.