Viet Nam is shaped like an S lying on the east of the Indochina peninsula, in the central portion of South East Asia. Vietnam is approximately 331,668 km² (128,006 sq mile) in area (not including Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands), larger than Italy and almost the size of Germany. The perimeter of the country running along its international boundaries is 4,639 km (2,883 mi).

The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20%. The northern part of the country consists mostly of highlands and the Red River Delta. Fan Si Pan, located in Lào Cai Province, is the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3,143 m 910,312ft). The Central portion consists of highlands and plateau and is home to some of the most beautiful beaches. The South is divided into coastal lowlands, Annamite Chain peaks, extensive forests, and rich soil.

The Delta of the Red River (also known as the Sông Hồng), a flat, triangular region of 15,000 km² (5,792 sq mile), is smaller but more intensively developed and more densely populated than the Mekong River Delta.

The Mekong Delta, covering about 40,000 km² (15,444 sq mile), is a low–level plain no more than three meters above sea level at any point and criss-crossed by a maze of canals and rivers. So much sediment is carried by the Mekong’s various branches and tributaries that the delta advances sixty to eighty meters into the sea every year.

Because of differences in latitude and the marked variety of topographical relief, the climate tends to vary considerably from place to place. The average annual temperature is higher in the plains than in the mountains and plateaus and in the south than in the north. Temperatures in the southern plains vary less, going between 21 and 28 ºC (70 and 82.5 ºF) over the course of a year. The seasons in the mountains and plateaus and in the north are much more dramatic, and temperatures may vary from 5 ºC (41 ºF) in December and January to 37 ºC (98.6 ºF) in July and August.

The climate divide is obvious between North and South. In the North (from Hai Van pass (Northward) there are four fairly distinctive seasons in a year: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, whereas the South experiences only two seasons: rainy and dry seasons, and so the weather is hot all year round.

To sum up, with a diversified climate changing from area to area and from season to season and its special position of geography, Viet Nam is an ideal place for tourists to visit.