Vietnamese Traditional Houses: Styles and Where to See Them

Vietnamese traditional houses range from narrow city tube houses and Hoi An merchant homes to stilt houses, communal Rong houses and longhouses in the mountains. This guide from our Vietnam travel blog explains the main styles, where to see them on your trip, and how to stay in one respectfully.

Each style reflects climate, land and community life, and many still stand on the main travel route. If you are planning that route, apply for a Vietnam e-visa online before you go.

Lowland Vietnamese houses

The Kinh majority, living in the deltas and cities, built houses suited to dense streets and wet seasons. Three types stand out.

Tube houses

A tube house (nha ong) is very narrow at the front and deep at the back, sometimes several stories high. Old city lots and taxes linked to street frontage encouraged the shape. Hanoi's Old Quarter is full of them, and some are open as shops or cafes; our Hanoi guide covers the area.

Merchant and garden houses

Hoi An's merchant houses mix Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese styles, with shops at the front and living quarters behind; our Hoi An travel guide explains which to visit. In Hue, garden houses (nha vuon) sit in walled gardens with ponds and fruit trees, reflecting the city's royal past.

Village houses

Rural houses in the north are usually low, tiled buildings of three or five bays, with a central altar room and a courtyard for drying rice. Duong Lam, a day trip described in our guide to day trips from Hanoi, has houses built of laterite stone.

Highland and minority houses

Vietnam's ethnic minorities build houses adapted to mountains and forests, many raised on stilts. These are the styles you are most likely to see.

Stilt houses

A stilt house is raised on wooden posts, keeping the living space dry and safe from animals, with space underneath for tools and livestock. Thai and Tay villages in Mai Chau and the northwest are good places to see and stay in one.

Rong houses and longhouses

A rong house is a tall, steep-roofed communal house used by Bahnar and Jarai villages in the Central Highlands for meetings and ceremonies. Ede longhouses, also on stilts, can stretch dozens of meters and house extended families. Our Central Highlands guide covers both.

Earth houses

In the far north, Hmong families build houses with thick rammed-earth walls and stone fences, warm in the cold winters. You will see them on the Ha Giang loop.

Where to see Vietnamese traditional houses in one place

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi has an outdoor garden of full-size houses from different ethnic groups, including a Bahnar Rong house, an Ede longhouse and Tay stilt houses. It is the best single place to compare styles.

Allow two to three hours for the museum and its garden. Two practical points follow if you want to stay in one: homestays, and etiquette.

Staying in a traditional house

Sleeping in a traditional house is one of the best experiences in rural Vietnam. These tips help.

Homestays

Stilt-house homestays in Mai Chau, Pu Luong and the northwest offer shared sleeping areas with mattresses and mosquito nets, plus family dinners. In Hoi An and Hue, some old houses operate as guesthouses.

Etiquette

Remove shoes before entering, ask before photographing family altars, and do not sit with your feet pointing at the altar. In communal houses, ask the village before entering.

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