Vietnam
Northern Vietnam in eleven nights
Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Ha Long across eleven nights, with no single road transfer longer than three hours.
- Duration
- 11 nights
- Countries
- Vietnam
- Suits
- First time in Asia, Food & markets
When to go
Recommended months: March, April, October, November, December.
Outline itinerary - properties and price quoted against your dates
Day by day
The Route.
The opening 5 days, day by day. The rest of the 11 nights are built around your dates.
- 01
Arrive Hanoi
Airport meet and transfer into the Old Quarter. Nothing scheduled - the overnight flight does enough.
- Transfer
- Noi Bai airport → Old Quarter, 45min by road
- 02
Hanoi on foot
Morning walking route through the Old Quarter with a local guide. Afternoon free.
- 03
Hanoi - food route
Street kitchen circuit across three districts, ending at a bia hoi corner.
- 04
To Ninh Binh
Drive south into the karst country. Afternoon rowing boat through the caves at Trang An.
- Transfer
- Hanoi → Ninh Binh, 2h by road
- 05
Ninh Binh by bicycle
Flat riding between limestone outcrops and rice terraces. Hang Mua steps at the end of the day for the view.
How this itinerary is paced
It is built around one rule: no single road transfer longer than three hours. That means three changes of base across eleven nights.
The five days above are the opening leg, Hanoi and Ninh Binh. We publish the shape of a trip before we publish the properties, because the shape is what you are choosing between and the properties are what we hold for your dates.
Why these months
October to December and March to April. July and August are hot and wet in the north, and Ha Long boat departures are cancelled often enough in August that we do not sell the trip then.
What is not on this page
No hotel names and no price. Both are quoted against the dates you actually travel, because both move with the season - a room in Ninh Binh in November is not the same room, or the same money, as the identical room in July. Tell us when you are going and you get real names and a real figure, not a range.
Want This Changed?
Tell us what you would add or drop and we will rework it around your dates.