Itinerary · 14 days · 64 places
14 Days in Vietnam
Two weeks the length of Vietnam: Hanoi's Old Quarter, a night on Ha Long Bay, the karst peaks of Ninh Binh, imperial tombs in Hue, lanterns in Hoi An and finally Saigon with a side trip into the Mekong Delta.
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Photo: Karolina · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arriving in Hanoi
Arrival in Hanoi
Hotel check-in
Your base is in the Old Quarter between Hoan Kiem Lake and Dong Xuan Market, where the streets are named after their old craft guilds.
Stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake
A loop around the lake with the red Huc Bridge and the illuminated Turtle Tower, while the neighbourhood comes out onto the lakeside paths to play shuttlecock.
Day 2Hanoi: mausoleum, Temple of Literature and Old Quarter
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
The body of the nation's founder lies in the granite building on Ba Dinh Square; the guards keep the queue moving briskly and in silence.
One Pillar Pagoda
The small wooden pavilion stands on a single pillar in a pond and is meant to represent a lotus blossom.
Temple of Literature
Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070, with five courtyards and 82 stelae on stone turtles bearing the names of its doctors.
Hoa Lo Prison
The colonial prison displays the guillotine and cell block from the French era, alongside the exhibition on the American pilots.
Vietnamese Women's Museum
Three floors on marriage, market women and female resistance fighters, plus a fine collection of hill-tribe costumes.
St Joseph's Cathedral
The neo-Gothic cathedral from 1886 with its weather-greyed façade; in front, the cafés of Nha Tho Street look onto the portal.
Evening: Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
An hour of múa rối nước: puppets dance on a water stage, accompanied by an orchestra with a monochord and drum.
Day 3Ha Long Bay: limestone karsts, caves and a night on board
Onward to Ha Long Bay
Hotel check-in
Boarding at Tuan Chau harbour
At the pier your luggage is taken on board and cabins are assigned, then the junk casts off into the bay.
Sung Sot Cave
The Surprise Cave on Bo Hon Island: two huge chambers with illuminated stalactites and a view back over the anchorage.
Kayaking in Luon Bay
You paddle through a low rock arch into a fully enclosed lagoon, where langurs often sit on the cliffs.
Ti Top Island
Around 400 steps lead up to the lookout rock above the crescent-shaped bathing cove — the classic view of the bay from above.
Evening: squid fishing from the aft deck
Lamps hang into the water above the anchorage, and beneath them the crew fishes for squid with simple lines.
Day 4Ninh Binh: Tam Coc, Ha Long Bay on land
Onward to Ninh Binh
Hotel check-in
Hang Mua viewpoint steps
Almost 500 steps lead up to the dragon on the ridge, with a view over the river bend and the rice fields of Tam Coc.
Boat trip through Tam Coc
Women row with their feet through three rock caves on the Ngo Dong River, gliding close past the rice.
Bich Dong Pagoda
A three-tiered temple complex that pushes into the rock; a cave staircase leads to the topmost hall.
Evening: street cafés in Tam Coc
On the village's only street you sit outside with egg coffee and fresh beer while the rocky peaks behind grow dark.
Day 5Trang An, Bai Dinh and the ancient capital
Boat trip through Trang An
Three hours in a rowing boat through nine water caves and past small temples, sometimes ducking your head beneath the rock.
Bai Dinh Pagoda
Vietnam's largest temple complex, with a cloister of 500 stone arhat figures and a Buddha statue weighing 100 tonnes.
Ancient capital of Hoa Lu
Of the 10th-century capital, the temples to kings Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh still stand in the valley basin.
Thung Nham Bird Garden
Shortly before sunset thousands of herons and storks return to the swamp forest — visible from the observation boat.
Evening: Ngo Dong riverside promenade
The path along the boat landing is lit up in the evening, with stalls selling grilled goat skewers and rice wine.
Day 6Onward to Hue: Perfume River and the first imperial tomb
Onward to Hue
Hotel check-in
Thien Mu Pagoda
The seven-storey tower above the Perfume River is the city's emblem; at the back stands the Austin in which the monk Thich Quang Duc drove to Saigon.
Tomb of Tu Duc
More garden than tomb: a lotus pond, a theatre pavilion and the stele house where the emperor wrote his own epitaph.
Dong Ba Market
The big riverside market, where you can buy sesame snacks, shrimp paste and Hue's conical nón bài thơ hats.
Evening: dragon boat on the Perfume River
On the flat dragon boat a small ensemble plays ca Huế court music while the city's bridges change colour.
Day 7Hue: Citadel and imperial tombs
Citadel and Purple Forbidden City
Behind the moat and ramparts lie the Noon Gate, the throne hall and the Purple City of the Nguyen emperors, destroyed in the war.
Tomb of Minh Mang
Laid out with strict symmetry along a single axis, with a court of honour, bridges and lakes — the most classical of the tomb complexes.
Tomb of Khai Dinh
A concrete building with dragon balustrades; inside, a riot of porcelain and glass mosaic above the gilded statue of the emperor.
An Dinh Palace
Khai Dinh's city palace combines European stucco with Vietnamese motifs; restored murals hang in the reception hall.
Evening: Vo Thi Sau pedestrian zone
Streets south of the river closed to traffic in the evening, with bars, street kitchens and live music late into the night.
Day 8Over the Hai Van Pass to Hoi An
Onward to Hoi An
Hotel check-in
Japanese Covered Bridge
The covered bridge from 1593, with monkey and dog statues at either end and a small temple in the middle.
Fujian Assembly Hall
An ornate gate, a dragon fountain and the altar of the sea goddess Thien Hau, to whom the merchants owed their safe passage.
Tan Ky Old House
A two-hundred-year-old merchant's house of dark wood, with the high-water marks of recent floods on its wall.
Boat trip on the Thu Bon
Half an hour downstream in a rowing boat, as the light falls low across the yellow façades of the old town.
Evening: lantern market on the An Hoi bank
Across the bridge to the night-time riverbank, where silk lanterns are sold and you set little candle boats afloat on the river.
Day 9Hoi An: old town and craft villages
Hoi An Central Market
In the morning herbs, fish and rice noodles are piled high; along the row of food stalls you'll find cao lầu made with water from the town's own well.
Quan Cong Temple
The red-and-gold temple to the general Quan Cong from 1653, with two life-size horses in the forecourt.
Museum of Trade Ceramics
In an old merchant's house lie shards and finds from Japanese, Chinese and Persian ships that called at the port.
Thanh Ha Pottery Village
By the river, potters have worked foot-powered wheels for centuries; you can sit down at a wheel yourself.
Kim Bong Carpentry Village
On Cam Kim Island, family workshops still build boats and carve the wooden parts for the houses of the old town.
Evening: night market on Nguyen Hoang Street
A hundred metres of lantern stalls, grilled skewers and coconut ice cream, with tailors still taking measurements late into the evening.
Day 10Herb garden, coconut forest and beach
Tra Que Herb Village
On beds fertilised with seaweed, mint, coriander and basil grow for the kitchens of the old town.
Basket-boat ride in the Cam Thanh coconut forest
In a round basket boat you glide through the waterways of the nipa palms, where the Viet Cong once found cover.
An Bang Beach
The best beach near Hoi An, with loungers under parasols and gently shelving water; a pleasant breeze blows in the afternoon.
Cua Dai fishing harbour
Blue-painted trawlers lie at the river mouth; in the afternoon nets are mended and ice is loaded on board.
Evening: beach bars of An Bang
Behind the dune stand wooden bars with sand floors serving cocktails and grilled fish into the evening.
Day 11Onward to Saigon: the colonial centre
Onward to Saigon
Hotel check-in
Independence Palace
The presidential palace from 1966 stands, maps and radios included, just as it did on 30 April 1975, when the tank broke through the gate.
War Remnants Museum
Photographs, weapons and the exhibition on Agent Orange — powerful and not easy to take in.
Notre-Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office
Two French buildings facing each other: the brick cathedral and the post office hall with its steel vault and old wall maps.
Evening: Nguyen Hue walking street
The broad boulevard down to the river is car-free in the evening: fountains, skaters and the cafés in the old apartment block at No. 42.
Day 12Saigon: Cholon, pagodas and markets
Ben Thanh Market
The market hall with the clock tower: spices, coffee and fabrics, and every price is up for haggling.
Thien Hau Temple in Cholon
In Chinatown, large incense coils hang beneath the roof of the sea goddess's temple, its ridge crowded with ceramic figures.
Binh Tay Market
Cholon's wholesale market in a Chinese-French building with a courtyard, where goods are sold in bulk rather than to tourists.
Jade Emperor Pagoda
A dark Taoist hall full of carved wooden figures, with the Hall of the Ten Judges of Hell and a pool full of turtles.
Saigon Skydeck in the Bitexco Tower
From the 49th floor you can see the bend in the river, the rooftops of Cholon and the construction cranes over Thu Thiem.
Evening: Bui Vien bar street
The noisy backpacker street in District 1, with street beer, food stalls and music from every other doorway.
Day 13Mekong Delta: the canals of Ben Tre
Onward to Ben Tre
Hotel check-in
Boat trip to Cồn Phụng island
By motorboat to the island of the former Coconut Monk, where remains of his colourful concrete temple still stand.
Coconut candy workshop in Tan Thach
In the open hall coconut milk is boiled down, rolled out by hand and wrapped in rice paper while still warm.
Sampan ride through the canals of An Khanh
In a narrow rowing boat you glide beneath the water palms along a side channel where the only sound is the paddle.
Orchard with đờn ca tài tử music
Under rambutan and longan trees you're served plates of fruit and the chamber music typical of southern Vietnam, with lute and song.
Evening: Ben Tre riverside promenade
By the river in the provincial capital, whole families sit at plastic tables in the evening over sugarcane juice and grilled skewers.
Day 14Back to Saigon and departure
Return to Saigon
Café apartment block on Nguyen Hue Street
In the old apartment block at No. 42, each flat houses a different café; from the balconies you look down the boulevard.
Nguyen Van Binh Book Street
A shady lane next to the cathedral with bookshops, coffee stalls and good souvenirs made of lacquer and paper.
Departure from Saigon
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