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Vietnam · 10–16 days

Vietnam: Hanoi to the Mekong, from north to south, in the right order

An honest guide to the length of Vietnam — when to go (and why the weather is never the same in the north and the south), how many days you really need, how to move between the highlights without wasting them, and the small things that make the trip.

Vietnam is long and thin — over 1,600 kilometres of coast, curling from the misty limestone north down to the flat, watery delta in the south — and the classic first trip simply runs the length of it. You start in Hanoi, sleep a night on a boat in Halong Bay, drop into the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An on the central coast, and finish in the heat and energy of Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. It's one of the best-value countries in Asia, the food is a reason to come on its own, and it's remarkably easy to move a group of ten or a honeymooning couple through in real comfort.

The one thing to understand before you plan anything else is that Vietnam has no single weather. The north, the centre and the south run on different calendars, and the mistake most people make is picking a month that's perfect for one and quietly wrong for another. Get that right and the rest of the trip falls into place.

When to go

Think of Vietnam as three climates stacked on top of each other, and choose by the region you care about most:

• The north (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa) — best in spring (March–April) and autumn (October–November). Winter is cool and often grey and drizzly; high summer is hot, humid and the peak of the storm season on Halong Bay.
• The centre (Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An) — driest and sunniest from about February to August. Its wet season is October and November, when Hoi An's low old town genuinely floods some years.
• The south (Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong) — a simple dry season, roughly December to April, and a wet season of short, heavy afternoon downpours from May to October that rarely ruin a day.

For a full north-to-south trip, late February to April is the best all-round compromise — dry in the south, sunny in the centre and spring in the north. If you're only doing the north, October is glorious. One date to check carefully is Tet, the Lunar New Year (usually late January or February): it's a wonderful time to witness but much of the country shuts for several days and flights and trains sell out well ahead, so plan around it deliberately rather than blundering into it. In 2027 Tet falls on 6 February, with the disruption running for roughly a week either side.

One more thing the brochures leave out: typhoon season. Storms track in from the South China Sea mainly between July and November, hitting the north earlier in that window and the central coast later. They are a reason to keep a day of slack and to buy flexible internal flights in those months — not a reason to stay away.

How long, and how to shape it

Match the route to the days you have, and fly the long legs so you spend your time in places rather than on the road:

• 10 days — north and centre. Hanoi (3 nights, one of them an overnight cruise in Halong Bay) → fly to Da Nang → Hoi An (3–4 nights). The most satisfying short version, and the one most first-timers should book.
• 14–16 days — the full length. Add Ho Chi Minh City (2–3 nights) and a night or two in the Mekong Delta after Hoi An, flying Da Nang → Saigon. This is the complete north-to-south trip.
• Swap in the mountains. If rice terraces and trekking appeal more than the far south, trade the Mekong for two or three nights in Sapa up near the Chinese border — spectacular in the September–October harvest, when the terraces turn gold.

Book an open-jaw flight — into Hanoi, out of Ho Chi Minh City (or the reverse) — so you never double back over the length of the country.

The regions, and what's genuinely worth your time

Hanoi and the north

Hanoi is the cultural heart — a dense, atmospheric Old Quarter of narrow shophouses, motorbikes and some of the best street food in the country. Give it a couple of full days: eat bun cha and egg coffee where the locals do, watch the traditional water puppets, walk the edge of Hoan Kiem Lake at dawn, and use it as the base for the north's two big day-or-overnight trips. Halong Bay — thousands of limestone karsts rising straight out of jade water — is the postcard, and the way to do it well is an overnight cruise rather than a rushed day tour; consider the quieter neighbouring Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long bays to dodge the biggest crowds. Ninh Binh (Trang An and Tam Coc), often called "Halong Bay on land," is a gentler, greener alternative reachable as a day trip.

The central coast — Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An

The middle of the country is where most people's favourite days happen. Hoi An is the jewel: a preserved trading-port old town of tailors' shops and yellow walls that glows with silk lanterns after dark, with a good beach (An Bang) a bike ride away, superb food and its own dishes — cao lau, white rose dumplings. It's an easy, romantic base for three or four nights. Nearby Da Nang has the Marble Mountains and the much-photographed Golden Bridge, and the ancient Cham ruins of My Son are a half-day out. If you have the time, come down from Hue — the old imperial capital and its walled Citadel — by road or rail over the Hai Van Pass, a coastal mountain crossing that's a highlight in its own right.

Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong

Ho Chi Minh City (still widely called Saigon) is the loud, fast, modern counterweight to Hanoi — rooftop bars, a serious coffee culture, brilliant food and the sobering, essential War Remnants Museum; the Cu Chi tunnels are the usual half-day trip out. South of the city, the Mekong Delta is another world of stilt houses, floating markets (Cai Rang, near Can Tho, is the big one) and boat life — best experienced with a night's homestay or a slow river cruise rather than a day dash from the city.

A sensible 14-day shape

• Days 1–3 · Hanoi. Two days in the Old Quarter — street-food wandering, egg coffee, water puppets, the lake at dawn — then a day trip to Ninh Binh (or hold it for Halong).
• Days 4–5 · Halong Bay. Transfer to the coast and join an overnight cruise (Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long for fewer boats). Kayak among the karsts, swim, and take the sunset from the top deck.
• Days 6–9 · Hoi An. Fly Hanoi → Da Nang, drive the Hai Van Pass (with a stop in Hue if you have a spare day). Settle into Hoi An: the old town by lantern-light, a cooking class, a day at An Bang beach, and a tailor if you fancy something made.
• Days 10–12 · Ho Chi Minh City. Fly Da Nang → Saigon. The War Remnants Museum, the Cu Chi tunnels, rooftop drinks and the city's endless food.
• Days 13–14 · Mekong Delta. Down to the delta for a homestay or river cruise — the Cai Rang floating market at first light, then slow boats and stilt-house lunches before flying home from Saigon.

Choosing a Halong Bay cruise

The overnight cruise is the most-booked thing in Vietnam and the one with the widest gap between good and bad, so it is worth ten minutes of thought.

• "Two days, one night" is really about twenty hours. You board around midday and are back on the dock by late morning. It is enough to see the bay and wake up in it. A second night is what gets you beyond the stretch every boat visits, into quieter water with time to kayak and swim properly — if the bay is a reason you came, take it.
• Pick the bay, not just the boat. Halong Bay proper is the busiest. Lan Ha Bay, to the south by Cat Ba island, and Bai Tu Long, to the north-east, are the same limestone scenery with markedly fewer vessels. Most of the better boats now sail these.
• The transfer is easier than it used to be. The expressway has cut the drive from Hanoi to roughly two and a half hours, so a cruise no longer eats a day at each end. Most operators run a shuttle or will arrange a private car.
• Boats are grounded in bad weather. The port authority cancels sailings when a storm is forecast, most often between July and September, sometimes at a day's notice. You are refunded or rebooked, but keep a spare day in Hanoi or have Ninh Binh ready as the substitute.
• The cheap end is a false economy. At the bottom of the market the cabins, the food and the crowding are all noticeably worse. This is the one place in Vietnam where paying for the middle or upper tier changes the experience. For a group, a small boat chartered whole — many have six to twelve cabins — is often barely more per head and gives you the itinerary to yourselves.

What it costs

Vietnam is one of the best-value destinations anywhere, and unusually, that holds at every level: it is cheap for backpackers and it is also where a mid-range budget buys genuinely lovely hotels.

• Food is where it is most striking. A bowl of pho or a banh mi on the street costs a pound or two; an excellent sit-down dinner with drinks for two is frequently less than a single main course at home.
• Hotels run from simple and spotless guesthouses to international five-star resorts on the central coast at a fraction of their Thai or European equivalents. Boutique hotels in Hoi An and Hanoi's Old Quarter are the sweet spot.
• Private cars and guides are inexpensive enough that a couple can reasonably have a driver for the Hai Van Pass, and a group can have its own minibus throughout. It removes most of the friction of the trip.
• The larger costs are the long-haul flights, the Halong cruise and any beach-resort nights. Internal flights are cheap if booked a few weeks ahead and jump sharply around Tet.
• Tipping is not traditional but is now expected in tourism: a modest tip for guides, drivers and cruise crews is normal, and rounding up elsewhere is appreciated.

Groups and honeymoons

Honeymoons. The classic shape is a gentle one: two or three nights in Hanoi, a night or two on a good boat in Lan Ha Bay, then four or five nights in Hoi An split between the old town and a beach resort nearby. If you want a proper flop-and-drop finish, add a few nights on an island — Phu Quoc in the far south is at its best from about November to April, Con Dao is the quieter, wilder choice. Skip Saigon if time is short; for most couples the centre is the heart of it.

Groups. Vietnam is very forgiving for a group because the expensive parts of group travel elsewhere — private transport, guides, a whole boat, a long table at a good restaurant — are affordable here. A private minibus and one guide for the whole route keeps ten people moving without anyone holding the map; villas with pools around Hoi An and Da Nang sleep eight to twelve; and a cooking class or a street-food tour is an easy shared day that suits every age.

The difficulty is the number of moving parts over a long distance. A typical two weeks has two or three internal flights, a cruise with its own fixed boarding time and a weather clause, visas or visa-free limits that differ by passport, and three climates to pack for. Each piece is simple. Keeping all of them straight for ten people — who is on which flight, which bag goes on the boat, what happens if the cruise is cancelled — is where a shared, single source of truth earns its keep.

Getting around: the bit people get wrong

Vietnam is far longer than it looks on the map, and the classic planning error is trying to travel it all overland:

• Fly the long hops. Domestic flights between Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City are cheap and frequent (chiefly Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet; Bamboo Airways now flies a much-reduced network) and turn an exhausting full day into an hour. This is the single biggest time-saver on a two-week trip. Vietjet is the cheapest and the most prone to retiming, so don't book one into a tight same-day connection.
• Keep the train for the scenery. The Reunification Express is slow, but the Hue–Da Nang leg over the Hai Van Pass is one of Asia's great rail rides. Book a soft-sleeper for any overnight stretch, in advance in peak season.
• Use Grab in the cities. The ride-hailing app (cars and motorbikes) means you never negotiate a fare, and it's the easy way to get around Hanoi and Saigon.
• Let a driver handle the pretty roads. The Hai Van Pass and the Mekong lanes are far nicer with a private car or a guide than behind the wheel yourself.

Good to know

• Check whether you need a visa at all. UK passport holders and a growing list of Europeans can currently enter visa-free for up to 45 days; US, Canadian, Australian and many other travellers need an e-visa (up to 90 days, single or multiple entry). Apply only through the official government portal — the search results are full of look-alike sites that add a mark-up — and allow several working days. The rules have changed more than once, so check each passport in the party shortly before travel.
• The dong has a lot of zeros. Cards are fine in hotels and city restaurants; carry cash for street food, markets and the delta. Double-check you're paying 200,000 and not 2,000,000 — the notes look alike.
• Crossing the road is a skill. Step off the kerb and walk slowly and predictably — the scooters flow around you. Don't freeze or dart, and you'll be fine.
• Street food is the point, and it's safe. Eat where there's a queue and a fast turnover. Don't miss pho, banh mi, bun cha in Hanoi, cao lau in Hoi An, com tam in Saigon and Vietnamese iced coffee everywhere.
• Hoi An floods in autumn. If you're set on the lantern town, avoid October–November or keep the plan flexible; the old town's charm and its flood risk share the same low riverside streets.
• Train Street comes and goes. Hanoi's famous trackside cafés are periodically closed by the authorities on safety grounds — treat it as a nice-if-it's-open, not a fixed plan.
• Book the boat and the tailor ahead. A good Halong cruise and a reputable Hoi An tailor are both worth reserving before you arrive; the cheap end of each is a false economy.

Common questions

When is the best time to visit Vietnam?

There is no single perfect month, because Vietnam is really three climates stacked over 1,600 km. For a full north-to-south trip, roughly late February to April is the best all-round compromise: dry and pleasant in the south, warming up nicely in the centre, and spring in the north before the summer heat. October and November are lovely in Hanoi and the north but are the wet, occasionally flood-prone months in Hoi An and the central coast. Pick your window by the region you most care about, and check the dates of Tet (Lunar New Year, usually late January or February), when much of the country closes and transport books out.

How many days do you need in Vietnam?

Ten days is the honest minimum for the north and centre — Hanoi, an overnight in Halong Bay, and Hoi An. Two weeks lets you run the full length comfortably, adding Ho Chi Minh City and a night or two in the Mekong Delta, or swapping in Sapa's rice terraces in the north. Fewer than eight days and you should pick one end of the country rather than trying to see all of it through a plane window.

How do you travel around Vietnam — trains, buses or flights?

Fly the long hops and travel slowly in between. Domestic flights (chiefly Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet) connect Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City cheaply and turn a full travel day into an hour, which is the single biggest time-saver on a two-week trip. Keep the train for the genuinely scenic legs — the Hue-to-Da Nang stretch over the Hai Van Pass is one of the prettiest rail journeys in Asia. In cities, use the Grab app for taxis and bikes so you never haggle over a fare. Don't try to bus the whole country; the distances are enormous.

Do you need a visa for Vietnam?

It depends on your passport and how long you are staying. Holders of UK passports and a growing list of European ones can currently enter visa-free for up to 45 days, which covers almost any holiday; many other nationalities, including US, Canadian and Australian travellers, need an e-visa. The e-visa is open to nearly all nationalities, valid for up to 90 days with single or multiple entry, and applied for online before you travel — through the official government portal only, as there are many convincing look-alike sites that charge a mark-up. The visa-free list has been extended and widened several times, so check the current rule for every passport in your party a few weeks before you fly, and allow several working days for an e-visa rather than leaving it to the airport. Your passport generally needs at least six months' validity.

Is Vietnam good for a group trip or a honeymoon?

It is one of the easiest and best-value countries in Asia for both. Private cars, guides and beautiful boutique hotels cost a fraction of what they do in Europe, so a group can travel in real comfort without a luxury budget, and the food-led, gently paced rhythm suits a honeymoon well — a luxe overnight cruise in Halong Bay, the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An, and a few days on the beach nearby. The things to lock in early are the Halong cruise, a good Hoi An tailor if you want clothes made, and flights or sleeper trains during Tet and the summer peak.

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