Your guide for planning a two week Vietnam itinerary

Last Updated on March 20, 2020

How to travel in Vietnam for two weeks

Vietnam has one big advantage for travellers trying to work out an itinerary – it’s long and narrow.

It pretty much means you do one of two things. You either go up the country or you go down it.

Of course, you need to decide where you want to stop along the way and how long you’ll spend in each place. But it’s not like you have to sit there with a map calculating the most efficient route to get between all the places you would like to visit.

Ancient cities, beautiful beaches, enormous caves, charming towns, modern history – and lots of amazing food and drink. Vietnam has so much to see and it can be hard to work out how to make the most of your stay.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the country recently and want to use everything I’ve learned to put together an itinerary for travelling in Vietnam for you.

I’ve chosen two weeks as the length of time because that seems to be the average duration that people travel in the country for.

If you’re going for a shorter period, then skip a couple of the things I recommend. If you’re going for longer, I’ve suggested a few extra options.

You might also prefer not to do some of the overnight travel I suggest and use your extra days for bus and train trips (that’s the way I tend to do it).

The first decision for a Vietnam itinerary is north or south?

I suggest travelling from the north to the south for two reasons. Firstly, most tourists actually go the other way so it means you’re going to find it easier to get bus and train tickets with less competition.

Secondly, if you’re continuing your travels in Asia, you have a lot more options leaving from Ho Chi Minh City in the south (by land or boat into Cambodia and then Thailand, for instance).

Flights are generally much cheaper to/from HCMC so that’s a consideration. But you can always get your international return flights into HCMC and then get a cheap domestic flight up to Hanoi for the day you arrive.

You can see my proposed route in this map:

In this two week Vietnam itinerary, I have tried to be quite specific with my recommendations. However, they are all based on things running smoothly and not being already booked out.

Be prepared to go with the flow, make your own decisions based on your interests, and enjoy your travels!

Hanoi

Day 1:

Let’s get straight into some sightseeing in Hanoi. Vietnam’s capital has quite a few sights but the main ones can be covered within a day (or two half days).

I would suggest heading first to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum because there can often be a queue, so the earlier you get there, the better.

With the rest of the day, there are some more places you can visit. I would suggest choosing from the Vietnam Military History Museum, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

If you would prefer someone to show you around, I have some suggestions for local tours:

If you would prefer to explore by yourself, I’ve put together a guide with some tips on what to see in Hanoi.

>> Read my story about things to see in Hanoi

In the evening, my favourite spot in Hanoi is an area known as ‘Bia Hoi Corner’. It’s at the corner of Luong Ngoc Quyen, Ta Hien and Dinh Liet (see it on a map here).

You can join the locals who sit on tiny plastic stools on the footpath and drink glasses of fresh beer for about 5000 VND (US$0.20). You can also order snacks or meals. It’s not the most comfortable place in the city but it’s the most fun!

THE BEST ACCOMMODATION IN HANOI

You’ll find most of the hotels around the Old Quarter or French Quarter, which puts you right in the centre of the action!

BACKPACKER

For a budget hostel in Hanoi, I would recommend Luxury Backpackers, which has great beds.

BUDGET

There are also lots of quite similar cheap hotels. A comfortable option is Golden Moon Suite Hotel.

BOUTIQUE

For a really trendy hotel, you should try The Chi Boutique Hotel.

LUXURY

And if you want to really splurge, I think the nicest luxury hotel in the city is the Sofitel Legend Metropole.

Day 2:

Hanoi is not the kind of city you should do in a rush, which is why I have a second day here in the itinerary. There are a few options I would suggest for how to fill the day.

One option is to take it easy and see a few of the sights that you skipped on the first day but spend the rest of the time hanging out in the cafes and restaurants of the French Quarter.

There is heaps of amazing food in Hanoi so another great idea is to do a food tour. It will also give you a good sense of how street food works before you start travelling through the rest of the country. Here are a few great options that I would recommend:

For something a bit different, there’s a great photography tour along the local rail tracks. Or you could be a bit more adventurous with this bike tour of nearby countryside and villages.

OPTIONAL

Before I move on to day 3, this is the point where I’ll mention the first of the optional extras that I haven’t included in this two week Vietnam itinerary.

Hanoi is the city you would use as the base to head northwest into the Sapa region. Sapa is famous for its jungle trekking and ethnic minority cultures – although there is a fair amount of development now and you have to go even deeper to get authentic experiences.

To get to Sapa, you can take the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. The trip takes about 8 hours.

You can organise treks and homestay experiences in Hanoi in advance or plan everything when you get there. Here are a few options that will arrange everything for you from Hanoi.:

Once you are finished in Sapa, you will be able to come back to Hanoi and continue with my suggested itinerary.

Ha Long Bay

Day 3:

You really can’t go to Vietnam without visiting Ha Long Bay.

Unfortunately it is quite crowded with tourists and boats and there are concerns about the way the environment is being protected – but it’s still a natural wonder that is not worth missing out on.

There are dozens of tour operators and hundreds of places that will sell you a place on them. The choice can be overwhelming – particularly when there are some shady deals that sometimes occur, where you can think you’re buying one thing and end up with another.

>> Read my story here about Ha Long Bay

If you want to try your luck and buy a deal at one of the shops in Hanoi, you may get a good trip for a cheap price, but it’s hard to guarantee exactly what you’ll end up with. I would recommend booking in advance and there are some decent options here:

Unless you have a solid suggestion from someone else, I would suggest booking with one of the international companies that will give you security of purchase, so you can follow up if you don’t get what you expected.

You can go as a day trip but that is far too rushed. My suggestion for this itinerary would be to do one night in Ha Long Bay, staying on board one of the junk boats. The good news is that’s the standard way that people visit the region so there are lots of tours.

Most trips will pick you up from your hotel in Hanoi and drop you back to Hanoi the next day, which makes things very convenient.

Day 4:

Most of this day will be spent in Ha Long Bay and then arriving back in Hanoi in the late afternoon.

The choice you need to make is whether you want to stay the night in Hanoi or get the train straight to the next destination. I’ll give you the details of both options in the next section.

Ninh Binh

Day 5:

Today I would suggest exploring the area of Ninh Binh, about 100 kilometres south of Hanoi. It has beautiful landscapes of karst limestone mountains with rivers winding between them.

To save a bit of time, you can travel from Hanoi to Ninh Binh the evening before, after getting back from Ha Long Bay. You should be able to get the 19:30 train, which arrives at 21:49 (as a backup, there’s a 20:10 train that arrives at 22:25).

If you choose to travel in the morning instead, you can do the 06:00 that arrives at 08:22 or the 09:00 that arrives at 11:21. I recommend booking train tickets in advance here.

Once you get to Ninh Binh, there are two potential areas to explore – Trang An and Tam Coc.

Both are alike and both are beautiful. They look a bit like Ha Long Bay… but without the bay. The karst limestone mountains rise up from rice paddies and riverbanks.

If you only want to visit one, I would suggest Trang An. It’s quite nice to borrow a bike from your accommodation and cycle there.

Once you arrive, you’ll buy a ticket for a boat ride. The boats are small (maximum four people) and they’re rowed by hand (or foot) by your guide.

The trip along the river takes up to three hours and you’ll go through caves and see some great sights. The experience at Tam Coc is very similar.

>> More details here in my story about Trang An

You have another choice here. Do you stay the night in Ninh Binh or get an overnight bus or train to the next stop, Phong Nha?

I’m going to suggest an itinerary where you do the travelling the next day. It gets a bit too tiring if you’re always travelling overnight with no rest.

However, if you go overnight, you can get the train from Ninh Binh to Dong Hoi that leaves at 21:49, 22:25 or 00:13 and then get the local bus from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha. Book tickets in advance here.

There are also sleeper buses – I would suggest asking a local hotel or tour operator for the times.