Two Weeks in Vietnam: A North-to-South Itinerary That Actually Works
Fourteen days, four bases, and no more than one travel day in three. The itinerary we give friends who are visiting Vietnam for the first time. The commonest mistake on a first Vietnam trip is trying to see all of it. Fourteen days sounds generous until you notice the country is 1,650 kilometres long, and an itinerary with eight stops means eight check-ins, eight transfers and roughly four days spent in transit. What follows uses four bases, takes the train or a short flight between them, and leaves room for the days that turn out to be the good ones. Days 1–4: Hanoi and Ha Long or Lan Ha Land in Hanoi and give it two full days before going anywhere. The Old Quarter repays being walked without a plan; the specific things worth booking are the Temple of Literature early in the morning, the Vietnamese Women's Museum, which is the best museum in the city, and an evening on a plastic stool on Ta Hien with a glass of bia hoi. Eat bun cha for lunch, pho for breakfast, and cha ca on Cha Ca street once. Take an egg coffee at one of the old cafes off Nguyen Huu Huan. Then two days on the water. Ha Long Bay is the famous name and the busiest; Lan Ha Bay , immediately south and reached from Cat Ba island, has the same karst seascape with a fraction of the boats. Book an overnight rather than a day trip — the bay at six in the morning is a different place from the bay at noon — and check the boat's passenger count rather than its star rating. Days 5–7: Ninh Binh Train south from Hanoi,…
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- Author
- Betel Editorial
