Stop 01 · about 3 nights
Hanoi
Lake water and narrow tube house streets in the Old Quarter, with the flat Red River plain spreading out beyond. Two metro lines now cut across the city.
Good for · First landing, street food, museums, onward trains
Signature route · Vietnam
Two weeks, north to central
HanoiLan Ha BayNinh BinhPhong NhaHueHoi An
13 nights, 6 stops. This is one of the routes we actually run across Vietnam. It is the spine of a trip, not the trip. Tell us how you travel and the plan reshapes it into yours.
Make this route yours5 questions · about 3 minutes · nothing to pay
¶ 01 · The stops, in order
Where this route actually goes.
Each stop earns its nights. The quiz decides how long you stay in each, and whether a stop drops off entirely because it is not you.
Stop 02 · about 2 nights
Lan Ha Bay
Stop 03 · about 2 nights
Ninh Binh
The same limestone as Ha Long, standing in rice paddy and river instead of sea. Rowed boats thread through flooded caves under the peaks, and Hoa Lu, the 10th century capital, sits inside the same complex.
Good for · Day boats, cycling, temples, an easy first stop out of Hanoi
Stop 04 · about 2 nights
Phong Nha
Jungle river valleys punched full of holes. Around 300 caves, including Son Doong with chambers over 5 km long, and Paradise Cave at 31 km.
Good for · Caving, treks, river swims, national park
Stop 05 · about 2 nights
Hue
Citadel walls and moats along the Perfume River, royal tombs upstream, and the Nguyen court kitchen that gave the country its most chilli forward cooking.
Good for · History, food, rain season culture, slow city days
Stop 06 · about 2 nights
Hoi An
A long city beach, then a preserved trading port of 1,068 old houses lit by lanterns at night, then Cham brick towers standing in a jungle valley 36 km inland.
Good for · Beach, tailoring, ruins, easy walking
¶ 02 · Along the way
Picks that sit on this route.
From the Vietnam file. Real places, filed by people who went, not scraped from a Top 10 list.
Do · The north · Lan Ha Bay
An overnight on Lan Ha Bay
Limestone islets 50 to 100 m high, jungle on top and caves inside, off Cat Ba, the biggest of 367 islands in the archipelago. Lan Ha is quieter and cheaper than Ha Long at the same tier, and Ha Long carries visible overtourism damage, with mangroves cleared and jetties built for tourist boats.
Do · The north · Ninh Binh
Trang An by rowed boat
6,226 hectares of karst, river and wetland listed by UNESCO in June 2014, taking in Hoa Lu, the ancient capital, and the Tam Coc area. The boats go through the flooded caves rather than past them.
Do · The centre · Phong Nha
Phong Nha cave country
Around 300 caves in karst that has been forming since the Palaeozoic, 400 million years. Son Doong is the largest cave on earth with chambers over 5 km, Paradise Cave runs 31 km, and Dark Cave is 5,258 m long and 83 m high.
Do · The centre · Hue
Hue Imperial City
The Nguyen citadel on one ticket: the Ngo Mon gate, the nine holy cannons, the nine dynastic urns, Thai Hoa palace, the Truong Sanh residence, the Thieu Phuong royal park and the Duyet Thi Duong royal theatre.
Eat · The north · Hanoi
Bun cha
Charcoal grilled pork with rice noodles, herbs and a bowl of dipping broth. Northern cooking leans on black pepper rather than chilli, so it reads light rather than hot.
Eat · The north · Hanoi
Pho Ha Hang Hom
A new Bib Gourmand entry in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Vietnam, on Hang Hom street in the Old Quarter.
Eat · The north · Hanoi
Ca phe trung at Giang Cafe
Egg yolk whipped with condensed milk over a water bath, with robusta poured through a phin on top. Giang Cafe is the house associated with it, worked out in the late 1940s when milk was scarce.
Eat · The centre · Hue
Bun bo Hue
Thick round rice noodles with beef, pork knuckle and cha lua, driven by lemongrass and fermented shrimp paste.
¶ 03 · How it becomes yours
The route is the spine. You are the trip.
Five short questions, about three minutes. The plan starts from this route and a library of Vietnam trips we have tested, then reshapes the nights, the food and the days to your pace and budget.
No sponsored stops, no filler days. If a place stays on your plan, it earned the spot.
RouteTwo weeks, north to central
CountryVietnam
Nights13
Stops6
Sponsored picks0
¶ · Other Vietnam routes
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