Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Ha Long Bay – Da Nang – Ba Na Hills – Hoi An – Hue
The north first: the Old Quarter on foot, the Trang An grottoes by rowing boat, six hours on Ha Long Bay and a full day among Hanoi's temples and museums. An evening flight moves you to Da Nang, where the days run slower — a cruise under the lit bridges of the Han River, the cable car up Ba Na Hills, basket boats and lanterns at Hoi An, and Hue over the Hai Van Pass. The ninth day is yours.
Day 1
Met at the airport and driven to your hotel in the Old Quarter. At 13h30 your guide collects you and the afternoon is on foot: Hoan Kiem Lake and Nam Huong Temple by 13h40, The Huc Bridge across to Ngoc Son Temple, the story of King Le returning the sword, and the preserved Hoan Kiem turtle in its case. From 14h30 St Joseph's Cathedral and its French Gothic front, banh mi from the stall the neighbourhood queues at, sugarcane juice or street coffee, and half an hour for the boutiques nearby. Train Street from 15h20, and the walk ends there at 16h00.
Meals: No meals included
Day 2
Away at 08h00 for the 110km drive south, with a short break on the road. At 10h15 you walk the Hoa Lu citadel and the temples to the Dinh and Le kings, which date to the seventeenth century. From 11h30 easy cycling on the lanes beside the canals, then buffet lunch at 12h15 with goat, fried rice and other local dishes; vegetarian food is always on the table. At 13h00 a rowing boat takes you into Trang An, UNESCO-listed since 2014, through the Light, Dark and Cooking Wine caves. Mua Cave at 15h15: almost 500 steps to the top of Lying Dragon Mountain and the view over Tam Coc. Back at your Hanoi hotel by 19h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 3
A limousine leaves Hanoi at 08h30 for Quang Ninh, stopping once on the way. You board at Tuan Chau Island between 11h45 and 12h00, and lunch — seafood and Vietnamese dishes — is served while the boat passes the Incense Burner and Fighting Cocks rocks. At 13h30 you walk Sung Sot Cave, 25 metres above the water and 10,000 square metres across, its 800 metre path lit the whole way. Luon Cave follows at 14h45 by kayak or bamboo boat, then Titop Island at 15h45 to swim or climb to the lookout. Back aboard at 16h30 for the sunset party, ashore by 18h00, at your Hanoi hotel by 20h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 4
Collected between 08h00 and 08h30. Tran Quoc Pagoda at 08h45, on Golden Fish Island in West Lake and the oldest pagoda in the city, built in the sixth century. At 09h30 the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, its gardens and the two houses where he lived and worked, then the One Pillar Pagoda. The Museum of Ethnology at 11h15 covers all 54 ethnic groups; lunch at 12h45 runs to eight dishes. The Temple of Literature at 14h00, founded in 1070 as the country's first university, with the stelae naming its scholars, and Hoa Lo Prison at 15h15. Back at the hotel by 16h30, and the flight to Da Nang leaves at 18h00.
Meals: Lunch
Day 5
A private car meets your flight and takes you to the hotel; the rest of the day is open. At 18h30 you are collected for the river cruise, with boarding from 19h30. The boat leaves Han River Port on Bach Dang Street at 20h30 and runs upstream past the Han River Bridge, the Dragon Bridge, Tran Thi Ly Bridge, the Carp Turning into Dragon statue and the Love Bridge. Dinner is served about fifteen minutes after departure, local specialities alongside Asian and European dishes. Past Tran Thi Ly the boat turns back downstream for the view of Thuan Phuoc Bridge, and is at the port again by 21h30.
Meals: Dinner
Day 6
Pick-up in central Da Nang between 07h00 and 08h15, with a stop at a craft village on the same road at 08h30 while tickets are arranged. You reach the entrance between 09h45 and 10h00 and ride the cable car — the longest single-rope line in the world — up to the French Village. From 10h30: the Lunar Castle, Eclipse Square and a film at the Mat Bay theatre. Buffet lunch runs from 11h45 to 13h00, then mini shows, the golden Sun World globe and Fantasy Park. At 14h45 a second cable car crosses to the Golden Bridge and the Le Jardin flower garden; from 16h15 you return by way of the Time Gate to the bus.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 7
The day starts at 13h00 with a transfer to Cam Thanh, where a fisherman teaches you to row a round bamboo basket boat and to fish the coconut waterways the way the village always has. At 14h30 you move into the old town: the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall with its gates and dragon figures, a two-hundred-year-old merchant house at Phung Hung or Tan Ky, the Museum of Folk Culture and a set at the Traditional Performing Arts House. Then the Japanese Bridge, built over 400 years ago to link the Japanese quarter with the Chinese one, and the craft shops around it. Dinner is Hoi An specialities, and at 18h00 a boat takes you onto the Hoai River to float a paper lantern before the night market.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Day 8
Collected between 08h00 and 08h30 and driven north over the Hai Van Pass, where the road stops at the top for the view back over Da Nang and forward along the white sand of Lang Co. At 11h30 you reach the tomb of Khai Dinh, the twelfth Nguyen emperor, built between 1920 and 1931 and unlike any other in its mix of Western and Eastern design. Lunch at 12h30 is Hue cooking. The Citadel follows at 13h30, then Thien Mu Pagoda at 15h00, the tallest in the country and the city's unofficial emblem. You return through the Hai Van Tunnel from 16h00, reaching Da Nang around 18h30.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch
Day 9
Nothing is scheduled after breakfast. Rest, go back to whatever you liked best in Da Nang or Hoi An, or shop. Your guide can point you in the right direction, and a driver or a private experience can be added to the day at any point.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10
Breakfast, check out, and a private car to Da Nang airport timed to your flight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 1 runs in two versions: the walking tour as described, or a shorter walk ending with an egg coffee class at a local coffee house. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum closes on Mondays and Fridays, and for about two months of maintenance from mid-June to mid-August; on Mondays the Museum of Ethnology is replaced by the Women's Museum. Shoulders and knees should be covered at the Mausoleum and at the Hue Citadel. The Hanoi to Da Nang flight on day 4 is not included and is booked separately.
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