Northern Vietnam short break: Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay

1. Day 1: Arrive in Hanoi, street food in the Old Quarter

   Noi Bai International Airport to the Old Quarter

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Hanoi
   Day 1 details

   Fly into Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), about 45 minutes north of the centre, where a driver meets you and takes you to your hotel in or beside the Old Quarter. The afternoon is yours to rest after the flight or wander out to Hoan Kiem Lake, a few minutes away on foot. At about 5:30 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group, at most 12 of you, for a short briefing on the days ahead. Then we walk out into the Old Quarter as the pavement kitchens light up. Hanoi eats on low plastic stools at the roadside, and this walk is our welcome dinner: bun cha grilled over charcoal, a bowl of pho or steamed banh cuon, fresh spring rolls and something sweet, with egg coffee in a narrow upstairs cafe if you still have room. Your guide orders, explains each dish and steers around any allergies you tell us about when you book. The walk is about 2 km on flat streets, and we are back by about 9 pm.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Guided street food walk in the Old Quarter, with the food included

   Free time: Free until the early evening briefing

   Activity: If you land late, we keep you a plate and your guide meets you at breakfast.

2. Day 2: Hanoi: Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo and the water puppets

   Hanoi Old Quarter to the Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison, then Hoan Kiem Lake

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Hanoi
   Day 2 details

   If you are awake early, walk to Hoan Kiem Lake at first light, when its shore fills with people doing tai chi, dancing and stretching before work. After breakfast we go to the Temple of Literature at opening, around 8 am, before the school groups. Founded in 1070 to honour Confucius, it became home to the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first university, and its five courtyards lead to stone stelae on turtles' backs carved with the names of scholars who passed the royal exams. Next is Hoa Lo Prison, built by the French at the end of the 19th century to hold Vietnamese political prisoners and later used for captured American pilots, who called it the Hanoi Hilton. Your guide walks you through the cells and exhibits rather than waiting outside. Lunch is a sit-down meal at a local restaurant, and the afternoon is free. In the early evening we watch a water puppet show near the lake, an art from the rice paddies of the Red River Delta, played by puppeteers standing waist-deep behind a screen.

   Included

   • Temple of Literature at opening time with your guide
   • Hoa Lo Prison with your guide
   • Sit-down lunch at a local restaurant
   • Water puppet show near Hoan Kiem Lake

   Easier option: Take the vehicle between the temple and the prison instead of walking, and rest at the hotel in the afternoon.

   More active option: Join your guide at dawn for a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and across the red Huc Bridge before breakfast.

   Free time: Afternoon free; dinner after the puppet show is your choice

   Activity: About 3 to 4 km on foot through the day, on flat pavements. Cover shoulders and knees at the Temple of Literature.

   

3. Day 3: Ninh Binh: a sampan at Trang An

   Hanoi to Trang An, then Tam Coc

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Ninh Binh
   Day 3 details

   We leave Hanoi at about 7 am and drive two hours south to Ninh Binh, where limestone towers stand straight out of the rice fields. The early start puts us on the water at Trang An before the late-morning rush of day trips. Trang An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2014 for its karst landscape and for the caves where people lived thousands of years ago. A local rower takes a few of you in each sampan, a small flat-bottomed boat, along the river and through low caves cut under the rock, with stops at small temples on the banks, for about two and a half hours. Lunch is at a restaurant near the wharf, then we check in to our hotel near Tam Coc and rest through the hottest part of the day. In the late afternoon, when the light softens over the paddies, your guide leads an easy bicycle ride on the flat lanes between the fields and villages. The evening is free, with plenty of small family restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.

   Included

   • Transport from Hanoi to Ninh Binh with your guide
   • Trang An sampan trip on an early boat, with a local rower
   • Sit-down lunch near the Trang An wharf
   • Late-afternoon bicycle ride around Tam Coc

   Easier option: Skip the bicycle ride and see the villages from the vehicle with your guide, or stay at the hotel.

   More active option: Ride a longer loop of about 15 km through the valleys behind Tam Coc.

   Free time: Early afternoon free to rest; evening free

   Activity: Sit still in the sampan and keep your head low in the caves. The bicycle ride is about 10 km on flat lanes.

   

4. Day 4: Mua Cave at first light, then Lan Ha Bay

   Tam Coc to Mua Cave, then east to the harbour and a night on Lan Ha Bay

   • Drive about 3 h
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in Lan Ha Bay
   Day 4 details

   An early start for the best light of the day. We are at Mua Cave at first light, around opening time, and climb several hundred steep stone steps to the stone dragon on the ridge, with the view over the rice fields and the river winding through Tam Coc. Back at the hotel for breakfast, then at about 8:30 we drive east to the coast, about three hours with a coffee stop, and board our overnight boat in the early afternoon. Lan Ha Bay lies south of Ha Long Bay, off Cat Ba Island, and since 2023 the two have shared one UNESCO World Heritage listing. It has the same limestone islands with far fewer boats, which is why we choose it. Lunch is on board, then the afternoon brings kayaking between the karsts, a swim when the water is warm enough, and a cave or a floating fishing area. Stay on deck for sunset before dinner on board.

   Included

   • Mua Cave viewpoint at opening time
   • Transport from Ninh Binh to the harbour with your guide
   • Overnight boat in Lan Ha Bay in a private cabin with its own bathroom
   • Kayaking among the islands, weather permitting
   • Cave or floating fishing area visit, depending on the boat route

   Easier option: Wait at the lotus pond at the foot of Mua Cave or climb only part of the way, and stay on deck instead of kayaking.

   More active option: Paddle a longer kayak loop with the boat's guide if the sea is calm.

   Free time: Late afternoon on deck

   Activity: Several hundred steep stone steps at Mua Cave, with rails. Kayaking depends on the weather and sea state. Mua Cave opening time, the harbour, the drive time and the boarding time are confirmed with the operators for each departure before we confirm your booking; if Mua Cave opens later, we visit it on the afternoon of day 3 instead.

   

5. Day 5: Sunrise on the bay, back to Hanoi

   Lan Ha Bay at dawn, then the harbour to Hanoi or Noi Bai airport

   • Drive about 2.5 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 5 details

   Set an alarm for sunrise. The first hour of the day is the quietest on the water, often still and misty in the cooler months, and there is coffee and a light breakfast on deck. Then comes a last slow cruise between the islands, and brunch is served on board before the boat returns to the harbour, usually around late morning to midday. We drive back to Hanoi, about two and a half hours with a break, and arrive in the afternoon. We drop you at a hotel in the Old Quarter if you are staying on, or at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) if you are flying out today; please book flights that leave after 6 pm. If this break comes before a longer trip, we can join it to our 12-day Hanoi to Saigon trip or add nights in Hanoi. Your guide has ideas for a last evening in the city, from one more bowl of bun cha to a walk around the lake as the lights come on.

   Included

   • Sunrise and a last cruise on the bay
   • Brunch on board
   • Transport to Hanoi or to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)

   Activity: Book flights leaving Hanoi after 6 pm. The harbour and the boat's return time are confirmed with the boat operator for each departure, and we send them with your final itinerary.

Wildlife and weather: October, November, March and April bring mild, mostly dry days. December to February is cool and often grey, with mist on the bay that suits photographs but water too cold for most swimmers. Storms can still suspend boats in October.

• Hanoi2 nights
• Ninh Binh1 night
• Lan Ha Bay1 night