With many shady roads, hundreds of small picturesque alleys, and the ancient pagodas with many historical stories inside; Ha Noi is truly a must-visit city when you come to Vietnam. Modern life mixed with above antique features is the attraction of the capital city. You are advised to spend at least 3 days staying in Hanoi to thoroughly embrace its beauty.
Just-in: Apply for a visa to Vietnam
During ten years of providing Vietnam visa service, we realized some foreign travellers are not conscious of having a visa before check-in at the airport, and as a result, they may be incurred more for getting it under the wire. We strongly advise you – as well as other travelers visiting Vietnam – to check visa Vietnam information by selecting your nationality before departure time at least one week. It will help you to find out if you need to obtain a visa, then you should decide to apply for a Vietnam visa in the most proper way if it is required.
Day 1: Stroll around Hanoi City
It is supposed that when you arrive in Hanoi in the morning after clearing immigration at the airport, you should head to the city center by bus or taxi.
You are going to the hotel and check-in. Then, you leave the hotel and go for a walk on Trang Tien street. Situated in the East of Hanoi Opera House and also to the West of Hoan Kiem Lake, Trang Tien Street owns plenty of buildings, bookstores, galleries and cafes having Paris style. The most particular specialty here is Trang Tien ice cream.
Hanoi Opera House
Then, you may move to Ngoc Son Temple built in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake. The Red The Huc Bridge crossing Turtle Tower is a highlight of this capital’s iconic image.
Also you can go to St. Joseph’s Cathedral located at 40 Nha Chung Street, Hoan Kiem. You have many choices with the number of café and lemon tea shops, besides restaurants and bars in front of the Cathedral. Plus, you may take a leisurely stroll along this Cathedral to find a Pho restaurant and enjoy the most famous local specialty. Do not miss eating Pho when visiting Hanoi!
Following that, Hoa Lo Prison Relic – which is the Top 5 most gruesome destinations in Southeast Asia. Constructed in 1886, this was a place where the French colonial empire detained patriots and political prisoners.
You should take a rest then go to the central city – the old quarter designated by UNESCO. This place is a “maze” from the 13th century, used to be a busy market with all kinds of goods such as Chinese traditional medicines, flowers, jewelry, cotton, silk, bamboo, hats…
The diverting Old Quarter becomes more exciting at night with many restaurants. You can go to City View Café at 1 Dinh Tien Hoang for an overview of Hanoi Old Quarter or jogging any street to enjoy a glass of beer with some street foods.
Day 2: 1 day more to explore Hanoi
Instead of eating breakfast in the hotel, you can go out and buy Vietnamese bread before going to a street café, savor a cup of coffee, and sightseeing.
From Trang Tien Street to the West, you can visit Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc – which archives folk masterpieces of communist, patriotism, and overcoming enemy incursion of Vietnamese.
Crossing to Lenin park, you will visit Vietnam Military History Museum at 28A Dien Bien Phu. Campus outside of the museum displays the tanks that participated in the battles of the Vietnamese militia, B-52 bombs, Russian jets. Inside, there is a big room to reconstruct Vietnam under Chinese rule period lasting over 1000 years, the Resistance War Against America and France of Vietnamese people.
Ba Dinh Square is considered as the must-visit, historical and famous place in which President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
At Ho Chi Minh Museum, you can see the old red bike that Ho Chi Minh used to ride about 1,782km from Hanoi to Sagon when he was 60 years old.
It takes about 20 minutes to move from Ba Dinh Square to West Lake which is the largest lake in Hanoi. The Lake is surrounded by gardens, restaurants, playgrounds and million-dollar villas.
Tran Quoc Pagoda is the oldest Vietnamese pagoda which was built in the 6th century in the East of West Lake. To the South, Quan Thanh is an 800-year-old temple, which has a 4-ton Buddha statue which is one of the most typical constructions of bronze work.
We highly recommend you should enjoy the most famous fried fish in Hanoi. The menu has only one dish, but the aroma-fried fish dish with vermicelli, herbs, and shrimp paste will surely make you satisfied.
At the end of the day, you can buy some gifts such as dried fruit on Hang Duong street, lotus tea at West Lake, and nuggets (green rice) at Vong village.
Day 3: Ninh Binh – perfect destination for your Hanoi travel
On the third day, you can visit Ninh Binh which has many breath-taking natural landscapes. Ninh Binh is also an ideal destination for families or groups of young people on weekends.
If you want to explore Ninh Binh in one day, you can refer to the schedule below: King Dinh Le Temple – Thung Nham – Thien Ha Cave – Dong Chuong Lake.
Hoa Lu ancient capital is a familiar destination for many travellers when coming to Ninh Binh. Following this schedule, the ancient capital Hoa Lu will be the first destination. You can visit King Dinh – Le Temples, then move to Thung Nham Bird Park (Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu). To come to Thung Nham normally, you can go along Tam Coc – Binh Dong, through Thung Nang. So, if you don’t have a motorbike, you can take a boat to Thung Nham and explore the interesting caves of Tam Coc – Bich Dong.
A corner of Trang An, Ninh Binh
Coming to Thung Nham, well-known as the heaven of birds, you can walk along streams in the evergreen forest, explore Tien Ca cave, visit gardens and watch rare birds. This is the ideal camping site for picnic and lunch with local specialties.
After lunch, you go to Thien Ha Cave – the wall that protects the Hoa Lu ancient capital in the 10th century. Following this, you can move to Dong Chuong Lake which is a wildlife destination. That is the reason why it is very quiet, proper for you to rest and relax after exploring Thien Ha cave. You can choose to row around the lake, go fishing or take part in some indoor games before leaving Ninh Binh to Hanoi.
5:00 pm – back to Hanoi.
This itinerary is considered as one of the proper choices and of course, there are so many more ways for you to have the best moments in Hanoi. Should you need any assistance, please chat with us or call us on +84 9 0627 1280 (viber / whatsapp / telegram)
