Vietnam is 1,650km from top to bottom. Two weeks is enough to understand its length without doing justice to its depth — but it's a start. This is my third time visiting, and the first time I traveled north to south rather than the reverse.
Day 1–3: Hanoi
Hanoi requires adjustment. The Old Quarter's 36 guild streets still have buildings dating to the 15th century compressed into a space you can walk in 20 minutes — but those streets now hold motorbikes four-deep and the noise is continuous. The trick is waking at 6am when the city belongs to morning exercisers doing tai chi around Hoan Kiem Lake, market vendors setting up, and pho stalls doing their first service of the day.
The best pho in Hanoi: a plastic stool operation on Bát Đàn street where they've been making the same recipe since the 1930s. One bowl, broth so clear you can read through it, 40,000 VND ($1.60). I ate there every morning.
Day 4–5: Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay's thousands of limestone islands and emerald water require an overnight boat trip to appreciate — day trips see nothing meaningful. Spend $80–120 on a mid-range two-day cruise that includes kayaking and a night anchored in the bay. The morning light at 6am across the mist-covered karsts is the image that persists.
Day 6–8: Hội An
The ancient trading port of Hội An, with its lantern-lit streets and UNESCO-protected merchant houses, is deservedly one of Vietnam's most visited destinations. It's also genuinely overwhelming during peak hours. Strategy: visit the old town at dawn (6–8am) and after 9pm. In between, explore the outlying villages — An Mỹ, Trà Quế, the Thu Bồn river by bicycle — where daily life continues regardless of the tourist economy.
Hội An's food reputation is entirely justified. Cao lầu (a pork and noodle dish made with water from a specific local well), White Rose dumplings, and bánh mì from the original Phượng bakery are all as good as claimed.
Day 9–10: Hue
Vietnam's imperial city, sandwiched between Đà Nẵng and Hội An on the tourist circuit and usually rushed through by travelers with limited time. Don't rush Hue. The Imperial Citadel, the royal tombs in the hills south of the city, and the rice boats on the Perfume River deserve two full days.
Day 11–14: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Saigon is chaotic in a fundamentally different way from Hanoi — more energy, more money, more velocity. The war history (Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum) is sobering and essential. The food is extraordinary — bún bò Huế (spicy beef noodle soup from a street cart), bánh xèo (sizzling pancakes) at the famous Đinh Công Tráng restaurants, and the coffee culture that is uniquely Vietnamese.
- Best Season North VietnamOctober–April (cool and dry)
- Best Season South VietnamNovember–April (dry season)
- CurrencyVietnamese Dong (VND) — ~25,000 VND = $1
- Average Daily Budget$30–50 (mid-range)
- Internal FlightsVietJet/Bamboo $15–40 Hanoi→Da Nang
- VisaE-visa available for 80+ countries, ~$25