A thousand years in the making
Hanoi is the city our northern guides call home, and it shows in how we run it: breakfast on plastic stools before the Mausoleum opens, a walk through the guild streets timed for the hour shopkeepers set out their goods, and the evening left free for egg coffee and a stroll around the lake rather than a scheduled show.
Thirty-six guild streets still lend their names to the lanes of Hanoi's Old Quarter — Silk Street, Silver Street and Paper Street survive among them — a layout unchanged since the city became Vietnam's capital more than a thousand years ago. French colonial villas stand a short walk from the lakeside old town, close enough that you could cover a whole day's sightseeing on foot, dipping into a cyclo now and then.
Most of the country's signature side trips begin here too — cruises out to Ha Long Bay, treks up to Sa Pa, day trips down to Ninh Binh — so a Vietnam itinerary typically opens or closes in the capital. Arrivals into the north mostly come through Noi Bai International Airport, roughly 45 minutes from downtown, with daily domestic connections onward to Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and Da Nang — which makes the capital just as workable as the opening or closing stop on a longer, multi-city route.
Unlike much of Vietnam, Hanoi has four separate seasons rather than two: winter (November to February) is cool and dry, spring is mild, summer (May to August) turns hot and humid, and autumn settles back down again. Because both the comfort of sightseeing and the clothes you will need shift from month to month, it pays to choose your travel dates with the season in mind.
What fills the days here
Old Quarter walking tour
Colonial buildings, street-food vendors and thirty-six historic guild streets reward an early-evening walk through here.
Ho Chi Minh Complex
Alongside Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum lie the grounds of the Presidential Palace and the modest stilt house he used as home and office.
Temple of Literature
Vietnam's first national university, founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius.
Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple
A red wooden bridge crosses to a temple on an island in the lake at the heart of the city's spiritual life.
Museum of Ethnology
Indoor galleries and outdoor exhibits together document Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups, worth the visit if culture draws you in.
Ninh Binh day trip
About two hours south, small boats drift through Tam Coc's limestone karsts and paddy fields, with Bai Dinh Pagoda nearby.
The practical bits
| When to come | November to February for cool, dry days; May to August is hot and humid with storms |
| Getting in | Noi Bai International Airport, about 45 minutes from the centre |
| Getting about | On foot in the Old Quarter, cyclo for fun, car and driver for anything further |
| Moving on | Flights to Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City; road to Ha Long Bay (about 3 hours) and Ninh Binh (2 hours) |
| Money | Vietnamese Dong |
Our trips that pass through Hanoi
4D/3N Hanoi
A short stay built around the Old Quarter and the Ho Chi Minh Complex, rounded off with a day trip to Ninh Binh.
5D/4N Hanoi & Ha Long Bay Day Cruise
If sleeping aboard a boat does not appeal, spend longer in the capital and see Ha Long Bay on a single-day cruise instead of staying the night on board.
Any stay in the capital can be reshuffled or lengthened — more time in Sa Pa, a cruise on Ha Long Bay, or a southbound leg through Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City. Share your travel dates and group size and we will put together a daily itinerary along with hotel choices.