What this trip is really like
The two cities could not be more different, and this short route lets you feel it: Hanoi's guild streets and lakes, then the alleys and coffee culture of Saigon, with a night on Ha Long Bay in between and the flight south taken straight from the pier.
Most six-day versions of this route buy their time by turning the overnight cruise into a day trip. This one refuses to: the night on the water stays put, and the capital loses a night instead, its sightseeing squeezed into one full day before you set off for the coast.
You disembark and fly the same day, landing in Ho Chi Minh City for two nights split between the Cu Chi Tunnels and the colonial centre. The route earns its place when the junk is non-negotiable but a seventh or eighth day is not on offer. Outside the wettest weeks in each region it works nearly all year.
Trip highlights
- A whole day in the capital, from the Mausoleum to the Old Quarter
- A night aboard on the bay, with Surprise Cave to follow in the morning
- The flight south, taken the same day you leave the boat
- Cu Chi Tunnels, the wartime tunnel network built during the struggle for independence
- Half a day on foot through the colonial quarter, including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Opera House
The trip, day by day
Day 1 — Land in Hanoi
Colonial streets, pagodas at the lakeside and a crowded Old Quarter give the trip a gentle opening before it moves fast, first to the coast and then south. The afternoon you land is usually left free, and the Old Quarter is where most people spend it.
Day 2 — Hanoi on foot
One full day takes in the Mausoleum and stilt house, One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature, then Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda beside West Lake. The Museum of Ethnology follows lunch, and the day closes at Hoan Kiem Lake with a walk into the Old Quarter around it.
Day 3 — To Ha Long Bay, night on board
Pickup is at 8am, and the drive out crosses the rice fields of the Red River Delta. Aboard the junk you pass Dinh Huong, Ga Choi, Dog and Sail Islands, call at a pearl farm and paddle into Luon Cave, with a swim off Ti Top Island before the sun drops and dinner on board.
Day 4 — Bay in the morning, fly to Ho Chi Minh City
Tai Chi on the sundeck opens the day, then Surprise Cave, up roughly 100 steps. Brunch and a final pass by Ga Choi Island, Binh Phong Mountain and Tortoise Island follow, then you step ashore at Tuan Chau port, transfer to Noi Bai Airport and fly south that same day, met on arrival.
Day 5 — Cu Chi tunnels
Today is spent at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the underground network Vietnamese resistance fighters built and used during the long fight for independence. Your guide leads you through the sections open to visitors and the surrounding exhibits.
Day 6 — Saigon's centre, then the airport
Checkout is followed by half a day on foot: the former Presidential Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Saigon Post Office, Dong Khoi Street, the Continental Hotel, the Opera House and City Hall, then the transfer to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
What's included
- Your rooms, twin or double with breakfast, in the hotel grade you pick with us — family-run guesthouses where they exist, small hotels elsewhere
- Every meal the day-by-day marks as included; we lean towards places locals eat rather than hotel restaurants
- A guide from the region who speaks English and grew up with the places on the route
- Your own air-conditioned car or minivan with driver for every transfer and touring day
- Entrance fees to every site named in the itinerary
- The boats, cruises and activities written into the plan
- Government taxes and service charges — the quote we send is the amount you pay
Not included
- Flights and trains, international or domestic — we quote these separately so you can see the real cost
- Visa fees and visa arrangements
- Travel insurance, which we ask every guest to carry
- Drinks, laundry, phone calls and anything else personal
- Early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades
- Tips for your guide and driver — customary here, at your discretion
- Extra sightseeing or vehicle use beyond the written plan
- Costs caused by weather, road closures or other events outside anyone's control, settled on the spot
- Bank transfer charges
Book this trip
- Days
- 6 days / 5 nights
Sending this does not charge you. We hold the space and confirm within 24 hours.
How we handle visas, payment and cancellations is written out on our Vietnam travel information page — no surprises later.
Send us your dates and who is travelling. We check the hotels and guide we would use, suggest changes if the season calls for them, and come back with a firm price. Nothing is charged until you say yes.