Vietnam in 10 days: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue and Hoi An with one flight

How the route fits together

Vietnam is long, and the national tourism board is direct about the cost of ignoring that: many travellers underestimate the distances and the state of the roads, the train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City can take up to 30 hours, and 16 hours from the centre to either end is common. Its advice for travellers short on time is to take a one- or two-hour flight and spend the saved time at the destination. Ten days covers two regions well if you use exactly one flight, for the leg where the train would eat a day.

That leg is Hanoi to Hue. The tourism site notes that domestic flights from Hanoi land at Hue's Phu Bai airport, a 30-minute drive from the city. From Hue south the distances shrink: Hoi An is a full day's scenic drive over the Hai Van Pass or a short train ride to Da Nang plus a taxi, and Da Nang airport, which the tourism site lists among Vietnam's three main international gateways, is 29 kilometres from Hoi An's Ancient Town. Book an open-jaw ticket, into Hanoi and out of Da Nang, and you never retrace a kilometre.

The nine nights break down as three in Hanoi (split around the cruise), one on Ha Long Bay, two in Hue and three in Hoi An. Hoi An gets the most because it is where the trip slows down; if you need to cut a night, take it from there rather than from Hue, where two nights is already the minimum for the citadel and the tombs.

Days 1–4: Hanoi and one night on Ha Long Bay

Stay in or beside the Old Quarter, whose streets the tourism board traces to the 14th century. Use day one for Hoan Kiem Lake, the red The Huc bridge and Ngoc Son Temple, and dinner in the street kitchens; on weekends the area around the lake is closed to vehicles and, after dark, Hang Dao street becomes a night market. Day two is the old capital: when we checked on 2026-10-03, the Temple of Literature's official site listed opening from 8:00 to 17:00 every day and a 70,000 VND standard ticket, and the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long listed 8:00 to 17:00 and 100,000 VND per person. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed for maintenance from 4 September to 2 November 2026 and reopens on 3 November, according to the Mausoleum Command's notice reported by Tuoi Tre.

On day three, take the overnight boat. The national tourism site says most visitors book a packaged cruise that includes transport to and from Hanoi, and on a ten-day trip that saves you working out which port your boat leaves from. VnExpress put the road from Hanoi to the bay at two to two and a half hours in April 2026, so leave the main luggage at your Hanoi hotel and take an overnight bag. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Ha Long Bay management board listed overnight sightseeing fees of 550,000 VND for route 2 and 500,000 VND for routes 3 or 4, with one night meaning at most 24 hours from departure; most packages include the fee, so ask which route yours uses.

The boat is back on day four and the shuttle returns you to Hanoi in the afternoon or evening. Book that fourth night in Hanoi rather than trying to fly south the same day: a storm delay or a slow transfer would cost you the flight. Our Hanoi and Ha Long Bay guides go into the neighbourhoods, sights and cruise routes in more detail.

Days 5–6: fly to Hue for the citadel and the tombs

Take a morning flight from Noi Bai's domestic terminal (T1) to Phu Bai and be in Hue by lunch. Sleep on the south bank near Le Loi Street for restaurants and easy taxis, or beside the Citadel if you want to walk into the Imperial City at opening time. Spend the late afternoon of day five at Thien Mu Pagoda on the north bank of the Perfume River, which the tourism site recommends visiting late in the day when the crowds have gone.

Day six is the main sightseeing day. The tourism site says the Imperial City, entered through the Ngo Mon (Meridian) Gate, takes around two hours to explore and that a guide adds a great deal; ask your hotel to arrange one. In the afternoon, take a car to the royal tombs, choosing two or three of the seven as the tourism site suggests rather than trying to see them all: Minh Mang's is the large, ordered one, Tu Duc's the landscaped poet's tomb. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Visit Hue site of the city's culture and tourism department listed the Imperial City at 200,000 VND for adults and combined tickets for the Imperial City plus two of the tombs of Minh Mang, Tu Duc and Khai Dinh from 420,000 VND, in a price table it said was updated in December 2023; confirm the current price at the ticket office.

Plan meals as carefully as sights here. Hue's small steamed rice cakes and its spicy beef noodle soup are reason enough to keep lunch and dinner free of transfers. See our Hue guide for the less-visited tombs and the garden houses of Kim Long.

Day 7: Hue to Hoi An over the Hai Van Pass

Treat the move south as a travel day with sights, not a gap. The national tourism site describes the coastal route from Hue to Hoi An, via Tam Giang Lagoon, Lang Co, the Hai Van Pass and the Marble Mountains, as about 150 kilometres and a full day with stops. The pass itself is only about 20 kilometres, with the remains of a Nguyen-era lookout post at the top and Lang Co, at the foot on the Hue side, a good place for a seafood lunch by the lagoon. A private car with a driver lets you make those stops and is the comfortable choice with luggage; ride a motorbike only if you are experienced on mountain roads in Vietnamese traffic.

The alternative is the railway. The tourism site describes a dedicated Hue–Da Nang tourist service, "Connecting Central Heritage", with two pairs of trains, HD1/2 and HD3/4, which stop at Lang Co station for about ten minutes so passengers can see the bay; it advises checking the exact timetable on Vietnam Railways' website. From Da Nang you continue to Hoi An by taxi or ride-hailing car. Buses and shuttle vans also run from Hue to Hoi An, but they skip the stops that make the day worthwhile.

Whichever you choose, aim to reach Hoi An by late afternoon. The Old Town's lanes are at their best at dusk, and that first evening by the river is a good reward for the day on the road.

Days 8–10: Hoi An at a slower pace

Sleep on the edge of the Ancient Town if you want to walk in before the tour groups and home after the lanterns are lit, or at An Bang beach, a ten-minute drive away according to the tourism site, if you would rather wake up by the sea. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Hoi An World Heritage Conservation Centre's ticket page listed a 120,000 VND ticket covering the Old Town area, the Japanese Covered Bridge or the Quan Cong Temple, a museum and three other heritage buildings, and an 80,000 VND ticket with fewer entries; it also listed walking-street hours of 9:00 to 21:30 in summer and 9:00 to 21:00 in winter. Keep the ticket stub for going in and out of the Old Town.

Use day eight for the Old Town by morning and the riverside at dusk, and day nine for a bicycle ride through the rice fields and the Tra Que vegetable village to An Bang for lunch and a swim. The tourism site notes that Hoi An is known for its tailors; if you want something made, order it on day eight so there is time for a fitting before you leave. My Son Sanctuary and the Cham Islands are worth a day each, but on a ten-day trip they replace day nine rather than add to it.

Day ten is departure. Da Nang International Airport is 29 kilometres from the Ancient Town, about a 50-minute drive according to the tourism site; allow more for traffic and check-in. Our Hoi An guide covers the heritage houses, the lantern nights and the beaches in more detail.

The ten days at a glance

This is an editorial suggestion, not a timetable. Check flight times, cruise pick-ups, opening days and the weather forecast before each move.

• Day 1 — Arrive in Hanoi: Noi Bai to the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake at dusk, dinner in the street kitchens. Night: Hanoi.
• Day 2 — Old capital: the Temple of Literature at opening time, the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, bun cha for lunch. Night: Hanoi.
• Day 3 — To the bay: cruise shuttle to Ha Long, the caves and stops your boat's route includes. Night: on board.
• Day 4 — Back to Hanoi: a morning on the water, the shuttle back, a last Hanoi evening. Night: Hanoi.
• Day 5 — Fly to Hue: morning flight to Phu Bai, lunch, Thien Mu Pagoda in the late afternoon. Night: Hue.
• Day 6 — Imperial City and tombs: the Imperial City with a guide in the morning, two royal tombs by car after lunch. Night: Hue.
• Day 7 — Hai Van Pass: by car via Lang Co and the pass (or the heritage train to Da Nang), Hoi An by dusk. Night: Hoi An.
• Day 8 — Old Town: heritage houses in the morning, a tailor's first fitting, lanterns by the river. Night: Hoi An.
• Day 9 — Countryside and beach: cycling through Tra Que to An Bang, or a day trip to My Son or the Cham Islands. Night: Hoi An.
• Day 10 — Depart: transfer to Da Nang International Airport.

Weather, storms and when to choose another route

The route crosses two climates. The national tourism site describes the north as cool to cold and misty from December to March, warm and clear from April to June and stormy from June to August, and it suggests April to June or September to November for Ha Long Bay. The centre runs the other way: Hue has a late rainy season, wet and cool from September to February with occasional flooding from September to November, and Hoi An expects rainy days and several storms from October to January, with March to May the best months. The overlap is spring, which is why March to May is the window to aim for.

Storms close Ha Long Bay at short notice. Ahead of Storm Wutip on 13 June 2025, the waterway authorities stopped licensing overnight boats and ordered tourist boats back to land by 18:00. Keep a buffer: if the forecast for day three is poor, ask the operator about sailing on day two instead and seeing Hanoi on day four, and book a cruise with clear rules on weather cancellations. Because the boat returns the day before the Hue flight, choose a flight ticket that can be changed, so a one-day weather delay does not cost you the centre of the trip.

If your dates fall between October and December, consider reversing the emphasis: give the north an extra night and the centre one less, and keep a flexible day in Hoi An. Check entry rules for your own passport before you book; when we checked on 2026-10-03, the UK government's travel advice said British citizens could visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days, and other nationalities have different rules.