Vietnam in 2 weeks: Hanoi to the Mekong Delta by train, road and air

Why this order, and where the two weeks go

Vietnam is about as long as a country can be on a two-week holiday, and the national tourism board is direct about it: many travellers underestimate the distances and the roads, train rides from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City can run up to 30 hours, and 16 hours from the centre to either end is common. Its advice is to fly the long legs. This route takes that advice once, for the jump from Da Nang to Saigon, and otherwise keeps you on the ground, because the north and centre are where the overland journeys are the point.

The order runs north to south. You fly into Hanoi, go two hours by road to Ninh Binh, then catch a southbound train: on the operator's own route list, every through SE train from Hanoi to Saigon stops at both Ninh Binh and Dong Hoi, the gateway to the Phong Nha caves. From Phong Nha, the new HQ1 heritage train runs down the coast to Hue. Hue to Hoi An is a day over the Hai Van Pass by car, the flight leaves from Da Nang, and Can Tho is four hours from Saigon by bus. No leg needs a backtrack.

Thirteen nights split into seven bases, and that is already the limit. Each move costs half a day, so the plan builds in two nights almost everywhere and keeps one travel day as just that. Can Tho gets a single night, which is the minimum that puts you on the river at dawn. If you want a night on Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa or a beach, you need three weeks, not two: our 21-day route adds them.

Days 1–4: Hanoi and two nights in Ninh Binh

Land at Noi Bai, which the tourism board places about 27 kilometres from downtown Hanoi, about an hour from the city centre; the orange 86 Express Bus runs from the airport through central Hanoi to the railway station, or take a taxi to the Old Quarter. Spend arrival evening around Hoan Kiem Lake, the red Huc Bridge and Ngoc Son Temple; on weekends the roads around the lake close to vehicles, and after dark Hang Dao street turns into a night market, according to the national tourism site.

Day two is the old capital. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Temple of Literature's official site listed a standard ticket of 70,000 dong. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is closed for maintenance from 4 September to 2 November 2026 and reopens on 3 November, Tuoi Tre reported from the Mausoleum Command's notice; before then, see Ba Dinh Square from outside. Keep the afternoon for the Old Quarter on foot.

On day three, leave for Ninh Binh, which the tourism board puts just two hours from Hanoi; it describes buses, vans that drop off in Tam Coc and private cars as the quickest option. Sleep in Tam Coc, take the river boat through the rice fields in the afternoon and climb the 500 steps of Hang Mua before sunset. Day four is for Trang An: be at the pier early, before the day-trip groups from Hanoi, and pack water and a snack, because the tourism board says each boat trip lasts two to three hours. Spend the afternoon at the temples of Hoa Lu, the seat of Vietnam's first feudal dynasty. Our Ninh Binh guide compares the boat routes.

Days 5–7: the train south and two nights at Phong Nha

Day five is a travel day, and the train makes it a good one. On the operator's route list, all the southbound through trains from SE1 to SE11 call at Ninh Binh and Dong Hoi; departure times differ, so choose one on the Vietnam Railways site, dsvn.vn, and book as soon as your dates are fixed. From Dong Hoi the tourism board calls a local metered taxi the easiest transfer, and Oxalis, the cave operator, puts Phong Nha about 45 kilometres west of the city. Sleep in Phong Nha town near the boat wharf, or among the farmstays of Bong Lai Valley if you will have a driver or a bicycle.

Day six is the cave day. Phong Nha Cave starts with a boat: about 30 minutes up the Son River, then the engine is cut and the boat is paddled along some 1,200 metres of underground river before you walk two dry chambers on the way out. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the national park listed it at 150,000 dong per person plus 700,000 dong per return boat for up to 12 passengers, open daily from 7:15 to 16:30 in summer and 7:30 to 15:45 in winter; the boat is priced per boat, so share it. In the afternoon, take a car to Paradise Cave, where a 1-kilometre wooden walkway leads through chambers the park says reach 150 metres wide; the park listed adults at 270,000 dong including the electric buggy.

On day seven, take the slow road to the station. Vietnam Railways began a daily heritage train, HQ1/HQ2, between Hue and Tho Loc in late August 2026, and its booking site calls Tho Loc the gateway to Phong Nha-Ke Bang. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the railway listed HQ1 leaving Tho Loc at 13:15 and reaching Hue at 17:25, with stops at Dong Hoi, My Trach and Dong Ha. Spend the morning cycling in Bong Lai, arrange the car to Tho Loc with your hotel, and arrive in Hue in time for dinner. If the HQ1 does not suit your dates, the SE trains also run from Dong Hoi to Hue.

Days 8–10: Hue, the Hai Van Pass and Hoi An

Give Hue its one full day to the Imperial City in the morning and two royal tombs in the afternoon. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Visit Hue ticket table listed the Imperial City at 200,000 dong for adults and three-site tickets combining it with two of the tombs of Tu Duc, Minh Mang and Khai Dinh from 420,000 dong. Sleep on the south bank near Le Loi Street, where most restaurants are, and book a car for the tombs; our Hue guide explains which to choose.

Day nine is the road south, and it is a sightseeing day in itself. The tourism board describes the Hue–Hoi An route as about 150 kilometres without detours, with the Hai Van Pass, about 20 kilometres of jungle-covered mountains dropping into the sea, a Nguyen-era lookout post at the top, Lang Co at the foot of the pass for a seafood lunch by its lagoon, and the Marble Mountains just outside Da Nang. Hire a car with a driver so you can stop where you like, and arrive in Hoi An in the late afternoon. Ride a motorbike only if you are experienced on Vietnamese mountain roads.

Day ten is Hoi An. Start at My Son Sanctuary, the Cham temple valley the tourism board places 40 kilometres from Hoi An, with structures dating from the 7th to the 13th century; go early, before the heat. Come back for the Old Town in the afternoon. When we checked on 2026-10-03, the Hoi An World Heritage Conservation Centre's ticket page listed 80,000-dong and 120,000-dong tickets, each covering a set number of heritage sites, and asked visitors to keep the stub for going in and out of the Old Town. Stay for the lanterns along the Thu Bon after dark.

Days 11–14: the flight south, Saigon and the Mekong Delta

Use the morning of day eleven for a bicycle ride out into the countryside around Hoi An, then go to Da Nang International Airport. The tourism board puts it 29 kilometres from the Ancient Town, a 50-minute drive, and says there are daily flights to all the country's top destinations. You arrive at Tan Son Nhat, about eight kilometres from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City, where the drive in can take 50 minutes or more in traffic. Sleep in the old District 1.

Day twelve is Saigon on foot. Start at the cathedral and the Central Post Office, then the Independence Palace: when we checked on 2026-10-03, its official site listed opening from 7:00 to 18:00 and an adult ticket of 80,000 dong. Give the afternoon to the War Remnants Museum or to the old Chinese quarter of Cho Lon, and the evening to Nguyen Hue, the pedestrian boulevard down to the river. Our Ho Chi Minh City guide has the full three-day version.

On day thirteen, travel to Can Tho. The tourism board describes a four-hour bus journey from Ho Chi Minh City to a terminal four kilometres outside town; sleep on the Ninh Kieu waterfront and book tomorrow's boat at the wharf in the evening. On day fourteen, step onto a boat at Ninh Kieu wharf at about 5:00: the tourism board advises being on the water by 5:00 or 5:30, because by 8:00 the heat rises and the vendors pack up at Cai Rang. Eat hu tieu on the boat, be back by mid-morning and take the road back to Saigon for an evening flight home.

The fourteen days at a glance

This is an editorial plan, not a timetable. Check train times on dsvn.vn, opening days and the weather before each move, and keep the long legs out of the last 24 hours before your international flight.

• Day 1 — Arrive in Hanoi: Noi Bai to the Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake at dusk. Night: Hanoi.
• Day 2 — Old Hanoi: the Temple of Literature, Ba Dinh Square, an afternoon in the Old Quarter. Night: Hanoi.
• Day 3 — To Ninh Binh: two hours by road, the Tam Coc boat, Hang Mua before sunset. Night: Tam Coc.
• Day 4 — Trang An and Hoa Lu: an early boat, then the old capital's temples. Night: Tam Coc.
• Day 5 — Train south: a southbound SE train from Ninh Binh to Dong Hoi, then a taxi about 45 km to Phong Nha. Night: Phong Nha.
• Day 6 — Caves: Phong Nha Cave by boat in the morning, Paradise Cave in the afternoon. Night: Phong Nha.
• Day 7 — Heritage train: a slow morning in Bong Lai, HQ1 from Tho Loc at 13:15 to Hue (17:25, as listed on 2026-10-03). Night: Hue.
• Day 8 — Hue: the Imperial City, two royal tombs, dinner on the south bank. Night: Hue.
• Day 9 — Hai Van Pass: by car via Lang Co and the Marble Mountains to Hoi An. Night: Hoi An.
• Day 10 — My Son and the Old Town: the Cham temples early, heritage houses and lanterns later. Night: Hoi An.
• Day 11 — Fly south: a morning bicycle ride, Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City by air. Night: Saigon.
• Day 12 — Saigon: the colonial core, the Independence Palace, Cho Lon or the War Remnants Museum. Night: Saigon.
• Day 13 — To the delta: about four hours by bus to Can Tho, the Ninh Kieu riverfront. Night: Can Tho.
• Day 14 — Cai Rang and home: on the water by 5:00, back to Saigon by road for an evening flight.

Weather, Tet and the airport change in Saigon

One season cannot suit the whole route, so plan around the weakest link, which is the centre. The tourism board says Hue's rains come in August and can last through January, with flooding usually from October to late in the year; Hoi An sees a lot of rain and a few small floods from September to November; and Phong Nha's rainy season runs from October to December and is prone to flooding. In the south, the wet season from May to November brings a dependable afternoon downpour rather than lost days. From late December to March, Hanoi can be surprisingly cold, with lows around 10 degrees. That leaves February to April as the sweet spot, with March for Hoi An and spring for Hue.

Tet, the Lunar New Year, is the busiest travel period of the year. Vietnam Railways opened sales on 5 September 2026 for its Tet 2027 trains, covering travel from 23 January to 25 February 2027, with 5 to 8 February 2027 as the holiday days themselves. If your trip overlaps, book trains and the Da Nang flight early.

Check which Saigon airport your flight home uses. VnExpress reported on 29 July 2026 that the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam had agreed for Long Thanh International Airport, in Dong Nai, to start commercial operation on 1 December 2026, with airlines choosing whether to move international flights there at first; from 28 March 2027 all long-haul international flights to and from Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, the Middle East and South and Central Asia are due to move to Long Thanh. It is further from Can Tho than Tan Son Nhat, so if your ticket names Long Thanh, allow extra time on day fourteen or add a night in Saigon.

Check the 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 without a visa for up to 45 days for tourism or business; other nationalities have different rules.