Vietnam itinerary: 5, 7 and 10 day plans

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This Vietnam itinerary for 7 days covers the north and the centre, the two regions most first trips want, with one domestic flight and only two hotel changes after Hanoi. Every leg has a realistic travel time, because Vietnam is 1,650 km long (about 1,025 miles) and the distances catch people out. New to Vietnam? Start with the Vietnam trip guide.

What does the 7-day Vietnam route look like?

Hanoi, one night on the water, then Hoi An. Here it is at a glance.

[ROUTE MAP IMAGE: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Hoi An with the flight line]

Day by day: the 7-day plan

Day 1: Arrive in Hanoi

Land at Noi Bai and take a pre-booked car to the Old Quarter (45 to 60 minutes). Walk around Hoan Kiem Lake in the late afternoon, then catch an evening show at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre: about 50 minutes, tickets 100,000 to 200,000 VND (about ₹330 to ₹670, $4 to $8). Dinner in the Old Quarter. Sleep in the Old Quarter or near the lake.

Day 2: Hanoi

Morning at the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, before the tour groups. Coffee in an Old Quarter cafe, then a guided street food walk at lunchtime. The afternoon is for rest; Hanoi's heat and scooter traffic are tiring on day two. Evening around the French Quarter and the Opera House.

Day 3: Ha Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay

The cruise shuttle picks you up from your hotel around 8 am and reaches the harbour by late morning. Lunch on board, then kayaking or a cave visit and sunset on the deck. Lan Ha Bay, next to Cat Ba Island, has fewer boats than central Ha Long Bay; ask for it when you book. Sleep on the boat.

Day 4: Back to the mainland and fly to Da Nang

Early tai chi or a cave visit, brunch, and you are back on land around 11 am. Two options: drive back to Hanoi for an afternoon flight to Da Nang, or ask whether your cruise can drop you at Hai Phong for a flight from there, which saves time. From Da Nang airport it is about 45 minutes to Hoi An. This is the long day of the trip.

Day 5: Hoi An

Buy the Ancient Town ticket (120,000 VND, about ₹400 or $5) and see the Japanese Bridge and an old merchant house before 10 am. Drop off fabric at a tailor if you want clothes made; good tailors need two fittings, so start today. Rest in the afternoon heat. At dusk, the lanterns come on: take a short boat ride on the Thu Bon River.

Day 6: Ba Na Hills or My Son

For most first-timers, Ba Na Hills: the cable car and the Golden Bridge (the bridge held up by two giant stone hands). Tickets are 1,000,000 VND for non-residents (about ₹3,300 or $38) and it is 1 to 1.25 hours each way by car. Go at opening time. If theme parks are not your thing, do the My Son Sanctuary temple ruins in the morning (150,000 VND) and a cooking class in the afternoon. Last tailor fitting in the evening.

Day 7: Beach, then home

A slow morning at An Bang beach, then the airport. Da Nang has few long-haul flights, so most people connect through Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Leave 3 hours before the connecting flight.

What if you only have 5 days in Vietnam?

Cut Hoi An and stay in the north. A Vietnam itinerary for 5 days looks like this:

• Days 1 and 2: Hanoi, as above.
• Day 3: Ha Long Bay or Lan Ha Bay cruise, overnight.
• Day 4: Back to Hanoi by mid-afternoon. A slow evening.
• Day 5: Ninh Binh for limestone and rice fields by boat as a day trip, or a lazy Hanoi morning, then fly home.

No domestic flight, one fewer hotel change, and you lose about 6 hours of travel.

What should you add with 10 days?

Add one of these to the 7-day plan, not both.

• Sapa (2 nights), October to December or March to May: go after Hanoi by limousine van (5 to 7 hours) or the overnight train to Lao Cai. Hike between rice terrace villages and take the Fansipan cable car (850,000 VND) on a clear day.
• Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta (2 nights), December to April: fly from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City on day 7, spend a day in District 1 and a day on the Mekong, then fly home from Ho Chi Minh City.
• One more night in Hoi An in either case, so the trip does not feel rushed.

With 14 days, add Phu Quoc for 3 beach nights at the end, between November and April.

How do you get between places in Vietnam?

How much does a 7-day Vietnam trip cost?

Per person, two sharing, 7 days, flights from Bengaluru. For other Indian cities, see the flight table in the Vietnam trip guide.

From the US, swap the flight line for about $900 to $1,600 return from SFO, JFK or EWR. That puts a mid-range week at about $1,700 to $2,500 per person. Checked Oct 2026.

A couple from Bangalore with ₹2 lakh: it works if you book 6 to 8 weeks ahead, avoid Christmas week, and choose 3-star hotels and a budget to mid cruise. Roughly: flights ₹70,000, e-visas ₹4,400, hotels ₹30,000, cruise ₹26,000 to ₹40,000, domestic flight and transfers ₹16,000, food and tickets ₹24,000. That is about ₹1.7 to ₹1.85 lakh for two, with a buffer.

Mistakes to avoid on a Vietnam itinerary

• A Ha Long Bay day trip from Hanoi. You spend 5 to 7 hours on a bus for 4 hours on the water. Stay one night.
• North to south in 7 days. Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in a week means three flights and little else. Pick two regions.
• Hoi An in October or November. The old town floods most years. Swap in Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc instead.
• The wrong entry airport on the e-visa. The e-visa names your port of entry. Match it to your first flight.
• Leaving the cruise until late. For December, good boats fill up. Book when you book flights.

Cura is an AI + human travel agent. When we plan this route, most of the work goes into day 4: the cruise return, the flight and the transfer to Hoi An have to line up.

Which flights work best for this itinerary?

Flying from India

Nonstops to Hanoi run from Delhi (about 4.5 hours), Mumbai, Kolkata (about 3 hours) and Bengaluru (about 4.75 to 5 hours). For this route, fly into Hanoi and home from Da Nang with one connection. Morning arrivals work best for day 1.

Flying from the US

From San Francisco, Vietnam Airlines flies nonstop to Ho Chi Minh City in about 16 hours 20 minutes. From New York (JFK or EWR), there is no nonstop; plan on one stop in Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong or the Gulf, about 20 to 24 hours in total. Reverse the route: start in Ho Chi Minh City (add 2 nights), fly to Da Nang for Hoi An, then end in Hanoi and Ha Long. Give yourself a day to recover from jet lag before the cruise. US passport holders use the same e-visa, US$25.

Where to stay and when to go

Hotels for each base are on where to stay in Vietnam. Weather changes the plan more than anything else here, so check the best time to visit Vietnam before you fix dates. Still deciding on length?

FAQ

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