Two nights either side of a night at sea. The old capital's thousand-year streets, then a junk out through the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay and a cabin on the water. Five days, and a flight barely longer than lunch.
FromUS$270per person, twin share — three nights in Hanoi with breakfast, one night aboard a Ha Long Bay cruise, and two guided days with hotel pick-up. Budget separately for flights, most meals and the airport transfer. Compare the three hotel tiers
Fly into Noi Bai (HAN). Hanoi is well connected across Asia and Australia — from most of Southeast Asia it is a short hop, and from Australia an overnight or a single stop. Tell us where you are flying from and we will price the flights with the tour.
Confirmation
Tell us your dates and a hotel tier → we confirm the hotel and the cruise within 24 hours → a deposit holds both → vouchers by email before you fly. Departs any day, though see the note below about which days to avoid.
A scheduling trap on this trip. The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum closes on Mondays and Fridays, and shuts entirely for around two months most years while the body is maintained — so we will steer your guided day away from those. Tell us your dates early and we will check them against the closures before you commit.
The trip at a glance
Hanoi
Days 1–2 · the old capital
01
Hanoi
Show route
Arrive Hanoi AT LEISURE
Land at Noi Bai and make your own way into Hanoi — about 45 minutes. The airport transfer is not included; a Grab or metered taxi is US$15–20 and is the simplest thing you will do all week.
Check in near Hoan Kiem Lake, then walk the shore and cross the red bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on its island.
Into the Old Quarter, where each of the 36 streets was once a single trade. No plan required.
Egg coffee is the local invention worth trying — egg yolk whipped with condensed milk over strong coffee, served hot. It is a dessert pretending to be a drink.
Overnight in Hanoi.
02
Hanoi
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Guided Hanoi — the full day GUIDED
Picked up from your Old Quarter hotel at 07:45 — pick-up is free and included in the tour.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the surrounding complex, with the One Pillar Pagoda beside it, built in 1049 in the shape of a lotus.
The Temple of Literature — Vietnam's first university, founded 1070, with 82 stone stelae naming its doctoral graduates.
Vietnamese lunch at a local restaurant, included.
The Museum of Ethnology in the afternoon: all 54 ethnic groups, with full-size houses rebuilt in the garden by the communities themselves.
Then Hoa Lo Prison — French-built, later the "Hanoi Hilton". Back at your hotel around 16:00.
Mausoleum closed Mondays and Fridays. We will book your guided day around that.
Overnight in Hanoi.
In your price today — with your guide
Full-day historical Hanoi city tour
Ha Long Bay & home
Days 3–5 · a night on the water
03
Ha Long Bay
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Hanoi → Ha Long Bay GUIDED
Collected from your hotel mid-morning. The road east takes roughly two and a half hours on the expressway, and it is included in the cruise fare.
Board the junk and push out into Ha Long Bay — close to two thousand limestone islands, UNESCO-listed since 1994. Lunch is served as you sail.
Sung Sot Cave, the Cave of Surprises: two enormous lit chambers inside Bo Hon Island.
Kayaking or a bamboo rowing boat through a lagoon in the afternoon, then squid fishing off the deck after dark if you want it.
Dinner and the night on board, in a twin cabin. Drinks are not included and the bar is where this trip gets expensive if you let it.
In your price today — with your guide
Ha Long Bay overnight cruise
04
Hanoi
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Ti Top Island → Hanoi GUIDED
Tai chi on the sun deck at first light, for those who want it, then breakfast as the boat moves.
Ti Top Island — a crescent beach and about 400 steps up to the viewpoint. Go early: it is cooler and the day boats have not arrived.
Brunch on board as the junk returns to harbour, then the drive back to Hanoi, arriving late afternoon.
Evening free. The Old Quarter night market runs Friday to Sunday; any other night, the beer corner at Ta Hien does fine.
Overnight in Hanoi.
In your price today — with your guide
Aboard your Ha Long Bay cruise — breakfast, brunch and the morning activity
05
Departure
Show route
Hanoi → onward AT LEISURE
A slow morning. Train Street if you want the photograph — a working railway an arm's length from the houses, with cafes that clear the tracks minutes before a train.
Dong Xuan Market for the last of the shopping, though the food stalls behind it are better than what is sold inside.
Own way to Noi Bai. Allow an hour in traffic, and more at the end of a public holiday.
Add to this day — the last morning
Hanoi Train StreetFreeA working railway an arm's length from the houses. The cafes clear the tracks minutes before a train.
Dong Xuan MarketFree to enterThree floors of it — though the food stalls behind are better than the souvenirs inside.
We can book any of these with your tour. Tell us which you want when you confirm and the tickets travel with your documents.
Your Hotels
Three nights in Hanoi, all with breakfast, all within walking distance of Hoan Kiem Lake or inside the Old Quarter itself — which is the point, because this is a city you see on foot. The fourth night is aboard the cruise and is the same boat at every tier. Every property is independently rated 8.0 or better by recent guests, and chosen for location before anything else.
Comfort · 3★ Old Quarter
Inside the Old Quarter or a short walk from the lakeA well-reviewed 3-star inside the Old Quarter or a short walk from the lake, breakfast included. Hanoi gives you more hotel for your money than almost anywhere else in Asia.
Deluxe · 5★ central
By Hoan Kiem Lake, usually with a rooftop poolA 5-star by Hoan Kiem Lake — usually with a rooftop pool, which in September you will use. Rated 9.0 and above.
Luxury · landmark 5★
Heritage-style, with a spa and a proper restaurantThe larger heritage-style hotels — a spa, a pool and a proper restaurant. Named in your confirmation before you pay a balance.
You will know exactly where you are staying before you pay a balance. We name the property in your confirmation, in writing, as soon as the room is held — and if it is ever unavailable for your dates we substitute at the same tier or better, never below it.
Restaurants worth trying
Breakfast is in the price. Every other meal is yours to choose, so here is where we would eat. We do not arrange any of these and you would pay for them yourself. They are simply places we rate, near where the trip goes. Tick any you like and they appear on the map.
Suggested, not included. Opening hours and prices are theirs, not ours — and a place that is busy at eight will be busy whether or not you booked through us.
Tour Price
All prices are per person, twin share, in US dollars — the figure below is what you pay us. The tiers differ by hotel only; the touring is identical on all three. These are website estimates — your written quote is confirmed against live availability for your actual dates.
Hotel tier
Per person, twin share
Single supplement
Comfort — 3★ Old Quarter, twin share
from US$270
+US$70
Deluxe — 5★ central, twin share
from US$330
+US$115
Luxury — landmark 5★, twin share
from US$370
+US$145
Included
3 nights in Hanoi with breakfast, in the Old Quarter or beside Hoan Kiem Lake · 1 night aboard a Ha Long Bay cruise, twin cabin, with all meals on board · the full-day guided Hanoi city tour, with lunch and free Old Quarter hotel pick-up · the Ha Long Bay round trip by road, included in the cruise fare · Sung Sot Cave and Ti Top Island entry, kayaking or bamboo boat, and the on-board activities
Not included
International flights · airport transfers — Noi Bai is 45 minutes out and a metered taxi or Grab runs about US$15–20 · lunches and dinners in Hanoi · travel insurance · drinks on the cruise, which are the one place your bill can run away · tips · the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum has no entry fee but bag storage is a small charge
How the flexi tour works. Choose any departure date and a hotel tier → we confirm availability and the exact price within 24 hours → pay a deposit to hold it → your final documents and vouchers arrive by email a week before you fly. There is no group to join and no fixed departure day.
Seasonal pricing.September is the cheap month and these rates are taken from it — hot, humid, with afternoon rain that clears. October and November are the best weather Hanoi gets and rooms rise accordingly; expect to pay noticeably more. Ha Long cruises add a surcharge on public holidays and some weekends. Tet, the lunar new year, closes much of the city and is the one time we would talk you out of going.
Budget separately for:airport transfers at both ends — about US$15–20 each way to Noi Bai, deliberately excluded to keep the headline low · lunches and dinners in Hanoi, which run US$3–10 a head unless you are trying · drinks aboard the cruise, the one line that surprises people · international flights and travel insurance · the single supplement above covers the hotel only; a solo cabin on the cruise is quoted separately.
Start your booking
Tell us who you are and when you want to go.
We’ll reply within a business day with the price and what’s available.
A deposit holds it, and comes back in full if we can’t get your dates.
✓
That is with us
If you do not hear from us, email
info@dltravel.net and we will pick it up.