[Vietnam] 9D/8N in North Vietnam- Itinerary
How to plan a 9 days (8 nights) travelling around north Vietnam.
Fly into/out of Hanoi (Noibai) airport.
Day breakdown is given below, we squeezed a lot into our time there and didn't want to spend too much time travelling from place to place, if we had more time we would have liked to have also traveled towards the south!
Day 1 Afternoon - Arrive Hanoi airport
Evening exploring Hanoi (Water puppet show, egg coffee)
Day 2 Hanoi
(Museum of ethnology, Temple of literature, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Night market)
Day 3-5 Halong bay
Day 6- Early morning - Arrive in Sapa
[Overnight train- see below] (Trekking/driving around hill villages)
Day 7 Sapa, head back to Lao Cai in the evening to catch the sleeper train
Day 8 Hanoi (Vietnamese Women's museum, cooking class)
Day 9 Travel back to the airport
Day 9 Travel back to the airport
Extra info
Public bus from Noibai airport to Hanoi city centre
There are several ways to travel from the airport to Hanoi city centre, perhaps the easiest way is arrange an airport pickup with your hotel, however if you are a bit more adventurous I can recommend the public airport bus. (5000 VND, 1.5 hours) [More details- http://www.hanoiairportonline.com/public-bus/ ]
Overnight sleeper train from Hanoi-Lao Cai
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| Hanoi-Lao Cai SP1 |
Whilst not the fastest way to reach Sapa, taking the overnight train was a great experience. It was quite comfortable and also a good place to meet locals or other travellers. There are several different services and choices on offer, essentially one train is full of many different coaches belonging to different companies. We chose the standard VNR (vietnam national railway) and booked a couple of days before the journey using this website (http://www.baolau.vn/)
Where to catch it?
Trains leave from Hanoi railway station, which is on the west of the old quarter.
How much?
Depends very much on which service you choose, we booked a couple of days before the journey (One person return- soft bed in a 4 person room 890000 VND = 30 GBP)
How long does it take?
Trains take around 8 hours, leaving in the evening (9/10pm), and arriving next day morning (5/6am)
Bus from Lao-Cai- Sapa
Once you arrive in Lao Cai it is likely you will be approached for a lift, you can try to haggle down to a reasonable price, or there is a public bus. We paid 50000 VND (per person) and took one of the minibuses and on the way back took the public bus (30000 VND) which left from near the front of the church in the centre of Sapa.
Halong bay cruise
Again, lots of options, we didn't shop around too much and went on the infamous Halong bay castaway cruise. (http://www.vietnambackpackerhostels.com/ - make sure you book only through this website since there are a few other fake website out there) If you check tripadvisor you will find a lot of reviews (mostly positive) for this cruise which is probably best suited to people under the age of 30. This was well organised and although it's on the pricey end of the cruises available it was a really fun few days. I'd recommend to shop around and see what suits your preferences.
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| Group photo on castaway island! |
Sapa motorbike hire
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| View of the rice terraces around Sapa |
We stayed in one of the hill village homestays in the village of Ta'van, it is worth hiring a bike (100000 VND/day), this is not for first time bikers since the road condition is very variable. (Bring a poncho for the sudden shower!) We walked around and checked out the different bike hire options available, recommend this bike hire shop, friendly service and he came to save us when we forgot how to start the bike! [https://goo.gl/maps/u3xscwMxkKK2]
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| Homestay dinner |
Money exchange in Hanoi
If you want to exchange money in Hanoi, I found it hard to find banks in the old quarter, I recommend to visit Hang Bac street where there are few jewelry shops which will be able to exchange most currencies for VND.
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