While starting our travels, we weren’t sure how slow we would want to go. Our friends were joining us for two weeks, so we had their Vietnam itinerary locked down. We ended up staying an additional week. It was a great three weeks, but there are definitely some things we would do differently next time.
Planning the perfect Vietnam itinerary is difficult because there is so much to see, so we wanted to share how our time was split up and what we would do differently. If you have any questions, comment below, and we will be happy to weigh in with our experiences.
Our Full Three Week Vietnam Itinerary
Ho Chi Minh City – 5 Days
Formerly Saigon, this city is the largest in the country, and we thought we would want lots of time to explore. The truth was – the heat made it nearly impossible to be out during daylight. We did lots of exploring at night and visited museums during the day. Visiting in June made it pretty difficult for us to really get out and explore.
Read the full Ho Chi Minh recap here.
Da Nang – 4 Days
This beach town was a pleasant surprise. It was super easy to get around, and we could take a day trip to Ba Na Hills and a quick overnight trip to Hoi A from this base. The city is going to look so different in the next few years. They are doing so much construction on the beach, and I hope it doesn’t ruin the appeal of this coastal city.
Thinking about Ba Na Hills? Read our post about why you can’t miss it.
Hanoi – 8 Days
Hanoi felt like a breath of fresh air. It was still hot and sticky air, but this city was our favorite. Our original plan was a few nights here and then our Ha Long Bay cruise before our friends flew back to NYC. A typhoon ruined that plan, and they ended up missing the cruise. We had a great time exploring this city and its history. Food tours, egg coffees, and great streets for wandering – you cannot miss Hanoi.
Read more about our time in Hanoi.
Ha Long Bay – 2 Days
This is the most popular thing to do in Vietnam and we had dreamed about it. The typhoon changed our plans and we weren’t able to enjoy this with our friends. It ended up being not as great as we hoped. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, but it was very expensive compared to other things we loved in this country and the over tourism is a big concern.
We went into more detail here so you can get the full story.
Hanoi – 2 Days
We ended our time in Vietnam back in Hanoi. It was perfect because we could sneak in a few more egg coffees and museums. Plus, we returned to Train Street (which has recently been closed to tourists).
Need suggestions for coffee spots in Hanoi? Here’s our list of favorites.
What We Would Change About Our Vietnam Itinerary
Less Time in Ho Chi Minh City
I think 3 days would be sufficient to see many of the main sights. We didn’t do the Cu Chi tunnels, a popular day trip, so if you’re interested, plan for an extra day. Another popular Vietnam itinerary destination is the Mekong River. We were spending time by the river in Laos, so we skipped that also.
Add Hue to our List
This city is home to a 19th-century citadel with some amazing history and beautiful buildings. It isn’t too far from Da Nang, and I wish we had added a couple of days in Central Vietnam to take this in.
Take Trains or Buses Instead of Flights
We opted for domestic flights since we had selected just a few larger cities and our friends were short on time. They were fast and cheap, but we all wished we would have gotten to take a train at least one of the legs to take in more of the country.
Pick a Different Option for Ha Long Bay
Our friends spent their time in Cat Ba Island instead of a cruise – read their full recap post here. Without knowing much about the area, we made the assumption that you had to do a cruise through the bays to see it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The cruises are the most popular way to take in the area, but they are also insanely expensive. If I could do it again, I would skip the cruise and do something more like our friends did.
Visit Sapa or another Northern Vietnam City
Our biggest regret was not figuring out a way to get to Northern Vietnam. The heat was pretty overwhelming and we didn’t have the energy to do too much traveling, but I think this would have been a welcome change in temperature. Being able to experience a homestay and do some trekking in the mountains of the north would have been amazing.
And if we were really treating ourselves, I would book a spot at this hotel. We met a few people who stayed there and just raved about it.
Let us know if you have any questions or are planning a trip to Vietnam. We would love to follow along!
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