The PERFECT Northern Vietnam Itinerary: Hanoi & Hidden Gems

After we got back from our last trip to Japan, Josh and I were curious about another destination that might evoke a similar feeling of awe and immersion—rice field landscapes and traditional life that feels so different to what we experience at home.

We decided to give Vietnam a try and though it was so different than Japan, this country absolutely stole our hearts in all the right ways! We stuck to the northern parts of Vietnam, and prioritized seeing Hanoi along with some quieter, serene and incredibly scenic countryside areas.

One moment we were eating spring rolls and fresh fruit on a traditional bamboo raft down a quiet river deep in the jungle, and another we were zipping through the chaotic streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter on the back of a motorbike.

This one week northern Vietnam itinerary leans into an immersive, local lifestyle in both Hanoi and some nearby countryside towns, including a $17 luxury-on-a-budget homestay overlooking seemingly endless rice terraces and mountains, a rowboat ride through otherwordly UNESCO landscapes, home visits and traditional crafts with ethnic minority families, and SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!

How to Spend a Week in Northern Vietnam

Before we dive into the day-by-day details of this Hanoi and Vietnam countryside itinerary, here’s a quick overview of the entire week in Vietnam:

• 🇻🇳 Days 1-3 are spent in Hanoi (stay at La Sinfonía del Rey), immersing yourself in the colorful and chaotic Old Quarter via a vintage motorbike tour, seeing the train pass at Train Street, exploring the lake temples, and enjoying all the best traditional Vietnamese food!
• 🚣‍♂️ After a 2-hour transfer, days 3-4 are spent in Ninh Binh (stay at The Green House Homestay), rowing through the sunken towering peaks of UNESCO-recognized Tràng An from caves to hidden temples, climbing 500 steps to the dragon of Mua Cave, and visiting ancient temples built into the cliffsides.
• 🌾 Then a 3-hour transfer to my FAVORITE place in Vietnam, Pu Luong for days 4-6 (stay at Puluong Aroma). Here the seemingly endless rice terraces will enchant you as you immerse in a slower, more traditional way of life, visiting local homes, swimming beneath waterfalls, and maybe even helping with the rice harvest!
• 🌇 Finally, a 4-hour transfer ride takes us back to Hanoi, so we spend days 6-7 in Hanoi, exploring a few more Hanoi hidden gems before heading home.
• 🚢 Optional add on: Ha Long Bay cruise

HANOI: Days 1-3

We stayed at La Sinfonía del Rey which overlooks Hoàn Kiếm Lake on the corner of the French Quarter and Old Quarter. It’s on the pricey side for Hanoi ($150+/night) but was worth every penny with the exceptional breakfast, 5-star hospitality, and unbeatable location (plus rooftop bar with lake views!!)

Day 1: Introduction to Hanoi on Motorbike, Lake Temples, and Vietnamese Dinner

Day one will be the perfect introduction to Vietnam in Hanoi, with a thrilling motorbike tour, a visit to temple in the middle of a lake, and a homestyle Vietnamese dinner!

9am: Intro to Hanoi on the back of a Motorbike

Start off your first day in Vietnam like we did with this this vintage motorbike tour! Since most of Hanoi’s population gets around by motorbike, it really is the best way to see the city—and is an adventure and cultural immersion all at once!

In addition to exploring the chaotic, varied streets Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we also crossed the Red River on the old Long Bien Bridge to get a view of the farms on little islands below. And we grabbed drinks at the iconic Train Street right as the train rolled through just feet from our tables!

But for me, the highlight was zipping through the narrow alleyways and hearing about local life in Hanoi from our guide—what’s it really like to live in a communist country, how the heck is everything so affordable, and how the American War still affects life here!

We ended the tour a delightful lunch at Hidden Gem Cafe—fresh and fried spring rolls, banh mi, papaya salad, pho, and of course, optional egg coffee or Bia Hoi beer. The perfect introduction to Vietnamese food so you know what to order for the rest of the trip! (and they had vegan options of everything for us—besides the egg coffee, of course!)

Afternoon: Hoàn Kiếm Lake & Ngọc Sơn Temple

Your motorbike driver can take you back to your hotel—or somewhere else in the Old Quarter, and I recommend heading to Hoàn Kiếm Lake for a post-lunch walk and visit to charming Ngọc Sơn Temple.

The temple is located on small island in the middle of the lake, connected by a bright red bridge that reminds we a lot of the temples of Japan! Built in the 1800s, Ngọc Sơn was dedicated to both deities and national heroes, including General Trần Hưng Đạo who drove out Mongol forces in the 13th century.

The lake is a hub of cultural life in Hanoi that seems to always have a few old lady dance groups, and plenty of locals enjoying the serenity the water provides in the chaos of the city. It’s bordered by both the Old Quarter and French Quarter.

Make sure you have some cash to pay the 50,000 VND entry fee for Ngọc Sơn Temple, and some time to walk around the lake! (Note: the temple does get most busy mid-day, so if you stay nearby like I did, you can visit in the morning or evening!)

Evening: Homestyle Vietnamese Dinner

For your first dinner in Hanoi, head straight to Katze, a street-kid-turned-restauranteur-owned homestyle eatery that is guaranteed to be your most memorable (and perhaps most delicious) meal in Vietnam.

Within minutes of sitting down at our table, one of the servers was shoving spring rolls into my mouth—without a moment to second guess being hand-fed by a stranger. That’s something I’ve never experienced before and certainly a culturally immersive first dinner in Vietnam.

And the food itself was so freaking good (and affordable) that we kept coming back! Our favorite was the tangy peanut-y papaya salad, and the complimentary tomato tofu they serve to everyone (can you believe that?!?!) Plus, self-rolled spring rolls and a variety of traditional vegetables like sweet potato leaves, morning glory, wild mushrooms, eggplant, and squash.

Everything is plant-based, as eating vegan is common among more religious Buddhist folks here, but I promise this place will wow meat eaters, too!

Also See: 11 Hanoi Hidden Gems for Exploring off the Beaten Path

Day 2: Old Quarter on Foot, Temple of Literature and West Lake

Morning: Hanoi on Foot & Vietnamese Coffee

After yesterday’s Hanoi explorations on the back of a motorbike, you’ll probably have some ideas of places you want to explore more on foot! Whether that’s the case or not, I recommend wandering the Old Quarter and French Quarter, and making sure you get some traditional Vietnamese coffee along the way!

Here are some cafes, shops, landmarks, and other spots to add to your Hanoi itinerary:

• ☕️ Loading T Café: Charming Old Quarter Vietnamese coffeehouse hidden in an alleyway.
• 🍫 Maison Marou: You’ll find numerous locations of this local chocolatier—you must try the kumquat chocolate, it’s my favorite chocolate ever (as a cacao lover)
• 🥻Three Sisters Silk: Gorgeous handmade silk dresses, they will alter them for you in a few hours!
• ☕️ Off Street Fine Coffee: Our favorite Hanoi coffeeshop, with exceptional drinks and a homey atmosphere! It’s a bit off the tourist trail, but that’s part of what makes it so special.
• 📒 Washi Nà: A quirky little stationary shop near Off Street Fine Coffee, worth checking out if you’re in the area!
• 🛍️ Tanmy Design: Shop with a variety of locally made goodies!
• 🪷 Trấn Quốc Pagoda: Hanoi’s oldest Buddhist temple, located on an island in West Lake, with an iconic 11-story pagoda.
• ☕️ Garden Coffee Đội Cấn: Another local-filled coffeeshop, this one is overlooking a small lake. The drinks weren’t our favorite but we loved the atmosphere!

Afternoon: Temple of Literature

Grab lunch during your walk through Hanoi, and carve our some time in your afternoon for one of the most stunning places in Hanoi, the Temple of Literature!

The tranquil Temple of Literature is absolutely a must-visit—we didn’t know what to expect, but were greeted with an absolutely serene garden full of Hanoi locals getting their photos taken for the upcoming new years celebration.

Dating back to 1070, the Temple of Literature was dedicated to Confucius himself, and served as Vietnam’s first university. Today it’s a UNESCO-recognized site that can be explored in 30 minutes to an hour, with a 70,000 VND entry fee. We enjoyed taking our time walking over here from the Old Quarter, and exploring West Lake on the way. By the time we made it to the Temple of Literature, it was golden hour and absolutely beautiful!

NINH BINH: Days 3-4

Surrounded by seemingly endless rice fields, dotted with rugged limestone peaks that rise out of the earth and a variety of enchanting Buddhist pagodas, Ninh Binh is a dreamy countryside escape easily accessible from Hanoi.

To get here (and our next stop, Pu Luong), you can either arrange limousine bus transfers yourself, or book a 2 night tour from Hanoi to both Ninh Binh and Pu Luong—all your transportation, food, accommodations, and tour guides are included in the cost!

Day 3: Trang An Boat Ride, Mua Cave, Bich Dong Pagoda & More

Even if you’re not joining an overnight tour from Hanoi, I still recommend booking a local tour of Ninh Binh becuase the area is quite spread out, and a guided tour provides convenient transportation at an affordable price—plus, it’s a lovely way to support small local businesses in Vietnam! Whether you do a tour or explore on your own, here’s how I recommend spending a day in Ninh Binh:

Bich Dong Pagoda

This 1400s Buddhist pagoda is built directly into cliffside caves, overlooking rice fields and lotus ponds. It’s actually also part of the UNESCO-recognized Trang An landscape complex, but not accessed via boat like the rest of the area.

Instead, you can walk, bike, or drive here from nearby Tam Coc (or visit on a tour), and explore the small, picturesque pagoda complex on foot. It’s free to visit and was one of my favorite places we visited in Vietnam!

We visited in the early morning and the site was absolutely serene, plus, we were lucky enough to visit when the lotuses beneath the pagoda were in bloom! That said, I imagine the pagoda can get quite busy mid-day.

Tip: it can be easy to miss the cave temples above the main temple! Be sure to climb up the stairs behind the large temple and find the numerous cave temples above! These temples are where Indochine (a must-watch film before visiting Vietnam) was filmed!

Tràng An Boat Tour

You simply cannot visit Ninh Binh without immersing in the otherworldly landscapes at Tràng An—a breathtaking labyrinth of limestone caves and peaks that rise out of the emerald water, only accessible by rowboat!

With its towering peaks, UNESCO-recognized Tràng An feels “untouched”, yet archaeological evidence shows continuous human activity here for over 30,000 YEARS!

The landscapes are so cinematic and yet the photos just do not compare to the real thing. The boat ride takes you through several stunning limestone caves which each open up into places that feel straight out of Jurassic World. And along the way you also pass several serene pagodas and temples.

If you join a Ninh Binh tour, the boat tour will be included in the cost, but if you’re visiting independently, I reccomend buying tickets online here—you’ll get a QR code that lets you skip the line!

Tour Hoa Lư Ancient Capital

For some reason charming Hoa Lư, once the capital of Vietnam, is so overlooked by visitors, so much so that I myself mistakingly skipped by booking a tour that went to Bái Đính instead. 🥲 (This tour does include Hoa Lu) Here’s why I’d advocate you don’t make my same mistake:

Hoa Lư, is an enchanting city that served at Vietnam’s capital in the 10th and 11th centuries. Back then, the limestone cliffs that make up the famous boat ride routes through Tràng An served as a natural wall to protect the capital city from invasion.

Today, the area is home to several temples and pagodas, and if you visit with a local guide you can learn about the religious and political history of this place! Some tours (like the one I went on and don’t recommend) trade Hoa Lu for Bai Dinh, which is what I’ll share about next. Bai Dinh was stunning, but I would have preferred the historical Hoa Lu given that it was the capital!!

Hike Mua Cave

Have you seen photos of that gigantic dragon statue on a jagged cliff above seemingly endless rice fields in Ninh Binh?! That’s Mua Cave (or Hang Múa), perhaps the most popular place to visit in Ninh Binh. The views are truly exceptional, and the 500-step trek up the peak is a nice little workout.

Since we were exploring all the sights on a day tour, our guide had to squeeze Mua Cave into the late afternoon part of our tour, and it was understandably crowded! It was absolutely worth visiting, but if your schedule is flexible, I’d try to do the hike early in the morning to beat the crowds.

It costs 100,000 VND to visit (but the cost is included if you’re on a guided tour) and is typically open from 6am to just after sunset. What surprised us is that the base of Hang Múa is home to a variety of cafes, shops, and adorable ponds—plus a large lotus pond that’s perfect for photos (depending on the season!) You could easily hang out here for a while—and its perfect for a mixed group of folks who don’t want to hike but other do.

Also See: 7 EPIC Things to do in Ninh Binh, Vietnam

PU LUONG: Days 4-6

From Ninh Binh, head three hours to my absolute favorite place in Vietnam, Pu Luong. Here seemingly layers of lush rice terraces cascade down valley slopes as far as the eye can see. Visiting feels like stepping back in time—as you’re stepping into a rural yet expansive community of Black Thai farmers who rely on subsistence farming rather than tourism.

If you join this 2 day overnight tour from Hanoi, you’ll get to seamlessly explore both Pu Luong and Ninh Binh. Otherwise, you can book a limousine bus from Ninh Binh, book a local homestay (we LOVED Puluong Aroma) and I have more details about planning a visit in my full Pu Luong travel guide. Here’s how I’d spend two days in Pu Luong:

Day 4: Relax Day

After a 3 hour transfer from Ninh Binh, make time for relaxing—Pu Luong is the PERFECT place to slow down!

If you stay at Puluong Aroma (or somewhere nearby) like we did, you’ll have access to a beautiful pool overlooking the rice fields, and be walking distance from the incredible traditional restaurants and cafes of Don Village (Bản Đôn). There’s also a spot nearby with soaking tubs and massages overlooking the landscapes! Check out my Pu Luong travel guide for more details.

Day 5: Pu Luong Villages, Bamboo Boat Ride & Countryside Treks

We explored Pu Luong on a guided tour, which proved to be the best way to get around Pu Luong (given how spread out everything is). Either way, here’s an overview of how we spent our time in Pu Luong:

Trek Through the Countryside

We did quite a bit of walking between villages, weaving through rice fields and village paths. I really enjoyed getting to see different parts of the valley’s landscapes and villages slowly on foot! Our driver would drop us and our tour guide off in one village, then we’d walk for a while through the fields, arrive in another village, and he’d pick us up after—it proved to be really convenient!

Black Thai Home Visits

The Black Thai are one of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic minorities, and they’re the most common minority group in Pu Luong. Black Thai ladies are known for their black teeth, with are intentionally stained by chewing beetle leaf.

Our Pu Luong tour enabled us to visit the traditional home of an elderly Black Thai couple that live deep in the valley. The 80 year old husband still works as a bamboo furniture maker despite his age.

Hearing about their life—including the husband serving in the American War—was really special. Our guide was able to translate since most locals in the area don’t speak any English.

Bamboo Boat Ride with Lunch

Besides our interactions with the locals we met and simply soaking up the views from our homestay, the bamboo boat ride has to be the highlight of our time in Pu Luong!

We walked through the countryside to the bamboo boat launch where we were served an incredible lunch while gently cruising down the river. Since my husband and I, along with the other traveler on our tour were all vegan, they made us a vegan feast of delicious traditional Vietnamese food.

These bamboo boats are the same type of boat that the Black Thai rode down the river when they moved to this part of Vietnam hundreds of years ago.

Swim Beneath Hieu Waterfall

Even though it was a little chilly when we visited in January, we still swam at Hieu Waterfall—a lovely waterfall on a family property deep within the family.

There’s a restaurant and homestay at the waterfall where you can gaze down at the waterfall while eating, if you prefer not to get in the water like we did!

Try Traditional Weaving in Chom Lam

Our tour took us to a traditional weaving workshop in the tiny village of Chom Lam. We got to experience the entire weaving process, from spinning the wool into yarn to weaving on the loom. Afterward, we enjoyed some tea and met a few locals from the village!

HANOI: Days 6-7

Back in Hanoi for our last few days, we stayed at La Sinfonía del Rey again! If you’re curious about other areas to stay in Hanoi, check out my full guide on Where to Stay in Hanoi for First Timers.

Day 6: Ethnic History, Water Puppet Show & Rooftop Bar

For your last full day in Hanoi, learn more about Vietnam’s ethic groups, watch Hanoi’s famous water puppet show, and gaze over the city at my favorite rooftop bar! I’m also leaving plenty of space in the day for slow wanderings and any last things you want to do in Hanoi!

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

After some breakfast, and perhaps some wandering through the Old Quarter, order a Grab to the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, about a 20 minute drive, but well worth it! The museum showcases intricate artifacts and information about Vietnam’s 54 unique ethnic groups.

I loved wandering through the indoor exhibits which are accompanied by colorful displays of religious rites of passage, weaving, and even a 1982 bike with over 800(!!!) fish traps attached—proof that the Viet practice of overloading mopeds and motorbikes isn’t all that new!

Outside the museum is an architectural garden of full-scale ethnic dwellings from around Vietnam’s countryside—most of which you can walk through! I don’t know what was more impressive—the 139 foot long and 19 foot wide longhouse from the matrilineal Ede people, or the 62 foot tall Bahnar communal house!

I’d dedicate at least two hours to explore the museum and gardens. Check the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology website for updated opening hours and prices (it usually closes at 3:30pm, so give yourself enough time!)

Water Puppet Show & Rooftop Bar

End the day with a traditional water puppet show back in the Old Quarter. This is one of the most popular things to do in Hanoi, and tickets sell out days in advance, so I recommend making a reservation on Klook before you go on your trip.

From the water puppet show, it’s just a block to the rooftop bar at La Sinfonía del Rey, which overlooks the lake! Although drinks here are a little pricey for Vietnam, we tried a few bars in Hanoi and this one ended up being our favorite (lucky for us since we were staying at the hotel below!) We enjoyed the ambiance on the rooftop both at sunset and after dark.

Day 7: Goodbye to Hanoi (or Ha Long Bay add-on!)

Time to say goodbye to Hanoi, and goodbye to Vietnam! Unless you have a little more time…

If you do, consider adding on a visit to Ha Long Bay, home to Vietnam’s most iconic landscapes! Given how popular it is, there are SO MANY tour options from Hanoi, including luxurious overnight cruises and day trips.

Truthfully, we skipped Ha Long Bay becuase we preferred a slower itinerary and wanted to prioritize getting to Pu Luong (so worth it!!) From those who have visited we’ve heard that the landscapes are INCREDIBLE but the experience of visiting can be less than ideal because of how crowded and touristy it is.

But one piece of advice I’ve heard from other travelers is never go with the cheapest Ha Long bay tour. Really read the description and make sure you know what you’re booking—look at the photos, read reviews and search the company’s name on Google.

If you make it to Ha Long Bay, please let me know—was it worth it?!!

I hope my weeklong northern Vietnam itinerary helps you plan a truly unforgettable trip! Blessings on all your travels, your friend the nomad!

More Vietnam Travel Guides:

• The PERFECT 3 Day Hanoi Itinerary: Coffee, Culture & FUN
• 11 Hanoi Hidden Gems for Exploring off the Beaten Path
• Trang An Boat Tour: My Experience in 2026 (Ninh Binh)
• A First Timer’s Guide to Pu Luong (My FAVORITE Place in Vietnam)
• Hanoi Motorbike Tour: My Experience & Tips for First Timers
• Where to Stay in Hanoi for First Timers: Old Quarter & Beyond
• 7 EPIC Things to do in Ninh Binh, Vietnam

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