10 Days Vietnam North to South

Your guide welcomes you at Noi Bai Airport and transfers you to a hotel in Hanoi's atmospheric Old Quarter, where motorbikes and street vendors create an unforgettable urban rhythm. After settling in, step out for an evening street food walk through the maze of alleys, sampling a steaming bowl of pho bo from a generations-old family stall. Travel tip: when crossing roads, walk slowly and confidently — the motorbike stream parts around you.

Begin at Ba Dinh Square for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, then visit the Temple of Literature, a Confucian sanctuary founded in 1070 whose tranquil courtyards offer a peaceful retreat. Enjoy a lunch of bun cha — Hanoi's iconic grilled pork with vermicelli — before an afternoon amble around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. In the evening, watch a water puppet show where lacquered figures dance across water to live folk music, an art form born in the rice paddies of the Red River Delta.

Depart early for Halong Bay, boarding a traditional junk boat that carries you into a dreamscape of emerald waters and limestone karsts. After a fresh seafood lunch on deck, kayak through hidden lagoons, swim in the jade-green sea, and watch the sun sink behind sculpted islands. As night falls, try squid fishing from the deck before drifting off to sleep — keep your camera ready, sunrise over the karsts is unforgettable.

Greet the morning with tai chi on the sundeck as mist lifts off the limestone towers, followed by a light breakfast and a final cruise through the karst maze. Disembark mid-morning and drive back to Hanoi, stopping for a bowl of pho ga before your evening flight to Hue. On arrival in the former imperial capital, your driver transfers you to your hotel near the Perfume River.

Explore Hue's Imperial Citadel, a vast UNESCO complex of palaces, gates, and moats that served as the seat of Nguyen Dynasty emperors. After a bowl of bun bo Hue — the city's spicy beef noodle soup — cruise the Perfume River by dragon boat to the seven-tiered Thien Mu Pagoda. End your afternoon browsing Dong Ba Market, where locals trade in conical hats and dried seafood, offering an authentic slice of central Vietnamese life.

Depart Hue for one of Vietnam's great road journeys — the Hai Van Pass, winding along a mountainside with the East Sea on one side and jungle-clad peaks on the other. Stop at the summit for panoramic photos before descending through Da Nang to Hoi An. As evening falls, stroll the lantern-lit Ancient Town, where silk lanterns in every hue sway above the Thu Bon River — a scene unchanged for centuries.

Start with a lantern-making class, learning from a local artisan whose family has shaped silk and bamboo into glowing works of art for generations. The afternoon is yours: grab a banh mi from the legendary Banh Mi Phuong stall, get fitted for custom tailoring, or cycle through rice paddies to the beach. At dusk, release a paper lantern onto the Thu Bon River — a tradition said to carry your wishes skyward.

Fly south in the morning to Ho Chi Minh City, trading ancient port-town serenity for Vietnam's electric commercial heart. After checking in, visit the War Remnants Museum for a sobering look at the American War through photographs and preserved artifacts. Later, plunge into Ben Thanh Market, sipping fresh sugarcane juice amid stalls selling silk, spices, and sizzling street food.

Head out early to the Cu Chi Tunnels, the extraordinary underground network where fighters lived and resisted during the war — crawl through a widened section to grasp the ingenuity of tunnel life. Return to the city for lunch, then admire the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica and the Central Post Office, both French colonial masterpieces. Gather in the evening for a farewell rooftop dinner of southern specialties overlooking the Saigon skyline.

Enjoy a leisurely final breakfast with a cup of strong, sweet Vietnamese drip coffee and a last bowl of pho bo before your transfer to Tan Son Nhat Airport. Reflect on ten days tracing Vietnam's length — from Hanoi's atmospheric Old Quarter and the emerald karsts of Halong Bay to the lantern-lit canals of Hoi An and the electric pulse of Saigon. Pick up last-minute souvenirs like Vietnamese coffee beans, cinnamon-scented gifts, or a silk ao dai scarf. Safe travels — tam biet, and may the flavors and warmth of Vietnam call you back.