How many days in Hanoi? Plans for 2–7 days

Hanoi is loud, fast and full of life: scooters pour through the narrow lanes of the Old Quarter, people eat phở on low plastic stools on the pavement, and around Hoàn Kiếm Lake the city does tai chi at dawn. Behind that lies a capital with a thousand years of history – the Temple of Literature, the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long and colonial buildings in the French Quarter. For most travellers Hanoi is also the base for the north: Hạ Long Bay and Ninh Bình are a day trip away. The short answer: 2 days for the city, 3 days with the museums, 4 to 5 days are ideal with Hạ Long Bay or Ninh Bình, and from 6 days there is time for Sapa in the mountains.

How many days in Hanoi? The overview

Worth knowing for planning: to cross the street, walk slowly and steadily – the scooters flow around you if they can tell where you are going. At the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, shoulders and knees must be covered and visitors stay quiet; check the opening times beforehand, as they are limited and the mausoleum closes for some periods of the year. For Hạ Long Bay, many travellers choose an overnight cruise, so plan two days for it rather than one. Direct flights from London take about 12 hours, and Vietnam is 7 hours ahead of the UK in winter and 6 in summer.

Two days in Hanoi: the lake and the old capital

Two days are enough for the most important sights. The first day starts at dawn at Hoàn Kiếm Lake, where people exercise by the water, and crosses the red Thê Húc bridge to the Ngọc Sơn Temple. Have a coffee near St. Joseph's Cathedral, visit the Hỏa Lò Prison, which American pilots called the "Hanoi Hilton", and walk through the Old Quarter to the Đồng Xuân Market. In the late afternoon, walk out a little way on the Long Biên Bridge, a colonial-era steel bridge over the Red River.

The second day belongs to the old capital. Start early at the Temple of Literature from 1070, with the country's first university and stone steles on turtles. Then visit Ba Đình Square with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. End the day at the Trấn Quốc Pagoda on West Lake at sunset.

Three days in Hanoi: with the museums and the water puppets

Three days give you the city at a calmer pace. Our ready-made plan:

• Day 1 – Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the Old Quarter: the lake, the Ngọc Sơn Temple, St. Joseph's Cathedral, the Hỏa Lò Prison, the Đồng Xuân Market and the Long Biên Bridge.
• Day 2 – the Temple of Literature, Ba Đình and West Lake: the Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the One Pillar Pagoda, the Imperial Citadel, phở cuốn by Trúc Bạch Lake and the Trấn Quốc Pagoda at sunset.
• Day 3 – museums and water puppets: the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology with replica stilt houses in its garden, lunch in the Old Quarter, the Vietnamese Women's Museum, the Hanoi Opera House in the French Quarter and a performance at the Thăng Long Water Puppet Theatre.

The water puppets are an old art from the Red River Delta: the puppeteers stand in the water behind a screen. Get tickets in advance. Street food tours and cooking classes in Hanoi^* with a market visit are on Klook.

Four to five days: Hạ Long Bay or Ninh Bình

With four or five days, the two great landscapes of the north come into reach. Hạ Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has some 1,600 limestone islands and islets rising from the sea. It is 159 km and about 1 hour 50 minutes of pure driving time from Hanoi by expressway – allow about a third more. A day trip with a boat tour is possible, but the bay is most beautiful in the evening and early morning, which is why many travellers choose a cruise with a night on board.

Closer and quieter is Ninh Bình, 102 km and about 1 hour 25 minutes south. The Tràng An landscape complex, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is often called Hạ Long Bay on land: you glide by rowing boat between karst peaks and rice fields, through caves and past small temples. Nearby are Tam Cốc and the old capital of Hoa Lư. A day trip works well, and a night in a homestay makes it calmer. Guided day trips with hotel pick-up^* are available, for example, on KKday.

Six days or more: Sapa and the onward journey

If you stay a week, head into the mountains. Sapa, near the Chinese border, is 314 km and about 4 hours 15 minutes of pure driving time away by expressway; buses and the night train to Lào Cai also go there. Around the town, rice terraces climb the slopes, and many visitors walk between villages of the Hmong and Dao with a local guide. Plan at least two nights. The Perfume Pagoda, a complex of temples and caves in limestone mountains, is closer at 59 km and about an hour's drive; the way in leads by boat along a small river.

For most travellers Hanoi is the start or end of a longer trip through the country. Train and bus connections on 12Go^* include the night train to Lào Cai. How to combine Hanoi, Hội An and Ho Chi Minh City is in our Vietnam itinerary.

Base map: Natural Earth

Where to stay in Hanoi

Hanoi's centre is compact, and where you stay decides how loud your evenings are:

• Old Quarter: right in the thick of it, with street food and cafés on the doorstep and the lake within walking distance. Noisy at night, but everything is close.
• French Quarter: south of the lake, with wide avenues, colonial buildings and larger hotels. Quieter than the Old Quarter and still central.
• West Lake (Tây Hồ): by the city's largest lake, with cafés along the shore. Calm and green; take a taxi into the centre.

Taxis and ride-hailing apps are cheap, including rides on the back of a scooter. Express buses and taxis run from Nội Bài Airport into the city, and an airport transfer in Hanoi^* can be booked with Kiwitaxi. For mobile data for maps and ride-hailing without roaming charges, get an eSIM from Airalo; our eSIM price index compares the prices per gigabyte.

Best time to visit Hanoi

Averages 2015–2024 from the ERA5 reanalysis (via Open-Meteo), rounded. The values describe a grid cell of about 25 km; in the lanes of the Old Quarter summer days often feel hotter.

Unlike southern Vietnam, Hanoi has real seasons. The most pleasant months are October and November and March and April, at 26 to 29 °C by day. May to September is hot and humid at 31 to 34 °C, with heavy rain; the wettest month is August with 404 mm, and typhoons can bring storms to the coast and Hạ Long Bay in late summer and autumn, when cruises are sometimes cancelled. December to February is cool, at 21 to 22 °C by day and 14 °C at night, often grey and with drizzle – pack a jacket. Where in Vietnam it is dry and when: best time to visit Vietnam.

How YesTrip helps you plan

YesTrip has a ready-made three-day plan for Hanoi: Hoàn Kiếm Lake and the Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature with Ba Đình and West Lake, and the museums with the water puppets. Each day has times, the stops are in walking order, and taxi legs are noted. With one tap you copy the plan into the app and add days for Hạ Long Bay, Ninh Bình or Sapa; for those the AI creates a day plan for you. The app shows the weather for your travel days, the packing list thinks of rain protection, temple clothing and the right plug adapter, and with the offline package you have the map without a connection. YesTrip is free.

Hanoi trip planDay by day, with map and tips

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