I will admit, a week is not long enough in Vietnam at all! I really enjoyed my trip and I'm glad I did it the way I did but I would definitely return to see the parts I'd missed out on.
This post has links to my hotels and trip bookings - these are at no extra costs to you should you click the links, just I might get a little something from that click.
For this post, I've set it out using the actual days that I was in Vietnam, so that I recall my full trip and sights seen but also to layout how I got round so much in so little time.
In addition, in full disclosure, I should admit that I am not a coffee drinker, so while I did visit cafes, as recommended, I did not taste Egg Coffee or the famously strong Vietnamese coffees.
Day 1 - 3 Hanoi
Flight in on Friday Night - arrival at 1am - taxi to hotel (by hotel)
May De Ville Legend Hotel, Hanoi
Saturday (Day 1 in Vietnam)
Hanoi was amazing, I loved the rustic beauty that the city had. My hotel was close to the old town so I found it easy enough to walk between places. For my 3 days in Hanoi, it rained/damp air all day. I started my day by taking a grab over to St. Joseph's Cathedral, this was actually very close by but I didn't realise at first. I wandered around the cathedral before walking around the nearby streets.
Just a street away is Loading T Cafe - somewhere which was recommended through other blogs, it is easy enough to miss though. Loading T Cafe is located on the 2nd level of an abandoned looking building.
As I continued wandering, I realised I was actually looking for an ATM so walked towards Hoan Kiem Lake. This also meant I found The Note Coffee, one of the most instagrammable cafes in Vietnam! As I walked in, I made my order and headed upstairs, the steps here are low and thin. The cafe is literally filled with notes and notes sit on every table ready to add more.
Following these two cafe visits, I headed across to the Lake and entered Ngoc Son Temple. The ticket for this place was 35,000 dong and it's quite a small area to explore. However, it is a pretty place for photos, even in the rain. I walked around briefly then decided to explore the streets further.
Another walk through the streets of the old town and I had managed to look for lunch, unfortunately the places I had found prior to my trip, had seemingly disappeared. However, I did find a Harry Potter Cafe - Always. This is located just on the outskirts of the Old Quarter.
Next up, I went to Train Street - which I found hard to locate!
Hanoi’s train street has been one of the few places I’ve been waiting to visit in Vietnam. The news that it was closed to tourists back in 2022 was gutting for me. The original train street is very much closed with security blocking it at both ends, I’d heard of people bribing the security guards to get in but as it seems now it’s no use, the cafes are gone as well. (Update - Once I'd left Hanoi, I found out friends had been there in the past month)
The newer version of Train Street is further up the tracks where the train comes through before bending into the original. This is a higher levelled street and has multiple cafes. The difference being you have to be invited up by a PR person and you are placed in the first cafe with space instead. You still get to have photos on the track but when the train comes, you are held inside the cafe and have to fight for your photos.
For the evening, I returned to Hoan Kiem Lake area and tried Pizza 4P's. Incredibly tasty and a lovely treat. After this, I went on the hunt for a rooftop bar - Solana (my closest choice) was closed with the weather so I walked back through the bar street area and found Moonlight Bar - slightly covered but still a rooftop.
Sunday - 1 day cruise to Halong Bay
I booked my Halong Bay trip through klook.com it was a 1 day tour with Cozy Tours and it was exactly what I wanted from the trip. Affiliate Link below here:
Early start - I was the first person picked up for my tour at 7:30am, luckily I'd already had breakfast in the hotel.
The Halong Bay tour included multiple activities:
Pass by picturesque areas such as Surprising Cave, Luon Cave, and more!
Visit Titop Island with sandy beach to the towering limestone mountain with excellent backdrop of the bay
Enjoy fresh fruit and wine during a Sunset cruise back to the main land.
The trip I took covered what is known as Route 2 around Halong Bay and I was very impressed by what I saw.
Upon return to Hanoi, I headed across to the Night Markets just inside the Old Quarter. These were pretty busy so I grabbed a snack and headed back towards the Hotel.
Day 3 - Monday
For my final day in Hanoi, I had the morning into the afternoon to hang around. A friend of mine was also in Hanoi so we made the most of the day and explored.
Once I had breakfast, I headed out to St. Joseph's Cathedral again. I wanted to see it again now the weather was calmer and I also wanted to see the local cafes around it. This time I went to La Place, this one is opposite the Cathedral and has an extensive menu and free wifi. I sat out on the balcony over looking the Cathedral with my Mint and Lime Ice.
After this, I went to Hanoi Police Museum. This is located in a bright yellow building called Maison Central. I paid for the audio guide in here as well which was really insightful as I walked around alone. I would recommend a visit to this place while in Hanoi and then just a brisk wander around the streets close-by.
First up, brunch/lunch at Banh Mi 25. The famous food stand for the Banh Mi sandwich - pretty busy in this area and I was glad to find a sneaky quiet table in the opposite seating area. There are 2 parts to sit inside and the sandwiches are brought across to you. I also ordered the Coconut Coffee - tasty!
From here, we went for another wander - I wanted to see Long Bien Bridge. We walked down some side streets which led to a Street Art Gallery, and through small alleys of food stalls. The paintings on the wall were amazing! From here, I worked out how to get to the bridge so we did make it eventually. Once on the bridge, we took photos of the iron bridge and had a laugh dodging the ebikes racing through, unfortunately we didn't manage to see any trains crossing though.
For my almost final activity in Hanoi, we returned to Always Coffee and Butterbeer, as likewise she is a Harry Potter/book nerd too. We enjoyed Butterbeer and cocktails here and definitely made use of the props in the cafe.
Finally, Hanoi came to an end for me after a 50 minute ride around the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake. This cost us 200,000 dong. We had a bike driver tour us around, including slowing down to show us where to take photos. He was a great driver and I would 100% recommend this trip for anyone wanting a relaxed tour of the city. He ended our tour close enough to the Old Quarter shops which we did want to visit and buy locally crafted souvenirs from.
Monday evening - flight to DaNang
Hanoi Highlights:
Day 4 & 5 - Hoi'an
Monday evening - I arrived in DaNang airport around 8pm. The hotel had arranged a car to pick me up and send me to the resort beside HoiAn Old Town.
Hotel in Hoi An - https://uk.trip.com/hotels/detail/?hotelId=711817&cityId=1775
Hotel name - Hoi An Ancient Resort and Spa
This hotel was in the perfect location to walk to the ancient town and had great facilities. The staff in the hotel were lovely and last minute helped me book onto a half day tour.
Tuesday
I started out with breakfast in the hotel, before walking towards the Old Town. Hoi'an Ancient town is classified as a UNESCO heritage site and a ticket can be purchased for inside the museums/temples at various entry desks. A ticket costs 100K and you gain entry to 5 sights out of the 28 available. Of course, you can wander around the ancient town without the ticket and it will only stop you from entering the scenic spots, not the shops or cafes.
During my walk around of the Ancient Town, I went inside various cafes, shops and scenic spots. The picture on the left is inside 'Sunday' which is a small shop that sells little trinkets. It's a lovely shop and you should definitely pop inside and purchase something. The pink wall is in the middle of the store to take photos at.
In this walk around I visited quite a few places:
- Artbook Cafe and Bistro
- Japanese Covered Bridge
- Ha Ha - Art in Everything
- Faifo Coffee
- Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien) - pictured below
- Museum of Traditional Medicine
- Museum of Trade Ceramics
My Son Sanctuary - Half-day trip (organised through my Hotel)
I hadn't thought my trip through for the Hoi'an part, I knew I wanted to see My Son but I hadn't booked. On the Tuesday morning, I had spoken with the resort reception staff and asked about the half day tour. They managed to get me booked in and I was able to join for the 12:30pm trip. This cost 500,000 dong.
We reached My Son Sanctuary and had our tour guide explain the history of the place. She was really knowledgeable and spoke loads about the area. Once inside My Son, we visited Group B and C and the Groups G, H and K. During the trip, we were also taken to watch a local dance performance.
After the tour, we were taken to the river where we had a brief cruise back to the main area of Hoi'an. This was fun and allowed us to see the sunset over the river.
For the evening, I chose a local restaurant for food and ordered a few options to be able to try them - Chicken Rice and their Spring Rolls.
After food, it was time for a walk around the Ancient Town in the dark, it is beautiful at night and really does come to life. Lanterns line the streets and locals flood into the area to sell trinkets and help tourists visit the river. As you cross over the river bridge, you can see lines of lantern shops, these locals charge 10,000 dong to help give you a photoshoot in front of the lantern backdrops, definitely worth it!
Over across the river, you could visit another night market. This one was relatively quiet compared to Hanoi's Night Market and most stalls were repeats of each other. Still it is quite a nice walk around and will give you a real feeling of Ancient Town.
To finish my night, and due to a migraine appearing, I headed over to this Irish bar (granted I did think it was a different one) to have a drink and relax before heading back to the hotel for the night. They had live music being played and it was actually very enjoyable.
Wednesday - fly to Ho Chi Minh
Before leaving at 10am, I decided to quickly head over to Anbang Beach as I had heard good stuff about it. I walked along the beach a little before pausing in one of the little beach bars. People do walk along the beach trying to sell items, or getting you to pay for the deckchairs but you can just take a towel and sit on the hot sand!
Hoi'An Highlights:
Day 6 - 8 Ho Chi Minh
Wednesday evening - Hotel run around!
Sunrise Central Hotel - District 1
This first hotel was a complete catfish by Trip. The photos look great, however I turned up to dim streets, a sleazy looking hotel and dirty rooms. I checked out 1 hour later after searching and checking reviews of other hotels.
Northern Saigon Hotel - District 1
This hotel is a businessman hub, the reviews are generally from travelling workers and not families. However, I loved this hotel. It was clean, central and I could walk easily from there to the sights I wanted to see and chill on the rooftop for cocktails.
Thursday
I spent most of the day exploring the city. To start off the day, I went over to District 3 and visited Tan Dinh Church, I took a taxi from my hotel to the church for the ease. The Church gates open around 8am. I arrived around 7:45am so went to the cafe across to wait. Once inside the Church grounds, I wondered around taking photos and was able to set up the tripod without concern. The church itself wasn't open to visit inside though.
Cafe name - Cong Cafe
From here, I walked for around 30 minutes to the War Remnants Museum. I would recommend giving yourself time to fully view this museum. There is an audio book option to go with the museum visit, I didn't do this and I still easily spent 90 minutes reading and viewing all of the pieces. Outside, you can see the vehicles left behind as well as the prisons some people were forced into.
Next I walked to the Independence Palace (entry cost 65K for the Palace and an exhibit). I will admit, I found the Palace to be a little boring after seeing the first floor and I decided to quickly look around the floors before leaving.
A walk through 30 April Park led me towards the Notre Dame Cathedral - unfortunately in April 2023, the cathedral was undergoing huge renovations and I couldn't see it.
Following my own walking tour at this point, I walked across the City Hall and Ho Chi Minh statue. From there, I walked down Nguyen Hue Walking street. I knew I had to try somewhere in The Cafe Apartments - so I chose Letter Cafe which did not disappoint!
Letter Cafe - located on floor 6 of The Cafe Apartments, they have an extensive menu and a beautiful set up. You can sit on a balcony overlooking the Walking Street or inside they have 2 areas of tables each uniquely set up. I chose to drink a coconut chocolate - delicious!
After this, I went back to the hotel. It was midday and I had a rooftop pool to visit where I could drink some cocktails.
After a breather at the hotel and pool, I headed back out into the city and remembered to look for Saigon Post Office (somehow I had completely missed this earlier). I arrived there around 4:30pm and it was packed! So many people arriving to take photos or use the services within the Post Office. Here you'll see the best photo I could manage of Buu Dien.
I jumped into a Grab car to head over to the next place, because I was being lazy. I went to Saigon Skydeck, just behind the Walking Street and paid 280K to go up to the 49th floor and look out over Ho Chi Minh. Next up, I visited Dosh's Donuts in The Cafe Apartments. Worth it! The donuts are delicious and highly recommended when visiting Ho Chi Minh.
Dinner treat was at Rex Hotel's Rooftop - overlooking the sights of the Walking Street and close to my next destination. This was decent food but very much representative of the 5* hotel prices.
To end my first proper day in Ho Chi Minh, I chose to take one of the sightseeing bus tours. It cost 140K for around 1 hour on the bus and it travelled through District 1 and 2 to see both sides of the river. It was an interesting option for sure!
Friday
I used trip.com to book a 1 day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta. It was 331RMB for this trip and Jen was my tour guide. Jen was amazing! She was full of knowledge and really friendly. The link below is the tour option I used.
The tour was great, I saw Cu Chi Tunnels in a quick progression but I managed to see as much as possible still. On the way to the Mekong River part of the tour, we saw Coconut candy being made and had fresh fruit and traditional music by locals.
Photos from the trip out:
Saturday morning - final morning
I had a few hours before needing to go to the airport so I went back out around Buu Dien (Saigon Post Office) and the nearby streets.
Just next to the Post Office, I found 'Book Street' which was exactly what it sounds like. A whole street of bookshops in English and Vietnamese, alongside some street stalls for books and swapping. This place was brilliant! I definitely enjoyed it a little too much and I'm very glad I only had a bag for travelling back to Shanghai.
Ho Chi Minh City highlights:
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