For first-timers to this wonderfully diverse country Vietnam, I have included a 20-day itinerary that introduces you to some of the popular spots in Vietnam. Given the short timeframe and the long list of potential places, I have covered all the important places without compromising on the hidden gems and of course a generous load of adventure!
Things to know before visiting Vietnam
- VISA : e-VISA required and can be applied from https://evisa.xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/trang-chu-ttdt
- Cost of e-VISA : 25 USD.
- Apply for e-VISA a week prior as it would take atleast 3-4 business days for the approval.
- Travel Insurance with a minimum of 10,000 USD cover.
- Passport : Passport must be valid for another six months before you depart.
- Vaccination Certificate is must.
- Native Currency = Vietnamese Dong. 1 USD = 23,400 VND (1 VND = 295 INR).
- Use ‘Grab’ Application to book cabs.
- Use ‘booking.com’ for booking hotels.
Overview of Vietnam Itinerary
Hanoi
- Day 1 : Bangalore to Kolkata and Kolkata to Hanoi.
- Day 2 : Exploring Hanoi – Tran Quoc Pagoda, Imperial Citadel, Military History Museum, Night street.
- Day 3 : Continue Exploring Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Temple of Literature, Hanoi’s Train Street, Old Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, Night street.
Ninh Binh
- Day 4 : Hanoi to Ninh Binh. Visiting hang Mua Cave.
- Day 5 : Exploring Ninh Binh from Trang An, Tam Coc, Hoa Lu Temple, Thai Vi Temple, Khu Du Lich Sinh Thai Trang An Co, Sunset at Hang Mua Peak (Top of Dragon Mountain)
- Day 6 : Bich Dong Pagoda, Phat Diem Cathedral, Bai Dinh Pagoda.
HaLong Bay
- Day 7 : Taking a Bus from Ninh Binh to HaLong Port, Booking a Cruise.
- Day 8 : HaLong Bay Cruise for 2 nights.
- Day 11 : Halong Bay Port to Hanoi Airport, Flight from Hanoi to Da Nang.
Da Nang
- Day 12 : Start exploring the beauty of Da Nang, Spend a day in Sun world-Bana Hills, Buy a ticket and get into Cable car that takes you to the World famous Golden Bridge.
- Day 13 : Visit Marble mountain, Explore the caves within Marble mountain and head to the top of the mountain for the beautiful view of Da Nang, Do not forget to buy some authentic marble souvenir while returning, Lady Buddha Statue.
- Day 14 : Spend some time in My Khe Beach, Asia Park, Dragon Bridge, Famous Food street (Night).
Hoi An
- Day 15 : Da Nang to Hoi An. Visit Fujian Assembly Hall, Quan Cong Temple, Cau Temple.
- Day 16 : Walk the streets of Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Hoi An Night market.
Ho Chi Minh City
- Day 17 : Hoi An to Da Nang Airport, Da Nang to Ho CHi minh City.
- Day 18 : War Remnants Museum, Independence palace, Explore Chu Chi tunnels, Ben Thanh Market, Saigon Opera House.
- Day 19 : Notre Dame Cathedral, Now visit all the famous museums in Ho Chi Minh to understand Vietnam’s culture and learn about the country’s history (Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Vietnam History Museum).
- Day 20 : Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Mariamman Hindu Temple, Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre.
Day 1
There were no direct flights from Bangalore to any part of Vietnam when I visited Vietnam so I would need to take 2 flights. i.e, Bengaluru to Kolkata and then from Kolkata to Hanoi. Glad the Layover period was just 6 hours so I could reach Hanoi on the same day!
I reached my hotel in Hanoi by 4 PM , Took some rest and then went out for a walk near Hoan Kiem Lake.
(Hoan Kiem Lake is my favourite spot in Hanoi as I used to spend my night over there editing the pictures/videos)
Day 2
Time to explore the capital city of Vietnam, Hanoi.
Though Hanoi is one of the busiest cities in Vietnam, there are many attractive places that one should not miss.
Kick started my day by visiting Tran Quoc Pagoda – 1500 years old pagoda on the bank of red river.
There are three main houses are connected and make the pagoda look like a blooming lotus.
–Tien Duong (the Front House) is located in front of the bell tower and faces the west. In front of the Front House, there is an incense burner in the yard.
-Nha To (the Ancestor House) is on the right of Tien Duong, worshipping the previous generation of monks.
-Nha Bia (the Stele House) is on the left of Tien Duong, holding 14 important steles engraved from 1813 to 1815.
From there, I rented a bike which was a life saviour and was able to cover most of the places with much more flexibility.
I headed to Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.
The Thang Long Imperial Citadel was built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, marking the independence of the Dai Viet (Former name of Vietnam)
After seeing Imperial Citadel, Walked a bit further and visited Military History Museum.
That was a busy first day of exploration. It’s 3 PM and i got back to my hotel.
The last destination for today is Night street and It was so beautiful and I was roaming around the streets for 2-3 hours before concluding my Day 2.
Day 3
Continued exploring the beautiful city Hanoi.
Starting my day from Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, This is the building where visitors can express their admiration and gratitude towards the common father/uncle of Vietnamese (Ho Chi Minh) who has led the country to independence and reunification.
You would be able to see Ho Chi Minh’s statue lying down inside this building.
There is no entrance fee but they have imposed some strict regulations. No short skirts or tank tops are allowed and there is high level of security check upon arrival.
Day packs can be put in a safe deposit before you enter but make sure you do not carry many valuable items with you. Taking photos, talking or finger-pointing are strictly prohibited inside the mausoleum.
Due to the long queue, It took about 2 hours to go inside the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and come out of the building.
Now, I headed to one of the oldest Cathedral in Vietnam, St. Joseph’s Cathedral.
Unfortunately, Photography inside the Cathedral was prohibited so i couldn’t capture the glory of this cathedral but it was beautiful.
After this, I had lunch and returned to my hotel.
In the evening, I went to Temple of Literature.
Once done, I went to Hanoi’s Train Street. Unfortuntely, There was some reconstructions and people were not allowed to enter that street.
From there, Hanoi’s Old Quarter was nearby.
At last, I headed to my favourite spot Hanoi’s Night street and Hoan Kiem Lake.
This concludes my Hanoi exploration.
I need to get ready for Ninh Binh Tomorrow!
Day 4
I was so glad that the hotel receptionist booked a VIP bus for me to reach Ninh Binh!
The cost was 300,000 VND (1,000 INR) and takes 2 hours to reach Ninh Binh.
They also arranged a cab for my first destination Hang Mua, Ninh Binh.
I booked hotel within the Hang Mua cave.
It is Hang Mua Eco Lodge and it’s the most beautiful hotel you can find in Ninh Binh!
700,000 VND (30 USD/2400 INR) per night, This includes the breakfast, Parking fee, and also the entrance fee for Mua cave.
Day 5
Most of the travellers skip Ninh Binh and am not sure why.
Ninh Binh is the most beautiful destination in Vietnam and one must not skip this place.
I rented a bike from the hotel and went to Trang An. This is where you can get a boat that will take you to 7 different places which includes 3 temples and a massive cave.
Ticket for the Boat trip per person – 250,000 VND (11 USD/850 INR).
This will take 3-4 hours for the complete trip and it was one of the most memorable In Vietnam.
There are 3 routes. I would prefer the route number 3.
The places you would be seeing:
- Hang Dai Cave (This will be a 40+ minutes journey and it’s Insane!)
- Den Trinh Temple
- Hanh Cung Vu Lam Temple
- Suoi Tien Temple
- Dia Linh Mountain
One of the best experience that no one should miss. It was a 4 hours journey and finally heading back to my hotel.
Day 6
There are few more places left in Ninh Binh that are worth visiting.
Heading to Bich Dong Pagoda.
There is no entrance fee to visit, however, you may have to pay a small fee for parking.
Wear a good pair of shoes while visiting this pagoda as the path to pagoda is slippery but they are very beautiful and photogenic.
Caves within the Binch Dong Pagoda was so beautiful. There were few statues within that cave but without any light so you would need to use the torch.
Took some time to capture the beauty of the caves and pagoda but it was worth it.
From there I went to Phat Diem Cathedral which is one of the most beautiful churches in Vietnam.
This is the aerial view of Phat Diem Cathedral which I shot on DJI Mavic 3 drone.
It took 24 years to build this church from 1875 to 1898.
It was completely built of stone and wood that are readily available in the mountain area of Ninh Binh.
After exploring Bich Dong pagoda and visiting this church, I was already exhausted.
Had my lunch from nearby hotel. As Goat meat is famous in Ninh Binh, I tried the special goat meat with herbs and soup. It was amazing!
Once done, I visited Bai Dinh Pagoda and I was stunned!
This is the most beautiful Pagoda i have ever seen.
I spent 3 hours capturing pictures and shooting aerial videos and hyperlapses/timelapses.
Bai Dinh Pagoda is one of the most famous spiritual landmarks in Ninh Binh, Vietnam, covering a total area of 539 hectare in Ninh Binh province.
Bai Dinh complex has two main areas: the ancient pagoda with ancient relics and the new pagoda.
The ancient pagoda was built over 1000 years ago by Zen master Nguyen Minh Khong. (It’s located on a mountain high 187 m, about 800m from the new pagoda to the Southeast).
After climbing 300 flat stone steps, you can reach the gate of the ancient Bai Dinh. It’s definitely worth your time and effort to climb up the mountain and visit this part of the pagoda.
The integration of the ancient pagoda into the cave and mountain is stunning. Some important places to see here are Patriarch Cave, Buddha Cave, and Cao Son Altar.
After visiting the ancient pagoda, you can follow a small path leading to the new pagoda complex.
The newly built pagoda is an 80-hectare site including different highlights such as Jade well, Belltower, the main temple, and the hallway with 500 statues of Arhat.
I would suggest you to visit Bai Dinh Pagoda during sunset, It looks stunning!
This concludes my Ninh Binh Exploration!
Tomorrow I am heading to my favourite destination In Vietnam!
Day 7
You heard it right. Halong Bay is everyone’s favourite destination in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s Trip is not complete if you miss HaLong Bay’s cruise.
Taking a Bus from Ninh Binh to HaLong Port, As I reached evening, I could not make it to cruise on the same day, So booked a hotel near the port and stayed there for a night.
However, I booked the cruise before heading to my hotel.
You will be able to see many offices as soon as you reach Halong Port from where you can book the cruise. I went with Paradise Cruise, They charged me 4M VND per night (170 USD/14,000 INR).
I booked for 2 nights and it was an amazing experience!
Day 8
They sent a cab to pick me up from the hotel and dropped me in Halong Port.
There will be a mini ship that will pick us all and takes us to the main cruise.
There will be poor internet connectivity for next 2 days so stay immersed with this beautiful nature.
The only thing you would be seeing around is crystal clear water and limestone mountains!
I was lucky enough to try out all the Vietnamese Dishes during this journey and the manager was kind enough to help me out throughout this journey.
They will take you to hidden caves, Beautiful beaches and iconic spots in and around Halong Bay!
Day 11
It was an amazing 2 nights spent in HaLong Bay!
You may also visit Cat Ba Island which is 20 km from Halong Bay If you can stretch your holiday by 1-2 additional days.
Now, I need to book a flight to Da Nang. So I need to get back to Hanoi Airport and from there to Da Nang!
Flight ticket was 70 USD (5,800 INR) and it took 2 hours to reach Da Nang.
Glad I was able to get a good hotel in DaNang and it was already 10 PM.
0 Comments