Vietnam's Essential Destinations — Self-Launched 9-Day (Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City)

Fly into Noi Bai (HAN). Skip the private transfer: take the Vietnam Airlines/Circle bus #86 express bus from the terminal to the Old Quarter for about 45,000 VND (~£1.50), or a Grab car for ~£10–12 if you're arriving late. Check into a hostel or budget hotel near Hoan Kiem Lake (dorms from £6–8, private rooms £15–22). Spend the afternoon walking the 36 Streets, coffee at a rooftop cafe, and bia hoi corner in the evening. Book your Halong Bay cruise and a Hanoi food tour for tomorrow/day 3 tonight — hostels often get better rates than online.

🚌Bus #86 from Noi Bai ~£1.50 or Grab ~£11

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Old Quarter (e.g. Hanoi Backpackers / Little Charm Hanoi)

• →Airport express bus #86 to Old Quarter
• →Self-guided Old Quarter walk
• →Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple
• →Bia hoi corner evening

Do the classic Hanoi circuit on foot or by cheap Grab bike (10,000–20,000 VND per hop). Start early at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex (free, closed Mon & Fri, mornings only), then Tran Quoc Pagoda and One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature (~£2.50), and Hoa Lo Prison (~£1.50). Pick one museum: Ethnology Museum (~£2) or the Vietnamese Women's Museum (~£2), both excellent. Expect the mausoleum to be crowded — go at opening. For dinner, join a small-group street food tour via GetYourGuide/Klook (~£20–25) or DIY with a route through Bun Cha Huong Lien and pho in the Old Quarter.

🚌Walking + Grab bike hops ~£3 total

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel, Old Quarter

• →Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum & complex
• →Tran Quoc and One Pillar Pagodas
• →Temple of Literature
• →Hoa Lo Prison
• →Ethnology or Women's Museum
• →Street food tour or DIY food crawl

Book a budget-to-mid overnight cruise direct or via Klook/GetYourGuide — 2D1N with shuttle bus from Hanoi, all meals, kayaking and cave visit typically runs £75–110 per person in a shared cabin (mid-range boats like those Legend uses cost more; budget backpacker boats such as Halong Fantasea or Dragon Legend are cheaper). Shuttle pickup ~8am, board around midday, lunch on deck, then Amazing Cave and kayaking in the afternoon. Sunset on the top deck, squid fishing and a cooking demo in the evening.

🚌Included shuttle bus Hanoi–Halong–Hanoi (part of cruise package)

🛏Shared cabin on a budget Halong Bay junk boat

• →Halong Bay 2D1N cruise
• →Amazing Cave / Sung Sot Cave
• →Kayaking or swimming
• →Sunset on top deck, squid fishing

Sunrise on the bay, visit a floating fishing village, then cruise back to the pier and return to Hanoi by ~4pm. This is where the tour flies you south — do it yourself with a cheap VietJet/Vietnam Airlines flight Hanoi–Danang (book ahead, £30–55 one-way, or from ~£25 on VietJet promos). From Danang airport, take a shared shuttle or Grab to Hoi An (~£7–9, 45 min). Alternative if you want to skip the flight: overnight sleeper train Hanoi–Danang in a soft-sleeper berth (~£35–45, 16 hrs) — it costs a day but is a proper backpacker rite of passage. Arrive Hoi An, settle into a riverside guesthouse (£12–18/night) and wander the lantern-lit Ancient Town.

🚌Flight Hanoi–Danang ~£40 + Grab to Hoi An ~£8 (or sleeper train ~£40)

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Hoi An (e.g. Hoi An TNT Villa or similar)

• →Sunrise over Halong Bay
• →Floating fishing village visit
• →Flight or sleeper train south
• →Evening walk in Hoi An Ancient Town

Buy the Hoi An Ancient Town ticket (~£5) which covers five heritage sites: the Japanese Covered Bridge, a 1700s chapel (Tan Ky old house), the assembly halls, and the Sa Huynh Museum. Then walk 10 minutes to the boat landing and take a local ferry/boat across the Thu Bon River to Cam Kim Island — hire a bike (~£1.50) and cycle to Kim Bong carpentry village and the mat-weaving/sedan-chair makers. Return by boat (~£1.50). Evening: night market, cao lau noodles, and a lantern boat ride for ~£2. Optional half-day cooking class next morning (~£18–22).

🚌Bike hire, local ferry boat ~£3 total

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Hoi An

• →Hoi An Ancient Town heritage ticket
• →Japanese Covered Bridge
• →Sa Huynh Museum
• →Boat across Thu Bon River to Cam Kim Island
• →Kim Bong carpentry village by bike
• →Lantern boat ride and night market

Morning free for tailoring, tailors' fittings, or a final swim; Da Nang beach is 30 minutes away by Grab (~£5). Head to Danang airport for a flight to Saigon (~£30–45 one-way, 1h20). From Tan Son Nhat, take the yellow bus #109 or Grab bike/taxi to District 1 (~£1.50 bus, ~£4 Grab). Check into a hostel or budget hotel around Pham Ngu Lao / Bui Vien (£7 dorm, £18–25 private). Evening: Bui Vien walking street, banh mi dinner, rooftop bar for the skyline.

🚌Flight ~£35 + airport bus ~£1.50

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

• →Free morning for shopping/tailoring
• →Budget flight Danang–Saigon
• →Pham Ngu Lao evening and street food

Book a half-day Cu Chi Tunnels tour via GetYourGuide or Klook (~£15–20 including bus and entry) for the afternoon, or DIY: bus #13 from Ben Thanh to Cu Chi town then a local motorbike taxi — cheaper but slower and less informative. In the morning, walk the Dong Khoi quarter: Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, and the Reunification Palace (~£2.50 entry). The War Remnants Museum (~£2) is a must and pairs best with Cu Chi for context — do it tomorrow morning if time is short. The tour includes a tasting of the tapioca and 'fighter's cuisine' served at the tunnels.

🚌Group minibus to Cu Chi (part of tour) + city walking ~£17 total with tour

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, District 1

• →Notre Dame Cathedral (exterior)
• →Central Post Office
• →Reunification Palace
• →Cu Chi Tunnels half-day tour
• →Tapioca and tunnel-fighter's snack tasting

A small-group My Tho–Ben Tre day tour booked via Klook/GetYourGuide is about £20–28 and covers the bus from District 1, the Mekong boat trip, coconut candy workshop, bee farm with honey tea, and Vinh Trang Pagoda. Pickup ~7:30am, back around 6pm. Cheaper DIY version: local bus Saigon–My Tho (~£2, 2 hrs) plus a rowboat trip negotiated at the pier (~£8–10) — doable but you'll need basic Vietnamese or a translation app. Evening back in Saigon: War Remnants Museum if not yet done, or a final dinner at Banh Mi Huynh Hoa.

🚌Group tour bus or local bus to My Tho (included in tour price ~£20–28)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel, District 1

• →Mekong River boat trip
• →Vinh Trang Pagoda
• →Coconut candy and bee farm island stops
• →Traditional rowboat through canals

Breakfast and a last morning coffee. Transfer to Tan Son Nhat airport by bus #109, #152 (~£0.70) or Grab (~£4–6) — allow 45 minutes in traffic for an international flight. If you're extending, be aware a 30-day e-visa is easy to get online (~£20) and open-jaw flights out of Saigon to Phnom Penh or Bangkok are cheap. Note that 90-day e-visas are now available for many nationalities if you want to slow down.

🚌Bus #109/#152 ~£0.70 or Grab ~£5

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Final breakfast and coffee
• →Airport transfer
• →Optional onward booking to Cambodia or Thailand