Three days is the length most people give Hanoi, and it works. This is a day-by-day plan for someone landing at Noi Bai, staying in the Old Quarter and getting around mostly on foot, with a day trip out of the city on day three.
Three days is the length most people give Hanoi, and it is the right call. Two days covers the center in a rush; three lets you see the old city properly, spend a morning with the thousand-year-old material and still get out of town for a day. This is the day-by-day version, written for someone arriving off a long-haul flight and basing themselves in the Old Quarter.
Before day one: getting in from Noi Bai
International flights land at Noi Bai, roughly 27 to 30km (17 to 19 miles) north of the center, which is 40 to 60 minutes depending on the hour. You have four realistic options, and all prices below are estimates.
- Airport bus 86 to Hanoi railway station: an estimated 40,000-50,000d (roughly US$2), runs about every 30 minutes and stops within walking distance of the Old Quarter
- Grab or Xanh SM, the ride-hailing apps everyone uses here (Grab is the regional equivalent of Uber, Xanh SM runs electric cars): around 250,000 to 350,000d (roughly US$10 to 14), good value split three or four ways
- Shared minibus: around 100,000 to 150,000d (roughly US$4 to 6) per person, delivered to your hotel door in the Old Quarter
- Public buses 7 or 17: around 8,000 to 9,000d, well under a dollar, but slow and involving a transfer
Day 1: Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter
Start with phở bò, the beef noodle soup in clear broth that is a breakfast dish here rather than a dinner one, at an estimated 40,000 to 60,000d (roughly US$1.50 to 2.50). Then walk to Hoan Kiem Lake, cross the red The Huc bridge to Ngoc Son Temple on its island, and spend the rest of the morning getting deliberately lost in the Old Quarter. Its 36 streets were each named for the trade that once worked them: Hang Bac for silversmiths, Hang Ma for paper goods, Hang Gai for silk, with Dong Xuan Market at the northern end.
- Morning: pho for breakfast, then Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, entry an estimated 30,000 to 50,000d (about US$1 to 2)
- Lunch: bún chả, grilled pork patties served with cold rice noodles, herbs and a sweet-sour dipping broth, around 40,000 to 70,000d (US$1.50 to 3)
- Afternoon: St Joseph's Cathedral, then egg coffee, which is coffee under a whipped topping of egg yolk and condensed milk, about 25,000 to 45,000d (US$1 to 2)
- Evening: Ta Hien street for bia hoi, the fresh unpasteurized draft beer poured at plastic-stool level for roughly 10,000 to 15,000d a glass
From Friday evening through Sunday the streets around the lake close to traffic and fill with families, buskers and street games. If your dates include a weekend, save your lake evening for it.
Day 2: the imperial city and West Lake
Give the morning to the historic cluster west of the Old Quarter. The Temple of Literature, founded in the 11th century as Vietnam's first university, is where students still come before exams; entry is an estimated 30,000 to 70,000d and it opens around 8am. A short walk away, the Thang Long Imperial Citadel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site layered with the remains of several dynasties, and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum stands in the same district.
- Morning: Temple of Literature, then the Thang Long Imperial Citadel
- Mid-morning: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and One Pillar Pagoda. Entry is free but hours are short and mornings only, it usually closes on Mondays and Fridays, bags are checked, and covered shoulders and knees are required
- Afternoon: West Lake, the city's largest, for Tran Quoc Pagoda and a lakeside coffee at sunset
- Evening: chả cá, turmeric-marinated fish grilled at your table with dill and spring onion, or bún đậu mắm tôm for the braver, which is fried tofu and noodles with a pungent fermented shrimp dip
Cross the road the way locals do: step off the curb and walk at a slow, constant pace without stopping. The motorbike riders are reading your speed and steering around you, and freezing halfway is the one thing that genuinely makes it dangerous. It feels wrong for about a day and then it feels normal.
Day 3: get out of the city
Day three is best spent outside Hanoi. Three sensible options, depending on how much time in a vehicle you can stomach.
- Ninh Binh, roughly 95km (60 miles) south, 1.5 to 2 hours each way: karst scenery, a rowboat through flooded caves at Trang An and the Hang Mua steps. The longest day and the best one
- Bat Trang pottery village, inside greater Hanoi and about 30 to 40 minutes out: ceramics workshops where you can throw your own piece, easily a half-day
- Duong Lam ancient village, on the western edge of greater Hanoi and roughly an hour and a half by road: laterite-brick houses and northern village life the city has lost
Come back into the center in the late afternoon with time to shop for ô mai (salted and candied fruit), cốm (young green rice, seasonal) and lotus tea, all sold along Hang Duong and Hang Gai.
What three days costs
Estimates for one person, assuming local restaurants and a modest Old Quarter hotel. A four-star room and a private car will multiply them.
- Two nights of accommodation: around 400,000 to 1,400,000d (roughly US$16 to 55)
- Food for three days: around 450,000 to 800,000d (US$18 to 32)
- Entry tickets: around 150,000 to 300,000d (US$6 to 12)
- Local transport plus the day trip: around 300,000 to 600,000d (US$12 to 24)
- Total: roughly 1,400,000 to 3,000,000d per person, about US$55 to 120, excluding international flights and shopping
Practical notes
- Book a room in or immediately beside the Old Quarter so that days one and two happen on foot
- Keep small notes for street stalls, since almost nothing you eat will take a card
- Check opening days before you set out, especially for the mausoleum
- Ask the price before you order at a stall in the tourist streets, which is normal and not rude
