Vietnam
The children get a cave, a kayak and a night at anchor, and nobody has to drive.
Four nights in Hanoi and one out on the water. The city half-day and the water puppets, a full day at Ninh Binh with a rowed sampan through the limestone, then the road east to board a 4★ overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay — Sung Sot cave, kayaking off the boat, and the Titop island viewpoint at the end of the afternoon. Ninh Binh and Ha Long are both a road drive from Hanoi, so there is no domestic flight anywhere in this trip and no airport to do twice with children.
Day by day
Arrive, transfer, check in, and nothing scheduled.
Hanoi old quarter
Half a day of Hanoi — the Ho Chi Minh complex and the One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, then Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son temple. The afternoon is free, and the water puppet show is in the evening — fifty minutes, which is the right length with children.
Out early for the full day — Hoa Lu, then a rowed sampan through the limestone at Trang An, and the Hang Mua steps for whoever wants the five hundred of them. Lunch is on the road. Back in Hanoi in the evening.
About two and a half hours east on the expressway, and aboard by midday. Lunch as you sail, Sung Sot Cave in the afternoon, kayaking off the boat, and the Titop island viewpoint before dinner. The night is spent at anchor.
Ha Long Bay
Early light on the sundeck, brunch, and ashore around eleven. Back in the city by mid-afternoon, and the Old Quarter street-food walk in the evening.
Hanoi old quarter
The morning is free, then the airport.
Day 1: Arrival
Arrive, transfer, check in, and nothing scheduled.
Day 2: Sightseeing
Half a day of Hanoi — the Ho Chi Minh complex and the One Pillar Pagoda, the Temple of Literature, then Hoan Kiem lake and Ngoc Son temple. The afternoon is free, and the water puppet show is in the evening — fifty minutes, which is the right length with children.
Ho Chi Minh complex (Mausoleum) · One Pillar Pagoda · Temple of Literature · Hoan Kiem Lake · Ngoc Son Temple · Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Day 3: Sightseeing
Out early for the full day — Hoa Lu, then a rowed sampan through the limestone at Trang An, and the Hang Mua steps for whoever wants the five hundred of them. Lunch is on the road. Back in Hanoi in the evening.
Hoa Lu ancient capital · Trang An · Hang Mua
Day 4: Transfer
About two and a half hours east on the expressway, and aboard by midday. Lunch as you sail, Sung Sot Cave in the afternoon, kayaking off the boat, and the Titop island viewpoint before dinner. The night is spent at anchor.
Sung Sot Cave · Titop Island
Day 5: Transfer
Early light on the sundeck, brunch, and ashore around eleven. Back in the city by mid-afternoon, and the Old Quarter street-food walk in the evening.
Old Quarter, Hanoi
Day 6: Departure
The morning is free, then the airport.
Visa for Indian travellers: fee, stay and documents in our Vietnam visa guide
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Make it yours
This is a starting point, not a fixed product. Different dates, a better room, an extra island, one grandparent who can't manage stairs — say so and we rebuild it around you.
5★ hotel in Da Nang · Breakfast · Airport transfers
A morning in the cloud at fifteen hundred metres, and a beach to come back down to.
All 3 at Hanoi, Old Quarter · Breakfast · Airport transfers
Three nights in one city, mostly on foot, mostly eating.
4★ hotel in Hanoi · Breakfast · Airport transfers
One extra night, and what it buys is limestone, a rowed boat and five hundred steps.