Vietnam
Standing in a tenth-century courtyard and realising the country is far older than the war you read about.
Three capitals, a trading port and a Cham temple complex, in the order they happened — My Son, Hoa Lu, Thang Long, Hoi An, Hue. Six nights in two bases with one flight between them, so the days go into the sites rather than into transfers. The Cham sanctuary at My Son is the one most Indian travellers do not expect: Hindu temples in brick, built to Shiva, and closer to what they know than anything else on the route.
Day by day
Arrive and transfer in. The Old Quarter on foot in the late afternoon — the streets still grouped by the trade each one sold, which is the oldest thing about the city that is still working.
Hanoi old quarter
A full day in Hanoi — the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Temple of Literature and its eighty-two doctoral stelae, Hoan Kiem lake and the French quarter. The Thang Long water puppet show in the evening, a form that started in the flooded paddies north of the city.
South to Ninh Binh for Hoa Lu, capital of Dai Co Viet from 968 to 1010, and the temples to Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh that stand on the old ground. Then the Tam Coc river, and the Hang Mua steps for anyone who wants the five hundred of them. Back to Hanoi in the evening.
Morning flight to Da Nang and the road down to Hoi An. The Ancient Town walking tour in the afternoon — the Japanese bridge, the assembly halls and the merchant houses — and the lanterns on as you leave.
Hoi An
An early start for My Son Sanctuary, open from six and worth taking at that hour for the light and the quiet. Cham brick towers built between the fourth and thirteenth centuries, much of it lost to bombing in 1969 and not restored so much as held. Back to Hoi An, and an afternoon lantern-making workshop with a family that makes them.
North over the Hai Van Pass on the old road to Hue — the Imperial City and the citadel of the Nguyen emperors, Thien Mu pagoda on the Perfume river, and back over the pass in the evening. A long day, and the only way to do Hue properly from this base.
Transfer to Da Nang airport.
Day 1: Arrival
Arrive and transfer in. The Old Quarter on foot in the late afternoon — the streets still grouped by the trade each one sold, which is the oldest thing about the city that is still working.
Old Quarter, Hanoi
Day 2: Sightseeing
A full day in Hanoi — the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Temple of Literature and its eighty-two doctoral stelae, Hoan Kiem lake and the French quarter. The Thang Long water puppet show in the evening, a form that started in the flooded paddies north of the city.
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long · Temple of Literature · Hoan Kiem Lake · Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Day 3: Sightseeing
South to Ninh Binh for Hoa Lu, capital of Dai Co Viet from 968 to 1010, and the temples to Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh that stand on the old ground. Then the Tam Coc river, and the Hang Mua steps for anyone who wants the five hundred of them. Back to Hanoi in the evening.
Hoa Lu ancient capital · Tam Coc · Hang Mua
Day 4: Flight
Morning flight to Da Nang and the road down to Hoi An. The Ancient Town walking tour in the afternoon — the Japanese bridge, the assembly halls and the merchant houses — and the lanterns on as you leave.
Hoi An Ancient Town
Day 5: Sightseeing
An early start for My Son Sanctuary, open from six and worth taking at that hour for the light and the quiet. Cham brick towers built between the fourth and thirteenth centuries, much of it lost to bombing in 1969 and not restored so much as held. Back to Hoi An, and an afternoon lantern-making workshop with a family that makes them.
My Son Sanctuary
Day 6: Sightseeing
North over the Hai Van Pass on the old road to Hue — the Imperial City and the citadel of the Nguyen emperors, Thien Mu pagoda on the Perfume river, and back over the pass in the evening. A long day, and the only way to do Hue properly from this base.
Hai Van Pass · Imperial City, Hue · Thien Mu Pagoda
Day 7: Departure
Transfer to Da Nang 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.