How many days do you need in Hanoi, and should you add Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh?

1. 1Old Quarter & Hoan Kiem Lakesunset at the Huc Bridge1 day
2. 2Temple of Literature, Ba Dinh & French QuarterTemple of Literature opens 8am1 day
3. 3West Lake & Train Streetcheck Train Street status1 day

Why 2 to 3 days

Hanoi's main sights are close together, but the city is best on foot and in the early morning and evening, with a rest through the midday heat. That leaves room for roughly one district per day. Two days covers the Old Quarter, the lake, the Temple of Literature and Ba Dinh; the third adds West Lake, Tran Quoc Pagoda and a look at Train Street.

Count arrival days honestly. We landed at midday, so our 2.5 days were really two full days plus an afternoon. If you arrive in the evening or are jet-lagged, book three nights to get two good days.

Day by day: a 3-day plan

• Day 1, the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake: walk the trade streets with no fixed route in the morning, eat pho or banh cuon from a street stall, then cross the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple and stay for sunset over the lake. On weekend evenings the streets around the lake close to traffic.

• Day 2, Ba Dinh and the French Quarter: be at the Temple of Literature when it opens at 8am, then the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area (formal, with a modest dress code, and it closes early in the afternoon), the Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda. Come back through the French Quarter and the Opera House in the afternoon.

• Day 3, West Lake and Train Street: Tran Quoc Pagoda in the late afternoon light, the lakeside cafés, and bun cha or bun oc. Train Street is officially restricted, so check our Train Street guide for its current status before going.

Our 3 days in Hanoi guide has the full version with food and photo stops; for a two-day stay, drop its West Lake day.

Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh: day trip or overnight?

Most people add one of the two from Hanoi. The trade-off is travel time:

• Ha Long Bay: the drive from Hanoi takes roughly 2 to 2.5 hours each way on the expressway, more by bus, so a day trip means about 5 hours on the road for a few hours on the water. An overnight cruise is the better use of the journey.

• Ninh Binh: about 90 km south, roughly 2 hours 15 minutes by train or about 2 hours by limousine van. A day trip is doable, but the Trang An boats are best early, before the Hanoi tour groups arrive, which is easiest from a hotel near Tam Coc. Our Hanoi to Ninh Binh guide compares train, bus and tours.

We chose Ninh Binh and gave it 4 days rather than a day trip, and we would do the same again. If you only have time for one, Ninh Binh is the shorter journey and is on the way south; Ha Long is a detour east.

Where Hanoi fits in a Vietnam route

Hanoi is the natural start or end of a north-to-south trip. In our 4-week Vietnam route, it came first, then Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Da Lat, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City. Looking back, Hanoi at 2.5 days was the tightest stop on that route, and moving a day from Hoi An to Hanoi would have balanced it better.

For weather, autumn (September to November) is Hanoi's best season. Our late-April visit was warm and humid with low cloud, and May to August is hot with heavy afternoon showers, so plan the walking for early mornings and evenings. Check the Vietnam e-visa rules before booking.

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