Trip overview
Seven days is not much time to cover a country shaped like Vietnam, so this route skips the long overland hauls and flies between its three anchor stops: [Ho Chi Minh City](destinations/ho-chi-minh-city), Hoi An and Hanoi. It suits travellers who have about a week free and want a fair sample of south, centre and north rather than a deep stay in any single region.
The rhythm alternates a city day with a slower, scenic one — a market town on the Mekong one morning, a fishing village by basket boat the next afternoon. A private guide and driver handle every transfer, so the only planning left to you is how late to stay out in Hoi An's lantern-lit lanes.
It closes on a boat, not in an airport lounge: the last full day is spent aboard a junk in [Halong Bay](destinations/ha-long-bay), which makes for a calmer finish than most short Vietnam itineraries manage.
Highlights
- A half-day around Saigon's French-era landmarks, from the old Central Post Office to the Reunification Palace
- An orchard stop on Thoi Son island in the Mekong Delta, with honey tea and live Cai Luong folk music
- A walk through the Cu Chi tunnel network dug by hand during the war
- A basket-boat ride and crab-fishing lesson in Cam Thanh's coconut palm channels near Hoi An
- An evening in Hoi An's old quarter released lantern by lantern onto the Hoai River
- Hanoi's Temple of Literature and a cyclo loop through the Old Quarter
- A night afloat in Halong Bay with kayaking and swimming off the boat
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Day by day
Day 1 — Ho Chi Minh City: first steps in Saigon
Land at Tan Son Nhat and a driver runs you straight into the downtown core to check in. Once you have rested, a guide walks you through Saigon's landmark cluster: the Reunification Palace, the neo-Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, the Gustave Eiffel-designed Central Post Office, and the Opera House and City Hall a short stroll apart.
Meals: none included.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 2 — Mekong Delta: orchards and a river market town
A two-hour drive south lands you in My Tho, the delta town locals call the country's rice bowl. Vinh Trang Pagoda's facade, pieced together from broken pottery shards, is the first stop, then a boat pulls out onto the Mekong to pass fishing hamlets on the way to Thoi Son island.
On the island, a rowed sampan, seasonal fruit, honey tea, coconut candy and a short set of live folk songs fill the late morning before lunch at a garden restaurant back near the pier.
Meals: breakfast.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 3 — Cu Chi Tunnels, then a flight to Hoi An
Morning is spent underground — or as far underground as a modern visitor can manage — inside the Cu Chi tunnel system, where guerrilla fighters lived and moved for years during the war. Guides explain how the network was dug, ventilated and hidden.
From Cu Chi, it is a direct run to Tan Son Nhat for a short flight to Da Nang, followed by a road transfer into Hoi An.
Meals: breakfast.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 4 — Cam Thanh coconut village and Hoi An's old quarter
The morning is free. In the afternoon, head out to Cam Thanh's water coconut village for a round trip by basket boat, where local fishermen show visitors how to hand-catch crabs among the palm roots.
Back in town, a walking tour takes in the Museum of Trade Ceramics, the 17th-century Chua Ong pagoda, the Tam Ky ancestral house with its mix of imperial and French detailing, and the centuries-old Japanese Covered Bridge that once linked the town's Chinese and Japanese quarters.
As dusk falls, a short boat ride on the Hoai River lets you set a paper lantern adrift, followed by free time in Lantern Street and the night market.
Meals: breakfast.
Overnight in Hoi An.
Day 5 — Fly to Hanoi: Old Quarter and water puppets
Check out and fly north to Hanoi. Noi Bai airport arrivals connect straight to a road transfer into the capital's core, where you settle in before the afternoon starts.
In the afternoon, walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple, then take a one-hour cyclo or electric-car loop through the Old Quarter, passing the outside of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum en route to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's oldest university and a near-thousand-year-old seat of Confucian scholarship.
The day ends with a traditional water puppetry performance.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Overnight in Hanoi.
Day 6 — Halong Bay cruise
Leave the hotel around 8am for the roughly three-hour drive to the coast. Boarding is around midday, and the cruise pushes out into the bay's limestone islets for an afternoon of kayaking, swimming and sunbathing on deck.
Meals: breakfast.
Overnight aboard the cruise in Halong Bay.
Day 7 — Halong Bay to departure
An optional tai chi class opens the morning, with tea and coffee served in the dining room. A short bamboo-boat visit to a fishing village shows how those communities still live on the water, before the boat returns to dock around midday.
From the pier, it is a road transfer back to Noi Bai for your departure flight, closing out the seven days.
Meals: breakfast.
What's included
- A 24-hour helpline for the length of the trip
- Hotel stays with daily breakfast, twin or double sharing
- A similar-grade hotel offered if your listed property is fully booked
- Private, air-conditioned transport for every transfer and excursion on the route
- An English-speaking guide throughout
- Entrance fees for every stop named in the day-by-day
- Two bottles of drinking water per person, per day
- International flights into and out of Vietnam
- The domestic flights Saigon–Da Nang and Da Nang–Hanoi
- Early check-in or late check-out at any hotel
- Travel insurance and personal spending
- Meals and drinks beyond those listed in the day-by-day
- Visa costs where applicable
- Tips for your guide and driver
Good to know
- The Cu Chi tunnel section involves stooping and a short crawl in low light; you can stay above ground and skip it if that is not for you.
- October to April is the driest stretch for the Halong Bay leg; outside those months, expect more humidity and the chance of a rained-out kayaking session.
- The Saigon–Da Nang and Da Nang–Hanoi flights sit outside the package price — book them once your dates are fixed, or ask us to arrange them at cost.
Children travelling with parents are priced by age band rather than a flat rate; get in [touch](contact) for current family terms.
First time putting a Vietnam route together? Our [first-time guide](travel-guide/vietnam-first-time-guide) covers visas, packing and timing in more depth.
Plan your trip
Tell us your dates, your group and what you want out of the trip. We reply with a costed itinerary within one working day.
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