The capital of Vietnam, is a melting pot of people from various parts of Vietnam and outside. Hanoi commands a special place in heart and mind. You either love it or you love it.
Hanoi, that has always been under a communism regime, that its visible everywhere in its people, architecture, art, style of dressing. There are parts of this city that are chaotic and then there are parts of the city that are lavish, spacious and in control, creating a perfect symbiotic environment that Hanoians love. Hanoi in so many ways reminds me of Delhi in India.
Once we started our Vietnam trip in Saigon in south following with Hoi An in central, we came to Hanoi. In Hanoi we spent 4 days, 4 nights since we wanted to end our 15 days Vietnam trip with some island time in Cat Ba.
| Article Content |
| Vietnam blog article links |
| Things to go in Hanoi |
| 4 Days 4 Nights itinerary |
| Essentials for Hanoi |
| Homestay options & prices |
| Travel budget for Hanoi |
| Cost saving tips |
Vietnam blog articles to checkout for your planning
Things to do in Hanoi
1. Stroll at Hoan Kiem Lake – Centrally located Hoan Kiem lake is a great place to chill, take walk for breeze or to sort through your deep thoughts. This place is surrounded by amazing cafes, restaurants and many other fun things to do. Our favorite thing to do was to end our day here and sit with a bag of roasted chest nuts and soak in the city while patiently peeling those chest nuts to cherish them.
2. Experience street night party in French Quarters – Hanoians party like crazy and French quarters is an absolutely amazing place to experience it. The narrow lane of French Quarters is filled with restaurants and by evening the restaurants just spill over on street. Its a nice place to experience how Hanoian youth enjoy their evenings. This place is specifically vibrant on Saturday night. Do not take any vehicle, because you wont find parking for atleast few kilometers. We enjoyed a hot pot at “So 29” in French Quarters in evening and then bar hopped till late night.
3. Visit Temple of Literature – This is beautiful historical place where over centuries Vietnam has preserved history of the literary people in various field by carving their names on huge stones. Its a beautiful place to spend the morning but be sure to take either local guide or audio guide. Their souvenir shop is really nice with good stuff.
4. Go Café hopping – Vietnam is known for its coffee and Hanoi sure is mecca of coffee joints in Vietnam. Absolutely love the Hanoi alleys that are filled with coffee shops. The best coffee shop of them all is Dinh Cafe that created egg coffee which has become across Vietnam. Read my full article on best coffees to try and best coffee shops to try.
5. Stroll in Truc Bach – Truc Bach is this quaint part of the town which has quiet lanes running along the lake, which has pretty homes and cute cafes. This is nice place to spend an entire afternoon for some quiet time to soak up Hanoi and watch sunset by the lake. Absolutely recommend doing this when in Hanoi. Refer my article on best cafes in Hanoi.
6. Experience a Vietnamese Tea ceremony – Surprisingly we found out that Vietnam is also big on Tea. Tea is the highest amount of beverage average Vietnamese person drinks. Most of them drink tea at home or in small local stalls located mostly in the alleys. However, there are few Tea shops which offer Tea Ceremony. We experienced the Tea Ceremony at Hien Minh Tea House which also offers a unique stay in the Tea House. The Tea ceremony costed us USD25 per person wherein we tried 5 types of Tea.
7. Enjoy Jazz performance – Hanoi has some nice Jazz music scene and its fun to enjoy a performance by the legendary Quyen Van Minh at Binh Minh Jazz Club. The Jazz Club is located in the lane besides Opera House. The seats are based open to all so ensure to reach an hour before the performance to get some nice seats. The food is average so load up yourself before you reach and enjoy the performance with some nice drinks. A mix of famous Vietnamese and English songs were played and the vibes were enjoyable.
Some other places to definitely cover which we couldn’t cover due to lack of time:
8. Visit museums – Museum exploration is a leisure activity and you should do it at enough time at hand. There are couple of museums in Hanoi to visit. Explore Museum of Ethnology to get a peek into the different ethnics living in Vietnam. Visit National museum of Fine Arts that exhibits Buddhist art, folk art, and lacquer art.
9. Watch a water puppet show – Water puppetry is an ancient art form that you can book to see in venue near the lake. We completely missed this coz we found out about this after our trip.
Here is an itinerary for 3 to 5 days in Hanoi
| Day 01 | Stroll around the Old Quarter and grab lunch at Bún chả Hương Liên where Obama ate. Spend evening by the lake visiting cafes and enjoying the Hanoi vibes. Enjoy hotpot and enjoy night party at the French Quarter |
| Day 02 | Visit Temple of Literature with audio guide. Enjoy a quaint lunch at Ma Xo cafe in Truc Bach and watch the sun go down by the lake. Enjoy Jazz performance at Binh Minh Jazz Club. |
| Day 03 | Experience the serenity of a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony at Hien Minh Tea House. Enjoy lunch at xx and relax by the lake. Go coffee shopping at Coffee Vietnam store and buy souvenir in Old quarter |
| Day 04 | Visit National Fine Arts Museum, do cafe hopping, and enjoy water puppet show in the evening |
| Day 05 | Visit Museum of Ethnology, purchase paintings from local galleries, and soak up some egg coffee at Dinh Cafe to end your trip in Hanoi |
Essentials for Hanoi
| Sim card: Viettel |
| Copy of Lonely Planet for Vietnam |
| Flight: Vistara, Indigo, Spice Jet, and Viet Jet |
| Airport City Transfer: Mia Linh Taxi or Vinasun Taxi |
| Tours: Get Your Guide, Free walking tour |
| Food Guide in Vietnam: Vegetarian / Non vegetarian / Anthony Bourdain picks |
Home Stay options
Prices vary from 450000 VND to 1000000 VND per night which will provide you with a compact bedroom, self-sufficient bathroom, and wifi. We chose House of a Tea Master that we booked from Airbnb as the owner has 4.9 rating with amazing reviews, deservingly.
You can also book hostels that provide bed in a dorm, common bathroom, and wifi which will be cheaper.
Budget
If you have street food then the prices will range from 4000 VND to 200000 VND per dish. Food is relatively cheap when compared to Indian prices.
Mode of travel can be local bus if you have time on hand, Grab cabs (they are like Uber of Vietnam) which we found to be bit pricey but good service or hire scooters which could be bit risky given that most of the people in Vietnam have their own driving rules.
For a Mid-range budget of INR 25000 to INR 35000 you can enjoy basic homestay, most meals at local street food, essential cab usage, and experiential spending at Ca Phes’ and breweries.
Here is our cost split for 2 people:
| Expense Type | Cost for 2 (INR) |
| Flight | 8000 |
| Local Travel (cabs) | 1580 |
| Meal | 11583 |
| Stay | 1480 |
| Tour/ Experiences | 5033 |
| Total | 27840 |
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