Tour code: HNHL7D365 - 7 Days 6 Nights
Tour type: Private Tour, Cultural Tour
Wheelchair availability: No
Experience Highlights:
● Hanoi: Old Quarter by cyclo, water puppets, Ho Chi Minh complex, Temple of Literature
● Ninh Binh: the old capital Hoa Lu and a rowing boat through the Trang An caves
● Ha Long Bay: one night on a cruise, kayaking at Light and Dark Cave
● 5 nights in a Hanoi hotel, one free day at the end
This is the north of Vietnam in one week, at an easy pace: 6 nights in all: 5 in a hotel in Hanoi and 1 on a cruise in Ha Long Bay. Three full days of sightseeing, the cruise, and a free day before you fly home. It is a private tour, so the car, the guide and the timing are only for your group.
A group of 8 from the USA travelled this route with us in November 2026, staying at a hotel in the centre of Hanoi. You can see their photo at the end of this page.
Good to know before you book:
Day 1: Arrive in Hanoi – cyclo ride and water puppet show
Day 2: Hanoi city tour
Day 3: Ninh Binh day trip (Hoa Lu, Trang An, Hang Mua)
Day 4: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay, overnight on the cruise
Day 5: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi
Day 6: Free day in Hanoi
Day 7: Departure
Our guide and driver meet you at Noi Bai airport and take you to your hotel, about 45 minutes away. If your flight lands early enough, we take a 1-hour cyclo ride around the Old Quarter in the afternoon, then watch the water puppet show, then have dinner at a local restaurant. If you land late, we simply get you to the hotel and the cyclo moves to another day.
In the morning we visit the Ho Chi Minh complex: the mausoleum, his old stilt house, the Presidential Palace from the outside, and One Pillar Pagoda. Then the Temple of Literature, which was built in 1070 and became Vietnam's first university.
After lunch we go to the Museum of Ethnology, which shows how Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups live, with real houses in the garden behind it. Late afternoon we stop at Hoa Lo Prison, where American pilots, including John McCain, were held during the war. The evening is free.
We leave Hanoi at about 8 am and drive 2 hours south to Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam from 968 to 1009. There are temples here for the two kings who ruled from it, Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh.
After lunch at a local restaurant we take a rowing boat at Trang An. The area has 31 valleys and many water caves, and on the boat route we go through 3 to 6 of them. The boat takes about 2 to 3 hours.
If there is time and you have the legs for it, we stop at Hang Mua on the way back and climb the steps for the view over the rice fields and rivers. We are back in Hanoi in the early evening.
We pick you up at your hotel between 8:00 and 8:30 and drive to the marina at Ha Long, arriving around 11:30. The exact times and route depend on the cruise. We book the cruise to fit your budget, and the day below is a typical one.
Early tai chi on the deck if you want it, then a light breakfast. Most cruises visit one cave in the morning, then serve brunch while the boat goes back to the marina, usually around 11 am. Our driver meets you there and drives you back to Hanoi, arriving mid to late afternoon.
No guide and no plan today. Many people use it for shopping in the Old Quarter, coffee by Hoan Kiem Lake, or a massage. If you would like company, we can add a street food walk in the Old Quarter for an extra cost.
Free time until our driver takes you to Noi Bai airport for your flight.
The price depends on the size of your group and the hotel and cruise you pick. If you travel alone and want your own room, there is a single room supplement. Send us your dates and how many people are coming, and we will reply with a plan and a price. We can also change the order of the days or add a night in Ninh Binh.
A group of 8 from the USA at their hotel in Hanoi, November 2026. The sign in the middle is our 365Aplus welcome sign. We blurred the group's name on it.
