14-Day Vietnam Itinerary: North to South for a First Trip

This itinerary covers seven stops in one direction: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Mekong Delta. Two domestic flights connect the three regions, and one overnight train option replaces the first flight if you want the classic sleeper experience. You never double back.

Below is the day-by-day plan, with flight times, real costs, and exactly where to spend your hours in each city.

Why 14 Days Works for North to South

Vietnam runs more than 1,600 kilometres north to south. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City sit roughly 1,700 kilometres apart by air, about a two-hour flight. Trying to squeeze in a second northern side trip or a beach island on top of the main loop turns two extra days into four, once transfers are counted.

Travellers who have done this route before tend to agree on three points:

• Stay a minimum of three nights per major city. Anything less and you unpack, tour, and repack without ever settling in.
• Book the two internal flights (HAN to DAD, DAD to SGN) two to three weeks ahead. Same-week fares can double.
• Keep one buffer day at the end. Vietnam has typhoon season, monsoon flooding, and the occasional airline disruption. A morning of slack in Ho Chi Minh City before your international flight absorbs almost anything.

14-Day Itinerary at a Glance

Days 1-5: North Vietnam

Day 1: Land at Noi Bai and Ease Into Hanoi

You land at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN). The city sits 30 kilometres away, a 45-60 minute drive. 

1. Grab costs 350,000-450,000 VND ($14-$18)
2. The airport shuttle bus 86 runs into the Old Quarter for 45,000 VND ($1.80).

 The Noi Bai Airport Guide covers terminal layout and transfer options in full.

Evening arrivals often meet 45-90 minute immigration queues, especially on long-haul flights from Europe or North America. If you land tired and want to skip the wait, the Noi Bai Fast Track Service meets you at the gate and clears you through the priority lane in under 20 minutes.

Check into a hotel in the Old Quarter, drop your bags, and take a slow walk around Hoan Kiem Lake before dark.

Pro tip: The Old Quarter runs loud until midnight. If you value quiet sleep more than being in the middle of the action, book the first night in the French Quarter and move to the Old Quarter from Day 2.

Day 2: Hanoi’s Highlights

1. Start early at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Ba Dinh Square (open 7:30-10:30 AM, closed Mondays and Fridays). Dress modestly, shoulders and knees covered. 
2. From there, walk 10 minutes to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first national university, founded in 1070.
3. Break for lunch, then hit the Hoa Lo Prison Museum, better known by its wartime nickname the Hanoi Hilton. 
4. Late afternoon, wander the Old Quarter’s 36 named craft streets: silversmiths on Hang Bac, silk on Hang Gai, tin on Hang Thiec.
5. End the day at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. Shows run nightly and often sell out; book same-day at the box office or a day ahead online.

Pro tip: The Temple of Literature is quietest at 8-9 AM. By 10 the tour buses arrive and the courtyards fill.

Days 3-4: Ha Long Bay Overnight Cruise

Ha Long Bay (UNESCO World Heritage site) is the reason most travellers add Vietnam to a first Southeast Asia trip. Skip the day-trip option. 

A proper 2-day, 1-night cruise runs $150-$350 per person depending on boat quality and includes round-trip transfers from Hanoi, all meals, kayaking, and a cave visit.

For a quieter experience with cleaner water and fewer boats, ask specifically for a cruise in Lan Ha Bay or Bai Tu Long Bay rather than the crowded main Ha Long route. Same karst landscape, half the traffic.

Pro tip: Book direct through the cruise operator’s own website, not a Hanoi street agent. The commission the agent takes buys you nothing extra, and the operator sends you the full itinerary and cancellation policy in writing.

Return to Hanoi late afternoon on Day 4. Stay one more night in the same hotel to save re-packing.

Day 5: Ninh Binh Day Trip

Ninh Binh is often called Ha Long Bay on land: limestone karsts rising out of rice paddies instead of the sea. 

1. Book a full-day tour ($30-$50 per person) 
2. Hire a private driver ($80-$120 for the group).

The two anchor stops: 

1. Trang An for a two-hour rowboat ride through cave tunnels and temple grounds
2. Tam Coc for a bike ride through rice fields

Back in Hanoi by evening.

Days 6-10: Central Vietnam

Day 6: Overnight Train or Afternoon Flight to the Centre

Two options connect Hanoi to central Vietnam:

1. SE1 sleeper train (Hanoi to Hue: 13 hours, $30-$50 for a soft sleeper). A classic Vietnamese travel experience, but it eats a full night.
2. 1h20m flight on Vietnam Airlines, VietJet, or Bamboo (Hanoi to Hue or Da Nang: $45-$70 booked 2-3 weeks ahead). The practical choice for most travellers.

If you fly into Da Nang instead of Hue, the drive to Hue is about two hours via the Hai Van Pass, worth doing in one direction only. Most first-timers fly into Hue on Day 6, then drive south over the pass to Hoi An on Day 8.

Day 7: Hue’s Imperial Past

The Imperial Citadel (200,000 VND / $8 entry) was Vietnam’s seat of power from 1802 to 1945 under the Nguyen Dynasty. Give it half a day: the moated inner enclosure, the throne palaces, and the walk to the Forbidden Purple City ruins.

Afternoon: pick one royal tomb south of the city. The Tomb of Tu Duc is the most atmospheric. A slow dragon boat cruise on the Perfume River makes a cheap and mellow end to the day (150,000 VND / $6 per person)

Day 8: Hai Van Pass Drive to Hoi An

Book a private car with a driver ($60-$90) or a motorbike easy-rider tour ($40-$70) from Hue to Hoi An. 

The route runs over the Hai Van Pass, a 21-kilometre stretch of coastal switchbacks with the country’s most famous ocean views. Stop for lunch at Lang Co beach and for photos at the top of the pass.

Arrive Hoi An by mid-afternoon. Check into a hotel in or near the Ancient Town.

Pro tip: if you flew Hanoi to Da Nang instead of Hue on Day 6, a Da Nang Fast Track Service at arrival trims the airport queue so the onward Hue or Hoi An transfer stays on schedule.

Days 9-10: Hoi An Ancient Town and Da Nang

Day 9: Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Buy the 120,000 VND heritage ticket to enter five sites of your choice, including the Japanese Covered Bridge, old merchant houses, and Chinese assembly halls. Get a suit or dress made at a reputable tailor (24-hour turnaround, $80-$200) and book a half-day cooking class to decode cao lau, banh xeo, and pho. Evening: lantern boats on the Thu Bon River.

Day 10: Morning at An Bang or Cua Dai Beach. Afternoon, ride 30 minutes to Da Nang for the Marble Mountains, five limestone hills laced with cave pagodas and stairs to sea views, or spend the time on My Khe Beach.

Skip Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge unless the photo op is the whole point. The park is a two-hour cable car and theme park detour with limited payoff beyond the bridge itself.

Days 11-14: South Vietnam

Day 11: Fly Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City

Morning flight Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City: 1h20m, $30-$50 booked two to three weeks ahead. Da Nang Airport sits inside the city, so allow only 20 minutes for the transfer.

From Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), District 1 is 6-8 kilometres away. Grab costs 110,000-250,000 VND ($5-$11) and takes 25-45 minutes in traffic. Check in, drop bags, and take an evening walk along Nguyen Hue Walking Street before dinner.

Pro tip: Arrive at the airport by 8 AM for a mid-morning departure. Domestic security queues at Da Nang can hit 30-45 minutes on busy tourist days, especially during Vietnamese school holidays.

Day 12: HCMC in a Day

Start with the War Remnants Museum. It is a heavy morning of photographs and artifacts from the American War, with an unflinching curatorial voice. Follow with the Independence Palace, where the state rooms and wartime bunker sit exactly as they did on 30 April 1975.

Afternoon: Saigon Central Post Office (French colonial, still operational), Notre-Dame Cathedral, and Ben Thanh Market for street food and souvenirs. Bargain hard on anything without a marked price.

Close the day on the 49th-floor Bitexco Sky Deck at sunset ($10) or on a rooftop bar in District 1 for the same panorama without the ticket.

Day 13: Mekong Delta Day Trip

Book a small-group tour to Ben Tre rather than My Tho. Ben Tre is 90 minutes further from the city (about 2.5 hours each way) but sees a fraction of the tour buses. You get sampan rides through narrow coconut canals, a working coconut candy workshop, and lunch at a family-run restaurant on a farm. Same components, done less commercially.

Return to Ho Chi Minh City by early evening.

Day 14: Slow Morning and Departure

Sleep in. Walk to a corner shop for banh mi and iced Vietnamese coffee. Pack. Head to Tan Son Nhat with 3 hours of buffer for the international flight.

Immigration and security at SGN routinely queue 60-90 minutes on evening departures. If your last impression of Vietnam matters, the SGN Departure Fast Track covers both checkpoints and cuts the wait to under 20 minutes.

Budget Snapshot for Two Weeks

Add the following one-off costs to whichever tier you land on:

• Ha Long Bay overnight cruise: $150-$350 per person
• Two domestic flights (HAN-DAD, DAD-SGN): $60-$140 total
• Ninh Binh day tour: $30-$50
• Mekong Delta day tour: $40-$70
• Hue to Hoi An private car or easy-rider: $40-$90

A mid-range traveller can complete the full 14 days for roughly $1,700-$2,400 per person, excluding international flights and the Ha Long cruise.

First-Timer FAQs

Is 14 days enough for north to south?

Yes, comfortably. You get 3-4 nights in each major stop, one buffer day, and no back-to-back travel days. Trying to add Sapa, Nha Trang, or Phu Quoc on top means cutting a full day somewhere else and losing the breathing room that makes 14 days feel restful instead of rushed.

Should I add Sapa or Phu Quoc?

If you have 16-17 days, add Sapa (3 days for a proper Fansipan or Muong Hoa trek) or Phu Quoc (2-3 days for beach time). Either addition on top of 14 days forces a cut to Ha Long, Ninh Binh, or Hue, which defeats the point of the route.

Fly or take the train between regions?

Fly. Both Hanoi-Da Nang and Da Nang-HCMC take under 1.5 hours in the air. The equivalent train takes 12-18 hours. The one exception worth doing: the SE1 overnight sleeper from Hanoi to Hue is a rite of passage if you have the extra day.

North to south, or south to north?

Both directions work. North to south lets you build gradually into the tropical heat instead of hitting it on Day 1. If you land in HCMC for family reasons or cheaper flights, run the itinerary in reverse. Nothing changes structurally.

What if I only have 7 days?

See the 7-Day Vietnam Itinerary for First-Timers for a leaner version that covers Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, and Hanoi with two internal flights.

Start Your Trip the Right Way

You have booked the flights, the hotels, and the Ha Long cruise. Your arrival should feel just as smooth. On a busy evening at Noi Bai or Tan Son Nhat, immigration alone can absorb 60-90 minutes after a 12-hour flight, the last stretch of a long trip when patience runs thinnest.

Fast Track Vietnam meets you at the gate, walks you through the priority immigration and security lanes, and gets you out of the airport in 10-20 minutes. Recognised as Vietnam’s gold standard for fast track services by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), we operate at all four major international airports: Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc.

Book Your Fast Track Here And Start Vietnam The Moment You Land.