We toured Vietnam from 21 to 28 Sep 2014 (Summer) for 8 days with 1 child (6 yrs old). Here’s a summary of our Hanoi and Halong Bay Itinerary. The Airline we took was Silk Air and the flight hours was about 3 hours.
We visited 3 main locations: Hanoi, Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island and a total of 14 places. Our Accommodations were Calypso Suites Hotel and Bhaya Cruise Ship’s Room.
What We Achieved for the Trip:
- Learnt many things from educational visits to the museums.
- The sights and sounds of the busy streets of Hanoi, overwhelming but interesting.
- Tasted authentic Vietnamese food. It’s not only Pho!
- Watched a cultural water puppet performance with musical instruments I had not seen before.
- Had fun in an indoor water park, with one whole pool to ourselves.
- First time we mingled with other travellers and learnt a little about where they were from or heading.
- Had an interesting conversation about Singapore on a fishing boat in the middle of Ha Long Bay.
- Saw some amazing natural scenery of Ha Long Bay listed as a UNESCO site and touted one of the seven ‘new’ wonders of the world.
- Had a great 3 days 2 night cruise trip with Dar with an upgraded luxury cruise. It was his first time onboard a cruise, doing island hopping!
- Experienced fine dining and tasted delicious food throughout the cruise trip.
- The first time we kayak and kayak as a family, with no training provided! Dar was holding on tightly to his Daddy for his dear life while I’m concentrating on not overturning.
- Our first walk through a limestone cave, looking at naturally crafted beautiful stone structures.
- Walked through the huge area of Weekend Night Markets and tried some food.
- Got to look at and buy hand-made, local souvenirs which excites an artistic person like me. I just love those crafty stuff!
- Was given a Vietnamese straw hat from a fellow traveller onboard the cruise ship. I had not thought to buy it since it was bulky but it would make a nice souvenir now on our travel wall.
- Had the time to write our travel experiences in a travel journal.
8-DAY ITINERARY FOR HANOI | HA LONG BAY
DAY 1 (Arrival Vietnam / Water Puppet Theatre)
- 1323 – Arrival at Noi Bai International Airport to Hanoi Old Quarter
- 1410 – Check-in Hanoi’s Calypso Suites
- First try of Hanoi Spring Rolls at Yin & Yang Restaurant (Ma May Street)
- Walking and Shopping around Hanoi Old Quarter’s 36 streets
- Dinner – Pho at 40 Cầu Gỗ (small coffeeshop near to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre)
- Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
- Walk A little of the Weekend Night Market
DAY 2 (Vincom Mega Mall/ West Lake)
- Vinpearl Water Park Royal City for a few hours of play
- Lunch at BBQ restaurant in Vincom Mega Mall
- Explore and Shop in Vincom Mega Mall
- Back to Hotel
- Taxi to Hanoi Westlake to catch sunset
- Sunset Barely / Explored the Chùa Trấn Quốc (A Buddhist Temple) and Westlake
- Dinner – Bun Cha at Dac Kim
- Search and Found Viettel Shop to get local SIM card for internet
- Shopping in Old Quarters – Hang Gai for handcrafted goods.
DAY 3 (Museum / Temple / Hoan Kiem Lake)
- Vietnam Museum of Ethnology / Explore the Outside Displays of the Museum
- Lunch – Hoa Sua School Restaurant in the Museum
- Explore the Inner Halls of the Museum
- Explore the Temple of Literature
- Walk to Hoan Kiem Lake and walk one round along Hoan Kiem Lake
- Dinner – Cafe Nola
DAY 4 (Ho Chi Minh / Museum Visits)
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum / Walk to Presidential Palace
- Presidential Palace Gardens
- Ho Chi Minh’s House on Stilts
- Walk to Vietnam Military History Museum (However staff say it was closed for 2 hours during lunch hours)
- Back to Hotel and Lunch at Nearby Thanh Hop Coffee Shop for Bun Cha
- Arrived by taxi at Vietnam Military History Museum
- — Coffee break at Cafe in the Museum Compounds
- Left Museum and Back to Hotel
- Dinner – Thanh Hop Coffee Shop again
DAY 5 (Head to Ha Long Bay – 3 days 2 nights)
- *NOTE: Itinerary is totally planned by Bhaya Cruise. We just had to follow their timing for the activities.
- Mini Bus to Ha Long City
- 30 minutes stop-over at Souvenirs & HandiCraft Center
- Proceed to Ha Long Bay Marina
- Reached Ha Long Bay Marina
- 1240 – Boarded the Au Co Cruise
- Lunch on board / Observing the Scenery on the Top Deck
- Swimming and kayaking at Vung Ha Beach
- Cooking Demonstration
- Dinner
DAY 6 (Day 2 Cruise to Cat Ba Island)
- *NOTE: Itinerary is totally planned by Bhaya Cruise. We just had to follow their timing for the activities.
- 0700 – Breakfast
- Visit Vung Vieng Fishing Village by traditional boat rowing (1 hr)
- Wheel House and Engine Visit
- Lunch
- Biking on Viet Hai Village – Cat Ba Island
- Kayaking and Swimming in the Lagoon
- BBQ Buffet Dinner
DAY 7 (Cruise – Cave Exploration / Weekend Night Market)
- *NOTE: Itinerary is totally planned by Bhaya Cruise. We just had to follow their timing for the activities.
- 0700 – Breakfast
- Guided tour of Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave)
- Tea Ceremony presentation
- Disembark at Tuan Chau Pier
- ——– 3 hours ride back to Hanoi
- ——– Hotel Check-in again
- Lunch at Thai Express
- Shopping and Dinner at Hang Dao – Dong Xuan Weekend Night Markets
DAY 8 (Cathedral Visit / Fly Back)
- Saint Joseph’s Cathedral
- Check-out hotel and Airport Transfer (abt 1 hour)
- 1018 – Reached Noi Bai International Airport
- 1235 – Departure from Hanoi
- 1710 – Arrival in Singapore
Tips on Travel in Hanoi and Ha Long Bay
We had written an entire post with details on getting around in Hanoi’s Old Quarters where we stayed.
>> Read More on “Hanoi Tips and Experience“
Miscellaneous Stuff:
1. Time & Visa
Hanoi’s Time is 1 hour behind Singapore Time. Singaporeans need not apply visa for entry into Vietnam.
2. Food & Drink
- Range from cheap roadside stalls to restaurants. We tried 3 restaurants – Yin & Yang, Cafe Nola and Thai Express.
- International food is available at the building next to Hoan Kiem Lake – with the Prominent “City View Cafe” on top.
- Eat where the locals eat (Small Coffee Shops) and a bowl of Pho Ga / Pho Bo (Beef Rice Noodle Soup) costs around 45,000 VND ~ 2.75 SGD.
- Charges for Pho, Beer and Drinks are much higher in restaurants.
3. Clothing for Walk
- Sunny Hat for protection against the heat. Hanoi’s Old Quarters Streets are relatively shaded with nice trees for a walk but the attractions are mostly large, open spaces with no shelter.
- Wearing shorts /bermudas are fine for women as the locals are no longer as conservative. Even Hanoi’s young ladies wear shorts, sleeveless tops and short skirts.
- For Attractions: Advise ladies not to wear short shorts, revealing tops for Temple of Literature and other temples visit. Shoulders should best be covered. (I wore a half-sleeve and normal shorts as I was visiting other attractions too but no one chased me out. )
- For Cat Ba Island: Was advised to dress modestly while visiting the villagers. Best not to do a beach wear on land.
4. Trip to Ha Long City
- FOOD: Best to prepare some snacks on the bus to and fro Ha Long City or eat a simple meal/ buy snacks at the 30 minutes stop-over Souvenirs Centre. It takes 3-4 hours to reach from Hanoi. The stop-over is also for toilet breaks. We ate breakfast at the hotel before we started the journey so it was not necessary for us. Lunch was provided on cruise after we arrived. Return journey – We got hungry during the journey due to physical activities in the morning. Ate some snacks to ease our stomach.
- COMFORT: There was nothing to do so we slept some parts of the journey. An inflatable travel neck pillow helped to ease the comfort.
- SOUVENIRS: If you have no time to get handcrafted souvenirs (crafted jewellery boxes, embroidery painting, silk scarves, silk clothing) while in Hanoi Old Quarters, the stop-over Souvenir & Handicraft centre is worth checking out. Quality is quite high and looked great to me, but more expensive than what you can find in Old Quarters.
5. Waterproof
- Get a waterproof casing bag for your phone accessories or camera so you can take pictures while kayaking! Well, we brought it but *facepalm, forgot to use it when it was time!
6. Get A Travel Insurance
- Remember that we are cruising in Ha Long Bay. Anything can happen in the middle of the open waters, on a boat or on a ship. We just heard an account of how someone was involved in a small boat collision (their boat was hit by another). They did not have insurance and the costs to transport the injured back to Singapore was in the ten thousands. Travel has its risks and we are there to enjoy without worrying too much. So, always be safe not sorry!
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