| Duration | 14 days, 13 nights |
| Route | Hanoi → Ninh Binh (day trip) → Ha Long Bay → Hue → Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City |
| Budget per day | €11 to €33 budget · €37 to €70 mid-range · €85 and up comfort, per person, flights excluded |
| Best time | February to April, when the north, centre and south are all dry at once |
| Book ahead | The Ha Long Bay cruise, your two domestic flights, and anything around Tet |
| Stippl tip | A typical Vietnam trip planned with Stippl runs about a month, so 14 days means picking one highlight per stop |
Plan Vietnam in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the appCan you see Vietnam in two weeks?
Yes, the classic highlights from north to south, if you are willing to fly at least once and take one highlight per stop rather than three. Be honest with yourself about the pace, though. Across the more than 128,000 Vietnam trips planned with Stippl, a typical trip runs about a month with nine stops. Most travellers who can give Vietnam more time do, and if that is you, our three week Vietnam itinerary adds the Ha Giang Loop, Da Lat and a night in the Mekong Delta.
In 14 days the trick is choosing well. This route keeps five bases, flies the two longest legs, and skips what does not fit: the mountains of the far north, the caves of Phong Nha and the islands. If you would rather go slower, two weeks also covers one half of Vietnam properly, either the north and centre or the centre and south. The variations further down show how.
Vietnam 2 week itinerary at a glance
| Days | Place | Nights | Getting there |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | Hanoi | 3 | Fly in to Noi Bai airport |
| 4 | Ninh Binh, day trip | 1 in Hanoi | Minivan, train or bus, about 2 h each way |
| 5 | Ha Long Bay | 1 on the boat | Cruise transfer from Hanoi, 2.5 to 3 h |
| 6 to 7 | Hue | 2 | Back to Hanoi, then fly (1 h 20) or sleeper train (about 14 h) |
| 8 to 11 | Hoi An, with a day in Da Nang | 4 | Over the Hai Van Pass by Easy Rider or car, about 4 h |
| 12 to 14 | Ho Chi Minh City | 2 | Fly from Da Nang, 1 h 20 |
Budget
€11–33
dorm bed, street food, sleeper buses, free-to-cheap sights
Mid-range
€37–70
private rooms, restaurant meals, a Ha Long cruise, internal flight
High-end
€85+
boutique hotels, private transfers, guided caves and cruises
Hanoi
Hanoi is loud, crowded and the best possible start, because nearly everything in the north leaves from here. Three nights gives you the city at a walking pace and a soft landing after the flight.
Day 1Arrive in the Old Quarter
Noi Bai airport is 22 km north of the centre: bus 86 takes 45 to 60 minutes for €1.30 to €1.50 (₫40,000 to ₫45,000), and a Grab takes 35 to 50 minutes. Pick up a local SIM with a passport at the airport, or arrive with an eSIM so Grab works from the kerb. Spend the evening on the Old Quarter's thirty-six guild streets, then join the plastic stools on Ta Hien Street, where bia hoi costs €0.15 to €0.35 (₫5,000 to ₫10,000) a glass.
Day 2Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem Lake
Walk the Old Quarter before eight, while the stalls set up. Then head to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070, for €2.30 (₫70,000). Lunch at Bun Cha Huong Lien, the bun cha shop where Obama and Bourdain ate in 2016, and finish at Hoan Kiem Lake, crossing the red Huc Bridge to Ngoc Son Temple. For an afternoon coffee, Cafe Giang has served egg coffee since it invented it in 1946.
Day 3Hoa Lo Prison, Train Street
Hoa Lo Prison, the "Hanoi Hilton", costs €1.65 (₫50,000); the French held Vietnamese revolutionaries here, and later it held American prisoners of war. Train Street is restricted rather than closed: barriers appear without warning and group tours are banned, so only go in with a café that arranges access, and follow the staff when a train comes. Book a water puppet show at Thang Long for the evening.
Hanoi has been the capital of Vietnam for most of the last thousand years, founded in 1010 as Thang Long, "Rising Dragon", although Ho Chi Minh City is the larger city today.
Where to stay in Hanoi: the Old Quarter around Hoan Kiem, and every source agrees on it. Everything you want is inside a 20 minute walk. For a quieter, greener base, Tay Ho on West Lake is where long stayers end up.
Read more: things to do in Hanoi
Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay
Two days, two versions of the same limestone landscape: one on land, one on water.
Day 4Ninh Binh by boat and bike
Ninh Binh is about 2 hours south by limousine minivan, train or bus, and the hostels sell it as a day trip. Pick one boat, not both: the Tam Coc boat runs through rice paddies and three cave tunnels for about €8.85 (₫270,000), and Trang An is the UNESCO route for €8.20 (₫250,000). The rowers use their feet, and a tip of about €1.65 (₫50,000) per boat is expected. Finish at Mua Cave, around 500 steps to the best view in the north, for €4.95 (₫150,000), then grab a late lunch at Mua Cave Restaurant at the bottom before heading back to Hanoi.
Day 5Ha Long Bay overnight cruise
Cruises pick you up from the Old Quarter, drive 2.5 to 3 hours on the expressway, and board late morning. A one-night cruise gives you about 18 hours on the water: sailing between the karsts, kayaking into a sea cave and a swim stop from May to October. A well reviewed two-day cruise typically costs €130 to €260 per person, and the step up from the cheapest boats buys a different trip, not just a nicer one.
Where to stay: on the boat, and the cabin is the whole decision. If you are travelling independently and want to skip the cruise, Cat Ba Island is the alternative base for day boats into the quieter Lan Ha Bay. If you would rather sleep in Ninh Binh on day 4, take a night off Hanoi and stay in Tam Coc village, within walking distance of the boats and the Mua Cave steps.
Read more: things to do in Ha Long Bay
Hue
Hue was Vietnam's imperial capital from 1802 to 1945, and two days covers it well: one for the citadel, one for the tombs.
Day 6Back to Hanoi, fly to Hue
The boat docks around midday and the transfer gets you back to Hanoi mid-afternoon. From there, take an evening flight to Hue (1 h 20), or the overnight sleeper train (about 14 hours) if you would rather keep this trip to one flight. On the train, the soft sleeper is worth the difference. Either way, this is a travel day, so keep it light.
Day 7Imperial City and royal tombs
Start inside the walls of the Imperial City, a 10 km moat around the Nguyen court, for €6.55 (₫200,000). If you plan to see tombs too, the combined ticket with three of them is €17.40 (₫530,000). In the afternoon, take a dragon boat up the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, or ride the tomb loop by bike or motorbike: Minh Mang is the formal one, Tu Duc the garden retreat. Hue has the most distinct food in the country: try com hen, rice with river clams, at Com Hen Hoa Dong, or let Hanh Restaurant bring you the whole small-plate repertoire at once.
Where to stay in Hue: the south bank. Phu Hoi is the compact hostel and restaurant quarter across the Truong Tien bridge, and Vinh Ninh is the quieter riverside half with mid-range hotels.
Read more: things to do in Hue
Hai Van Pass, Hoi An and Da Nang
The longest stop of the trip, and on purpose: Hoi An is the town travellers most often fall for and overstay.
Day 8Hai Van Pass to Hoi An
The buses take the tunnel and skip the best road in the country. Instead, ride pillion with an Easy Rider over the Hai Van Pass, 21 km of mountain road at 500 m, for about €45 from Hue to Hoi An in around 4 hours, with your luggage strapped on. Copycat operators exist, so check reviews. Prefer four wheels? A car over the pass works, or take the train to Da Nang along the coast, 2.5 to 3 hours on what many call the most scenic rail line in Vietnam.
Day 9Ancient Town and a tailor
Buy the Ancient Town ticket for €3.95 (₫120,000), which opens five of the heritage buildings, then walk to the Japanese Covered Bridge. If you want clothes made, today is the day for the first fitting: allow 48 hours and two fittings, not the advertised 24. Lunch is a banh mi at Banh Mi Phuong, or cao lau, the noodle dish made only here, at Cao Lau Thanh.
Day 10My Son and An Bang Beach
Go to My Son, the Cham temple valley an hour west, at opening, before the heat: entry is €4.95 (₫150,000). Back in town, cycle the flat 3 km through the rice paddies to An Bang Beach for the afternoon. If the night falls on the 14th day of the lunar month, the Ancient Town switches off its lights for the lantern night.
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Day 11Marble Mountains and My Khe
Da Nang is 29 km away, about an hour on the LK02 public bus for €1.15 (₫35,000) or 45 minutes by car. Climb the Marble Mountains on the way, then spend the afternoon on My Khe Beach. Second fitting at the tailor when you get back.
Where to stay in Hoi An: the Ancient Town or the riverfront for atmosphere, or An Bang Beach for a slower, cheaper stay 3 km out. Between October and December, avoid ground floor rooms in the Ancient Town, which floods. Da Nang is the budget alternative, and plenty of travellers sleep there and commute.
Read more: things to do in Hoi An
Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta
The south is hotter, faster and the place where the war history comes into focus.
A little history before you go
Vietnam has had three capitals on this route: Hoa Lu near Ninh Binh from 968 to 1010, Hanoi from 1010, and Hue under the Nguyen emperors from 1802 to 1945. The country was reunified in 1975, and here the war is called the American War. Travellers often say the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi tunnels reframe the whole trip, which is one good argument for running this route south to north.
Day 12Fly to Ho Chi Minh City
Fly from Da Nang (1 h 20). Tan Son Nhat airport is only 7 km out, 20 to 30 minutes by Grab. Spend the afternoon at the War Remnants Museum, €1.30 (₫40,000), three heavy floors that are worth the 90 minutes, and Reunification Palace, €2.65 (₫80,000), left as it was in 1975. Dinner is a banh xeo crêpe at Banh Xeo 46A.
Day 13Cu Chi tunnels and Cho Lon
The Cu Chi tunnels are 1.5 to 2 hours out, and every source calls them the one thing not to skip: Ben Dinh is €3.60 (₫110,000) and Ben Duoc €2.95 (₫90,000). In the afternoon, head to Cho Lon, the Chinatown, for Binh Tay Market, the Thien Hau temple and a bowl at Pho Le. A Mekong Delta day trip to My Tho, about 2 hours away, is the alternative, but be warned: as a day tour from the city it is the most consistent disappointment in traveller reports. The delta is far better as an overnight from Can Tho, which needs more than 14 days.
Day 14Ben Thanh Market, fly home
A last walk down the Nguyen Hue walking street and Ben Thanh Market in the morning (it turns into a tourist trap by 4 pm), then the airport.
Where to stay in Ho Chi Minh City: the area everyone still calls District 1, even though the districts were renamed in 2025. Dong Khoi is the quiet, historic and pricier end; Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien are cheap, loud and full of hostels, ten minutes away.
Read more: things to do in Ho Chi Minh City
Itinerary variations
The default route is the classic. These four versions swap one block for another, so you can tune it to the season and to what you came for.
Vietnam 2 week itinerary including the Ha Giang loop
The Ha Giang Loop is a 3 to 5 day, roughly 350 km ride through the karst plateau of the far north, and many travellers call it the highlight of their whole trip. To fit it in, drop Ha Long Bay and Hue: take the overnight sleeper bus from Hanoi (6 to 7 hours), ride for three or four days, come back to Hanoi, then fly straight to Da Nang for Hoi An and on to Ho Chi Minh City. A quality four-day tour runs about €230 to €260 all in. Most Western licences are not valid in Vietnam and insurance rarely covers riding yourself, so the usual answer is an Easy Rider who drives while you ride pillion. October and November are the best months; May to August is monsoon season, when the roads turn dangerous.
2 week Vietnam itinerary with beach time
Swap the Cu Chi and Cho Lon day for the sea. From Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Quoc is a 1 hour flight, and travellers arriving directly get 30 days visa free on the island. Its season is November to April. Mui Ne is the overland option, 5 to 6 hours by bus, with dunes and the kitesurfing season from November to March. Either way, give the beach the last three nights, cut Ho Chi Minh City to one night and fly home from there.
Vietnam 2 week itinerary south to north
The same route reversed works just as well: fly into Ho Chi Minh City, out of Hanoi, and read the days from the bottom up. On a 14 day trip both directions cross the central coast in the same week, so the weather rarely decides; the cheapest international flights usually do. If one end is in its wet season, put it where its weather is better, at the start or the finish. Starting in the south also puts the war history first, which many travellers prefer.
Adding Sapa
Sapa is about 6 hours from Hanoi by sleeper bus, or 8 to 9 hours by night train to Lao Cai plus an hour by minivan. To fit it in, drop the Ninh Binh day and the Ha Long cruise: take the night train out on day 3, trek the valleys with a night in a homestay, and take the night train back. Go from September to November, when the terraces turn gold and then dry out, or March to May. From December to February the valleys are cold, fogged in and bare.
Describe your trip, get a Vietnam itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
When to do this route
February to April is the only window when Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City are all dry at once, and March is the single best month for the full line. Watch for Tet, the Lunar New Year: it falls on 6 February in 2027, and for a week transport books out and much of the country closes. For the other months, region by region, see the best time to visit Vietnam.
Outside spring, the centre of the route decides. From September to December the central coast gets its heavy rain, and Hue and Hoi An flood most often in October and November. Ha Long Bay's typhoon season runs from June to early November, when cruises can be cancelled at a few hours' notice. If you travel then, keep a spare night after the cruise. Our rainy season guide shows which stops to shorten or swap in the wet months.
Getting around Vietnam in two weeks
On a 14 day route, flights do the heavy lifting and the short hops go by road or rail. The train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City takes more than 30 hours against 2 hours by air, so the long north to south leg is always a flight. Domestic flights are cheap, but you will effectively need a credit card to book them. In the cities, Grab is the standard for rides and needs a local SIM or eSIM with data. Whatever the map app says, double the road times.
| From → To | Best option | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi → Ninh Binh | Limousine minivan, train or bus | About 2 h | Check when booking |
| Hanoi → Ha Long Bay | Cruise transfer from the Old Quarter | 2.5 to 3 h | Usually in the cruise fare |
| Hanoi → Hue | Flight, or overnight sleeper train | 1 h 20, or about 14 h | Check when booking |
| Hue → Hoi An | Easy Rider over the Hai Van Pass, or bus | About 4 h, or 3.5 to 4 h | About €45 by Easy Rider |
| Hoi An → Da Nang | LK02 public bus or car | About 1 h, or 45 min | €1.15 (₫35,000) by bus |
| Da Nang → Ho Chi Minh City | Flight | 1 h 20 | Check when booking |
For every route in more depth, see our guide to the best transportation in Vietnam.
What to book in advance
- The Ha Long Bay cruise. Pick a well reviewed operator rather than the cheapest tout, since cruise scams are an established genre. You can compare Ha Long Bay cruises on GetYourGuide.
- Your visa. Many European passports enter visa free for up to 45 days. Everyone else uses the 90 day e-visa, processed in 3 to 5 working days, and only from the official site, evisa.gov.vn: fake agency sites are common. Rules change, so check before you book.
- The two domestic flights, as soon as your dates are fixed.
- The Easy Rider over the Hai Van Pass, through an operator with reviews rather than whoever approaches you first.
- Anything around Tet. Rooms get scarce and buses stop running, so book the whole trip early if your dates touch it.
Build your own Vietnam itinerary in Stippl
Copy this route into the Stippl itinerary planner and make it yours: add the stops, change the nights per stop, drag them into a different order on the map, and add the flights, the cruise and the train between them. Then share the trip with whoever is coming with you, so everyone sees the same plan. Want a head start? Open our ready-made Vietnam trip with the same five stops, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City, then add the extra nights and the Ninh Binh day trip.
Frequently asked questions about Vietnam
Two weeks is enough for the classic route from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City if you take at least one domestic flight and pick one highlight per stop. Travellers who plan Vietnam with Stippl typically give it about a month, often including a neighbouring country, so if you want depth, cover one half of the country instead.
Both work. Let the season and the cheapest international flights decide, and start in the region with the better weather at the beginning of your trip. Flying into one end and out of the other saves a repositioning flight either way.
Yes, but you will need to drop Ha Long Bay and Hue to make room. Most people ride it in three or four days from Hanoi, travelling up on the overnight sleeper bus, and the easiest way is pillion with an Easy Rider.
Combine one or two domestic flights for the long legs with trains, buses or private transfers for the shorter hops. Book the Ha Long Bay cruise and your flights ahead, and everything around Tet as early as you can.
Fourteen days in Vietnam go quickly, and the order of the stops matters as much as the stops themselves. Map this route as a Stippl trip, move the nights around until the pace feels right, and share it with your travel partner before you book a single flight.
