9-Day Northern & Central Vietnam Tour: Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay, Hoi An & Hue
Overview
Destination: North and Central
Duration: 7 - 10 days
Travel Style: Cultural & Heritage
Theme: Couple
Tour Highlights
Value of the package
This 9-day northern and central Vietnam tour pairs the karst landscapes of the north with the heritage towns of the centre in one private trip: Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay, then Da Nang, Hoi An, Ba Na Hills and the imperial city of Hue. You stay in just two hotels, four nights in Hanoi and four in Da Nang, and explore everything else on day trips.
- Two bases, no daily packing. Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay are day trips from Hanoi, and Hoi An, Ba Na Hills and Hue are day trips from Da Nang, with one domestic flight in between.
- Ninh Binh from the water and from above. A sampan ride through the karst peaks and cave tunnels of Trang An, then the climb to the top of Mua Cave for the view over Tam Coc and Trang An.
- Ha Long Bay in one day. A day cruise from Tuan Chau Harbour with lunch on board, Sung Sot Cave, Luon Cave by kayak or bamboo boat, and Ti Top Island.
- Hanoi in depth. An evening street food tour on arrival, then a full day at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Train Street, the Temple of Literature and the Old Quarter, ending with a water puppet show.
- Central Vietnam’s highlights. Linh Ung Pagoda and the Marble Mountains, a basket boat in Cam Thanh, Hoi An Ancient Town with a flower lantern on the Hoai River, and the Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills.
- A full day in Hue. Over the Hai Van Pass to Khai Dinh Tomb, a lunch of Hue specialities, the Imperial Citadel and Thien Mu Pagoda on the Perfume River.
Included in the package
- Airport pick-up and drop-off in Hanoi and Da Nang with your guide
- 8 nights’ accommodation – Tirant Hotel in Hanoi (4 nights) and Radisson Hotel Danang (4 nights), or similar
- 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 1 dinner, as listed day by day
- Private car and driver for all transfers and sightseeing
- Entrance fees and the activities in the itinerary, including the Hanoi street food tour, the Trang An sampan ride, the Ha Long Bay day cruise with kayak or bamboo boat, the water puppet show, the Cam Thanh basket boat, the lantern on the Hoai River, the Ba Na Hills cable car and the Hue monuments
- Drinking water on tour days, travel insurance, VAT and service charges
Not included: international flights, domestic flight (Hanoi – Da Nang), Vietnam visa fee, meals not listed, personal expenses, and tips for your guide and driver.
Download the detailed day-by-day itinerary (PDF) and ask us for a price using the box on this page, on WhatsApp +84 345 827 501 or at booking@hynatravel.com. Your price depends on your travel dates, group size and hotel choice.
Itinerary
DAY 1: HANOI ARRIVAL & EVENING STREET FOOD TOUR
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Dinner · Lunch on your own | Guide: Guide pickup
On arrival
Welcome to Vietnam. Your HYNA guide and driver wait for you in the arrival hall at Noi Bai International Airport with a name sign, then take you to your hotel in the Old Quarter. Check in, rest after the flight and let the hum of scooters outside tell you that you have arrived.
Evening
Your guide meets you at the hotel around 6:00 PM for a food walk through the Old Quarter, just as charcoal smoke drifts from the grills and families settle onto low plastic stools along the pavement. Begin with a steaming bowl of pho, then a crackling banh mi, grilled pork with rice noodles and a basket of fresh herbs, and a sweet sticky-rice dessert. Between bites, your guide explains how Hanoians eat, trade and live on these narrow streets. The walk ends over a cup of egg coffee, rich and velvety, the city’s signature drink. Tonight’s street food is your dinner, and vegetarian dishes can be arranged. You are back at your hotel by about 8:30 PM.
DAY 2: NINH BINH DAY TRIP: TRANG AN BOAT RIDE & MUA CAVE
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel around 7:30 AM, and after a drive of about two hours south the city gives way to Ninh Binh, a land of limestone karsts and rice fields often called “Ha Long Bay on land”.
At Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you step into a traditional sampan and a local rower takes the oars. The boat slips between sheer green peaks and through low cave tunnels, where you duck your head and hear only dripping water and the steady stroke of the oars. Back in the daylight, rice paddies and quiet temples line the banks.
Midday
Lunch around 12:30 PM is at a local restaurant in Ninh Binh, a welcome pause before the climb.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, take the stone steps of Mua Cave up to the summit.
The effort pays off at the top: the whole Tam Coc and Trang An landscape lies below, rivers curling through the paddy fields and karst peaks fading row after row into the haze. The small dragon statue on the peak makes a classic photo. Then settle in for the drive back to Hanoi, reaching your hotel by about 6:30 PM.
DAY 3: HA LONG BAY DAY CRUISE: SUNG SOT CAVE, LUON CAVE & TI TOP
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel around 8:00 AM for the drive of about two and a half hours along the expressway to Tuan Chau Harbour.
There you board your day cruise and sail out into Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where close to 2,000 limestone islands and islets rise straight out of jade-green water.
Midday
Lunch is served on board around midday while the boat threads its way between the islets, each cliff face a different shade of grey and green.
Afternoon
Step ashore to walk through Sung Sot Cave, one of the largest in the bay, where vast chambers are hung with stalactites and stalagmites.
At Luon Cave, paddle a kayak or sit back in a bamboo boat rowed by a local, gliding under a low stone arch into a still lagoon walled by green cliffs, where the loudest sound is the dip of the paddle.
The last stop is Ti Top Island: climb the steps to the viewpoint for a wide sweep over the bay, or swim at the small beach below.
Evening
The cruise returns to the harbour and you drive back to Hanoi, arriving at your hotel by about 8:30 PM.
DAY 4: HANOI FULL-DAY CITY TOUR & WATER PUPPET SHOW
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Overnight: Tirant Hotel, Hanoi | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide meets you at your hotel around 8:00 AM, and the day opens at Ba Dinh Square and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where President Ho Chi Minh lies in state.
Walk past the yellow Presidential Palace, his simple stilt house and the One Pillar Pagoda, rising from its pond like a lotus. The mausoleum opens in the morning and closes on Mondays, Fridays and during its yearly maintenance; on those days you see it from the square.
Next comes Tran Quoc Pagoda, the city’s oldest, its red brick tower rising from a small peninsula on West Lake.
At Train Street, the railway runs a few steps from front doors and tiny cafés.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant.
Afternoon
The Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, founded in 1070, is a world of shaded courtyards, a lotus pond and stone stelae carved with the names of doctoral laureates.
Then wander the Old Quarter, each lane once home to its own craft, and watch daily life flow around Hoan Kiem Lake.
Evening
Around 5:00 PM, take your seat for a water puppet show, where lacquered wooden figures dance across a pool stage to live folk music. You are back at your hotel by about 6:30 PM; dinner is at your own choice.
DAY 5: FLIGHT TO DA NANG
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Overnight: Radisson Hotel Danang, Da Nang | Meals: Breakfast · Lunch and dinner on your own | Guide: Guide for airport transfers
Morning
After breakfast, your guide accompanies you to Noi Bai International Airport for your domestic flight to Da Nang, the coastal city at the heart of central Vietnam.
On arrival
Your HYNA guide and driver meet you at Da Nang International Airport and take you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours: walk barefoot along the long sand of My Khe Beach, or stroll beside the Han River as the city lights come on.
DAY 6: LINH UNG PAGODA, MARBLE MOUNTAINS, COCONUT BOAT & HOI AN LANTERNS
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Overnight: Radisson Hotel Danang, Da Nang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel around 8:00 AM and follow the winding road up the Son Tra Peninsula to Linh Ung Pagoda.
Its white Lady Buddha statue towers over Da Nang Bay, and the breeze carries incense and sea salt together.
Heading south, you reach the Marble Mountains, a cluster of marble and limestone hills hollowed with cave temples and pagodas; climb to a viewpoint where the city and coastline spread out below.
Midday
Lunch around midday is at a local restaurant near Hoi An.
Afternoon
In the water-coconut forest of Cam Thanh, climb into a round basket boat and watch the boatmen spin it in dizzy circles, then try your hand at casting a fishing net.
Later, walk the lanes of Hoi An Ancient Town, a UNESCO-listed trading port of mustard-yellow merchant houses, the Japanese Covered Bridge and ornate assembly halls.
Evening
As dusk falls and silk lanterns glow along the streets, dinner is yours to choose among the town’s many restaurants. Afterwards, set a flower lantern afloat on the Hoai River and make a wish before the drive back to Da Nang, reaching your hotel by about 8:30 PM.
DAY 7: BA NA HILLS FULL-DAY TOUR: GOLDEN BRIDGE & FRENCH VILLAGE
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Overnight: Radisson Hotel Danang, Da Nang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel around 8:00 AM for the drive of about 45 minutes to Ba Na Hills. The cable car lifts you high over the forest canopy, and the air turns cooler as Da Nang shrinks behind you.
At the top, walk out onto the Golden Bridge, held up by a pair of giant weathered stone hands and one of Vietnam’s most photographed landmarks.
Continue into the cool vaults of the old Debay Wine Cellar and the flower beds of Le Jardin D’Amour.
Midday
A buffet lunch around midday is served at a restaurant in Ba Na Hills.
Afternoon
In the afternoon, wander the French Village, where cobblestone streets lead to a town square and a stone cathedral, often softened by drifting mountain mist.
Then let loose among the rides and games of Fantasy Park, one of the largest indoor amusement parks in Vietnam, before the cable car carries you back down in the late afternoon. You are back at your hotel by about 5:00 PM.
DAY 8: HUE FULL-DAY TOUR: KHAI DINH TOMB, IMPERIAL CITADEL & THIEN MU
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Overnight: Radisson Hotel Danang, Da Nang | Meals: Breakfast, Lunch · Dinner on your own | Guide: Full day guide
Morning
Your guide and driver meet you at your hotel around 7:00 AM for the drive north over the Hai Van Pass, where the coastal road climbs between green mountains and the sea.
Stop at the top for photos, then look down on the silver sweep of Lap An Lagoon near Lang Co. Arriving in Hue, visit the tomb of Emperor Khai Dinh, a striking blend of Eastern and Western styles whose halls glitter with mosaics of porcelain and glass.
Midday
Lunch around midday is a feast of Hue specialities, from a city whose cooking was shaped by the royal court.
Afternoon
Pass through the massive gates of the Imperial Citadel, seat of the Nguyen emperors, as your guide brings their stories to life among the courtyards and palaces of the former royal capital.
End at Thien Mu Pagoda, its seven-storey tower standing on the bank of the Perfume River, the calm, slow-moving river that runs through the heart of Hue.
Evening
The drive back to Da Nang takes about two and a half hours, and you are back at your hotel by about 6:30 PM.
DAY 9: DA NANG DEPARTURE
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Overnight: — | Meals: Breakfast · Lunch and dinner on your own | Guide: Guide dropoff
Morning
Enjoy a last breakfast at your hotel and a slow final morning in Da Nang.
Departure
Depending on your flight time, your guide accompanies you on the private transfer to Da Nang International Airport for your flight home. Thank you for travelling with HYNA. We hope the taste of pho, the glow of Hoi An’s lanterns and the quiet of Hue stay with you long after you leave.
Children Policy
Children under 5 years old Children from 5 to 9 years old Children 10 years old and above Charged at 100% of adult tour price Note: Children’s age is calculated based on the start date of the tour, not the booking date.
PRICE ON REQUEST
Your price depends on your travel dates, group size and hotel choice. Tell us your plans and we will send you a quote.
Meals: 8 breakfasts · 6 lunches · 1 dinner
Transport: Private car, domestic flight, day cruise, sampan, kayak or bamboo boat, cable car, basket boat
Or email us at booking@hynatravel.com
All Reviews
Why HYNA's Travel?
Local Expert Team
A Vietnam-based team that plans every route on the ground and knows each region first-hand.
Honest & Transparent
Clear itineraries, clear inclusions and no hidden surprises, from your first message to your last day.
24/7 support
24/7 support throughout your journey.
Customized Itineraries
Every itinerary can be tailored to your travel dates, pace and interests.
Price and policy
Flexible cancellation policy.
FAQ
1. Does the tour price include airfare?
No. International and domestic flights are not included in our tour prices. Where a route uses a domestic flight, the itinerary shows it so you can plan your bookings.
2. Can you arrange vegetarian or other special meals?
Yes. Tell us about your dietary needs when you send your enquiry and we will arrange the included meals accordingly.
3. Can I change the itinerary?
Yes. Every itinerary can be tailored to your travel dates, pace and interests. Tell us what you would like to add, remove or swap when you ask for a price.
4. What is your cancellation policy?
Our cancellation policy is flexible, and the terms depend on your travel dates and the services booked. Ask us for the full terms before you book.
5. When is the best time to take this tour?
The weather in Vietnam differs a lot between the north, the centre and the south. The best months for this route are shown under "Best time to go" in the Trip facts on this page. Tell us your travel dates and we can suggest the best way to plan the route for that season.
6. Is travel insurance included?
Travel insurance during the tour is included, as listed under "Included in the package". We also recommend your own international travel insurance that covers medical care and flight changes.
7. Is airport pick-up included?
Yes. Your guide and driver meet you at the airport on the first day and take you to the airport for your departure on the last day, as shown in the itinerary.
8. What documents do I need to travel to Vietnam?
You need a passport valid for at least six months from your arrival date and a Vietnam visa or visa exemption, depending on your nationality. The Vietnam visa fee is not included in the tour price.
