Demelza’s Ha Long Bay and Hoi An Trip: 8 Days in August

A Ha Long Bay and Hoi An trip is how I answer the traveller who says, “We’ve got about a week — show us the north and the centre without rushing.” Demelza and her travel companion flew in from Australia in early August, and over eight days they went from a night among the limestone islands to four slow nights in Hoi An, with one full day in Ha Noi in between.

Demelza sent us two photos, both taken in a hotel lobby, so most of what follows is the plan itself — the route, the days and why I put them in that order. If you are planning your own, the working version of a trip is often the most useful thing to see.

Planning a Ha Long Bay and Hoi An trip in eight days

With a week, I try not to give anyone more than two bases. Here the split is simple: the first half belongs to the north, the second half to central Vietnam, and a single domestic flight joins them. Ha Noi does double duty — it is where they land, and where they sleep again after the cruise, so the luggage can stay put at the hotel for that one night on the water.

The order matters too. Going straight to Ha Long on day two uses the energy people have right after arriving. The long Ha Noi sightseeing day then comes after a night at sea, not straight off a long-haul flight.

Ideal pacing: Day 1 land in Ha Noi and rest · Days 2–3 overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay · Day 4 Ha Noi city tour, evening flight to Da Nang · Days 5–7 Hoi An day trips · Day 8 a free morning, then home.

Arriving in Ha Noi

Their flight landed at Noi Bai early in the morning. A driver met them and took them to La Dolce Vita Hotel in the Old Quarter, and the rest of the day was theirs. I always leave the arrival day empty for travellers from Australia.

One night on Ha Long Bay

The next morning they were collected from the hotel and driven about two and a half hours to Tuan Chau Marina, where they boarded the Hera Classic Boutique Cruise. Lunch was served as the boat headed out among the islands.

The afternoon covered the two classic stops. Sung Sot Cave is one of the largest caves on the bay, reached up a set of stone steps under the trees. Titop Island came next, with the choice of climbing to the viewpoint or swimming off the beach. Back on board, the programme moved to the sundeck for a sunset gathering and a class making banh troi, the little floating rice cakes, before dinner and an evening on deck.

Morning started with tai chi on the sundeck and breakfast, then a quiet couple of hours before an early buffet lunch and the return to the marina by late morning. By the afternoon they were back at La Dolce Vita in Ha Noi. For more on choosing a cruise and when to go, see our Ha Long Bay travel guide.

A full day in Ha Noi, then south

Day four was the big one. Their guide collected them at 8 o’clock and started at Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake, the oldest pagoda in the city. From there it was the Ho Chi Minh complex — the gardens and the two houses where he lived and worked — and the One Pillar Pagoda beside it. Late morning was the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, which introduces all 54 of the country’s ethnic groups.

After an eight-dish Vietnamese lunch came the Temple of Literature, the country’s first university, and then Hoa Lo Prison, the jail American prisoners of war called the “Hanoi Hilton”. In the late afternoon the driver took them straight to the airport for the short flight to Da Nang, and on to Kim An Hoi An Hotel. Our Ha Noi travel guide has more on these sights.

Four nights in Hoi An

Four nights in one hotel is a gift in the second half of a trip. I gave each of the three full days one outing, and every outing finished by mid-afternoon or earlier, so the evenings in the Old Town stayed free.

Cam Thanh coconut village. The first morning started with a lantern-making class with local craftspeople, then a boat ride through the water coconut forest. The programme included trying the round-net and cast-net fishing that local fishermen use, learning to paddle a round bamboo basket boat, watching a basket-boat performance and dropping a crab net, with a seven-dish lunch before the drive back at half past twelve.

Ba Na Hills. The second day went up into the hills west of Da Nang by cable car to the Golden Bridge, the walkway held up by two giant stone hands, then on to the gardens, Linh Ung Pagoda and the French Village, with a buffet lunch before the cable car down at three.

Tra Que and a cooking class. The third day began with a bike ride to Hoi An’s local market, then on to Tra Que, the organic vegetable village. After time in the gardens with the farmers and a foot massage, they cooked four Vietnamese classics — green papaya salad, rice pancakes, spring rolls and fish in a clay pot — and ate what they made.

The final morning was free for one last walk through town before the afternoon transfer to the airport. If Hoi An is on your list, our Hoi An travel guide covers the Old Town and the best months to go.

Tips from Demelza’s trip

Want a trip like Demelza’s?

Like the look of Demelza’s week? Her first four days ran exactly like our Escape Australia Vietnam 10-day tour — Ha Noi, the Ha Long overnight, the city day and the flight to Hoi An. Where that tour carries on to Saigon and the Mekong, she stayed in Hoi An instead. Message me, Lan, and I’ll shape the same route around the days you have.

Over to you: have you paddled a basket boat at Cam Thanh or slept a night on Ha Long Bay? I’d love to hear how you found it — tell me in the comments below. Thank you!

Quick FAQ from Demelza’s trip

If a Ha Long Bay and Hoi An trip like Demelza’s sounds like your kind of week, get in touch with My Viva Tour — I’d love to plan it with you, from the first quiet day in Ha Noi to the last breakfast in Hoi An.