The Itinerary 
Hanoi in 2 days: the Old Quarter, the lake and Ninh Binh
Two days in the Old Quarter and the lake at six in the morning, plus the day-trip decision that matters: Ninh Binh beats Ha Long on a short trip, and this explains why.
- Southeast Asia
- 2 days
- ≈ AED 400 / person
- Thirty-six guild streets, the best free hour in the city, and the day trip worth choosing carefully
Before you go
Hanoi is a city best met on foot and at the wrong hours. The Old Quarter’s thirty-six streets are named for the guilds that worked them — silk, tin, bamboo, votive paper — and several still sell roughly the right thing. The lake at six in the morning is the best free hour in Vietnam.
Two days means one real decision: which day trip. The honest answer is that Ha Long Bay does not fit into two days — a day trip there is five hours in a bus for four on the water, in the worst light. Ninh Binh fits, and is better.
Part of a Vietnam trip? See Vietnam in 7 days, which gives Hanoi two days and sleeps on Ha Long properly.
Figure the budget below. October–November and March–April.
Before you go: the short version
Entry
- Vietnam’s e-visa is online, 90 days, multiple entry, and is the route most visitors use. Apply at the official government portal — the copycat sites charge several times the fee.
- Some nationalities get a visa exemption for short stays. Check your own case.
Getting in and around
- Noi Bai (HAN) is 45 minutes from the Old Quarter. A Grab is VND 350,000–450,000; the 86 express bus is VND 45,000.
- Grab is the default, and GrabBike is the fast way through Old Quarter traffic if you are comfortable on a scooter pillion.
- The Old Quarter is walkable and that is the point.
Crossing the road — the first skill
- Walk slowly and predictably. The scooters flow around you. Stopping or running back is what causes accidents, because the riders have already planned their line around where you were going to be.
Day by day
Day 1 — The Old Quarter and the lake
Walking order: Hoan Kiem Lake → Ngoc Son temple (on the lake) → the guild streets north (Hang Bac, Hang Ma, Hang Gai) → Dong Xuan market (10 min) → back to the lake. About 4km, flat, and entirely walkable.
- 06:00 — Hoan Kiem Lake, when several hundred people are doing tai chi, badminton and aerobics around it. The best free hour in the city, and it is over by half past seven.
- 07:30 — Pho for breakfast, which is a breakfast food here and not a dinner. The places full at seven are the ones to join.
- 09:00 — Ngoc Son Temple on its island, reached by the red Huc Bridge.
- 10:00 — The Old Quarter’s thirty-six streets — Hang Bac for silver, Hang Ma for paper offerings, Hang Gai for silk.
- 12:00 — Dong Xuan market, the covered wholesale market at the north end.
- 14:00 — Egg coffee at one of the cafés off Hang Gai — a Hanoi invention from the 1940s, when milk was scarce, and far better than it sounds.
- 16:00 — Train Street is photogenic and has been repeatedly closed by the authorities on safety grounds. Check the current position and do not take liberties with a live railway.
- 17:30 — Water puppetry at Thang Long — an eleventh-century village art performed in a waist-deep pool, 45 minutes, and genuinely charming. Book at the box office that afternoon.
- 19:30 — Bun cha for dinner, then a bia hoi corner — fresh beer brewed that morning, drunk on a plastic stool for about 25 cents.
Day 2 — Either the mausoleum quarter, or Ninh Binh
If you are staying in the city
Walking order: Mausoleum → One Pillar Pagoda (on site) → Presidential Palace gardens (5 min) → Temple of Literature (15 min) → Grab → Hoa Lo. About 3km.
- 07:30 — Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum. He is in it, and he asked to be cremated. No bags, no cameras, no shorts, and you file past in silence. It closes entirely for about two months most autumns for maintenance — check before queueing.
- 09:30 — The One Pillar Pagoda and the Presidential Palace gardens, in the same compound.
- 11:00 — The Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, founded 1070, with the names of doctoral laureates carved on stone tortoises.
- 14:00 — Hoa Lo Prison, French-built and later the “Hanoi Hilton” — an hour, and uncomfortable in both directions.
- 16:00 — The Museum of Ethnology, which is the best museum in the country and which most two-day visitors miss — full-size stilt houses rebuilt in the grounds.
Or Ninh Binh, which is the better day
- 06:30 — Two hours south, and worth the early start.
- 09:00 — Trang An by sampan — three hours, rowed by a woman using her feet, through nine caves and past temples between limestone towers. This is the best three hours in the north.
- Tam Coc is the shorter, cheaper, busier version of the same thing.
- 13:00 — Lunch, and goat is the local dish.
- 14:30 — Mua Cave and its 500 steps to a dragon on the ridge, for the view over the whole valley. Do it after the boat, not before.
- 19:00 — Back in Hanoi.
Why not Ha Long on two days
- A Ha Long day trip is five hours of bus for four hours on the water, arriving in the middle of the day when the light is flattest and the boats are thickest.
- It needs an overnight, which is what the week-long routes do. Ninh Binh gives you the same limestone geology, on a river, without the bus.
Costs and practicalities
Getting around, and what it costs
| Grab, Old Quarter hop | VND 30,000–60,000 |
| Grab from the airport | VND 350,000–450,000 |
| Airport express bus 86 | VND 45,000 |
| Water puppet show | VND 100,000–200,000 |
| Temple of Literature | VND 70,000 |
| Hoa Lo Prison | VND 50,000 |
| Ninh Binh day trip with transport | VND 700,000–1,200,000 |
| Bia hoi, a glass | VND 5,000–10,000 |
- Hanoi is extremely cheap. A bowl of pho is VND 40,000 and a beer is a fifth of that.
Best time to visit
- October–November and March–April — 20–28°C, dry, and the best of the year.
- December–February — genuinely cold, 10–18°C, grey and damp. Northern Vietnam surprises people who packed for the tropics.
- May–September — hot, humid, and the rainy season, with 35°C and afternoon downpours.
Travel tips
- The lake at six in the morning is the single best thing on this page and it is free.
- Walk slowly and do not stop when crossing the road.
- Ninh Binh over Ha Long on a two-day trip.
- Check whether the Mausoleum is open before building a morning round it.
- Use the official e-visa portal, not a reseller.
- Carry small notes. Change for large ones is a recurring problem.
What this trip actually costs
Two people, 1 night, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Hotel, 1 night in the Old Quarter | VND 1,200,000 (≈ AED 172) |
| Food and drink, 2 days | VND 1,000,000 (≈ AED 143) |
| Ninh Binh day trip, two people | VND 1,800,000 (≈ AED 258) |
| Museums, water puppets, two people | VND 600,000 (≈ AED 86.04) |
| Grab and the airport both ways | VND 800,000 (≈ AED 115) |
| Total for two | VND 5,400,000 (≈ AED 774) |
- Vietnam is one of the cheapest countries on this site, and the day trip is more than a third of this total.
- Staying in the city instead takes about VND 1,500,000 off.
- Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.
What to pack
- Shoes for 4km a day on uneven pavements that are usually parked on.
- A warm layer between December and February. It is colder than people expect.
- A light waterproof in the summer months.
- A Type A/C adapter, 220V.
Part of a bigger trip?
- Vietnam in 7 days adds Ha Long overnight and Hoi An.
- Vietnam in 14 days runs the whole country.
- Ho Chi Minh City in 2 days is the southern counterpart.
- Vietnam and Cambodia in 12 days adds Angkor.
FAQ
Is two days enough for Hanoi? For the Old Quarter, the lake and one day trip, yes. It is not enough to do both the mausoleum quarter and Ninh Binh.
Can I do Ha Long Bay as a day trip from Hanoi? You can, and it is a poor use of the day — five hours of bus for four on the water at the worst time of day. Sleep on the bay or do Ninh Binh instead.
Is Train Street still open? It has been closed and reopened repeatedly on safety grounds. Check locally on the day, and treat it as a live railway regardless of what the cafés tell you.
Is the e-visa easy? Yes — online, 90 days, multiple entry. Use the official government portal; the lookalike sites charge several times the real fee.
How cold does Hanoi get? 10–18°C in January and February, damp and grey. Most visitors are underdressed for it.
Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 29 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.
