14 days in Vietnam
More: When to visit Vietnam · Vietnam travel guide
14 Days in Vietnam: North-to-South Complete Itinerary
Two weeks fits the classic Vietnam circuit, Hanoi + Halong + Hoi An + Hue + Saigon + Mekong + Phu Quoc. Here's the day-by-day route.
Days 1-3: Hanoi
Morning
Old Quarter walking, Hoan Kiem Lake, Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum + Temple of Literature.
Afternoon
Train Street + cafe at the rails. Lunch at Pho Gia Truyen (locals' favorite).
Evening
Egg coffee at Cafe Giang. Bia Hoi Junction beer + street food.
Days 4-5: Halong Bay (or Lan Ha Bay)
Morning
Bus or transfer to Halong Bay (3-4 hours from Hanoi). Board overnight cruise.
Afternoon
Kayak through karst islands. Cave tours. Sunset on the upper deck.
Evening
Cruise dinner + cabin sleep. Sunrise tai chi on deck next morning.
Day 6: Hanoi → Hoi An (flight)
Morning
1.5-hour flight from Hanoi to Da Nang. Transfer to Hoi An (30 min).
Afternoon
Walk Hoi An ancient town. Get clothing measured at a tailor (Yaly Couture, BeBe Tailor).
Evening
Lantern-lit night market crawl. Cao lầu + banh mi dinner.
Days 7-8: Hoi An (see our '5 Days in Hoi An'-style)
Morning
My Son sanctuary day-trip (Cham temple ruins, 1 hour from Hoi An).
Afternoon
Bicycle through rice paddies to An Bang Beach. Cooking class with market shopping.
Evening
Tailor fitting + pickup. Final Hoi An dinner — Morning Glory or Nu Eatery.
Day 9: Hue day-trip OR Da Nang
Morning
3-hour transfer to Hue (former imperial capital). Visit Hue Citadel + Imperial Tombs.
Afternoon
Lunch at a local restaurant (bun bo Hue specialty). Perfume River cruise to royal tombs.
Evening
Return to Hoi An by 7pm OR stay overnight in Hue.
Day 10: Hoi An → Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) flight
Morning
1h 20m flight from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City.
Afternoon
Walk District 1: Saigon Notre-Dame, Central Post Office, Ben Thanh Market.
Evening
Bui Vien Street nightlife OR rooftop bar at The View (Bach Dang Wharf).
Day 11: Saigon + Cu Chi Tunnels
Morning
Cu Chi Tunnels day-trip (1 hour from Saigon). Crawl through Vietnam War tunnels.
Afternoon
Reunification Palace + War Remnants Museum.
Evening
Saigon dinner. Quan An Ngon (local food court) or Cuc Gach Quan.
Day 12: Mekong Delta day-trip
Morning
Bus to Cai Be or My Tho (1.5h from Saigon). Boat to floating market + coconut candy factory.
Afternoon
Lunch at a delta home. Bicycle through paddies.
Evening
Return to Saigon. Or stay overnight in Can Tho for Cai Rang floating market dawn visit.
Day 13: Saigon → Phu Quoc (flight)
Morning
1-hour flight to Phu Quoc Island.
Afternoon
Beach time at Long Beach or Bai Sao Beach.
Evening
Phu Quoc seafood dinner + Night Market exploration.
Day 14: Phu Quoc + departure
Morning
Last beach morning. Snorkeling tour or south coast exploration.
Afternoon
Flight back to Saigon or direct international flight from Phu Quoc.
Evening
Departure.
What shape does a two-week Vietnam route need to take?
A fourteen-day trip works best as five sleeping places linked by two internal flights along a single north-to-south line. Every extra base costs a packing morning and a check-in afternoon, so a route with seven hotels feels shorter than one with five even though the calendar is identical. Count nights rather than days: fourteen days of leave is thirteen nights on the ground, and a red-eye arrival plus a departure day quietly removes around a day and a half of usable time.
The regions are unequal in what they repay per night. The north absorbs the most, because Hanoi and the bay are separate experiences and the transfer between them eats a half day in each direction, which makes five nights the working minimum for both. The centre is the easiest region to underspend, since Hoi An and Hue sit close enough on one road to share a base for part of the stay.
The south needs fewer nights than most people assume. Ho Chi Minh City's two big excursions run in opposite directions from one hotel, so no repacking is involved: the Cu Chi tunnels lie roughly 40 to 70 km northwest depending on which visitor site is used, and the delta towns of My Tho and Ben Tre are 70 to 85 km southwest, about two hours each way. Anything beyond that shape, an island tail included, has to displace nights rather than be added on top of them.
A realistic route without backtracking: which legs to fly and which to ride
Fly the two long gaps and take the train for exactly one short leg. Da Nang is what makes that work, because it is the mid-country airport that both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City fly to directly, so the centre can be entered from above and left towards the south without either flight retracing the other. Noi Bai airport sits about 27 to 30 km from the Old Quarter at 45 to 60 minutes by road, while Tan Son Nhat is only 7 to 8 km from District 1 at 20 to 30 minutes, so the southern end costs much less transfer time and belongs at the finish rather than the start.
Between Hue and Da Nang the rail leg over the Hai Van pass covers about 103 km in two and a half to three and a half hours, running above Lang Co bay for part of the way. That is the one Vietnamese train ride worth substituting for a road transfer on a short trip. The parallel drive from Hoi An to Hue is roughly 130 km and about three hours without stops, over a pass road that climbs to around 500 m. Riding the rails southbound out of Hue lands you in Da Nang, with Hoi An another 30 km and 30 to 45 minutes on.
For the bay, the road to Ha Long covers roughly 155 to 165 km in about two and a half to three hours on the 5B expressway, while Cat Ba and Lan Ha are reached through Hai Phong in about three and a half to four hours door to door, including a ferry crossing of roughly 30 minutes. Neither is a day trip. Keep the last internal flight a clear day away from the international departure.
Pacing errors that break a two-week plan
The pacing error that spoils most two-week attempts is booking an internal flight for the morning after an overnight bay cruise. Cruises return to the pier late in the morning, the road back to Hanoi still takes most of the afternoon once the transfer is added, and a same-day flight south turns the second bay day into a transit day. A Hanoi night between the two rescues both.
Hue is the second trap. Run as a half-day out of Hoi An it is about six hours of driving for a few hours on the ground, so the citadel and the royal tombs either earn a night in Hue or get dropped in favour of more time on the coast.
What to leave out at fourteen days: Phong Nha, four to five hours by road north of Hue and only worth the detour on a longer trip; Can Tho, around 170 km and three and a half to four and a half hours from Ho Chi Minh City and impossible as a day trip when My Tho and Ben Tre sit at half that distance; and Sapa, whose road transfer each way is the longest in the north and costs roughly what a whole extra region costs. Leaving domestic flights until arrival is the other avoidable mistake. Fares on the Hanoi to Da Nang and Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City routes stay low by international standards, but on a fixed two-week plan the departure slots that fit the itinerary go early.
| Leg | Best mode | Typical journey time |
|---|---|---|
| Hanoi to Ha Long or Lan Ha | Road, plus a short ferry for Cat Ba | 2.5 to 3 hours to Ha Long, 3.5 to 4 to Cat Ba |
| Hanoi to Da Nang | Flight | About 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Hue to Da Nang | Train over the Hai Van pass | 2.5 to 3.5 hours |
| Da Nang to Hoi An | Car | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City | Flight | About 1 hour 20 minutes |
Frequently asked questions
Is 14 days enough to see all of Vietnam?
Fourteen days covers the north, the centre and the south along one line, but not the far northern mountains or the deep delta. The workable split is five nights in the north, four in the centre and four in the south, joined by two internal flights. Adding Sapa or Ha Giang means giving up a region rather than a day.
Should the route run north to south or south to north?
North to south suits most long-haul travellers, because the airport transfer at the southern end is a fraction of the one in the north. Finishing in Ho Chi Minh City therefore makes the last move before the flight home the shortest of the trip. Reverse it only when arrival fares into the south are clearly better.
Is the sleeper train worth using on a two-week trip?
Only for the Hue to Da Nang section over the Hai Van pass, which slots into the itinerary without costing a day. The full Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City run takes about 31 to 36 hours across roughly 1,726 km depending on the service, which a flight of a little over two hours also covers.
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Trip prep: before you travel, plan what to wear, check the tap water, sort your mobile data, and see if it is a cash or card country, and skim local etiquette.
