Trip Handbook Vietnam

Vietnam in 10 Days: The North-to-South Itinerary That Doesn't Waste a Day

Hoan Kiem Lake with the red Huc Bridge in Hanoi, where a 10-day Vietnam trip begins

Ten days is the sweet spot for a first trip to Vietnam — long enough to see the country change from north to south, short enough that every day has to earn its place. This route does exactly that: Hanoi, an overnight cruise on Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Ho Chi Minh City, moving in one direction the whole way. No backtracking, no wasted day on a 30-hour train, and no base you visit twice.

The short answer: fly into Hanoi, fly out of Ho Chi Minh City (an open-jaw ticket costs about the same as a return to one city and saves you a full day). Sleep on the overnight train once — Hanoi to Hue — fly the two long legs, and take the train for the one stretch where the train is the point: Hue to Da Nang over the Hai Van Pass. If you only have 10 days, this is the route. Everything else is a variation of it.

Vietnam 10-day itinerary at a glance

Day Base What you actually do
1 Hanoi Arrive at Noi Bai, settle into the Old Quarter, first bowl of pho, an evening walk around Hoan Kiem Lake.
2 Hanoi Temple of Literature and the Imperial Citadel in the morning, street food at lunch, Train Street with a cafe in the evening.
3 Ha Long Bay Morning road transfer (2.5–3.5 hours), board the overnight cruise, kayak among the karsts, sunset on deck.
4 Hue (by night train) Sunrise on the bay, disembark late morning, back to Hanoi, board the overnight train to Hue in the evening — you sleep while you travel.
5 Hue The Imperial Citadel and a tomb or two, dinner on the Perfume River side of town.
6 Hoi An Morning train Hue–Da Nang over the Hai Van Pass, then 30 km south to Hoi An. Tailor fitting on arrival if you want clothes made — it takes 2–3 days.
7 Hoi An The Old Town on foot, My Son Sanctuary or the basket boats, An Bang Beach at sunset, lanterns after dark.
8 Ho Chi Minh City Morning in Hoi An, transfer to Da Nang, fly south (1 hour 20 minutes). Evening in District 1.
9 Ho Chi Minh City War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace in the morning, Ben Thanh Market and street food in the evening.
10 Fly home Mekong Delta day trip (or the Cu Chi Tunnels if you prefer history to rivers), back in the city by late afternoon, evening flight home.

That is 10 days, 6 stops, and 3 bases you actually sleep in more than once. Every move carries you forward — the map only ever goes south.

Getting around Vietnam in 10 days

Fly the two long legs, ride the train twice, and drive the short hops. The full Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City train is 30 hours; on a 10-day trip that is three days of your holiday.

Leg How Time & price
Hanoi airport → Old Quarter GrabCar or bus 86 40–60 min; Grab 250,000–350,000 VND (~$10–13); bus 86 ~45,000 VND (~$2).
Hanoi → Ha Long Bay Road / limousine shuttle 2.5–3.5 hours; usually bundled with the cruise price.
Ha Long Bay → Hanoi Road transfer 2.5–3.5 hours back, included in the cruise.
Hanoi → Hue Overnight train, soft sleeper ~13 hours; SE3 departs 19:20, arrives ~07:50 (SE1 21:45, arrives ~10:30); $42–54 for a soft sleeper berth. Book on dsvn.vn.
Hue → Da Nang Day train over the Hai Van Pass 2.5–3 hours, 100,000–250,000 VND (~$4–10). Sit on the sea side (left, going south).
Da Nang → Hoi An Grab or taxi 30 km, 30–45 minutes, 300,000–400,000 VND (~$12–15).
Da Nang → Ho Chi Minh City Domestic flight ~1 hour 20 minutes; from ~$22, usually $30–60 if booked 2–3 weeks ahead. VietJet is cheapest, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo bundle more in.
HCMC airport → District 1 GrabCar 30–45 minutes, 110,000–250,000 VND (~$4–10).

The overnight train is the only train worth sleeping on here. It turns a transfer day into a hotel night you do not pay for — and Hue is the one stop on this route that the train serves better than a flight, because you wake up in the city centre instead of at an airport 15 km out.

Stations, airports & piers you’ll use

Every long leg on this route starts or ends at one of these. Check the exact name on your ticket before you go — similar names cause most missed departures (two Ha Long cruise ports, old vs new stations).

Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)

Hanoi Railway Station (Area A)

Tuan Chau International Marina

Hue Railway Station

Da Nang International Airport

Tan Son Nhat International Airport

What a 10-day Vietnam trip costs

The two fixed costs are the Ha Long cruise and the two domestic flights. Everything else is daily spending, and Vietnam is forgiving about that.

Style Per day 10 days (excl. international flights) What it looks like
Backpacker ~$35–50 ~$500–800 Dorm beds, street food, budget cruise, shared transfers.
Mid-range ~$60–120 ~$1,000–1,500 Private rooms in 3-star hotels, sit-down restaurants, mid-range cruise, Grab everywhere.
Comfortable ~$135–200+ ~$2,000–2,500 4–5 star hotels, private drivers, luxury cruise, fine dining.

Daily budgets from our own province guides line up with this: Hanoi backpacker $27–46 a day, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City $27–38, mid-range $58–96 in all three. The cruise is the single biggest line: a 2-day/1-night Ha Long cruise runs about $120–180 budget, $150–250 mid-range, $250–600+ luxury per person. Do not book a cruise under about $100 per person — the boats at that price cut corners on safety and food. The e-visa is $25 for most nationalities; check whether yours is visa-exempt before you pay.

Prices are planning ranges checked November 2026, not quotes. Domestic flight prices swing the most — a $22 fare booked three weeks out can be $80 the week before, especially around Tet.

Sights on this route, with addresses

The stops this itinerary names, with the address and map for each so you can find them without a guide:

Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple

Temple of Literature (Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam)

Imperial Citadel of Thang Long

Hanoi Train Street

Hue Imperial City (Dai Noi / The Citadel)

Hoi An Ancient Town

My Son Sanctuary

An Bang Beach

Ben Thanh Market

War Remnants Museum

Independence Palace (Reunification Palace)

Cu Chi Tunnels (Ben Dinh site)

Where to eat along the route

One classic bowl in each of the three big cities on this route:

Pho Thin

Bun Bo Me Keo

Com Tam Ba Ghien

Vietnam in 10 days: 3 questions to shape your trip

Answer these three and the itinerary shapes itself:

1. Do you want Hue, or would you rather have an extra day somewhere else?

Hue is the Imperial City — the Citadel alone is 200,000 VND (~$7.70), the Citadel-plus-two-tombs combo 420,000 VND (~$16) — and the Hai Van Pass train is the prettiest few hours on the Vietnamese network. But it costs you a day. If history is not your thing, skip Hue: fly Hanoi–Da Nang on day 4 instead, and give the extra day to Hoi An or the Mekong. Never add Hue on top of the route — swap it in, or leave it out.

2. Train or fly the long legs?

Fly, unless the journey is the point. The overnight train Hanoi–Hue is worth one night because it saves a hotel and a day. The Hue–Da Nang train is worth three hours because the Hai Van Pass is the view. Every other long leg, fly — the train costs 15–30 hours you do not have.

3. Mekong Delta or Cu Chi Tunnels on the last day?

The Mekong is rivers, floating markets and a different Vietnam — a full-day trip from the city. Cu Chi is history: the tunnels, closer in (about 50 km, 1.5 hours), with group tours around 500,000–700,000 VND (~$19–27) per person including transport. Rivers or history — pick one, not both, and keep your last evening free for the flight home.

Best time for a 10-day Vietnam itinerary

November to early December is the best window for the full north-to-south run: dry and cool in Hanoi, dry in the centre, and dry in the south. March to May is the strong second choice, with lower prices. October to April works across all three zones; May to October is monsoon somewhere — the north's typhoon season runs roughly June to September, and the centre floods in October–November (Hoi An's lowest streets flood most years, usually receding in 1–3 days). If your dates are fixed in October–November, book refundable rooms and keep a buffer day in the middle of the trip, not the end. See our Seasonal Hazards & Natural Dangers page for the full picture.

What to skip on a 10-day Vietnam trip

Sa Pa. The overnight train or bus burns two of your ten nights, and the northern highlands deserve their own trip. Leave it for the second visit.

A second cruise. One night on Ha Long Bay is the sweet spot. Two nights only makes sense if you want the genuinely remote water — and on a 10-day route, that night belongs to Hue or Hoi An.

Nha Trang and Da Lat on the same trip. Both are good stops; neither fits in 10 days without cutting Hanoi or Hoi An short. They are the reason to come back.

Before you book your 10-day Vietnam itinerary

The bottom line: is 10 days enough for Vietnam?

Ten days, one direction, six stops: two days in Hanoi, one night on the water, one day in Hue, two days in Hoi An, two days in Saigon, and one day on the river. Fly in the north, fly out of the south, sleep on the train once, and let the Hai Van Pass be the only slow journey — because there, the slowness is the point. Book the open-jaw flights and the cruise first; everything else can wait until you land.

Read the full guides for each stop: Hanoi, Ha Long, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City — with prices, maps and day-by-day plans.

Related guides

Destinations on this route

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