Trip overview
Many shorter routes squeeze Hue into one long day out of Da Nang and back. This one takes the opposite approach: a domestic flight delivers you straight to the old imperial city, a room is booked for the night, and a Perfume River boat trip fills the afternoon you touch down — worth knowing up front, the cost is one fewer night down on the coast.
None of this route — Hanoi, the bay, Hue or the central coast — lies within the Mekong basin, and we'd rather say so directly than let the name of our company mislead anyone: our best-known trips run through the delta provinces south of Ho Chi Minh City and continue across the Cambodian and Lao stretches of the river. Treat this itinerary as the choice for travelers wanting a broader read of the country from north to center, not a stand-in for a delta trip. Expect the central anchorage on Ha Long Bay to be busy with other boats overnight, and be aware a cruise can be rerouted or cancelled on short notice if weather turns unsafe.
Trip highlights
- A complete day of capital sightseeing before boarding for a night on the bay
- A direct flight into Hue and an actual night spent in the city
- A Perfume River boat trip calling at Thien Mu Pagoda and Hon Chen Temple
- The road south over Hai Van Pass, with a stop at Lang Co Beach
- An evening walk through Hoi An's Old Town on the way to Da Nang
- A full day at Ba Na Hills, cable car included, ending at the Golden Bridge
Your day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi (about a 45-minute, 25 km transfer from the airport)
Streets that still carry a French-era imprint, temples set beside quiet lakes and an Old Quarter that predates most of what's around it make for an easy first impression of the capital. Arrivals typically leave the first afternoon unplanned, with the food stalls and narrow lanes nearby there for anyone who wants to shake off the flight gently before the busier days start.
Day 2: Hanoi city tour
A full circuit of the capital's landmarks fills the day, opening at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and his wooden stilt house before moving on to the One Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature. West Lake accounts for the next stretch, with Quan Thanh Temple and Tran Quoc Pagoda on its shore, and after lunch at the Museum of Ethnology the day settles at Hoan Kiem Lake, leaving time to wander the surrounding streets.
Day 3: Hanoi to Ha Long Bay, board overnight cruise (about 3 hours / 170 km one way)
The road east crosses the paddy fields and small settlements of the Red River Delta before you board a traditional wooden junk. Out on the water the course weaves past Dinh Huong, Ga Choi and Dog Island, with a working pearl farm and a paddled detour into Luon Cave along the way; a swim off Ti Top Island fills the late afternoon and dinner is laid on deck at sunset — the central bay fills with other cruise boats by nightfall, and the route can shift on short notice if weather turns rough.
Day 4: Ha Long Bay to Hanoi, Surprise Cave (about 3 hours / 170 km one way)
Tai Chi on the sundeck opens proceedings, followed by a call at Surprise Cave, reached by a climb of roughly a hundred steps and walked through fully in about an hour. Once brunch is cleared, the route back passes Ga Choi Island, Binh Phong Mountain and Tortoise Island on the way to Tuan Chau port for the drive to the capital.
Day 5: Fly to Hue, boat trip on the Perfume River
A short domestic flight covers the distance from the capital to Phu Bai International Airport, just outside Hue, where a driver takes you into the old imperial city. That same afternoon brings a boat trip along the Perfume River, calling at Thien Mu Pagoda and Hon Chen Temple, and the night is spent in a Hue hotel rather than pressing straight on.
Day 6: Hue to Da Nang via Hoi An (about 2 hours / 120 km one way)
The road south takes in Minh Mang Tomb before climbing over Hai Van Pass, running past Lang Co Beach, the Cham Museum and the Marble Mountains, then stopping in the evening at Hoi An's Old Town. On foot there the route covers Tan Ky House, the merchant assembly hall, the Japanese Covered Bridge, the old wells, the market stalls and the harbour along the riverside.
Day 7: Ba Na Hills excursion
One of Southeast Asia's longer cable-car rides carries you up to Ba Na Hills, often billed as a cooler, central-coast counterpart to Da Lat or Sa Pa. The day up top covers the French wine cellar, the Golden Bridge cradled by its two giant stone hands, Linh Ung Pagoda, the rides inside Fantasy Park, and King Peak at 1,487 metres, capped by the view from Linh Tu Pagoda.
Day 8: Departure from Da Nang
You're free to spend the morning as you like before heading to Da Nang International Airport for the flight home — eight days that, unlike a quicker loop, actually let Hue keep you overnight instead of waving at it from a bus window.
What’s included
- Hotels in the class you choose, twin or double occupancy, with breakfast each morning, or an equivalent property if the one named is full.
- All meals written into the day-by-day programme below.
- A private air-conditioned vehicle for every transfer and excursion in the programme.
- An English-speaking local guide at each stop on the route.
- Every boat trip, river crossing and cruise named in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees for the sites listed in the programme.
- Drinking water in the vehicle and on boat days.
- Government tax and service charge.
Not included
- International and domestic flights, and rail tickets.
- Visas, and any fee collected at a border post.
- Travel insurance.
- Meals and drinks that are not written into the programme.
- Personal spending such as laundry, phone calls, minibar, souvenirs and watersports.
- Early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades.
- Anything added on the day at your request outside the printed programme.
- Gratuities for your guide and driver.
- Costs arising from weather, flooding, road closures or other events beyond our control.
- Bank transfer charges.
Booking this trip
- Days
- 7 nights / 8 days
Sending this does not charge you. We hold the space and confirm within 24 hours.
Full details on visas, payments and what happens once you land are gathered on the [Vietnam travel information page](vietnam/travel-information).
Let us know when you’d like to go and how large your group is, and we’ll check space and come back with a plan and a price by email.