Short Excursions

If you are the adventurous type or simply bored temporarily of the city atmosphere, then consider a cruise in the northern countryside. A round trip will bring you to a lot of charming villages and through hills and valleys with stunning nature. Main roads are generally in good condition and you can easily do a couple of hundred kilometers a day. The villages and provinces are generally safe at night, and you get to see a lot of Vietnamese culture such as various tribe folks. Here are a few suggestions:

The Perfume Pagoda:

The Perfume Pagoda is a Buddhist pilgrimage site about 60 km southwest of Hanoi. A full-day excursion involves a boat trip, hiking up a mountain, and visiting various temples and grottoes.

Bat Trang Ceramic Village:

Bat Trang is a village world-famous for its pottery, 9 km southeast of Hanoi.

Cao Bang:

Cao Bang, featuring the beautiful Ban Gioc waterfall, is five hours away by bus, near the Chinese border.

Cuc Phuong National Park:

The Cuc Phuong National Park is the largest national park in Vietnam, and an easy day-trip from Hanoi.

Halong Bay:

Staying overnight in a boat on the breath-taking Ha Long Bay (or in a hotel on Cat Ba Island) is the most popular side-trip from Hanoi.

Sapa:

The northern village of Sapa, home to ethnic minorities, gorgeous mountain scenery, and trekking paths connecting many tiny mountain villages, is also a popular two or three day trip. It is accessible by train (to Lao Cai) followed by a minibus link to the town. The trekking paths have no signs, so a hiring a guide is well-advised.

Tam Coc / Hoa Lu:

Located in Ninh Binh province, this day trip is a combines heritage tourism and natural landscape tourism. Hoa Lu is the site of the first capital of Vietnam in the 10th century, and was home to two kings – Dinh Bo Linh (Dinh Tien Hoang) and Le Hoan, there are now two shrines dedicated to these two kings. About 30 mins away from Hoa Lu is Tam Coc [three grottoes]– also known as Halong Bay on land. It features karst landforms surrounded by padi fields, and is accessed by little wooden boats. This is an excellent alternative to Halong Bay for those who have short attention spans, as the boat trip takes a mere hour vis-a-vis Halong Bay boat trips, which take 5 hours – 2 days.