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⭐ Highlights

3 Days in Hanoi — Essential Highlights

Pho bo at dawn, Halong Bay's limestone karsts, the Obama bun cha and egg coffee for €1.50

📍 Hanoi, Vietnam 📅 3-day itinerary

Hanoi in 3 days: a thousand-year-old capital where midnight banh mi costs €0.80, the world's most dramatic bay is 3.5 hours away, and fresh beer is €0.20 per glass at the bia hoi corner.

Also explore Hanoi for:

📋 General guide ⭐ Highlights

Pho bo, Hoan Kiem Lake at dawn & the Obama bun cha dinner

06:30

🍜 Phở Bát Đàn — queue from the side, 6–10am only, €2 per bowl

Northern pho: 12-hour bone broth, raw beef cooked in the bowl. The most famous breakfast in Hanoi.

⏱ 1 hr 💶 VND 50,000

08:30

🐢 Hoan Kiem Lake at dawn — tai chi, the Red Bridge and the Jade Mountain

The spiritual heart of Hanoi: Hanoians doing morning exercises beside the restored-sword legend.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 Free

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

11:00

🏘️ The 36 Old Quarter streets — Tin Street, Silk Street, Paper Street

Medieval guild streets still selling what they're named for: get lost in 1,000 years of Vietnamese commerce.

⏱ 3 hrs 💶 Free

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

19:30

🍖 Bún Chả Hương Liên — the Obama Combo, €2.50

Grilled pork patties and noodles: the meal CNN broadcast from this table in 2016. Still exactly the same.

⏱ 1.5 hrs 💶 VND 60,000

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

Halong Bay overnight cruise — limestone karsts and kayaking

08:00

🚌 Transfer to Halong Bay — 170km, 3.5 hrs, junk boat cruise begins

UNESCO bay with 1,553 islands, emerald water and the finest boat journey in Southeast Asia.

⏱ Transfer 💶 USD$80–250

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

12:00

⛵ Cruise between the karst towers — lunch with fresh squid and clams on board

200m limestone islands rising from green water: the late afternoon light turns them golden red.

⏱ Ongoing 💶 Included

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

15:00

🚣 Kayak through sea caves to hidden lagoons and floating villages

The only way to reach the lagoons: families who have lived on the water for generations.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 Included

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

20:00

🦞 Sunset deck, 5-course seafood dinner and squid fishing at night

Prawns that were in the bay this morning, karst silhouettes at dusk and a boat in complete darkness.

⏱ 4 hrs 💶 Included

Halong Bay morning, return to Hanoi & egg coffee at dusk

08:00

🌅 Sunrise kayak in the morning mist — the bay before the tour boats wake

7am on the water: fishermen casting nets in silence between the karst towers in the mist.

⏱ 1.5 hrs 💶 Included

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

17:00

☕ Giang Café egg coffee — invented in 1946, €1.50 for an original

Whipped egg yolk foam over robusta: the drink invented when milk ran out during the French blockade.

⏱ 1.5 hrs 💶 VND 40,000

19:30

🍺 Bia Hoi Junction — 300 plastic stools, €0.20 per glass of fresh beer

Daily-brewed unpasteurized lager: the cheapest beer on earth, at the most sociable corner in Hanoi.

⏱ 2 hrs 💶 VND 7,000

🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuide

22:00

🥖 Midnight banh mi — the world's most perfect sandwich for €0.80

French baguette, pâté, pickled daikon, chilli: the complete history of Vietnam in one perfect street sandwich.

⏱ 30 min 💶 VND 25,000

📍 Route map

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

📋 General 3-day guide ⭐ Highlights

Book tours, tickets and experiences via GetYourGuide — free cancellation on most activities.

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📍 Hoan Kiem — directly beside the Hoan Kiem Lake, the French Quarter and the Old Quarter: the most storied address in Vietnam

The Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi (1901, the finest colonial hotel in Southeast Asia — where Charlie Chaplin honeymooned, Ho Chi Minh met with foreign journalists, Jane Fonda hid in the bomb shelter (still accessible on a tour), and Graham Greene wrote part of The Quiet American in Room 214. The Bamboo Bar, the Le Beaulieu French restaurant and the pool are all outstanding, and the history embedded in every corridor is extraordinary.

From €280/night

🏨 View on Booking.com

Language	Vietnamese (a tonal Austroasiatic language — 6 tones: flat, rising, falling-rising, falling, creaky-rising, heavy. The tonal nature makes pronunciation extremely difficult for westerners but Vietnamese people are very patient). English spoken in tourist areas, hotels and restaurants in the Old Quarter. French understood by some older educated Hanoians (legacy of French colonialism 1887–1954). Learn "Cảm ơn" (thank you) and "Không, cảm ơn" (no thank you — the most useful phrase in Vietnam)
Currency	Vietnamese Dong (VND). €1 ≈ 26,000–27,000 VND. Cash essential — street food, local restaurants, cyclo and xe ôm (motorbike taxi) are cash-only. Large bills (500,000 VND) used for accommodation and upscale restaurants, small bills (10,000–50,000 VND) for street food. ATMs everywhere in the Old Quarter. Keep small bills separate from large ones
Transport	The Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake area is best explored on foot (compact, 15-minute walk across). Xe ôm (motorbike taxi) and Grab Bike (the SE Asian Uber for motorbikes) for longer distances — fastest and cheapest in the traffic. Grab Car for luggage. Cyclo (the three-wheeled cycle rickshaw) for a tourist experience through the Old Quarter — negotiate price in advance. Avoid the local city buses (confusing for visitors). Taxis: use Mai Linh or Vinasun for reliability
Best time	October–April (Hanoi's dry/cool season: October–November (25–28°C, beautiful autumn light), December–January (cool and misty, 15–18°C — bring a layer), February–April (warming up, Tết New Year usually January/February is the most festive and atmospheric time, though many shops close for a week). May–September is hot and humid (33–38°C) with occasional heavy rain
Getting in	Noi Bai International Airport (HAN): Vietnam Airlines airport bus to Hoan Kiem (45 min, VND 45,000). Taxi: 40–60 min (VND 350,000–450,000 — use airport taxi queue, not drivers who approach you inside). Grab Car: VND 200,000–300,000 (much cheaper, book at arrivals). Train: no direct rail from airport to city
Tipping	Not customary in Vietnam — service charges are increasingly added (5–10%) at restaurants. However, tipping a good guide, an excellent restaurant (VND 50,000–100,000 = €2–4) or a massage therapist (VND 30,000–50,000) is always appreciated and a gesture of good will. Never feel obligated. Cyclo/xe ôm drivers negotiate fares in advance
Safety	Hanoi is generally safe. The main risks: motorbike bag-snatching (carry bags on the inside, away from the street), traffic (crossing the street requires patience and a constant diagonal walk — motorbikes will flow around you if you move predictably), and petty theft in crowded areas. The Old Quarter at night is safe and lively. The Bia Hoi Junction and street food areas are safe and social
Budget tips	Pho bo breakfast: VND 50,000 (€2). Bun cha: VND 60,000 (€2.50). Bia hoi per glass: VND 7,000 (€0.27). Banh mi: VND 25,000 (€1). Halong Bay 2D/1N cruise: USD$80 budget, USD$200 for quality. Hanoi is one of the cheapest cities in Southeast Asia — budget €20–40/day (not including Halong Bay cruise)