Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam and the political and cultural centre of the country's north, a city of roughly 8.5 million people built around a chain of lakes on the Red River delta. Its compact core layers a thousand-year-old market quarter, a French colonial grid of villas and boulevards, and the ceremonial state architecture of Ba Dinh Square within a few kilometres of one another.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Ha Long Bay
The UNESCO-listed bay of roughly 1,600 limestone islands and islets in the Gulf of Tonkin, visited from Hanoi on a day cruise that typically takes in Sung Sot Cave, a kayaking hour and a climb on Titop Island. Expressway coaches have cut the transfer to about 2.5 hours, which makes a same-day return realistic.
Highlights: Cruise among roughly 1,600 limestone islands and islets in a UNESCO-listed bay · Explore the three chambers of Sung Sot (Surprise) Cave on Bo Hon Island · Kayak or take a bamboo boat through a sheltered lagoon near a floating fishing village · Climb the stairway on Titop Island for a panoramic view and a swim on its beach · Eat a seafood lunch served on board while sailing past karst pinnacles
Ninh Binh — Trang An, Tam Coc and Hoa Lu
The inland karst landscape often called Ha Long Bay on land, where wooden sampans rowed by foot glide through flooded caves at Trang An and along the Ngo Dong river at Tam Coc. The tenth-century capital of Hoa Lu and the 500-step Mua Cave viewpoint sit within a few kilometres of both boat wharves.
Highlights: Ride a rowed sampan through the flooded caves of the Trang An Landscape Complex · Float along the Ngo Dong river at Tam Coc between rice fields and limestone cliffs · Visit the tenth-century capital of Hoa Lu and its Dinh and Le dynasty temples · Climb about 500 steps at Mua Cave for a ridge-top view over the karst plain · Try Ninh Binh goat meat and burnt-rice dishes at a local restaurant
Bat Trang Pottery Village
A ceramics village on the Red River's left bank that has been firing pots for around seven centuries, with a covered market of several hundred stalls, a spiral brick Ceramic Museum and workshops where visitors can throw and paint their own piece. Entry to the village is free and it is the cheapest day trip from Hanoi.
Highlights: Browse a covered market with several hundred ceramic stalls · Watch potters throw, glaze and fire pieces in family workshops · Throw and paint a personal piece in a hands-on pottery class · Tour the spiral-shaped Bat Trang Ceramic Museum · Wander the brick lanes and kilns of a village fired for seven centuries
Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong)
A complex of Buddhist shrines set in the limestone hills of Huong Son, reached by a rowing boat along the Yen stream and then either a steep stone path or a cable car up to Huong Tich cave. It is northern Vietnam's largest pilgrimage site and is at its most crowded during the festival that runs from the sixth day of the lunar new year until late spring.
Highlights: Row along the Yen stream past karst hills, paddies and lotus plants · Visit Den Trinh and Chua Ngoai at the foot of Huong Tich mountain · Explore the candlelit Huong Tich cave, the main pilgrimage shrine · Choose between a steep stone path and the cable car for the climb · Experience the northern Vietnamese pilgrimage festival between January and March
Ba Vi National Park
A forested three-peaked massif west of the city, topped by the 1,296 m King Peak and its Ho Chi Minh memorial temple at the head of a 1,300-step stairway. The park also holds the ruins of a French hill station, a cactus garden and a cloud-forest road that climbs above the delta haze.
Highlights: Climb the roughly 1,300-step stairway to King Peak at 1,296 m · Visit the Ho Chi Minh memorial temple at the summit · See the ruined French hill station and colonial church among the trees · Walk through cloud forest with views over the Red River delta · Stop at the cactus garden and arboretum along the park road
Duong Lam Ancient Village
A cluster of Red River delta hamlets near Son Tay where several hundred houses are built from laterite blocks, some of them more than three centuries old, around the Mong Phu communal house and its banyan-shaded gateway. The village still makes soy sauce and sesame candy by hand and remains a working settlement rather than a museum.
Highlights: Walk lanes of laterite-block houses more than three centuries old · Visit the Mong Phu communal house beneath its banyan-shaded gateway · See sesame candy and soy sauce made by hand in family courtyards · Explore old family houses opened as small heritage museums · Cycle among the rice fields and ponds surrounding the hamlets
Cuc Phuong National Park
Vietnam's first national park, declared in 1962, covering primary limestone rainforest on the Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa borders. Its main draws are the thousand-year-old Tetrameles tree on the Ancient Tree Trail, the Cave of Prehistoric Man, and the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre and Turtle Conservation Centre at the park headquarters.
Highlights: See a Tetrameles tree believed to be about a thousand years old on the Ancient Tree Trail · Walk to the Cave of Prehistoric Man, a site of early human habitation · Visit the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre to see langurs and gibbons · Meet rare freshwater turtles at the Turtle Conservation Centre · Witness the mass butterfly emergence in late April and May
Tam Dao Hill Station
A French-era hill station at about 900 m in the Tam Dao range, reached by a switchback road from Vinh Yen and often sitting in cloud when Hanoi is sweltering. The town centres on a stone church, the Silver Waterfall (Thac Bac) and the 1,400-step stairway to the television tower on Thien Nhi peak.
Highlights: Escape the Hanoi heat in a cool French-era hill station at about 900 m · See the stone church and colonial villa remains in the town centre · Walk to the Silver Waterfall (Thac Bac) at the edge of town · Climb the roughly 1,400 steps to the television tower on Thien Nhi peak · Taste Tam Dao salmon hotpot and mountain vegetables
Thay Pagoda and Tay Phuong Pagoda
Two of northern Vietnam's most important temple complexes, visited together on a half- or full-day circuit west of the city. Thay Pagoda sits below Sai Son limestone hill with a covered water-puppet stage on its lake, while Tay Phuong Pagoda stands at the top of about 240 laterite steps and holds a celebrated set of 18th-century jackfruit-wood arhat statues.
Highlights: See the lakeside water puppet stage at Thay Pagoda below Sai Son hill · Climb about 240 laterite steps to Tay Phuong Pagoda · View the celebrated 18th-century jackfruit-wood arhat statues · Explore cave shrines set into the hillside at Thay Pagoda · Combine both temples with Van Phuc silk village in one circuit
Van Phuc Silk Village
A silk-weaving village on the Nhue river in Ha Dong, working for more than a thousand years and now lined with shops, looms open to visitors and a lantern-covered main lane. Entry is free, the village is the closest craft day trip to central Hanoi, and metro line 2A puts it within 45 minutes of the Old Quarter.
Highlights: Watch weavers operate silk looms in family workshops · Shop for scarves, ao dai and fabric along the main lane · Have a custom garment made by a village tailor · Reach the village on metro line 2A in under 45 minutes · Photograph the lantern-covered lane and village gate
Cat Ba Island and Lan Ha Bay
The largest island in the Ha Long archipelago, with a national park of limestone forest, the Cat Co swimming beaches and Lan Ha Bay's quieter karst waters on its southern side. A same-day return from Hanoi is possible but leaves only a few hours on the island, so one or two nights works better.
Highlights: Cruise or kayak through the quieter karst waters of Lan Ha Bay · Swim at the Cat Co beaches near Cat Ba Town · Hike the limestone forest trails of Cat Ba National Park · Climb to the Cannon Fort for a panorama of the harbour and bay · Eat fresh seafood at the Cat Ba Town waterfront restaurants
Sapa and the Muong Hoa Valley
The terraced rice valleys and Hmong, Dao and Giay villages below Fansipan, Vietnam's highest peak at 3,147 m, reached by an overnight sleeper train to Lao Cai or a 5.5-hour expressway coach. The distance makes a single-day visit impractical, and two or three nights is the realistic minimum.
Highlights: Trek terraced rice valleys between Hmong, Dao and Giay villages · Ride the Fansipan cable car toward Vietnam's highest peak at 3,147 m · Ride the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to Lao Cai · Visit Cat Cat village for weaving and waterfalls · Stay at a village homestay for a local meal and mountain views
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
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Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
Multi-day tours from Hanoi
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
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Day trip tips
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