Multi-Day Tours in Hanoi

Multi-day tours from Hanoi fan out along a handful of routes, all starting at Old Quarter hotels and all spending the first morning in a vehicle. Ha Long and Lan Ha are the shortest, a night on a boat. Mai Chau, 140 km west, is a night in a valley with stilt-house dinners and a Thai dance show; Pu Luong, 200 km, is its wilder neighbour. Sapa is a night or two in the hills. Further out are the north-east loops: Cao Bang with the Ban Gioc waterfall and the Nguom Ngao cave, extended by Ba Be Lake, and the Ha Giang loop. Longer itineraries of four to eight days combine the capital, the bay, Ninh Binh and Sapa, and a two-week one runs on through Saigon and the Mekong.

The timing shows what each trip is. Sapa buses leave between 6:00 and 7:00 and arrive about 13:00; Pu Luong leaves at 7:00 and arrives between 12:00 and 13:00. Ha Giang and Cao Bang go by sleeper bus at 20:30 or 21:00, reach town at 4:00 to 5:00, and set off around 8:30 after a short rest. Nights are hotel rooms, village homestays, jungle bungalows or cruise cabins. Meals are usually included, most groups stop at fifteen people while the north-east loops allow twenty-five, and private versions run on many. Sapa and Cat Ba come as two or three days; Cao Bang takes two to four.

Practical. Pack for two climates: Hanoi is 10 to 20C in winter, and mountain nights are colder. Cancellation follows the trip: free more than 24 hours ahead on the north-east loops, three days on Pu Luong and Mai Chau, six days on cruise packages, and the longest itineraries begin charging about four weeks out, so read the terms before paying. Some are final sale. Lunar New Year, in late January or February, brings surcharges and fuller buses.