6D5N Vietnam trip centered around convenience

My North Vietnam trip valued convenience > cost, and hence planned around experiences that would be suitable for families with elderly. I thought 6 days was a good amount of time to see 3 places without cramming too many sights and sounds of Northern Vietnam, and I greatly enjoyed the time spent relaxing and exploring the region.

🪷 DAY 1 🪷

1000 | Landed at Noi Bai International Airport, got a PHD to take us to Sapa immediately. (Chose a PHD instead of a sleeper bus as it was convenient to stop for the toilet + wanted to get there earlier)

1330 | Checked into Pistachio Hotel Sapa and freshened up before lunch.

1400 | Lunch at a random Le Petite Gecko. (Disappointing, don't recommend it)

1530 | Explored Sapa Town, had a coconut coffee at a cafe, people watched by the Seo My Ty Lake.

1900 | Had Bun Bo Hue for dinner in town

2000 | Sapa Love Market at Chợ Tình Sapa where ethnic dances, local market take place in a large square in front of the town's church.

2100 | Foot massage. (Anything around 100k for 60 mins is a good deal)

🪷 DAY 2 🪷

0800 | Hotel breakfast at Pistachio, nothing special.

0900 | Grabbed banh mi for a snack up Fansipan Legend.

1000 | Checked out and walked over to M Gallery (3 mins away), was pleasantly surprised with an early check in.

1100 | Got our VIP tickets for Fansipan, and was escorted to the rides to go up to Fansipan. Pretty worth it considering it's almost the same price as the tickets on klook.

1400 | Spent a long time up the peak, a lot of walking to be done. The weather up in the mountains is just precious.

1500 | Late lunch and coffee at Viettrekking.

1700 | Dip in the pool back at M Gallery.

1800 | Sapa Night Market & another foot massage.

🪷 DAY 3 🪷

0800 | Sapa hills trekking & cafe hopping nearby Cat Cat Hills. Skipped the touristy attraction because of poor reviews. Glad we did.

1230 | Checked out and walked around the old town to shop for souvenirs/ shopping.

1830 | Picked up by a limousine shuttle for Lao Cai. The ride had about 12 other people. We were one of the last to get picked up so it saved some time.

2000 | Prepared for check in at the Chapa Lounge Lao Cai Station.

2100 | Boarded the night train! It was definitely an experience.

🪷 DAY 4 🪷

0600 | Arrived in Hanoi, and had breakfast & explored the area a little before getting picked up.

0900 | Limousine shuttle to Ha Long. The ride included an unnecessary stop at some pearl shop, I guess all tours will force that in the itinerary for business.

1200 | Boarded the tender to the cruise, took about 40mins!

1300 | 2D1N Doris Cruise itinerary.

🪷 DAY 5 🪷

1100 | Checked out of Doris Cruise.

1200 | Limousine shuttle back to Hanoi.

1600 | Arrived at Old Quarter pretty late due to a bad jam.

1700 | Shared a Bun Bo Nam Bo after checking in. The rest of the night was just exploring the food scene and walking around Old Quarter, getting my nails done and trying Pizza 4Ps.

🪷 DAY 6 🪷

0730 | Early morning to try a Banh Mi spot at Banh Mi 25 to have by the Hoang Kiem Lake. (Not fantastic)

0900 | Explored Train Street. (Didn't go during the train schedule timings, it's a pretty touristy spot)

1000 | Coffee at Cafe Lermalermer.

1100 | Street snack Egg Stop by Train Street.

1200 | Souvenir shopping.

1400 | Late lunch at O Bun Cha.

1500 | Got a last banh mi to takeaway for our flight home, got a PHD from Trip.com to take us to the airport.

For further information on cost/ experiences/ cafes, check out:

🪷 No regrets spending 1K+ on my 6D5N trip to Vietnam

#lemon8travel #itinerary