Vietnam is long and thin, which makes the route obvious and the ticketing less so. Fly into Hanoi and out of Ho Chi Minh City on an open-jaw booking so you never retrace a single kilometre.
The Old Quarter on foot, egg coffee, and the water puppets. Cross roads slowly and without stopping — the traffic flows around you.
Onward: Road, 2 hr 30. Expressway to the coast for your cruise
One night on the water is enough to see it; two lets you get past the day-trip route. Lan Ha Bay is the same limestone with a fraction of the boats.
Onward: Road, 3 hr 30. Back past Hanoi and south to Ninh Binh
Trang An by rowing boat through flooded caves, and the climb up Mua Cave for the view back over the whole valley.
Onward: Road then flight, 3 hr 30 total. To Hanoi airport, then 1 hr 20 to Da Nang
The lantern-lit old town, a tailor if you want one, and An Bang beach fifteen minutes away when you have had enough of the crowds.
Onward: Flight, 1 hr 20. Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City
The War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, and street food in District 4. Louder and faster than Hanoi, and it knows it.
On ten nights, drop Ninh Binh and give the time to Hoi An. On seven, pick either the north or the south — not both.
Add Hue between Ninh Binh and Hoi An for the citadel and the tombs, or Sapa in the far north if you are there between September and November.
Booking a return flight into and out of the same city. A Hanoi-in, Saigon-out ticket usually costs about the same and saves you a wasted internal flight plus a day. Ask for it as a multi-city booking.
Read the full Vietnam travel guide or take the Vietnam packing list.