North and Central Vietnam Tour: 6 Days, Hanoi, Ha Long, Da Nang

At Noi Bai a driver holding your name board meets you outside customs and drives you into the centre of Hanoi, a run of about 45 minutes over the Red River. Nothing is planned for the remainder of the day, so unpack and get your bearings around Hoan Kiem Lake.

If you land early enough, an evening street food walk through the Old Quarter can be added (optional, extra cost). A local guide collects you, leads you from stall to stall for six or seven dishes, among them pho, banh mi, bun cha and Vietnamese coffee, and takes you past Train Street, where houses stand a metre from the railway line, before dropping you back.

The road south to Ninh Binh takes around two hours, and limestone peaks start rising out of the rice fields before you arrive. You get on a bicycle for the ride to Hoa Lu, where the Dinh and early Le kings ruled in the tenth century, long before Hanoi took over, and walk through the temples of King Dinh and King Le that mark the site. Another half hour of easy cycling follows the lanes past farmhouses and ponds; anyone who prefers not to pedal can take the bus between the stops.

In the afternoon you choose one of two boat trips. A rower takes you along the river at Tam Coc, under three low caves and between paddies that change colour with the season, for around an hour and a half. The alternative is Trang An, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape, where the boat threads a longer chain of tunnel caves and valleys. You return to Hanoi in the evening.

You leave the Old Quarter in the morning for the road east to Ha Long, where the Sea Lion cruise ship is waiting at the harbour. It sails out among the limestone islands on a looping route, with a buffet meal served on board on the way.

The first stop is Surprise Cave, where a path leads through chambers of stalactites and stalagmites lit from below. Next the ship anchors near Luon Cave, and you paddle a kayak or sit in a bamboo boat through the low arch into the lagoon behind it. At Titop Island you can climb the steps to the lookout on the peak or swim from the small beach. The day closes with tea, cakes, fruit and a glass of red wine on the sundeck as the sun drops, and your driver takes you back to Hanoi for the night.

After the drive to Noi Bai you board the flight to Da Nang, an hour and a quarter in the air, and another driver meets you at the other end. The afternoon starts at the Marble Mountains, five outcrops of marble and limestone a few kilometres south of the city, where steps climb past pagodas and shrines and your guide explains how Buddhist and Hindu beliefs meet in the carvings. At the foot lies Am Phu Cave, laid out as a Buddhist picture of hell with a narrow climb up towards the light.

You then cross town to Son Tra Peninsula, which locals call Monkey Mountain. Here the Lady Buddha statue rises 67 metres above Linh Ung Pagoda, and from the peninsula road you watch the sun go down over the bay and the lights of Da Nang come on along the shore.

Your driver heads west out of Da Nang to the lower station at Ba Na Hills. The cable car, which held four world records when it opened, lifts you through the forest and the cloud to the top. You walk out on the Golden Bridge, the footpath that seems to rest in two huge stone hands, then stroll the Le Jardin D'Amour terraces and visit Linh Ung Pagoda with its seated white Buddha.

After a buffet of Vietnamese dishes, a second line carries you to the peak of Chua Mountain at 1,487 metres and the Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple. Back down in French Square, a rebuilt village of stone houses and a church, you have time for the rides of Fantasy Park. Debay's wine cellar, the wax museum and the alpine coaster cost extra and are paid on the spot (optional). You ride the cable car down and reach Da Nang in the late afternoon.

Nothing is scheduled on the final morning. Da Nang airport sits close to the centre, so with a late flight there is time for a walk on My Khe beach or along the Han River, or a last round of the markets for coffee, dried fruit and gifts (optional, at your own cost).

Your driver then takes you to Da Nang International Airport, where the tour ends. If you would like to see more of the centre, we can add nights in Hoi An, a day in Hue over the Hai Van Pass, or a flight on to Ho Chi Minh City; tell us when you book and we will build it in.