Vietnam Food Tour 8 Days: Da Nang, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ha Long Bay

A driver meets you at Da Nang International Airport, which sits almost inside the city, so you are at your room within half an hour of landing. Nothing is scheduled for the rest of the day.

My Khe, the long sand beach on the city's east side, is the obvious place to stretch your legs after the journey, and the seafood places behind it grill whatever the boats brought in that morning, as good a first meal in Vietnam as any (optional, at your own cost). If you would rather stay in town, the Han River waterfront is an easy evening walk. The boat to the islands leaves tomorrow.

You drive south to Cua Dai harbour, near Hoi An, and board a speedboat for the short crossing to Cu Lao Cham, a cluster of eight islands that UNESCO lists as a biosphere reserve and that Vietnam protects as a marine reserve. On the main island your guide walks you through the boat shelter where the fishing fleet ties up in bad weather, the fishing village behind it and Hai Tang Pagoda, a small temple that has stood here since the 18th century.

Then the water: around 45 minutes of snorkelling over the coral, followed by a swim at Lang Beach, the Bai Ong eco zone or Bai Chong, whichever the sea favours that day. Seafood is cooked for you on the island before the boat returns to Da Nang. A jet ski, a banana boat or a fishing trip can be added on the spot (optional, extra cost).

West of the city the cable car lifts you from the foot of Ba Na to a hill station the French laid out in the 1920s, roughly 1,400 metres up and often inside the cloud. The ride takes about twenty minutes. First stop is the Golden Bridge, the walkway held aloft by two giant stone hands that opened in 2018, best seen early before the crowds.

From there the path leads through Le Jardin d'Amour, nine themed gardens on the slope, to Linh Ung Pagoda and its tall white Buddha, and a sit-down meal on the hill. The afternoon is French Square, stone houses and a church in the old colonial style, where the air is a good ten degrees cooler than the coast. Fantasy Park, the indoor amusement hall, is open with the ticket, though some games cost extra. Then the cable car down and the drive back.

After the transfer to Da Nang Airport you fly north to Hanoi, roughly 75 minutes of flying; the ticket for this flight is not in the tour price. A driver meets you at Noi Bai and brings you into the Old Quarter, the grid of 36 streets where each was once named for the single trade it sold, and where most of the city's street food is still cooked on the pavement.

Later in the day your food guide takes you out on foot for three hours through those streets. You stop at the stalls Hanoians use, a small bowl or plate at each, eaten on a low plastic stool while the guide explains what is in it, how to eat it and which sauce goes with what. The stops change with the day and the season, so no two walks are quite the same.

The day is built around one kitchen. You start at Ngoc Ha Market, a neighbourhood market where your host shows you the herbs, rice noodles, fish sauce and fresh produce that go into the dishes, about half an hour of looking and buying. A short drive then brings you to a family home, where refreshments and snacks are waiting before the aprons go on.

The class runs for two and a half hours, hands on, and you cook four dishes chosen from a menu: a salad such as banana flower or green papaya with dried beef; mains such as pho, spring rolls, cha ca (turmeric fish with dill) or banh xeo (a crisp rice pancake); and a sweet che to finish. You then eat what you made with the family, around an hour and a half at the table, talking about how food works in a Hanoi household.

The road east runs about two hours to Hai Phong, Vietnam's main northern port, which most tours drive straight past. The day moves between sights and bowls: Sat Market or Cat Bi Market first, then Du Hang Pagoda, the oldest in the city, the French-era opera house, post office and railway station, and the Do Son peninsula, where the last emperor, Bao Dai, kept a summer villa.

Between the stops you eat the dishes Hai Phong is known for: banh da cua, wide red-brown noodles in crab broth; bun ca cay, a spicy fish noodle soup; banh mi cay, a finger-thin baguette with pate and chilli; gia be xao, a small shellfish stir-fried with herbs; banh beo, steamed rice cakes; sui din, rice balls in ginger syrup; dua dam, a coconut dessert; and a coconut coffee. You are back in the Old Quarter in the evening.

An early pickup from the Old Quarter and a drive of around two and a half hours by the expressway to Tuan Chau harbour, where the day boat is waiting. The bay holds close to 2,000 limestone islands and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the boat moves through them slowly while seafood is cooked on board.

You go ashore at Sung Sot, the Surprising Cave, three chambers up a flight of steps with the bay framed in the cave mouth, and at Titop Island, where some 400 steps lead to a viewpoint over the anchorage; in warm months there is time for a swim below. At Luon Cave you take a kayak or a rowed bamboo boat through a low arch into a lagoon closed in by cliffs. Tea and cakes come out on the sundeck at sunset, then the drive back to Hanoi.

The morning is yours until the driver comes. If your flight leaves you time, a slow walk through the Old Quarter is the usual choice, with a stop for egg coffee, the Hanoi drink made with whipped yolk and condensed milk, and a last round of the shops for lotus tea, silk scarves or handmade crafts to carry home (all optional, at your own cost).

Noi Bai International Airport is about 45 minutes away by car, and the tour ends when the driver drops you at the terminal. If you want more of the north, ask us about a night on the bay or extra days in Hanoi when you book.