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Hanoi

Best season Mar–Apr & Oct–Nov

Verified data
Counted from 9,157 traveller posts & comments · Most mentioned Old Quarter & Hoan Kiem Lake (739) · 20/23 fact-checked · Updated 17 Aug 2026
Suggested stay2–3 days
Where to baseThe Old Quarter
Best seasonSpring and autumn
Getting aroundGrab and on foot
Build a day-by-day trip →

What to eat

Eat
Egg coffee
Hanoi invention — coffee under whipped egg yolk
117 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Eat
Pho
A Hanoi street food staple, found everywhere from tiny stalls to sit-down spots.
88 travellers mentioned
Eat
Bun cha
Grilled pork with noodles — the classic Hanoi lunch
53 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Eat
Bia hoi on Ta Hien
Fresh draft beer on plastic stools, cents a glass
16 travellers mentioned fact-checked

Where to stay

Stay
Old Quarter
Central — you can walk to almost everything.
639 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Stay
West Lake (Tay Ho)
Quieter, greener — suits a longer stay.
56 travellers mentioned fact-checked

What to do · more

Do
Old Quarter & Hoan Kiem Lake
The centre — streets go car-free at weekends
739 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Do
Train Street
Trains pass inches from the cafes — often closed, check first
245 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Do
Temple of Literature
Vietnam's first university, 11th century
96 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Do
Water puppet show
Traditional performance, about an hour
69 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Do
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Strict dress code, closes early
62 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Do
West Lake
Quieter side of the city, good cafes
56 travellers mentioned fact-checked

Shopping

Shop
Dong Xuan Market
Biggest wholesale market in the Old Quarter
22 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Shop
Handicrafts & prints
The usual thing people take home
11 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Shop
The Hang streets
Silk, lacquer, handicrafts — each street its own trade
7 travellers mentioned fact-checked

Day trips

Day trip
Hoan Kiem Lake
Central lake for walks; locals do tai chi early morning.
232 travellers mentioned fact-checked
Day trip
Mai Chau
Quiet valley with Thai stilt-house homestays, three hours out
92 travellers mentioned fact-checked

After dark

Night
Tinder date bar-bill scam in the Old Quarter
Matches lead men to bars, then hand them a huge bill.
fact-checked

Worth knowing

Worth knowing
Hanoi air pollution, worst in winter dry season
Travellers bring masks; winter and dry season trap the worst air.
fact-checked
Worth knowing
Renting a motorbike in Hanoi
Check the bike, photograph damage, agree fuel policy before renting.
Worth knowing
Hotel listings that do not match on arrival
Guests report misleading listings and being moved to another hotel.
fact-checked

Traps to avoid

Careful
Unmetered taxis and cyclos
Use Grab; agree the cyclo price before you sit down.
Heads-up
Careful
Train Street cafe pricing
Ask the price before you take a seat.
Heads-up

Weather travellers mentioned

June · 4 mentions of heat · 3 mentions of rain
July · 3 mentions of heat
August · 6 mentions of heat · 5 mentions of rain · 4 mentions of humidity
September · 5 mentions of storms/flooding · 4 mentions of rain
October · 4 mentions of rain · 3 mentions of heat · 3 mentions of storms/flooding

Getting from Hanoi to elsewhere

122
Hanoi → Ho Chi Minh City
Flight 39 · Motorbike 24 · Train 18 · Bus 15
122 posts discussing this leg
See Ho Chi Minh City
107
Hanoi → Sapa
Bus 57 · Sleeper bus 29 · Train 21 · Flight 16 · Private car 5
107 posts discussing this leg
See Sapa
78
Hanoi → Da Nang
Flight 44 · Train 15 · Bus 10 · Sleeper bus 5
78 posts discussing this leg
See Da Nang
48
Hanoi → Ninh Binh
Train 12 · Bus 7 · Flight 6 · Motorbike 6 · Private car 6
48 posts discussing this leg
See Ninh Binh
38
Hanoi → Ha Long & Cat Ba
Bus 6 · Flight 5
38 posts discussing this leg
See Ha Long & Cat Ba
25
Hanoi → Ha Giang
Bus 16 · Sleeper bus 11 · Private car 5
25 posts discussing this leg
See Ha Giang
What travellers said they spent, per person per day 380 statements across Vietnam · median $22
52%
19%
14%
15%
<$25$25–50$50–100>$100
Vietnam-wide, not per place · too few travellers name a daily figure for any single province. Roughly one in eight of these is a couple, a family or a monthly figure we could not filter out, so read the shape, not the decimal.

Nearby — often compared

Deciding where to go? Travellers often weigh Hanoi against nearby: Ninh Binh · Ha Long & Cat Ba · Sapa · Ha Giang · Cao Bang