Vietnam Itinerary for a 30-something Couple with Low Budget

The idea of travel is different for everyone. The kind of travel that I was used to jammed everything possible into one trip. The idea behind this was – if you’re lucky enough to be here now, chances are, you won’t get to come back. So we used to make the most of it.

I was a kid back then. Letter was the primary communication channel. Land phones were only beginning to show up in affluent homes. I remember my father used to bring back long multi-page letters about travel experiences from his colleagues. My parents pored over them, planning our itinerary, estimating costs. My eyes would widen at the prospect of a vacation, especially because they were far apart and always fun.

Decades have passed since then. Information is easily available today. I plan my own trips now. But I learnt it all from my wise father.

Thankfully, my husband has the same enthusiasm for travel. So we try to go on at least one vacation in a year. Following this ritual, we pooled both our resources and took a trip to Vietnam in 2024. 

This is a good place to mention that I have branched a little away from my childhood travel ideology. My itineraries now aren’t as jam-packed. But still close enough to the middle-class travel theory.

We went to Vietnam in April which is the shoulder season. This is the transition period between the dry and the wet seasons. So it was quite hot but doable. And the prices were cheaper than in the high season. The optimized duration for our trip turned out to be 2 weeks considering important spots, budget and leaves from work.

We moved through the country from the North to the South in 12 days, covering some specific sights within our budget. I will break the itinerary down accordingly.

North Vietnam Itinerary

We flew into Hanoi from Kolkata because Indigo has direct flights – which means it’s cheaper. 

Top sights we covered in North Vietnam:

1. Hanoi city – We kept an entire day to explore Hanoi. It wasn’t enough. Hanoi is steeped in history, hanging on to history and creating history. The museums and temples are a must-visit to learn about the foundation of the country. Visit the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum if not anything else. We also soaked up Vietnamese folklore at their puppet show. You might also want to take a street food tour, hop unique cafes or daydream by the Hoan Kiem lake. So you need at least 2 whole days to leave somewhat satisfied.
2. Halong Bay – We did the day tour. But if you can, stay the night in the cruise ship. Halong Bay is a natural wonder in the South China sea. It’s a group of islands with tall limestone structures jutting out of the sea and spread across a wide area. So the tours are broken up into 5 circuits. We took Route 2.
3. Ninh Binh – This is another UNESCO world heritage site. You will see beautiful limestone karst, rice paddies, rivers, and caves. We took the day tour – which is why it was a little rushed and tiring. But if your budget and time permits, I recommend staying one night and exploring it at your pace. It’s a peaceful countryside to explore.

Itinerary: 

Day 1: Reached Hanoi at 2 in the morning; took the hostel’s free walking tour in the morning. In the evening, we watched the Puppet Show & strolled along Hoan Kiem lake.

Day 2: Halong Bay tour

Day 3: Ninh Binh day tour

Day 4: Hanoi city tour (self)

What I would like to do the next time I’m in North Vietnam:

1. Take the scenic train to Sapa
2. Stay in Sapa for 2 nights
3. Return to Hanoi from Sapa via the Ha Giang loop – a popular motorbike route

Central Vietnam Itinerary

From Hanoi, we took a Vietjet flight to Da Nang. Then we took a bus at the airport intending to go to or closer to Hoi An. But it dropped us on the opposite route. It was entirely my fault. I decided not to trust the cab driver at the airport who repeatedly told us that there was no bus on that route in the evening. But I was convinced that he wanted to rip us off.

Long story short, we took a cab to Hoi An after the detour.

I cannot recommend staying at Hoi An enough. The sleepy town looks like someone has wound the clocks to go extra slow in it.

Hoi An was once a trading port connecting China and Japan with the rest of Asia. That’s why it has an abundance of fusion architecture – Japanese, Chinese and French structures along with Vietnamese tube houses dating as far back as the 15th century. Along with ancient houses, the town has well-preserved temples, pagodas, communal houses, assembly halls – bearing the imprint of the time gone by.

These structures are lined along narrow, winding alleyways. Bright pink bougainvillea spills over the fading yellow walls. Pretty lanterns hang at every storefront. These are lit as the sun goes down, painting the town in a warm yellow, red and green glow.  

Hoi An invites you to pause for a while. Sit down and have a cup of tea. Float a lantern in the river. Walk into a painting shop and pet a cat. Look up at the sky. Run your fingers lightly along the fading yellow walls, listening to the sighs of history.

What we did at Hoi An:

1. We booked a pass for the Ancient Town. Look out for the yellow stall right at the entrance of the town. The pass lets you visit 5 heritage sites. You get a brochure with information on all the sites in the town. Read up first and then choose your 5 sites instead of randomly walking into the first 5 places you see.
2. Cooking class: Food is a crucial inlet into a community’s history and culture. So we took a cooking class at Hoi An after a ride along the Coconut Forest river. It was a highly immersive experience.
3. Boat ride on the Thu Bon river in the evening. It’s so much like the river in the movie, ‘Tangled’. You get to make a wish and float a lantern in the river. The cost of the lantern is not included in the boat tour.
4. We spent an entire day at the An Bang beach near Hoi An. It’s a lovely beach with changing rooms, lounge chairs with umbrellas rented by the hour, towel rentals and loads of eateries. If you order food, the chairs and towels are free. You can also spread out on the sand on your own sheet and bring your own food. Free country.

What we did at Da Nang:

1. Marble Mountains: It is a cluster of 5 natural limestone and marble hills near Da Nang city. These hills are named after the 5 elements and house caves and temples. There is going to be a lot of walking up and down stairs and within the caves. Be careful while climbing the slippery marble path within the caves.
2. Lady Buddha statue: This 67-metre-tall statue sits on a hilltop by the sea, watching over the sailors at sea. There’s a local saying that when something you lost is returned to you, you go to the Lady Buddha to express gratitude. We went there in the evening and took a moment to look at the sparkling Da Nang city line. There is also a pagoda within the huge Lady Buddha complex that you can visit. It’s best to rent a car for a round trip from the city, especially if you are going there in the evening. It gets pretty quiet after sundown. Chances are you won’t get a cab or be able to hitch a ride from the site at that time.
3. My Khe Beach: We spent the evening at this popular Da Nang beach, sinking into bean bags on the sand and watching the waves crash.

We intentionally skipped Ba Na hills because man-made adventure parks hardly ever make sense to us.

Itinerary:

Day 5: Flew to Da Nang. Took a cab to Hoi An.

Day 6: Coconut Boat tour & cooking class + Sights at Hoi An Ancient Town

Day 7: An Bang beach

Day 8: Took a cab to Da Nang + went to see the Marble Mountains & Lady Buddha

What I would like to do the next time I’m in Central Vietnam:

1. Visit Son Doong – World’s largest cave. There is a 6-day camping and trekking tour conducted by only one company and requires a certain level of expertise.
2. Visit 5 more sites in Hoi An Ancient Town
3. Play Bai Choi at Hoi An – It’s a Vietnamese card game played while sitting inside tiny, thatched bamboo huts on stilts. Each player group sits in separate huts and the speaker stands in the middle singing and guiding the game.

South Vietnam Itinerary

In the final leg of the trip, we flew out of Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon). This part of the trip started with a setback. I fell sick. I was coughing and running a temperature. And I was tired. The moment I hit the hotel bed, I felt like I would not be able to get up. My poor husband had to run around the city looking for a pharmacy. Thankfully, he returned with ammo. 

I spent the better part of the evening in bed. And then we decided that going downstairs for dinner instead of ordering in might just make me feel better. So I forced myself out of the bed, plopped down at the nearest restaurant and ordered pumpkin soup and hot water. The waiter was surprised. He brought in the water and said, “Careful miss, it’s very hot”. We became friends from that moment. 

His name is Minh Nhut. Minh from Ho Chi Minh. He quit school at a young age to support his family. And now he is married to a girl from Vung Tau and expecting a baby girl. They have named her something that means “a good way to go”. We dined at that restaurant for all 3 days that we were in Saigon.

What we did at Saigon:

1. Cu Chi Tunnel: An eye-opening historical landmark from the Vietnam war. It’s located about 40 kilometres from the city – a bus ride away. Think of Cu Chi as an underground city with tunnels for roads. The Vietnamese farmers built this network as a shelter for the Viet Cong and to launch secret attacks on the Southern Vietnamese army and the Americans. These tunnels have living quarters, hospitals, kitchens, classrooms, and ammunition rooms. It is a man-made wonder that you absolutely should not miss.
2. City tour: Things to see include the Saigon post office, Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame cathedral, Cafe Apartment, sunset from the 49th floor of Bitexco skydeck. We also took a hop-on-hop-off bus tour around the city in the evening. And did some shopping at Ben Thanh Market.

Itinerary:

Day 9: Flew to Ho Chi Minh City

Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City tour

Day 11: Cu Chi tunnel tour

Day 12: More city walks + flew back to Kolkata at night

What I would like to do the next time I’m in South Vietnam:

1. Take the Mekong river boat ride. Mekong is the lifeblood of Vietnam – which makes it an important piece of the country’s culture. Too bad we could not make it on this trip.
2. Visit Mui Ne. Imagine desert-like sand dunes merging into the sea. Fairy streams winding through red canyons. And looking at the oldest lighthouse of Southeast Asia. All of these can be found in Mui Ne, about 200 kms from Saigon.
3. At the time of our trip, the Notre Dame Cathedral was undergoing renovation. So all we could see was scaffolding. I hope to be able to see the cathedral in its beauty the next time I visit. And also observe it from a rooftop cafe while sipping on salt coffee.

Let me tell you this, however long you spend in Vietnam, is less. It would probably take a month for the two of us to cover everything we wanted to do here. Even then we’d fall short. A more relaxing trip would be to visit these three zones in separate one-week trips. This way you can cover more and honor the history and culture of the Vietnamese better. But if I could turn back time, I would do the same itinerary all over again. With the getting lost and the getting sick parts.

I have linked the Google sheet that I worked on while creating the itinerary. Also here’s the link to the cost breakdown for the Vietnam trip. Did you know we did all of this in 1.7L?

Let me know if you have any questions. I’d be happy to answer them.