Hanoi is loud, fast and full of motorbikes, which makes it sound like the wrong destination for a slow trip. It is actually one of the better ones, because the interesting parts of the old quarter are inside a walkable square kilometre and the food is best eaten sitting down at a stall.

A pace that works

  • Morning around Hoan Kiem lake, which is flat, shaded and has benches the whole way round
  • One museum per day, in the heat of the afternoon, as an air-conditioned break
  • Dinner at a stall with seating rather than a full restaurant crawl
  • One organised day trip rather than three — Ha Long or Tam Coc, not both
  • A rest morning built in mid-trip, which most itineraries omit and everyone needs

The overnight train to Sapa is a common choice and a hard one at this age — the cabins are cramped and the arrival is early. If the mountains appeal, the day trip to Tam Coc gives a similar landscape with a fraction of the discomfort, and you sleep in the same bed in Hanoi both nights.

One city done properly beats three cities done from a minibus.

Questions readers ask

Is Ha Long Bay worth the journey at this age?
It is worth it once, and it is a long transfer — roughly two and a half hours each way from Hanoi. Choose an overnight cruise rather than a day trip, so the travel is broken by a night at anchor, and check that the boat has cabins on a lower deck with easy access to the dining room. A day trip spends six hours in a van for three hours in the bay.
What do I do about the food?
Eat where there is a queue of locals, food that is cooked to order and somewhere to sit, and avoid anything that has been sitting out in the heat. Broth noodles, grilled meats and rice dishes are all gentle. Carry oral rehydration salts and do not drink the tap water, including in ice where you are unsure of the source.

Read next

Where to check this yourself