What to do in Hanoi

[Major]

After taking advantage of the Avianca Lifemiles bonus we have decided to go to Hanoi, probably in October next year.

I am looking for suggestions of things to do in and around Hanoi. This will determine how long we book for.

We have been to Halong Bay before but only a day trip from a cruise ship. I am thinking of a 2 day trip from Hanoi. Any recommendations for this ?

What else should we consider ? Also looking for restaurant suggestions.

 

[Pushka]

We did the walking tour in Hanoi that takes you through specialist areas like bamboo neighborhood, fabric etc etc. It was fascinating seeing the locals at work. There is also a fabulous vegetarian restaurant - I’ll try google it. We loved HaNoi. French patisseries. Food. Culture. Be wary though as tourists are a target. Cameras and such.

MrP got desperately ill in Halong Bay. Ate some bad prawns. He was awful for days. It was June and desperately hot. Guess they weren’t refrigerated.

 

[AisleSeat]

We did an eating tour. Stopped by a whole bunch of different places over the course of 4 hours. By the end I was stuffed. It was just Mrs AS, myself and our guide. He was really good. This was back in 2012, I'll have to ask Mrs AS for his name.

 

[andyhui01]

My best experiences in Vietnam has always been the Scooter tours. You really feel the life of the city with thousands of bikes around you as you cruise the streets. There is a really good one in Saigon but I haven't found any exceptionally good ones in Hanoi. The best one so far is Paloma bike tours. It may not be for everyone but every person I've done it with ended up loving it.

 

[yld200]

I went to Hanoi earlier in December last year and loved it - my TR is here Hanoi, Hua Hin, Bangkok and some SQ Suites

I did a walking food tour which was amazing - I would definitely recommend doing a food tour. We went to some really dodgy looking places but food was great.

There are some museums which I would recommend trying to organise a tour guide to go with - Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi Prison, etc.

For Ha Long Bay, I strongly recommend booking with Dragon Legend, they are amazing and cannot fault them in anyway.

 

[RB]

Suggest Binh Minh Jazz club and Water Puppets. We found it easy to make our own way around the Old Town, either just walking or jumping in a cyclo.
We actually stayed on Cat Ba & thought a trip to the Hospital Cave was worthwhile

 

[AisleSeat]

We did an eating tour. Stopped by a whole bunch of different places over the course of 4 hours. By the end I was stuffed. It was just Mrs AS, myself and our guide. He was really good. This was back in 2012, I'll have to ask Mrs AS for his name.

This was our tour guide, Tu.
His website: Hanoi Street Food Tours

 

[ethernet]

If you are Australian, E-Visas for you just started in December 2017.
Depending when Hanoi can be cold - even a jumper may not be enough.

 

[Drakecula]

I was there in July this year, and agree with earlier posts. I did a walking food tour which was great, also visited the mausoleum, Hanoi prison and the water puppet show. It was easy enough to walk around , but if you get a cheap sim card with data while you're there, Uber is super cheap. I found I didn't even have to struggle with broken English, as the app tells the driver exactly where you want to go. There's even Uber Moto if you're brave enough to hop on the back of a motorcycle.

Oh, the traffic is a little intense. If you want to cross the road, walk calmly, confidently and with purpose, they'll go around you. A bit unnerving at first, but you get the hang of it soon enough.

Have a great trip!