The Bella-Ruta 15-Day Vietnam Route: Hanoi → Ha Long → Hoi An → Ho Chi Minh City

Why this order works

Vietnam is shaped like a line. It runs north to south, it is long, and the interesting places sit along its length rather than clustered around a hub.

So the route is decided by geography before anything else. North to south, or south to north — either works, but not both. Land at one end, work along it, fly home from the other.

This route runs north to south. Hanoi in, Ho Chi Minh City out. Every leg moves you forward.

The mistake it avoids: booking a return into Hanoi, travelling south, and then flying back north to catch the flight home. That is one wasted internal flight and most of a day, on a country whose whole shape argues against it.

The honest thing about Ha Long

Ha Long Bay is not a stop on the line. It is a spur out from Hanoi and back.

Every itinerary that shows Hanoi → Ha Long → Hoi An as three points on a route is hiding something. There is no onward connection from Ha Long southwards that makes sense. You go out from Hanoi, and you come back to Hanoi, and then you fly south.

That is fine. Some places are worth a spur. But you should know you are buying one before you book it, and you should know what it costs.

The cruise day-maths

This is the single most useful fact in this guide.

A one-night Ha Long cruise consumes two full days. Not one.

Sources: Hermes Cruises; Indochina Junk.

Three consequences that most itineraries get wrong:

• You cannot fly into Hanoi on cruise-departure morning. Pickup is 08:00–08:45 from an Old Quarter hotel. The night before in Hanoi is mandatory.

• You cannot fly out of Hanoi on cruise-return day, except very late, and even that is tight. Budget a Hanoi night on return.

• A two-night cruise costs three days for two nights aboard. The marginal day buys you a full extra day on the water. Per travel day consumed, the two-night cruise is the better value — which is why this itinerary uses it.

The 15-day plan

Fourteen nights. Fifteen days away.

Now the usable-day sum. Fifteen days, minus the outbound, minus the return, minus one for jet lag, minus half a day for each of three moves. Roughly ten and a half usable days, of which two are spent on a boat you came for. That is a well-proportioned trip. Adding a fifth stop would not be.

Day by day

Days 1–5, Hanoi. You land late or overnight. Day 1 is a shower and a walk. Days 2, 3 and 4 are the Old Quarter, the museums, the food. Day 4 evening, pack an overnight bag — the cruise pickup is early and you will leave your main luggage at the hotel.

Day 5. Pickup 08:00–08:45. Road to Ha Long, 2.5 to 3 hours on the Hanoi–Hai Phong expressway, including the rest stop every operator builds in. Board around midday.

Day 6. On the water. This is the day the two-night cruise buys you.

Day 7. Disembark around 10:15. Back in Hanoi 16:00–16:30. One night in Hanoi.

Day 8. Fly Hanoi to Da Nang, 1 hour 20 minutes. Roughly 30 flights a day across all carriers, so this is a shuttle rather than a booking problem. Taxi Da Nang airport to Hoi An, 40–45 minutes.

Days 8–12, Hoi An. Four nights. One of them can be the Hue day trip.

Day 12. Taxi back to Da Nang airport, fly to Ho Chi Minh City, 1 hour 35 minutes. Around 30 flights a day.

Days 12–15, Ho Chi Minh City. Three nights, two full days, then home.

How you get between them

All times checked 20 August 2026.

Two things about the trains

There is no train to Ha Long. The Yen Vien–Ha Long line is suspended. Road is the only realistic option.

Ignore anything you read about high-speed rail to Ha Long. A number of travel sites are publishing "Hanoi to Ha Long in 23 minutes" guides. Construction broke ground on 11 April 2026 and completion is expected in 2028. It does not exist.

The Hanoi–Da Nang sleeper is the one leg where rail competes with flying, because it substitutes for a hotel night. Train SE3 leaves Hanoi at 19:20 and arrives Da Nang at 10:36 the next morning — about 15 hours 15 minutes, in time for a Hoi An check-in. SE1 leaves at 20:50 and arrives 12:12. Avoid SE5: it arrives at 01:31, which is unusable.

Everywhere else on this route, fly. Da Nang to Saigon by rail is 17 to 18 hours against a 1h35 flight.

The Hue day trip

The Hue–Da Nang rail line runs along the coast over the Hai Van Pass and takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. Train SE1 departs Hue at 09:40 and arrives Da Nang at 12:12 — daylight, which is the entire point.

If you do this as a day trip from Hoi An you are looking at a long day. It works better as an overnight in Hue if you have 17 days rather than 15.

Hoi An has no airport

Confirmed by Vietnam Airlines' own travel guide. The nearest is Da Nang (DAD), roughly 37 km and 45 minutes to an hour. Chu Lai (VCL) is 84 km and the carrier advises against it.

If a booking site offers you a flight to Hoi An, it means Da Nang.

Flights in and out

There is exactly one nonstop from the US to Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines, San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City. From the east coast there are no nonstops at all. Every itinerary is one stop minimum, through Taipei, Hong Kong, Seoul, Doha, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore or Delhi.

That is good news for the open-jaw. The same carriers serve both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City through the same hubs, so Hanoi-in / Ho Chi Minh City-out generally prices close to a round trip.

Carriers serving both gateways from the US include ANA, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, Emirates, Etihad, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Asiana, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Starlux and Turkish.

Search it as multi-city. Backtracking Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to fly home costs you a domestic fare and most of a day.

Note: EVA Air also serves Da Nang directly, which opens a Hanoi-in / Da Nang-out shape for a shorter trip.

Visas and entry — two things, not one

The e-visa

• Maximum 90 days, single or multiple entry, applicant's choice

• Single entry: US$25. Multiple entry up to 90 days: US$50. Set by Circular 28/2026/TT-BTC, effective 1 April 2026, which left the rates unchanged from 2021

• Processing: 3 to 5 working days

• Cannot be renewed or extended inside Vietnam

• Passport valid 6 months beyond arrival, one blank page per stamp

• Official portal: evisa.gov.vn. The fee is non-refundable if refused

US citizens are not visa-exempt. A visa is required, with the single exception of stays of 30 days or less on Phu Quoc island.

UK, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Nordic, Japanese, South Korean and Russian passport holders have a 45-day exemption under Resolution 44/NQ-CP, running 15 March 2025 to 14 March 2028. A second tranche of twelve more European countries was added under Resolution 229/NQ-CP, running 15 August 2025 to 14 August 2028.

The pre-arrival declaration — the bit most guides have missed

All non-Vietnamese passport holders arriving by air must complete a pre-arrival declaration online, no earlier than three days before arrival.

It came into force at Tan Son Nhat (Ho Chi Minh City) on 15 April 2026 and at Noi Bai (Hanoi) in June 2026. Both ends of this route are covered.

[VERIFY: the submission portal URL. prearrival.immigration.gov.vn is reported by a tour operator, not confirmed on a government page. The requirement itself is confirmed by the US State Department.]

What to book in advance

• International flights, as an open-jaw. 2–4 months out for long-haul economy.

• The Ha Long cruise. Good boats fill, and the cruise date pins two or three days of the itinerary. Book this second.

• Hanoi accommodation for the night before the cruise and the night after. Both are mandatory and both are easy to forget.

• Domestic flights. Both run around 30 times a day. Book a few weeks out; there is no scarcity problem.

• E-visa, 3–5 working days before you need it, allowing a buffer.

• The pre-arrival declaration, within three days of arrival. Diarise it.

Common routing mistakes

Booking a return into Hanoi. It costs a day and an internal fare.

Treating a one-night Ha Long cruise as a one-day commitment. It is two days.

Flying out of Hanoi on the day you get back from the bay. You are back at 16:00–16:30 at best.

Putting Ha Long at the end of the trip. It has to sit near Hanoi, because it is a spur from Hanoi. It goes early.

Booking a flight to Hoi An. There isn't one.

Taking the Da Nang–Saigon sleeper. Seventeen hours against a 1h35 flight, on a fifteen-day trip.

Forgetting the pre-arrival declaration. New in 2026 and absent from most itinerary content.

Alternative routes

Ninh Binh instead of Ha Long. Ninh Binh is closer to Hanoi and can be done as a long day trip without a forced return night. If you want the karst landscape without giving up three days, this is the swap — and it turns the 15-day route into a comfortable 12-day one. It is the version approved in the September pack.

South to north. Ho Chi Minh City in, Hanoi out. Works identically. Choose on flights.

17–18 days: add two nights in Hue between Ha Long and Hoi An, and take the daytime coastal train down to Da Nang.

11–12 days: cut Ha Long, keep Ninh Binh as a day trip. Hanoi 4, Hoi An 4, HCMC 3.

Final booking checklist

• Priced Hanoi-in / Ho Chi Minh City-out as a multi-city fare

• Booked the cruise before the domestic flights, since it pins the dates

• Booked the Hanoi night before the cruise and the night after

• Checked whether your passport is visa-exempt or needs the US$25 e-visa

• Applied for the e-visa with 5 working days of buffer

• Diarised the pre-arrival declaration for 2 days before you fly

• Confirmed your Hoi An accommodation knows you are arriving from Da Nang airport

What needs checking before this is published

• Vietnam Railways timetable. SE1, SE3, SE5 and the Hue–Da Nang times all come from Seat61 (updated 10 June 2026), a secondary source. Confirm on dsvn.vn before publishing exact departure times.

• The pre-arrival declaration portal URL. Requirement confirmed by the State Department; the URL is from a tour operator.

• Yen Vien–Ha Long line suspension. Three travel sources agree; no official statement located. The conclusion — no usable train to Ha Long — is safe.

• E-visa fee on the checkout page. US$25 / US$50 come from the legal instrument, which is arguably stronger than the website, but confirm the checkout shows the same.

• Whether 90-day multiple-entry e-visas are available to all eligible nationalities.

• Hanoi–Ha Long distance. Sources give 130 km and 165 km. The article leads with journey time and does not state a distance.

• Da Nang taxi tariff for the Hoi An run. US$12–16 is a travel-site estimate, not a regulated rate.

• Anny's decision, noted: this route uses Ha Long over the September-approved Ninh Binh, and 15 days over the approved 12. Both cannot be the headline route in the same content set — recommend Ha Long leads and Ninh Binh becomes the "if you have 12 days" article.