Never say never. Â I told myself on the last trip from Ho Chi Minh to Central Vietnam that this would be the last trip I made to Vietnam. Partly because the visa fee is expensive for US citizens (around 105 SGD) and that I heard Ha Long Bay is âvery touristyâ. Â Visa fee aside, my mom and I decided to explore a new country together so I picked up North Vietnam as a relatively safe, easy place to travel to as mother and daughter. Â Below is a summary of our itinerary â the trip really exceeded my expectations in terms of value for money and unique experiences.
 Day 1: Land in Hanoi International Airport â Explore Old Quarter
After checking into our hotel in Hanoi we take a walk to explore Hoà n Kiếm Lake there is also a small temple in the middle of the lake you may pay entrance fee to see (30,000 VND per person).
After exploring the lake we bought tickets to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre (100,000 VND per person) the show is about an hour long and is a good way to kill time.
We took the afternoon to have the hotel arrange the bookings for a one night cruise in Ha Long Bay (pick up and drop of at hotel). We booked with Cristina Cruise Ha Long Bay and had a great time (130 USD per person) and also to book a bus ticket from Hanoi to Ninh Binh. Â Itâs best to arrange these things early and give some flexibility in changes of schedule in case something needs to be moved around.
Day 2: Explore more of HanoiÂ
We wanted to see Ho Chi Minh Museum but after arriving via taxi and seeing the long long never ending line we decided to skip it (and had no regrets). Â The line wraps around the museum and we walked for about 10 minutes with no end in site.
Instead we took another cab to the Temple of Literature which was a really nice break from the hustle and bustle and craziness of Hanoi.  We spent about an hour in the temple taking our time to walk around and enjoy the gardens.
 From there we took another taxi to St. Josephâs Cathedral and enjoyed the ancient church and surrounding architecture.
We spend the rest of the afternoon walking around and window shopping in Old Quarter.
Day 2: Cruise along the tranquil waters of Ha Long Bay
8:00 AM pick up from hotel to Ha Long Bay.  Everything in the cruise is set and planned you just pay and show up.  Ha Long Bay is beautiful and scenic and the landscape is totally unique to anything Iâve seen before.  My fondest memory is the early morning in Ha Long Bay where the waters are still, the song birds are chirping and my mom is enjoying a class of Tai Chi while the boat sails amongst the limestone cliffs.
The view from the top deck!
By noon we arrive and have lunch onboard the ship. Â The first âactivityâ the cruise plans is taking a bamboo boat through a floating village. Â Itâs super touristy but the boat is relaxing and even goes underneath a sea cave. Â At the end of the bamboo boat ride they will drop you off at a pearl factory.
The next stop is a beach where normally you can go kayaking around Ha Long Bay, but the time we went (May) is Jellyfish season so they donât allow the kayaks to go out on the water. Â For about an hour we chill at the beach. Check out the cool dragon boats below!
After the beach itâs back to the boat for dinner and a nice sunset. Â I wish it could have been a little less cloudy but still a really beautiful view.
After the sun goes down we had a chance to go squid fishing.  To fish for squid, all you need is a really bright light to attract the squid and you donât even need to use bait! We didnât catch any but the other passengers caught a few! We also saw a football sized jellyfish in the water and at that moment were glad we didnât swim.
Day 3: Continue cruisingâŚ
The mornings in Halong Bay are especially beautiful.
After breakfast we stop off to visit a cave and after the cave, we attend a cooking class to learn how to make traditional Vietnamese spring rolls.
After lunch, itâs a 2.5 hour bus ride back to Hanoi. Â We check into our hostel and check out the view from the balcony.
Day 4: Play amongst the rice patties
8:00 AM bus from Hanoi to Ninh Binh. Â The bus is roughly 2.5-3 hours including pick up from hotel to hotel.
Walking distance from the homestay, we bought tickets for Tom Coc Boat Tour (390,000 VND for two people). Warning: Ninh Binh main town area is very touristy. Â There are buses that drop tour groups off all at once and send 3-4 boats out at a time. Â Our host recommended we take the tour around 3 pm when it was less crowded. You can buy the tickets at the operator and then wait until the crowds are gone before setting off.
The boat tour takes around 2 hours and travels under 3 caves.  At the end of the tour there are ladies selling food and drinks.  They have a very clever tactic of asking you to buy drinks/food for your boat driver.  We ended up buying her a drink which she happily accepted.  I read travel blogs that mentioned the boat drivers are very pushy and demand tips.  At the end we tipped her about $2 USD but she demanded $5. Anyways the tip plus the drink equaled just about $5 so we didnât feel bad about walking away from that.
Day 5: Cave Explorers and Pagoda Climbers
For 100,000 VND per day, we can rent a motobike. This is my favorite way to get around Vietnam because it gives you the freedom and flexibility to go where and when you want.
Our first stop is Bich Dong Pagoda. No entrance fee but parking cost us 20,000 VND. Â This pagoda is very unique and worth a stop over. Â The temple goes through a cave and youâll need a flashlight or your phone for parts of it. Â The view at the top is just okay, if you want you can climb the limestone cliffs at the top to get a better view.
Bich Dong Entrance
First temple
Temple cave
View from the top
Next we motobike to Hung Mui Pagoda. Entrance fee is 100,000 VND per person.  This is my favorite pagoda on our entire Vietnam trip and if you come to Ninh Binh, you should not miss.  Luckily, it had just rained so the weather was cool and refreshing.  About 500 steps (34 floors) to reach the top of the pagoda and the views are incredible.
Around 4:00 PM we started heading towards Bird Valley â entrance fee is 100,000 VND per person. Â This is a really big park with a resort inside, many walking trials, a few lakes and caves. Â Given our time constraint we skipped all of that and headed directly for the main attraction sanctuary for the birds. Â Allow 35-40 minutes to reach the viewing platform. Â Aim to get to the viewing platform right before sunset. Â Ex, the sun set around 6 pm so we arrived between 5:15-5:45 pm. Â Many native birds fly home for the day and rest in the lake. Itâs awesome to see them all cluster and circle around before finally landing. Â We left around 5:30 pm before it got too dark.
Day 6: Cuc Phuong National Park
For our 2nd full day we decided to take the motobike a bit further and go to Cuc Phuong National Park (1.5 hours from Tam Coc, 65 km). Â We were there during the butterfly season and if the weather is hot enough, the butterflies would come out to play. Â To be honest the hiking in the park is just okay. Â We enjoyed watching the butterflies and a visit to the monkey rehabilitation and rescue center where we saw many of Vietnamâs nearly extinct species. Â With 4 days and 3 nights in Ninh Binh I would say a day trip to the park would be nice, but itâs certainly okay to skip if youâre in a time crunch.
Day 7: Bai Dinh Pagoda and back to Hanoi
With a half day in Ninh Binh we wake up for an early morning stroll from Tam Coc Mountain View Homestay to Thai Vi Temple. Â Nothing that special about the temple but the walk there is peaceful and during the morning hours, the animals are most active.
After breakfast we hop on the motobike again and in about 40 minutes arrive at Bai Dinh Temple. Â First of all we followed the directions given by Google maps and found the parking lot is actually another 1500 meters down from the main road to the right. Â Park there and they will have an electric car that takes you to the base of the temple (30,000 VND for one way per person). Â When you arrive inside the amount of buddha statues is kinda amazing. This place is huge so allow lots of time to climb the stairs and reach the pagoda. Â While we could have still gone on, at this point mom was pretty tired so after we reached the main pagoda we decided to turn back. Â I read in other blogs that instead of walking all the way back from the pagoda it is only another 5 minute walk or so to the parking lot.
Day 8: Relaxing in Hanoi
Our final day in Vietnam we took it easy and relaxed at our hotel till checkout. Â We ate lunch then headed for the airport back to Singapore!
9 days in North Vietnam: Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh Never say never.  I told myself on the last trip from Ho Chi Minh to Central VietnamâŚ









