Northern Vietnam in One Week (Ninh Binh-Sapa-Hanoi Route)

The Hanoi-Sapa route is easily one of the most popular itineraries in Vietnam right now, especially for Filipinos. If you’re thinking about taking this route for your own Vietnam trip, you’re in for a treat!  I recently organized a Northern Vietnam trip that covered Hanoi, Sapa, and even a bonus stop in Ninh Binh.

I know, Ninh Binh isn’t exactly a hidden gem. You’ll find tons of day trips to Tam Coc and Trang An from Hanoi on Klook. But let me just ramble real quick in this guide about why I don’t recommend doing it as a day tour.

First off, I’ll admit I’m pretty biased as I write this—because the moment I set foot in Ninh Binh, I knew it was going to be my favorite. Second, Ninh Binh is about 2 hours (sometimes more, depending on traffic) from Hanoi. If you’re doing a day trip, that’s already 4 hours gone just on the road. And I don’t think an 8-hour tour is enough to fully take in the peaceful charm of this place. Lastly, Ninh Binh is just perfect if you want to make the most out of your trip. (Guess how many times I’ve mentioned Ninh Binh in this paragraph alone)

If you’re like us and arrived in Vietnam early in the morning with a midnight departure, it’s worth considering adding another city to your itinerary. I felt this gave more value for money than booking a hotel room in Hanoi a day early or paying extra for early check-in. You’d probably end up spending on a taxi or airport transfer anyway.

Now, the cost of a private car to Ninh Binh is about double the price of going to Hanoi. But if you compare it to the extra cost of booking a hotel room in advance, it pretty much evens out.

At the end of the day, it really depends on your preference. But for me, this option just made more sense. It was more cost-effective and helped me make the most of my limited time in Northern Vietnam.

Getting around Vietnam

As you might know, Vietnam doesn’t exactly have the most reliable public transport. Since I was planning to visit three cities/towns, not having everything figured out and not knowing exactly how to get to the places I wanted to visit had me stressing for months. Sure, I read online that the major cities have Grab and taxis, but what about the more off-the-beaten-path spots? How was I supposed to get around?