Hanoi – quick travel guide

Vietnam’s main northern city…different and contrasting against Saigon (Vietnam’s main southern city).

Totally different culture from the South. As the saying goes, they don’t like each other. Different vibe, different accent, different food, and other cultural differences. Unlike Saigon’s totally busy, chaotic, fast-paced lifestyle…Hanoi is the northern version of that but slightly more relaxed, chill. Still plenty of job opportunities for locals while not being as crazy as the south. Also…the northern Vietnamese accent is considered the official accent, think of it as the “British accent of the Vietnamese”, and they take great pride of their way of speaking Vietnamese (while often mocking how southerners speak).

Foreigners also enjoy Hanoi’s perfect balance of busy and relaxed, along with its centralized proximity to Vietnam’s top tourist destinations (Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Sapa Valley, etc). Spread throughout Hanoi are some lakes, such as Hoan Kiem Lake and West Lake among various other parks where you can relax and slow down a bit. Likewise, the Old Quarters and Hoan Kiem Lake area also closes down car access, allowing people and street vendors to take over the roads…providing for a mini street festival vibe every weekend. Crossing the streets in Hanoi is nowhere near as scary as in HCMC.

2 days is enough to feel like you saw Hanoi (Old Quarters & surrounding highlights), but it’s really worth a couple extra days to enjoy the city life. You’ll easily find activities and places to go. I spent a week and could still have been here longer. It’s a popular expat place for a reason.

Where to stay:

• Hoan Kiem Lake – the prime place to be. A lot of the busiest city life and tourist activities all happens around the lake. It’s a great place to hang out, walk around, enjoy views of the lake, eat, drink, shop.
  • Old Quarter – Hanoi’s busiest area just north of Hoan Kiem Lake, and with historical significance. First timers and short-stays should definitely stay here, right in the middle of the action. Highest density of commercial and residential establishments crammed in together, nightlife is also here. Many small streets with people and vehicles trying to pass each other from every direction.
  • French Quarter – the quieter fancier side of Hoan Kiem Lake (located to its east and southeast). Perfect for escaping the noise of the Old Quarter, still lots of culture and things to do, less chaos of sharing the street with cars and motorcycles, and only 5-10mins walk to the Old Quarters. You’ll find nicer/pricier accommodations in this affluent neighborhood, along with fancier restaurants and shops.
  • Hoan Kiem Lake (west) – I don’t know the official name of this area, but it’s also a great location. Walking distance of both the Old Quarter and French Quarter as well as another busy area further west of the lake (closer to the train station and train street).
• Tay Ho (“West Lake”) – another popular area centered around a lake. But much bigger lake, and with lots of fancy buildings and expats. I only recommend this area for people living in Hanoi…the people who know what they’re doing and where to go. For first-time travelers, it lacks the busier street life and tourist attractions of Hoan Kiem Lake. Tay Ho area can feel like a big street with many shops, a small street with only huge fancy restaurants, or residential area with few people walking around. It’s far less dense and can easily appear dead on most nights if you don’t know where to go.
  • Busiest areas sides of Tay Ho appear to be southeast (presumably since it’s closest to Old Quarter) and north east of it, especially along the main street Duong Vanh Dai 1.

Hostels:

• Hanoi Backpackers Hostel & Rooftop Bar – easily my favorite. Everyone loves the nice rooftop (looks nice), free breakfast till 10am (good for socializing) and social atmosphere (many party events on rooftop), nice rooftop/bar which people actually use, nice staff. The good points make up for the (sometimes) cramped or dark rooms, and slow wifi. WIFI works fast at times, but seems like somebody is always hogging the bandwidth. This hostel has many people.
• Hanoi Buffalo Hostel – party hostel with a pool (clean enough water). Most social and has beer/pub crawls, more for young people and in loud part of town. Great location. Also a big hostel with many people. Not the cleanest and smells sometime.
• Nexy Hostel – not a party hostel but still very social vibe and you’ll still meet people. Higher ratings overall than Hanoi Buffalo. Some complaints about cramped space and little noise (depending what room you have) but the rooms are nice, weak WIFI. But great location. Common rooms (rooftop, game room, bar in the back) aren’t near the entrance so everyone mostly just goes past and never hangs out in them.
• Little Charm Hanoi Hostel – feels like hotel niceness (comfort, cleanliness, amenities), not so social (no real common space) but really highly rated. Strangely, some people say they COULD socialize. But generally, this is a hostel for people wanting some rest and then planning for their next location. Very in and out type of hub-space.
• Central Backpackers Hostel – party hostel, with not-so-nice staff and many complaints about the rooms (non-functioning AC and windows), noisy, etc. Go here if you wanna party and don’t care about sleep or comfort.
• Hanoi House Hostel & Travel – highly rating, but not social.
• Luxury Backpackers – also rated well but not social (no common space) and also a bit far location. Some people also argued it’s a high-pressure travel agency in disguise as a hostel, hahaha.
• Hanoi Airport Suites Hostel & Travel – quiet (not so social) but highly rated.

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

• Hanoi Old Quarter – busy and lively. Many things to do and see at day or night. The nightlife is also here. On weekends, the area here and around Hoan Kiem Lake is closed off to cars and people walk freely on the streets, you’ll see more street vendors as well.
• Hoan Kiem Lake – if you wanna make it easier…just set yourself anywhere around the Hoan Kiem Lake (preferably close to Old Quarter). Here you have the Old Quarter and French Quarters just nearby. Both are great places to explore Hanoi. The historic thing to see is the Ly Thai To statue. There’s also the Puppet Show here.
• West Lake – you can walk over to here from the Old Quarter (takes 25mins), and then also walk around the lake. From here, you can also check out the Tran Quoc Pagoda (free to enter).
• Train street –
• Tay Ho “West Lake” –

Activities to do:

• Old Quarter & French Quarter – these are the 2 main areas to explore Hanoi life and culture.
• Walk around lakes – I always love hanging out by the Hoan Kiem Lake (already next to the Old Quarter & French Quarter). An easy walk around with many places to relax, sit (eat, drink or smoke), and watch the street life go by. It’s always a good time to chill by the lake. For a bigger lake area, you can check out West Lake during the day. I almost never go there at night since I don’t stay close to there.
• Train street** – MUST SEE for Hanoi. Cute touristy area right on the train tracks with actual trains passing through. Check schedule online and go 60-90min before next train. Take photos on tracks, then go upstairs at a cafe and look down. Then get a seat downstairs (45min before next train) next to the track to see train up-close as it passes. 5pm train is best because it’s still daylight, but also dark enough that all the lights come on (nice for photos). 3pm and 7pm trains make nice photos as well, but you don’t get both daytime and night views.
• People watching from cafes – Coffee A is my favorite place for this, but you can try others as well. I usually prefer the terrace above as it gives a unique view compared to just sitting down outside. Being elevated actually takes you out of the noise and feels surprisingly peaceful, I’m also more relaxed without the threat of of drive-by motorbike thieves.
• Arts & museums – the Women’s Museum is the common favorite one here. Covers women’s involvement throughout Vietnam’s history…duties from household tasks, to out-of-house farming and selling, to political and military to fight off French and American colonization. 1.5 to 2 hours should be enough time.
• Sunset views – usually a rooftop terrace is your best bet.
• Puppet show – recommended as fun little thing for killing time. Show is 45 mins and cheap. Many people say it’s totally skippable if you don’t have time for it. Also, it’s better to read about the story online and then enjoy the show in local language, rather than listening to terrible English translation audio.
• Massages – because they’re so cheap in Vietnam! I tried 3…Kadupul ($20/hr, very high-end professional), Midori Spa ($10/hr, good quality), forgot the other one…was Yoshino/Yoshimo or something.
• Film Cafes – it’s the karaoke room version of a movie theater. You go to a film cafe (called “Phim Cafe” in Vietnamese). It’s similar concept to a karaoke place where you rent the room for an hour for your group of friends, and order food/drinks. Except instead of karaoke, they have a computer with bootleg movies (from new to old). The room setups are arranged either for groups (lots of chairs and lounging) or couples (bed with flowers and candles/lights).
• Shopping:
  • Boutique fashion brands – a local girl recommended this area for shopping local Vietnamese and other Asian brands, go to P. Đông Các street from the La Thành (metro) down to Nguyễn Lương Bằng street. Some nice stores at very low prices for the quality and uniqueness you’re getting. It’s like $200 stuff at $20 prices.
  • Vincom Mega Mall Royal City – most recommended, huge but not many interesting shops for Westerners IMO, nice food court though. The tip is to go underground on any escalator.
  • Trang Tien Plaza – fancy luxury mall for only highend brands. I hear it’s overpriced and kinda dead since it only caters to highend clients with money. Right across from Hoan Kiem Lake and seems not many people going in there.
  • Baseus Ha Noi Flagship Store – awesome store for quality brand mobile electronic accessories (charger, powerbank, charge cables, etc). Sold at lowest prices, same as Amazon.
  • Eyeglasses – big cities in Vietnam are a great place to buy eyeglasses for cheap. I’ve noticed a bunch of eyeglass stores by Hoan Kiem Lake and nice big store here (that might also do repairs).

Restaurants & Cafes:

• MET** – good food! They have 2 locations in Hanoi.
• Tung’s Kitchen – great food and service.
• Countryside restaurant – nice local food.
• Pizza 4P’s** – amazing restaurant chain, or top-tier fusion food mixing Italian and Vietnamese. The pizzas are the thing to try, but the pasta is great and I’m sure everything else is great as well. It’s always full so make a reservation. Absolutely amazing food, like best ever of your life.
• Hanoi Cidar House – excellent burgers and cidar, but they haven’t many other dishes and drinks too. It’s like a typical USA-style beer and burger hipster gastropub. Lots of space, good service, they do everything good here. Also has some outdoor seating outstairs.
• Pho restaurants:
  • Pho Dac Viet – try the special pho with the peanut worms!
• Banh mi shops:
  • Banh Mi 25** – great sandwiches with good portions and filling. Their business has 3 commercial spaces next to each other with lots of seating indoor and outdoor. Always busy but you’ll get in and out quick enough. Authentic sandwiches, classic traditional flavors, and old school vibe (like how I had when I grew up eating them). Cheap price.
  • Bon Mi* – fancy gourmet version of the banh mi, cost 3 times more than most places and very delicious. But I would say less authentic because it’s more fancy than usual banh mi. I do like that there was no wait (no surprise considering the price).
  • Banh Mi Pho – popular banh mi chain with a shop right by the lake. Good flavor but not much filling. Many tourists go here and take to eat at the lake but trust me there are sooooo many better places.
• THE ROTI – best steamed bun bakery and super addictive! They have savory ones with meat, and sweet ones with chocolate and salted egg, etc. Try them all. They are awesome! SOOOOOOO GOOOOD! Actually, the one next door “King Roti” may be even better.
• Cafes:
  • Coffee A – my favorite one to people watch the busy intersections from. Go upstairs and sit in the outside corner.
  • Coffee Club – big terrace cafe on the rooftop overlooking the busy roundabout by Hoan Kiem Lake. Coffee’s ok, crappy overpriced food. 4th floor, enjoy the view.
  • Timeline Coffee (Quan Hoan Kiem) – beautiful shop in crowded area, nice terrace with view of the busy street below.
  • Ann Coffee & Drink – keep an eye out for tiny cafes in between big buildings. Many (like this one) have a nice cute space inside and terrace. Great food and coffee. There are so many nice ones like this to discover.
  • Hanoi Social Club – hip coffee/bar spot that gets busy and filled with life around the evenings. Many foreigners here.
  • Hanoi Neighbors – good coffee, drinks, and snacks in a big loungey space with lots of separated seating areas (each with their own decor theme). I liked running around the different levels and smoking on the balconies. They have 2 locations.
  • Cafe Giảng – believed to be the creators of the original Vietnamese egg coffee. My brother loved it so much, perfect taste and not so sweet like how everybody else does it.
• Western style fancy –
  • Gourmet Corner Restaurant, Vietnamese Lantern Restaurant, S 9 Duck Restaurant.
  • Vua Cha Ca – So 1 Dinh Tien Hoang – check this building…it has many restaurants with view of the lake
• Local style cheap –
  • Bach Phuong Bun Bo Nam Bo – good local restaurant (and cheap), also has many foreigners in here
• Street restaurants – typical street restaurants where you sit outside tiny plastic tables and stools.
  • Quán Nem lụi Bà Trai Đà Nẵng* – lots of meat skewers (you choose) served with rice, peanut sauce, and some greens. Everyone says it’s super delicious. My brother loves it.
  • Quán Nem Chua Nướng Cô Phượng – they serve grilled pork. GoogleMaps reviews didn’t look so good, but my local friend recommends this place.
• Tầm vị – well-known Michelin star restaurant serving Vietnamese food in fancy setting. Reviews say it’s good, but that they’ve had better versions of each dish elsewhere.

Bars & Clubs:

• Beer street – first and easiest option for foreigners/travelers. Go here if you wanna hop around drunk. Still fun to bounce around dancing and meeting people.
• DOOZY – great bar, posh but chill, nice POP/EDM music. Mostly locals, almost zero foreigners except for a few dudes who were brought here by a local. (so sad, it’s closed now)
• Jazz clubs:
  • Long Waits Jazz – intimate small theater setting with great line-ups. Highly attentive wait staff. Downstairs has a nice library bar/cafe as well.
  • Binh Minh Jazz Club – awesome spot for live jazz music and drinks. Old school pub setting with areat vibe! Highly recommended for when you want to have a drink on a chill night and not do one of those rowdy party nights.
• Hanoi Backpackers Hostel & Rooftop Bar – nice place to drink, chill, enjoy the city skyline at night as you chat with other foreigners.

Miscellaneous tips:

• Vietnam – quick travel guide
• Apple repair shops – I liked “Dien Thoai Vui”. It’s a chain and they seem top notch. Professional service, friendly English-speaking staff.
• Barbershops:
  • Hanoi Fresh Cut – really good one that speaks good english. Excellent cut and reasonable price. You see many foreigners but also locals here. Many barbers working so little wait time.

Nearby towns:

Unfiltered notes: