The length of one country, properly

Day 1

Arrive Hanoi

Met on arrival and driven the 35 kilometres into the old quarter. Nothing scheduled; the afternoon flight arrivals usually manage a walk to the lake and an early dinner.

Day 2

Hanoi on foot and by water

Standing in the middle of the old quarter at 17:00 and understanding the traffic

The old quarter in the morning with a guide, taking the guild streets and the market rather than the souvenir loop. Lunch at a place with four things on the menu and a queue.

Afternoon at the ethnology museum, which is the single best hour in the city for understanding what the fifty-three minority groups actually are before you meet any of them upcountry.

Day 3

Hanoi, your own way

Free. The common choices are a cooking class, a half day at the fine arts museum, or the ceramic kilns at Bat Trang across the river.

Day 4

To Lan Ha Bay

The bay after the day boats have gone, which is the whole reason to sleep out here

Two and a half hours on the expressway, then out by small boat past Cat Ba into Lan Ha, which is the same limestone as Ha Long with a fraction of the boats.

Kayaking in the afternoon between the karsts, swimming from the stern if the water is over 24 degrees, dinner at anchor.

Day 5

Bay to Hue

Ashore late morning, back to Hanoi, and an afternoon flight south — 80 minutes. Evening free on the Perfume River.

Day 6

Hue, two tombs and a citadel

Two royal tombs rather than five, taken by boat along the river the way they were reached originally. Minh Mang for the symmetry, Tu Duc for the fact that he was buried somewhere else entirely.

Afternoon inside the citadel, half of it restored and half still showing what 1968 did to it.

Day 7

Hai Van pass to Hoi An

The old coast road over the pass instead of the tunnel, which costs 40 minutes and is the reason people remember this drive. Lunch at Lang Co, arrive Hoi An mid-afternoon.

Day 8

Hoi An, early and slow

The old town at 07:00 while it is still a town rather than a market. Afternoon cycling out through the paddies to the river — flat, about 12 kilometres round trip, and the part of Hoi An most people miss.

Day 9

Hoi An, unstructured

Nothing planned. Beach fifteen minutes by bicycle, My Son as a half day if you want the Cham ruins, two fittings if you are having clothes made.

Day 10

South to Ho Chi Minh City

Drive to Da Nang and fly, about 80 minutes. Afternoon walking District 1 and an hour at the war remnants museum, which is one-sided and says so — we brief you on what it is before you go in.

Day 11

Into the delta

The canals at 06:00 the next morning, before the engines start

Two hours south-west to Ben Tre, then off the main channel by sampan into water too narrow for the tour boats. Afternoon by bicycle between the fruit gardens, and a homestay dinner cooked in the house you sleep in.

Day 12

Delta to the airport

Morning on the water, back to the city by early afternoon, transfer to the airport. Three hours before an international departure.