Vietnam in 12 Days: The Backpacker Route That Actually Makes Sense for Indian Travellers
23 April 2026
The train from Hanoi to Hoi An takes 14 hours and passes through Hai Van Pass at dawn — the Pacific Ocean appears between the mountains, and the train curves along a cliff edge above the South China Sea, and the entire carriage goes quiet, and someone says, quietly, "why did nobody tell me about this?" This is Vietnam. It keeps doing things like that.
Vietnam searches among Indian travelers doubled between 2023 and 2025. Direct flights from Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City now operate competitively. The e-visa process is straightforward, and at an average daily spend of ₹2,500–4,000, Vietnam is one of the world's best-value international destinations for Indian tourists. Here is how to do 12 days properly.
Visa for Indian Passport Holders
- Apply at evisa.mofa.gov.vn (official government portal)
- Cost: USD 25 (approximately ₹2,000)
- Processing time: 3 working days
- Valid: 90 days, multiple entry (as of 2023 policy change)
- Requirements: Passport, photo, itinerary, return tickets
The 2023 extension to 90 days is significant — it changed Vietnam from a destination you visit once to one you can use as a regional base for extended travel.
How to Get There
- IndiGo, Vietjet, Vietnam Airlines: Direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time: 5–6 hours. Round-trip cost: ₹22,000–40,000 depending on season.
- Enter north, exit south (or vice versa): Most efficient approach — avoid backtracking. Fly into Hanoi, take the train-and-bus southward, fly out from Ho Chi Minh City.
The 12-Day Route (North to South)
Days 1–2: Hanoi — The Capital That Moves Like Water
Hanoi's Old Quarter is 36 streets each historically named for the commodity traded there — Silk Street, Paper Street, Tin Street. This is still partially true. Hoan Kiem Lake (Restored Sword Lake) sits at the centre, with Ngoc Son Temple connected by a red bridge. The Temple of Literature (1070 CE) is Vietnam's first university — 1,000 years of academic life preserved in a walled garden complex. Eating: Bun cha (noodles with grilled pork) at a street stall is ₹120 for a full meal. Pho from a family-run shop at 6 AM is the correct start to any morning in Hanoi.
Days 3–4: Ha Long Bay
2,000 limestone karst islands rising from green-blue water. UNESCO World Heritage. Take a 2-day 1-night cruise — the overnight stay on the bay, watching stars reflect in still water between island silhouettes, is the experience. Budget cruise: USD 80–100/person (₹6,600–8,300). Mid-range: USD 150–200 (₹12,400–16,500). Kayaking through caves, fishing village visits, morning tai chi on the sun deck — all included. Bai Tu Long Bay (neighbouring, less visited) is quieter and worth considering for non-peak travel.
Days 5–6: Ninh Binh — Ha Long Bay on Land
Two hours south of Hanoi, Ninh Binh's Tam Coc and Trang An wetlands mirror Ha Long Bay's geography but on a rice field and river system rather than the sea. Row boats through limestone tunnels, past rice terraces, past water buffalo. Hoa Lu (10th-century capital of Vietnam) is a 30-minute drive. Mua Cave viewpoint at sunset: 500 steps, worth every one. Budget: ₹1,500–2,500/day including accommodation and activities.
Day 7: Train to Hue (Hai Van Pass)
The train from Hanoi to Hue (12–14 hours) passes Hai Van Pass around dawn if you book the overnight service correctly. This is one of Asia's great train journeys. Hue itself — the imperial capital of the Nguyen dynasty (19th–20th century) — has a walled citadel complex modelled on Beijing's Forbidden City. It's half-destroyed by war, but the Forbidden Purple City within it is genuinely haunting precisely because of its incompleteness.
Days 8–9: Hoi An — The Town That Time Kept
Hoi An's Old Town is the most perfectly preserved ancient trading port in Southeast Asia — still functioning as a town, not a museum. The Japanese Covered Bridge, the Assembly Halls (Chinese, Japanese, Fujian), the tailor shops, and the riverside cafes running 500 metres along the Thu Bon River. Lanterns in every colour strung across every alley. At the full moon each month, electricity is turned off in the Old Town and the entire area is lit exclusively by paper lanterns.
Hoi An has one of Vietnam's best beach situations — Cua Dai Beach is 5 km from town by bicycle, and An Bang Beach (6 km) is quieter, less developed, and has better seafood restaurants on the sand. Rent a bicycle (₹150/day) and explore both.
Days 10–11: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Fly from Da Nang to Saigon (1 hour). Ho Chi Minh City is too alive, too contradictory, too layered for a simple description. The War Remnants Museum is the most important museum in the country — disturbing, necessary, and honest about the war in ways that most official narratives are not. The Reunification Palace. Ben Thanh Market. The Bui Vien backpacker street. Day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels — 250 km of underground tunnels used by Viet Cong fighters, some of which you can crawl through: a genuinely disorienting physical experience of what the war felt like at ground level.
Day 12: Departure
Ben Thanh market, final pho, Tan Son Nhat airport. The traffic in Saigon is genuinely extraordinary — 4 million motorbikes weaving without pattern but without collision, operating on some physical law unavailable to outside observers. Cross the street slowly, don't stop, maintain eye contact with the approaching traffic. Everyone makes it.
Vietnam Budget Breakdown (Per Person, 12 Days)
| Category | Budget (₹) | Mid-Range (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Flights (India to Vietnam, round trip) | 22,000–32,000 | 32,000–50,000 |
| E-Visa | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Accommodation (per night) | 700–1,500 | 2,500–5,000 |
| Food (per day) | 400–700 | 800–1,500 |
| Internal transport (train, bus, flights) | 4,000–6,000 | 6,000–10,000 |
| Ha Long Bay cruise | 6,600–8,300 | 12,400–16,500 |
| 12-Day Total (per person) | ₹45,000–65,000 | ₹80,000–1,20,000 |
Food in Vietnam: What You Cannot Skip
- Pho: The beef noodle soup from Hanoi. Order at street level, 6–9 AM, ₹100–200.
- Bun Cha: Hanoi specialty. Grilled pork patties in sweet-sour broth with noodles and herbs. Barack Obama ate this with Anthony Bourdain here in 2016.
- Banh Mi: The baguette that colonialism left behind — filled with pate, pickled vegetables, coriander, and chilli. ₹80–150, better than any sandwich you've had recently.
- Cao Lau: Hoi An only. Thick noodles, pork, bean sprouts, fried pork rinds. The noodles are made with water from a specific Hoi An well — you cannot make this dish authentically anywhere else.
- Egg Coffee (Ca Phe Trung): Hanoi. Robusta coffee with a whipped egg yolk cream on top. Sounds wrong. Tastes extraordinary.
India and Vietnam have a cultural alignment that isn't immediately obvious but becomes apparent quickly — similar festival energy, similar food intensity, similar hospitality culture, similar relationship to family and community. Indian travelers consistently report feeling unexpectedly at ease in Vietnam in a way they don't in more culturally distant destinations. That ease, plus the extraordinary food and the extraordinary landscapes and the extraordinary value, makes Vietnam one of the best international trips available from India right now.