Hanoi Vietnam: Everything You Should Know Before You Go

Where is Hanoi?

Hanoi, also spelled Ha Noi, city, capital of Vietnam. The city is situated in northern Vietnam on the western bank of the Red River, about 85 miles (140 km) inland from the South China Sea. In addition to being the national capital, Hanoi is also a province-level municipality (thanh pho), administered by the central government. Area mun., 1,205 square miles (3,120 square km). Pop. (1999) city, 1,523,936; mun., 5,053,654; (2009) city, 2,316,722; mun., 6,451,909; (2014 est.) city, 3,292,000.

Best places to stay in Hanoi

Where to stay in hanoi? Check out the suggestions below:

Hanoi Airport Hotel

VATC Sleep Pod Terminal 1

Located in the common areas of Noi Bai International Airport, VATC SleepPod offers sleeping pods on the 2nd and 3rd floors in Terminal Free Wi-Fi access is available in all areas. .
Each capsule room includes a flat-screen cable TV, telephone and alarm clock. Blankets, bed sheets and bedding will also be provided.
Rest has a 24-hour front desk and provides free water and snacks. You get discounts at various restaurants at the airport terminal.
The property is about 7 km from Phu Thanh Chuong and 17.7 km from Phu Tay Ho. West Lake is 18.7 km away.
Price: $40.71 for 2 single beds per night

Hanoi Best Hotels

Hotels in hanoi old quarter which located in central of Hanoi

La Sinfonía del Rey Hotel & Spa

Location:  33-35 Hang Dau Street, Hoan Kiem,  Hoan Kiem, Hanoi Vietnam
Most commonly used facilities: Airport shuttle, Non-smoking rooms, Spa & wellness center, Room service, WiFi available in all areas Restaurant, Tea/coffee maker in all rooms, Great breakfast
Foreign Intelligence Service: The property provides a currency exchange service on site.
Price: $107.65 per night for 1 Couple bed or 2 Single beds

Hanoi Center Silk Classic Hotel & Travel

41 Bat Su St, Hang Bo, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam
All rooms in the hotel are fitted with a kettle. Complete with a private bathroom equipped with a bidet and bathrobes, guest rooms at Hanoi Center Silk Classic Hotel & Travel have a flat-screen TV and air conditioning, and some rooms are equipped with a balcony. At the accommodation each room is equipped with bed linen and towels.
A continental breakfast is available daily at Hanoi Center Silk Classic Hotel & Travel.
The hotel offers a terrace. The area is popular for skiing and cycling, and bike hire is available at Hanoi Center Silk Classic Hotel & Travel.
Price: $41.90 per night for 1 big couple bed

Trang Trang Boutique Hotel

Location: 104 Ma May Str, Hoan Kiem District, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam
Most commonly used facilities: Airport shuttle, Non-smoking rooms, WiFi available in all areas Restaurant, Tea/coffee maker in all rooms, Great breakfast
Foreign Intelligence Service: The property provides a currency exchange service on site.
Price: $26.31 per night for 1 Couple bed

Five Star Hotels In Hanoi Vietnam

Check out hanoi luxury hotels below:

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Location: 15 Ngo Quyen Street, Hoan Kiem District, 15 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem HANOI VIETNAM
Located in the heart of the old city, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi is an iconic award-winning luxury Hanoi old quarter hotel
Hotel extras
Award winning gastronomy, Vietnamese, French & European
Beautiful garden, outdoor swimming pool, spa & fitness gym
Perfect destination for leisure and business trips in Hanoi
The very best location near Opera House and Old Quarter
Strong character, history, tranquility in a romantic theme

Lotte Hanoi Hotel

Located: 54 Liễu Giai St, Cong Vi , Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam
Located at the intersection between Lieu Giai and Dao Tan streets in Ba Dinh district, LOTTE HANOI HOTEL is the connection and synthesis between the traditional old quarter of Hanoi and the new urban area that is growing with a bright future.
Located on the top floors of a magnificent 65-storey building, Lotte Hanoi Hotel is proud to represent the new international 5-star hotel standard in Hanoi in particular and Vietnam in general.

Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi - MGallery 

Location: 29 Trang Tien street, Hoan Kiem district  HANOI VIETNAM
Located in the bustling center of Hanoi, the Hotel de l'Opera Hanoi is in a prime location for you to soak up all of the culture the city has to offer. There's never a dull moment in the enchanting city, with over a thousand years of local history. Just 3 minutes walk from the Old Quarter, and a short distance to the Hanoi Opera House, our guests can experience the 5-star luxury of a night at the opera. Our 107 rooms & suites are meticulously designed, with every amenity hand picked to ensure its quality.

The Weather Of Hanoi Vietnam

Hanoi is the capital, located in the North of Vietnam. In Hanoi, Vietnam has 4 seasons: Spring (from January to March), Summer (from April to June), Autumn (from July to September), and Winter (from October to December). Each season in Hanoi has its own beauty, visitors can come at any time of the year and at different times, Hanoi will give them different feelings.

Hanoi november weather

This is the late autumn and early winter time. This is also one of the most beautiful times in Hanoi with a cool atmosphere, clear blue sky and Yellow leaves scattered all over the old streets.

What to do in Hanoi’s Autumn

Hanoi Nature at its Most Photogenic  
Much is made about “fall foliage” in North America. Northern Vietnam, with its four seasons in contrast to the tropical South, is one of Southeast Asia’s best counterparts to that colorful display. 
Autumn is when Hanoi is at its most photogenic. The gray haze of the rainy season clears away, leaving the sky a clear and crystalline blue. The leaves of the trees lining wide city streets begin to turn red, yellow, and brown. The sun takes on a particularly radiant hue, a gilded beaming through the ruddy branches. Delicate hoa sua (alstonia scholaris) erupt from the trees, filling entire neighborhoods with a powerfully sweet and distinctive smell that captivates the creativity of artists and musicians. 
Students and young women emerge in ao dai – Vietnamese traditional attire in search of the prettiest places to take pictures, while vendors pedal past on bicycles selling bright bouquets of white and yellow daisies. These flocks of models, photographers, and flower sellers become part of the landscapes, fluttering brightly through the fall like so many tropical birds.

What to Eat in Autumn in Hanoi 

Since most travel blogs stick to recommending standard fare like pho and fried rice, few travelers know how seasonal the food in Hanoi - indeed, in all of Vietnam - really is. Mooncakes aren’t the only autumnal specialty. There’s a whole menu of cool-weather foods that most travelers never discover. 
The opening of Autumn in Hanoi is marked by the ripening of the dracontomelon, or sấu fruit. This fruit is so popular that it is frozen or preserved in syrup to eat and drink year-round, but it becomes plump and juicy, more sweet than sour after September, and its green rind changes into a golden yellow to compliment the fall foliage. It is eaten fresh dipped in salt and chili or sugar and chili, boiled with morning glory to make sour soup, or, most famously, processed into a sweet syrupy drink to be sipped down from the comfort of a plastic chair at a street corner vendor, gnawing on the pits and watching the season slink by.

Cốm – which must be distinguished from “cơm,” the word for ordinary cooked rice – is the word for green rice kernels that are roasted over low heat and then pounded flat into sweet, nutty grains and flakes. It’s eaten in an astonishing variety of ways: on its own packed in lotus leaves, baked into cakes, prepared into ice cream, as a crumble with banana,  cooked into a sweet soup called chè…

Hanoi december weather

Hanoi in December is Winter Hanoi with foggy air, cold feeling, quiet and ancient capital.
What to do in Hanoi for winter
A cup of hot coffee with noodles is just the right thing for a chilly evening. Pay a visit to Hanoi Cathedral on Christmas Eve or shop at the Christmas market in Old Quarters. You can look forward to the Annual Flower Festival that takes place in the last week of December. The Tet Festival may fall at the end of January, depending on the dates of the lunar calendar. Thus, it is best to check the dates of the festival beforehand.

What to do in hanoi

Enjoying the facilities at the top 5 star hotels

Hanoi capital is the harmony between culture, Asia-European architecture, is also where the 5-star luxury hotel chains around the world set their branches. Here, you can spend time with your family and enjoy relaxing moments at the most famous hotels such as:Hanoi Metropole, JW Marriott Hanoi, Capella Hanoi, Melia Hanoi, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, Intercontinental Hanoi Landmark72, Novotel Hanoi, Pullman Hanoi …

Visiting famous places in Hanoi

Visiting Hoa Lo Prison

A visit to Hoa Lo Prison is a moving experience and this old internment facility used to be dubbed the Hanoi Hilton.
The prison was used to house prisoners of war from the United States during the Vietnam War.
With this in mind, you will find galleries that tell the history until the 1950s when it was used as part of the Vietnamese struggle for independence.
Some of the grisly pieces on show here include a French guillotine which the colonialists used to execute Vietnamese activists and you will also find memorabilia related to American pilots who were incarcerated during the Vietnam War.
 

Walking and shopping at Hanoi old town

Many visitors say that Hanoi is the prettiest and most traditional city in Vietnam and much of this is down to the presence of the Old Quarter.
Here you will find densely packed streets which still retain all the charm of a small local neighborhood.
The names of the streets will tell you which shops you will find there, so if you see one called Hang Gai then this means that you will find Silk Shops all along that road.
If you are looking to pick up some local souvenirs or gifts then this is the best place to do it and you will also find a wealth of delicious local eateries here.
There is also a local night market held in the Old Quarter every night from Friday to Sunday.
 

Eating in Hanoi

As a country in Southeast Asia with a rich and famous cuisine in the world, the thing that cannot be ignored when tourists come to Vietnam is definitely to enjoy the food. Let’s check out some suggestions below:

Beer street hanoi

Ta Hien is a small street lying in famous Old Quarter of Hanoi, near Hoan Kiem Lake. The street just stretch 200 meters, but it is one of the most crowded streets in Old Quarter particularly and in Hanoi generally. Ta Hien has the most specific features of both old Hanoi and modern Hanoi. It is named “international crossroad”, drawing many foreign visitors and also Hanoi people. Ta Hien Street - the beer street Hanoi is known as the first street where the majority of foreign tourists set foot on when coming and before leaving Hanoi. Therefore, everyone is familiar to call Ta Hien Street with the name "Pho Tay" (foreigner street).

Pho thin hanoi

13 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, Vietnam
“Having traveled for the last month in Vietnam I have had a lot of their national dish Pho. I didn't realize it before I was here that it is widely a breakfast dish, but I had no trouble having a hot savory bowl for many a breakfast.
I was told by my daughter that Pho Thin was a must go to. They only serve Pho Bo the beef version, a large bowl of wonderfully flavorful broth with thinly sliced beef and green onions. They also serve a Vietnamese savory donut that by themselves are rather plain but when dipped or floated in the Pho was fantastic.
I would highly recommend Pho Thin for an authentic Northern Vietnamese Pho that is sure to rank with the best you have ever had.” - sharing by a Costa Rica Visitor

Giang cafe hanoi

39 Nguyen Huu Huan Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam
Giang Café is humbly hidden on a small lane on Nguyen Huu Huan Street in the city’s old quarter. It may be difficult to find for visitors, but it is well worth the effort. It continues to be hugely popular among Hanoi’s coffee addicts with its special ca phe trung, or egg coffee.

How to get to Hanoi

Currently, most airlines in the world have flights to Vietnam:
The flights from Singapore to Hanoi has a direct flight from Singapore National Airport to Hanoi, similar to the flights from Newdehi to Hanoi and the flights from Mumbai to Hanoi.

How to get to other Vietnam attractions from Hanoi

Along with the development of tourism and service industries, Vietnam's transportation system has also developed to meet the tourism needs of domestic people as well as international visitors. There are many ways to move from Hanoi to other famous tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Hoi An, Sapa, Ho Chi Minh City. You can find information about trips on the websites of the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport.