My partner and I just wrapped up a trip across Ho Chi Minh City, Ninh Binh, and Hanoi. We stayed in Airbnbs throughout, which gave us a lot of flexibility with our schedule and meals.
We mostly explored on foot rather than relying on Grab. Walking around the neighborhoods—especially in Hanoi, which is bustling and endlessly interesting—is a great way to spend your time. Stopping for egg coffee or having a quiet evening cooking a simple meal at our Airbnb suited us best. We weren't planning to cover all the landmarks and just wanted to relax. At HCMC we visited a Buddhist temple and enjoyed their vegetarian pho as part of the community meal experience. We were welcomed warmly and offered the food. Google translate helped us have a lovely conversation too.
A hands-on mother-of-pearl inlay workshop in Hanoi was one of our favorite activities. It was in the pedestrian area around Hoan Kiem lake. There were decent crowds and really good vibes. It was a great option to buy locally made arts and crafts for gifting. Other than that we kept market visits to a minimum and bought edible gifts like coffee, chocolate, and dried fruit from fixed-price shops.
We tend to prefer cities, so Ninh Binh, though beautiful, was not my personal favorite part of the trip. Joining a group tour there turned out to be great value and a smooth experience overall. Climbing the Dragons peak was fun even with the crowd!
We did our own cooking for the most part since we didn't want to worry about clarifying 'no fish sauce' in every meal. When we did eat out, we stuck strictly to dedicated vegetarian and vegan restaurants or stalls. A 40k VND bánh mì from a tiny vegan stall was my personal favorite!
A few things to watch out for: pack warm layers and masks for this time of the year, just in case—we were both sick for a good chunk of our time in Hanoi due to an unexpected cold front, and the pollution likely contributed too. Check spa menu prices before walking in—some Old Quarter spas have high Google ratings alongside steep pricing. Check Green SM for much better airport drop prices than Grab. It was 100k vnd cheaper than Grab for us.