Hanoi & Ha Long Bay Honeymoon

Start at the thousand-year-old Temple of Literature, then walk through the shaded grounds of the Ho Chi Minh complex to the tiny One Pillar Pagoda. Afternoon at your own pace. Browse silk shops or sip ca phe trung at a hidden balcony café. After dark, a local foodie guide leads you on a tasting trail through Dong Xuan night market with bun cha, banh cuon and grilled corn from the charcoal vendors.

Drive south to Ninh Binh (2 hours). Afternoon sampan ride through the Tam Coc river caves, three grottoes carved through towering karst mountains. Check into your countryside bungalow surrounded by rice paddies and limestone peaks.

Morning visit to Trang An, a UNESCO-listed landscape of waterways and cliff-top pagodas. Climb Mua Cave for a sweeping valley panorama. Afternoon cycle through the villages to Bich Dong Pagoda, then sundowners at a rice-paddy-edge café.

Head east through the Red River Delta to Ha Long Bay and step aboard your wooden junk. Spend the afternoon weaving between karst towers, paddling into quiet lagoons by kayak and trying your hand at squid fishing after dark. Dinner is grilled seafood served on the open deck under a canopy of stars.

Wake early for a sunrise stretching session on the bow, then transfer to a smaller bamboo boat to visit a floating pearl farm. Disembark mid-morning and drive back to the capital. Spend your last afternoon picking up lacquerware or silk in the Old Quarter, then close the trip with a farewell dinner at a candlelit French-Vietnamese bistro on Ma May street.