Hanoi

[ShistmasChopper]

It looks like I might be off to Hanoi soon wirh work.
I'll only be there 9 or 10 days and working during the days. I'd like to make the most
Of my time there and see some of the city but wondering if much is available to see on an evening and if so what's worth doing/seeing?
I have one weekend there and am considering a trip to Halong Bay one day of the weekend.
Anyone know Hanoi and able to share some tips and ideas??

Halong bay as a day trip is doable but a very long day, also day trips do not use the best boats if you book through a local travel agent make sure you know what you are actually getting , and the the length of time onboard have hear stories of travels arriving only to find it was a quick 90 mins on the boat.
Down load the Grab app for you phone this works the same as Uber great for getting a cab and knowing what the actual cost will be.
Look on trip advise for things to do in the evening, walking street is a popular destination in the old quarter full of bars and night life.
Weekends some streets are closed off for kids to use electric car etc, Coffee and people watching on train street if you can find a part that has not been closed to tourists

A friend of mine is there on holiday at the moment and posted pictures of a "secret food tour" she was on last night. It looked amazing - lots of little hole in the wall places, the tour guide was a local student. Might be worth a google?

Thank you for that. I'll have a look on Google and trip advisor.
It looks like train street is closed now which I'm gutted about.
A friend worked there 2 years ago and didn't see much of Hanoi due to work so not many pointers from them sadly although they did go to Halong Bay for 1 day at the weekend and said it's a very long day but we'll worth it.
Open to any other suggestions for evening sightseeing.

Hanoi is one of my favourite cities:
love the back streets in the old town - you can wander around and also see the cathedral and opera house
if you don't have time for Halong Bay then Tam Coc is similar (limestone karsts, but inland)
water puppet show - several performances per day - in the old town, near the lake
You can visit Uncle Ho himself at the Mausoleum and one pillar pagoda and a museum are in the same area
temple of literature
google vespa adventures - we did this in HCMC and Hue and I think they offer a couple of half day trips in Hanoi - great fun
Hanoia - for beautiful lacquer souvenirs - quality is superb
The prison where John Mc Cain was is also worth a visit

I'd avoid the water puppet show. Personally, it's 2 hours of my life I will never get back

InOtterNews - anything wirh puppet show or magic show in the title is my idea of hell but thanks for the heads up. I will make sure I avoid 😁

I came on to say Water Puppet show!

Definitely Halong Bay!
Probably not the water puppets (I haven't seen them myself - sat through too many of those sorts of things in my time!

Could you not take a few days Annual Leave while you're there?

I loved Hanoi when I was there. Definitely go to the mausoleum if you have a chance and the temple of literature. There's loads of touristy things to do. It's a great place to walk round, the food is amazing, I would try and book on an evening food tour if you can.

Hire a bicycle and cycle around. The little street cafes are amazing. You should buy some of the little green bean cakes from the markets...I absolutely loved them. Ha Long Bay is beautiful but for a day it can be tiring and long. I almost drowned there but that's another story. You should try to see some of Vietnam away from the touristy areas. Hoa Binh is a beautiful province with an amazing dam.

Be prepared to be asked the same question a hundred times a day - Do you have a husband yet!!

There is a new bypass to Halong Bay that takes just two hours, worth doing a cruise that uses it rather than the long route. If you have a couple of days free you could do a 1 night two days. We're kicking off our holiday starting in Hanoi from 2nd January. Cannot wait.

We did an overnighter to Halong Bay, we were collected from our hotel and were on our boat by midday. There was a tour in the afternoon to see some caves and kayaking the following morning. The food was fantastic and the rooms beautiful on our boat. We were taken back to the coach for lunchtime the next day, so were back in Hanoi mid afternoon.
If you want to see Uncle Ho, go early, we arrived at 9.30 and they were queuing for miles, it was too hot to wait around. The Temple of Literature is worth a visit as is the Prison. It’s a shame about train street as that was one of my highlights.🙁