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'Mix & Match' Tours
§ City of Hanoi
§ Pagodas & History
§ Ha Long Bay & Yen Tu
§ Ancient Capitals
§ Northern Highlands
§ Cao Bang & Lang Son
§ Central Highlands
§ Hue Monuments
§ Cham Discovery
§ Mekong & the South
§ Cu Chi & Tay Ninh
§ Ho Chi Minh City


Tell us about your particular interests, and we'll take you to places only the local guides know. Whether it's active travel, sun worship, study tours, Vietnam War sites, or satisfying your culinary curiosity, Mikeland welcomes a challenge!

 

   

Home > "Mix & Match" Tours > Ancient Capitals

HANOI TO HUE: WHAT TO SEE

The provinces south of Hanoi are not very well known to westerners, who generally fly or take the overnight train to Hue. Many tourists take the one-day excursion to the ancient capital of Hoa Lu (90 km from Hanoi), but go no further.

It takes three days to make the trip from Hanoi to Hue by car, with beautiful scenery and surprising discoveries at every turn. South of Hoa Lu, you'll find the village where Ho Chi Minh was born, the Phong Nha Caves (a World Heritage Site), and the mighty stone walls of the western capital (Tay Do) built at the end of the 14th Century.

Day 1 : HA NOI – HOA LU - THANH HOA
Drive to Ninh Binh, and follow the winding road through the spectacular karst formations that protected Hoa Lu, the first royal city of Vietnam (968-1009 AD). Visit the temples to the emperors of the Dinh and Early Le Dynasties, who united the country after it gained independence.
The Tam Coc caves are one of the famous regional attractions, but you can only get there by boat, and you should be prepared for some intensive marketing en route. As an alternative, you may wish to take a short detour to Nam Dinh to see the famous Pho Minh pagoda that was once a religious and political center for the Tran Dynasty emperors (1225-1400 AD).
Continue your journey south to reach Thanh Hoa city by nightfall.

Day 2 : THANH HOA - VINH
Visit the Thanh Hoa provincial museum, which has an outstanding collection of Dong Son drums, world-renowned relics of the important Bronze Age culture of North Vietnam.
A short drive from downtown Thanh Hoa brings you to the great citadel for the Tay Do (Western Capital), built by Emperor Ho Quy Ly in 1399 (see top of this page for a picture of one of the massive stone gates of the citadel). After sightseeing, drive south to the modern city of Vinh--before the sun sets, be sure to catch the view from the small cafe at the top of Quyet Mountain, which overlooks the city. Overnight in Vinh.

Day 3 : VINH - DONG HOI
After breakfast, visit one or more of the temples around the city of Vinh, and then drive 15 km to the west to visit Kim Lien, the village where Ho Chi Minh was born. His mother's house and the house built for his father have been restored, and show us the simple life of the scholar-farmer at the end of the 19th Century. Continue the drive south through famous mountain ranges, stopping at the ancient gate that stands at the top of the Deo Pass, marking the southern boundary of the ancient Viet empire. Stop for the night at the city of Dong Hoi.

Day 4 : DONG HOI - HUE
In the morning, drive to the Phong Nha Caves, a World Heritage site to the northwest of Dong Hoi. After taking a boat ride to visit the two cave systems, continue the drive south with optional stops at the Vinh Moc Tunnels or other wartime sites near the former Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Check into your hotel at Hue, and make plans to see the sights described in our Hue tour.

 

 

 

  • Take an extra day while in Thanh Hoa to drive inland through rolling hills and fields of sugar cane to the heartland of the "Lam Son insurrection" against the Ming emperor of China. Visit the temple to Le Loi, who defeated the Ming troops and founded the Le Dynasty (1428). The remains of Le Loi's palace and many tombs to the Le kings are within walking distance of the temple.
  • Take a break and spend a night at the coastal town of Sam Son, only 20 km to the east of Thanh Hoa city.
  • Add our 2-day city tour of Hanoi at the beginning or end of your trip. The Hanoi tour will include a visit to the Museum of History, with many exhibits explaining the early capitals of Viet Nam.
  • To complete your tour of the ancient capitals, take our Pagodas & History tour, which includes the first citadel at Co Loa (Ancient Snail City) and the temple to the Hung Kings.
  • If history is one of your primary interests, be sure to check out Hue and our Cham Discovery Tour in the central part of Vietnam.