Hello - I'm taking a tour to Vietman in March 2014. Starting in Ho Chi Minh and ending in Hanoi. Not a lot of time in Hanoi with tour, so I'm considering adding a day or two. Any opinions if this is worth it and recommendations on what to see? Thanks in advance to all!

We very much enjoyed Hanoi - so much to see and do. There is still a lot of French Colonial charm to the city, unlike HCMC. Not knowing what your tour covers, it's hard to know what to recommend. I would say we especially enjoyed the Temple of Literature and the Ethnographic Museum.

There is also a lot of wonderful food in Hanoi. Unfortunately, tours usually give you western buffets.

If you haven't actually booked the tour yet, do consider traveling independently. It's very easy and you'll get more out of it.

Without knowing anything about your itinerary, the only thing I can say is that Hanoi is worth some extra time...

How many days will you be in Hanoi? It is a charming city and worth 4-5 days. We particularly loved staying in the old city.

I agree also with above poster - of you have not booked your your already, Vietnam is easy to get around on your own.

Thank you every one for you comments. The tour covers Hanoi in the morning with the water puppets in the evening. We're thinking of skipping the puppets and doing our own thing. I've read about the Old City and will be visiting that. Other than that, we'll stay a couple extra days and take it all in. Thank you again.

Very easy to visit Hanoi. From the south of Hoan Kiem to the west lake on the north, most of the museums and things to see are concentrated(except ethnography museum which look likes to the quay Branly museum, no?).

Advice from our guide: after visiting the city, have a walk on the old Long Bien bridge. It’s fabulous during the sunset. You see the red river, little boats, farmers and Hanoi. There is a fresh air. Some well-dressed girls have pictures with their boyfriends on the railroad. It’s not a joke.

We didn’t really like the water puppets show.
About Vietnam history, choose one or two museums. Not more because all of them look like. I am disappointed because there are no Vietnamese museums about old history. I miss it.
I think visitors can stay 3 or 4 days for visiting Hanoi. It’s a great city.

No VN museums about old history? There is an excellent one in Hanoi.

We found the range of museums in Hanoi to be amazing.