Vietnam 11 nights
 

Any advice much appreciated on an 11 Day Vietnam itinerary for April if it is making sense or any advice on changes? Enough time in Hoi An for My Son half day or too much to fit in?

2 nights Hanoi
then early morning bus to Sapa for 3 nights
Then early morning bus back to Hanoi for 1 night
Then early morning pick up to Lan ha bay cruise 2 nights
then fly Cat bi airport to Da Nang taxi to Hoi An arrived for 6pm for 3 nights (2 full days)

Thanks in advance!

April is towards the end of the peak season for travel in Vietnam so you can expect pretty good weather though it will be getting very hot.

Five locations in 11 days means a LOT of traveling around. It is realistic to allow half a day to get from A to B so around 2.5 days could be lost time spent on buses, planes or in stations if all goes smoothly (a big if). With 11 days to play with I would just stay in the north and forget about Hoi An. To be frank, quaint though is is, it is not my favourite place in the country as it is now chronically overtouristed and highly commercialised.

There is lots to see and do in Hanoi and I feel that deserve longer than you have allocated. Sapa I can take or leave. The scenery is stunning but the town itself can be plagued with aggressive hawkers etc. I would head straight out into the countryside, ideally with a private guide. Maybe choose a stay in a lodge in somewhere like Muang Cang Chai. Ha Giang would be another good, less visited option for great scenery.

One route that we took one year was a hike/drive trip from starting in Hanoi to Mai Chau then through the Black River Valley, Pu Long to Ninh Binh (aka Ha Long Bay on land) from there you could tack on the Lan Ha Bay cruise before heading back to Hanoi for your flight home.

Of course there is a multitude of choices for your trip but I would really stick to one region of the country be that North, Central or South. some details and photo of some of our travels in Vietnam over many years https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/ which may provide some indication of what to expect though I never did get around to posting about Sapa, HG etc though Hoi An and My Son are covered.

Thank you so much for the information really appreciate it. Our lodge is outside of the main sapa town as I heard about the haggling and overwhelming tourists, so trekking through the less traveled area.