Never been to Vietnam, and am at that point where long flight destinations are becoming less desirable, so would like to plan some such trips while we are in pretty good shape. We're fairly active retirees (late 60s and mid 70s). From what I read central Vietnam can be very rainy in November, and given we would like to keep this trip to 10-11 nights in vietnam (overnight flight additional), I'm thinking splitting time between the north and south, with Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City openjaw ticket. I'm a walker and also street photographer so love wandering through cities but also beautiful scenery, in addition to enjoying local cultural and historical sights. I generally do my own planning and from what I read, it's very doable to do that in VIetnam. As far as Asia trips, I've previously been to Japan and Hong Kong.

Is November a good time for such a trip? How best to split our time? Also interested in day trips from the 2 main cities and maybe a overnight(s) nearby (Ha Long Bay cruise for one). I think we would fly between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, as the train ride is long, and not much time for in between stops.

We did Vietnam mid to late October and we were warned that in the middle of Vietnam - around the Hoi An area it would be really wet and rainy. We did not encounter any of that. It did rain a bit at night but then it was fine during the day.
We did Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An and Hanoi. If you are a photographer you would really love Hoi An.
Internally you can fly between the cities on Vietnam airlines. Did not do train.

If it was me I would do Ho Chi Minh City (3), then Hoi An (3), Hanoi (4), Ha long bay cruise (1).

In Hanoi we did a day trip to Ninh Binh which was lots of fun. In Ho Chi Minh City we did a day trip to the Mekong but I dont think I would advise that.
Loved Hanoi. It has a wonderful blend of cultures. Ho Chi Minh was good too but Hanoi and Hoi An were our favourites.

November is a great time for your trip, as it offers dry, cool weather in Hanoi (ideal for walking and photography) and warm, manageable temperatures in Ho Chi Minh City. While Central Vietnam can be rainy, your focus on the north and south is a smart choice.

For a 10-11 night trip, consider:

Hanoi (4-5 nights): Enjoy city walks, street photography, and history. Take a Ha Long Bay overnight cruise and a day trip to Ninh Binh for stunning landscapes.
Ho Chi Minh City (4-5 nights): Explore the city’s vibrant streets, markets, and historical sites. Plan a day trip to the Mekong Delta or Cu Chi Tunnels.
Flying between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is the best option given your timeframe. Let me know if you need more details!

Thanks. I may be able to do trip in October. Rain forecast could be a bit better then. I was wondering about Mekong delta. Was looking at day and overnight tours there. Did you do it with a tour or on your own? Seemed like a long drive for a day trip.

Based on more research, I'm thinking something like this:

Fly into HCMC
3 nts HCMC with private, non-touristy day trip to Makong Delta (considering Water Buffalo Tours)
Fly to DaNang
2-3? nts Hoi An, try to time with lantern festival (I've seen 11/3 but also 11/15 so not sure when exactly it is), hope for no floods. Read to stay further from river in case of flooding, thoughts?
Fly to Hanoi
4-5? nts Hanoi, with day trip to Ninh Binh, any other good day trips?
1 nt Ha Long Bay cruise
Fly home from Hanoi

Will look also into good walking tours for HCMC and Hanoi. Does this plan look reasonable?

It takes quite a few more hours to get to Vietnam than Japan or Hong Kong, so it is a bit more draining. Have you considered that maybe it would be better to squeeze a few more days into your trip? You'll be back on that plane going home before you know it.

I want to keep it under 2 weeks total including flights.

You should also make a plan B for Danang/ Hoian in case of bad weather.
If possible, stay 1 or 2 nights in Ninh Binh (Do Halong Bay first and then head to Ninh Binh).

As much as I'd like to see Hoi An and Hue, I think November/rainy/typhoon season is too risky (already experienced 2 typhoons in Japan and a hurricane in Cayman Islands!). That being said, thinking 3-4 nights HCMC and and 7-8 nights in some combination of northern VIetnam (have 11 total nights for this trip). Definitely Hanoi and overnight in Halong Bay, possibly Ninh Binh and/or Sapa. Thoughts?

As this is your first trip to Vietnam and presuming you want to achieve a reasonable insight into the country, I would look at splitting your time between the north and south basing in Hanoi and Saigon respectively. Ideally, I would include a trip out into the Mekong Delta from Saigon but this would really require a min of 5 nights - say 3 Saigon and 2 in the delta , perhaps in Can Tho or Ben Tre.

That would leave six nights for Hanoi & the north. If you did want to include Halong Bay then you really need a couple of nights there to make the travel worthwhile. Personally , I would skip it as I feel there are other places that would take priority but it is a matter of personal choice. You could include Ninh Binh with Halong as they are more or less in the same direction. However two nights in each (which allows for just one full day and change) would only allow for two nights in Hanoi which is not nearly enough.

Essentially, if you really want to visit Halong Bay then I would just do a couple of nights there and the rest in Hanoi. If not, then I would look at three nights in Sapa and three in Hanoi or, perhaps 4 in Hanoi and a side trip of 2 nights in the Mai Chau Valley which is a lot closer to Hanoi.

As an alternative to Halong Bay as I am reading it's very touristy, I'm thinking Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long Bay cruise, and maybe staying in Cat Ba. If I did this, I would then consider flying from HCMC to Catbi airport instead of Hanoi. I would take early flight so I'd have some time to explore Cat Ba when we get there, then do day cruise on the next day.

This will most likely be my 1 and only trip to southeast asia (getting older and long flights are gettng tougher to deal with). I have 11 nights in Vietnam to deal with. I know I'm only skimming the surface, but it's the best I can do.

As I mentioned previously, my necessarily subjective view , is that with just 11 days, I would skip "Halong Bay " . Realistically, you need 3 nights to do it justice which to see would seem a disproportional amount of theme you are spending in country. I would suggest spending some time playing around with rome2rio or google maps to check out exactly how long you would spend getting there and away. Factor in how long you will spend checking in and out of accommodation and how much time id water just hanging around. From memory, most boat trips depart and return around midday so you can effectively write off those day for other sightseeing

That said, Lan Ha/Bai Tu Long bays would certainly be preferable to the more tourist visited (some would say massively over-touristed Halong) . Cat Ba is no great shakes and I wouldn't bother. Whatever you decide, choosing the right operator will be key to a successful and enjoyable tour. Not just the tour itself but the logistic of getting to and from the boat. Higher end operators will offer private transfers which can save time waiting around for others (and should be cost effective in Vietnam).

Ok. At this point thinking of scrapping either ninh binh or the bay cruise. Looking into smaller boat with Indochina junk to bai tu long if we do that option.

I have been looking into travel times and do want to minimize number of 3-4 hour legs in a vehicle.

With the time you have available I think I would be looking at:

Saigon 3 nights
Mekong Delta 2 nights
Hanoi 4 nights
Ninh Binh or Mai Chau Valley 2 nights

That would provide a pretty good taste of northern and southern Vietnam and should be fairly manageable in terms of transfer logistics. For the Mekong and Ninh Binh it would be easy and inexpensive enough to organise a private tour which provides not only guide services but door to door transportation which would make it very time efficient compared with a cruise where, in addition to getting to the point of emabrkation you would have the inevitable waiting around for others etc. If you choose Mai Chau, try to book one of the lodge out in the valley (Mai Chau ecolodge or similar) the main town now tenss to get packed out, esp at weekends , with local tourists from Hanoi (probably the same with Ninh Binh.

There is a lot to see in Hanoi, but it is a manic sort of place which, if not your thing, maybe cut a day there and add it to the delta or MC.

Agree about skipping Halong Bay; even twenty years ago it was inundated with group tourism-----spend your time elsewhere especially since it is so limited and you have the weather variables....my overnight Halong Bay cruise was one of the most disappointing experiences I've had in many, many trips to SE Asia. The ONLY "sight" are the karst formations which are glorious but not worth the rest of the time spent--better part of two days on a trip that is already very brief.

Having just returned from just shy of 3 weeks in VIetnam, my suggestion would be to prioritize the North - Hanoi and Ninh Binh for sure and consider a day trip to Halong Bay (one that has you in the bay for 6-7 hours so you get a good look and feel but not the repetition of an overnight cruise).

Given that you will be going in November, you can also consider the south central highlands - Dalat, for example.

OK, still working on this. We are flying into Saigon and out of Hanoi so will split our time between the north and south. Speaking to friends who have been there, some very recently, I'm getting lots of varied/conflicted information on everything, so no conistent opinions from those sources. That being said, I will go with my gut, based on your comments and my friends' comments. I am now researching the various options given our time frame and will figure out an itinerary. Definite things I want to see/do are food tours in both cities, Mekong Delta (looking for less touristy option, not sure if day or overnight) and Ninh Binh (Tam Coc/Mua cave/Trang Am). If we do Halong, I'll look for something that goes to Lan Ha or Bai Tu Long, maybe just a day trip.

In case any of it is helpful, here is my report of the trip I just took: Trip Report Ascending the Blue Dragon: Traversing Vietnam from South to North - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

“I'm getting lots of varied/conflicted information on everything, so no conistent opinions from those sources.”

That is the problem with travel fora. Everyone has an opinion and everyone (including me) thinks they are right 😉.

Each of us have our own particular travel styles which suits us. I like to travel slowly in can’t get omparison with most and would much rather include fewer locations and attempt to enjoy each in more depth and at a slower pace. I believe this is especially important in Vietnam where travel logistics don’t always go to plan.
Coming into Saigon and leaving from Hanoi makes a lot of sense as there is no retracing of footsteps wasting your time. However, don’t expect to visit any “non toursisty” sights in a day or even an overnight stay. Having visited the Delta several times over many years I would plan on spending at least a couple of nights there. Perhaps consider one of the home stays near Can Tho - https://www.greenvillagemekong.com ( there are lots of others and they will all offer “local experience s such as Cai Rainf floating market, bike rides into the countryside etc. I would avoid the Cu Chi tunnels etc which really are tourist traps
You could fly Saigon to Can tho in 40 mins or three hours by car( and could probably fly on to Hanoi for there which would possibly make your travelling around in a limited timeframe easier.

Once in Hanoi I would want at least two full days ( three nights) for the city. The remaining time I would allocate to either a high end Bai Tu Long cruise, a night or two in Ninh Binh probably with a guide or private tour( again , there are some nice Homestay options there). A decent guide to Ninh Binh would enable you to visit the areas not overrun by local tourists who can be very noisy on their party boats with loudspeakers

I am definitely planning 3+ nights each in HCMC and Hanoi. One of my contacts absolutely hated Hanoi, also recommended the Vinpearl resort in Ha long. This same person hates NYC. I love (and live in) NYC so I discounted his Hanoi comments (he just doesn't like busy cities), and the Vinepearl did not appeal to me as an option for this trip. Another friend preferred HCMC over Hanoi, did both Mekong Delta and Ha Long day cruises and enjoyed those. A third friend stayed in Ninh Binh but wished she did an indochina Junk cruise (which is the one I'm considering if I do that) instead. She only had 2 nights in Hanoi and did a food tour while there.