Vietnam — I am the Wanderer

Aeroplan — a transfer partner of both Chase UR and Amex MR — is still the clean Star Alliance path into Hanoi in business, which suits this client's balances exactly. Go while the Old Quarter's street-food economy is intact; the metro-and-mall wave is already sanding down its edges, and post-Tet spring is the one season all three regions agree on.

Itinerary — tap a stop on the map

First nightpick a date — the classic window is Late Feb–early Apr

Hanoi · 4 nights

nights 1–4

Old Quarter / Hoan Kiem boutique with a rooftop breakfast — the colonial splurge is the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi; the smart mid-range is La Siesta Classic Ma May, buried in the Old Quarter itself so the 6:30am pho run is a two-minute shuffle.

Hue · 2 nights

nights 5–6

Riverside colonial or lantern-lit garden resort — Azerai La Residence Hue, an Art Deco former governor's residence on the Perfume River, or Pilgrimage Village Boutique Resort out on the road toward the tombs.

Hoi An · 3 nights

nights 7–9

Riverside resort a bike ride from the Ancient Town — Anantara Hoi An Resort on the Thu Bon, or the full beach splurge at Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai on Ha My Beach 15 minutes north.

Ho Chi Minh City · 2 nights

nights 10–11

District 1 grande dame — Park Hyatt Saigon on Lam Son Square (this is the points play, see budget), or The Myst Dong Khoi for a design-hotel alternative near the river.

Signature moments

Pho bo at 6:30am on an Old Quarter stool, ladled from a broth that has been going since 3am
Bun cha lunch in a smoke-filled Hanoi alley — charcoal pork patties swimming in fish-sauce caramel
Bun bo Hue at Dong Ba market, then royal banh beo in a garden house near the imperial tombs
Cao lau in Hoi An, the noodle locals swear only works with water drawn from the Ba Le well
A dawn banh mi in Saigon and one last bowl of hu tieu deep in Cholon before the flight home

The treasury

$7,000–10,000 for two — economy air from the US (~$2,400–3,000), 11 nights of 4–5-star boutique hotels (~$2,500–3,800), two domestic flights and a Hai Van Pass driver (~$500), and eating spectacularly for pennies; paying cash for business class instead adds roughly $5,000–7,000.

Transfer Chase UR or Amex MR 1:1 to Air Canada Aeroplan and book Star Alliance business — EVA via Taipei or ANA via Tokyo — as an open-jaw into Hanoi, home from Saigon: roughly 87,500 points plus under $100 in fees each way per person (~350k all-in for two, and Aeroplan open-jaws price cleanly). Then move Chase UR to World of Hyatt for the Park Hyatt Saigon at ~25–30k points a night against a $400+ cash rate; pay cash for the inexpensive boutique stays in Hanoi, Hue, and Hoi An where points redemptions are poor value.

Straight talk

Vietnam requires an e-visa for US passports — apply on the official government portal at least three weeks out, and watch for third-party lookalike sites that charge triple for the same document.
Late Feb–early Mar Hanoi runs grey and drizzly — the 'crachin' mist, low 60s F — which is atmospheric at a pho stool but flattens a Ha Long Bay cruise; keep the day-trip choice flexible, and check the lunar calendar, because if the trip brushes Tet the famous stalls close for a week or more.
The great bowls keep street hours, not restaurant hours: Pho Gia Truyen sells out by mid-morning, Bun Cha Dac Kim is a lunch-only affair, and the Banh Mi Huynh Hoa queue is real — schedule the days around eating, not the other way round.
Hoi An's Ancient Town is a crowd crush from about 10am to 9pm as Da Nang tour buses cycle through — do it at dawn and again late; book SE1 soft-sleeper berths and the My Son Sanctuary sunrise slot two to four weeks ahead.

With a small one (●●○ doable with a little one): Vietnamese grandmothers will commandeer your toddler at every pho counter; the 20-plus-hour journey and knee-high plastic stools are the only real tax.

TAKE IT OFF THE SHELFpick your first night above — the dates flow through the whole planPlan this trip →

Hanoi to Saigon — Red River to Mekong · curated by I am the Wanderer