The best-known excursion from Hanoi is to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Halong Bay around four hours away. The bay has thousands of limestone islets rising up from the sea, many of them containing spectacular caves, a few of which can be visited. The journey to Halong Bay and a boat trip can be done in a day but the best way to experience the bay and to see floating villages is to spend a night on a boat.

Closer to Hanoi, around 65km (40 miles) southeast of the city, is the Perfume Pagoda, a delightful series of pagodas and Buddhist shrines in a natural setting of forest streams, lakes and grottoes. The Perfume Pagoda itself is reached by boat and a steep path.