Eat: 38 restaurants
Sleep: 39 hotels
Shop: 28 venues
See: 17 sights
Play: 24 venues- Loading ...
Weather
Winter (Nov-Feb) is generally cool and dry, with temperatures between 10-15°C (59-68°F). Spring (Feb-Apr) is warmer, but accompanied by constant drizzle which can start to wear a bit. Summer (May-Sep) is blatantly hot (30-36°C; 86-97°F) and sticky with the occasional devastating typhoon. Autumn (Sep-Nov) however, sees sunny, often perfect weather.
Health & safety
Don't forget to pack your earplugs - Hanoi is a noisy city. Hanoian's, like all Vietnamese, start stirring around and if your room happens to be near the street you'll be disturbed by a morning chorus of motorbikes and shouting. In the evening, the fun police tend to wind things up by .
Visas
People of all nationalities require a visa to enter the country, and while Vietnamese bureaucracy is legendary, completing the visa application is pretty painless. You'll need at least one passport-sized photo to accompany the visa application. Tourist visas are valid for a single 30-day stay and enable you to enter and exit the country via any international border (make sure to specify this when arranging your visa). Depending on where you acquire it, prices for single-entry tourist visas cost around -. Cambodia, where your visa application can be processed on the same day, is the most convenient place in Southeast Asia to get a Vietnamese visa. Bangkok is another popular place, as many travel agents offer cheap packages including both an air ticket and a visa. If you plan to spend more than a month in Vietnam or travel overland between Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, it's possible to get a three-month multiple-entry visa. These are not available from all Vietnamese embassies but can be picked up for in Cambodia and for in the USA.
When to go
There is really no bad season to visit Hanoi. The city offers countless attractions that can be seen year-round, and the climate is generally agreeable. Tourist season runs from late June through August and October through Tet, the New Year's celebration that takes place in late January or early February. Though accommodations and transportation are bound to be booked around Tet, it's worth making the effort to see Hanoi dressed up for the festivities. Vietnamese tend to travel in the summer and around Tet, making public transportation that much more difficult to book.
Introducing Hanoi
Hanoi personifies the spirit of historic Vietnam in the temples, monuments and pockets of ancient culture along the narrow streets of the Old Quarter, yet perfectly reflects the rapid changes sweeping the country as Hanoian yuppies sip cappucinos in roadside cafés and compare cell phones.
