Hanoi

Hanoi runs on the street: a thousand-year-old capital where you eat bun cha on a plastic stool in the Old Quarter and the traffic flows like water.

It is also the launchpad north, to the limestone river country of Ninh Binh, the rice terraces of Sapa, and the switchback passes of the Ha Giang loop.

Fly into:

• Noi Bai International HAN

Sleeper buses and the overnight train carry you north, Hanoi to Sapa runs 20 to 35 EUR; a rented motorbike (10 to 15 EUR a day) is the way to ride the mountain loops if you can handle one. In the city, the Grab app gets you a bike or a car in minutes.

Hanoi eats on the kerb: pull up a plastic stool for bun cha at noon and hunt down an egg coffee in a tucked-away upstairs cafe. Take the night train or sleeper bus north so you wake up in the mountains, and only rent a motorbike if you can genuinely ride one.

Best in Spring

Spring: warm around 20 to 28C in the lowlands, cooler in the mountains, and mostly dry.

• a lightweight rain jacket for mountain weather
• broken-in shoes for trekking and city walking
• quick-dry clothing for the humidity
• a small backpack for the loops
• a power bank for long road days