Hanoi, Nha Trang and where else?
 

We currently have 6 nights in Hanoi, then have to be in Nha Trang on 7th day. First night we land really late, so doesn't count. Should I just stay 4 nights in Hanoi + 2D / 1N on Halong Bay tour? Or should I do 2 or 3 nights in Hanoi and go somewhere else before NT? I feel like it's too long for Hanoi but too short to hop to another location.

So your question is, what should you do in Hanoi for 6 days.

Cooking class, food tour, visit museums, tour Hanoi with a local, etc.
You could go Halong Bay as a 1,2 or 3 day trip. Day trip to Perfume Pagoda. Ninh Binh as a 1 or 2 day trip.

You could just cut your visit to Hanoi short and go to Hoi An for 2 days, and then fly Da Nang to Cam Ranh.

If you think 4 nights in Hanoi is too long, you can consider doing a 1 night stay in Tam Coc (Ninh Binh) after Halong Bay.

IMHO, 3 days is plenty in Hanoi (it was too much for us). Do Halong.

2 - 3 days in Hanoi is enough, then 2 days/1 night in Ha long bay. Then it depends how far you want to go down the coast.

You can fly to Da nang and spend 2-3 nights there with a day trip to Hue or 1 night in Da nang and 2 nights in Hoi an.

If you go further south for beach areas there is the Grand Ho tram strip at Vung Tau with a free bus from HCM (2 nights, 1 night HCM) or you can fly to Phu Quoc island 3 nights.

Thanks all.

Dalat is pleasant to pair with Nha Trang. You fly into Dalat, spend a night or two there, then hire a car and driver via your hotel to drive you down the hill to Nha Trang.

Dalat is the true gem of Vietnam in my opinion. I'm just not a fan of Nha Trang at all. I far prefer Quy Nhon because this is the yet undiscovered beach resort in this country. I'm traveling to both Dalat and Quy Nhon in May. Too much of Vietnam is being overdeveloped (such as Hoi An & Danang).

Da Nang, especially the downtown riverfront and the beachfront in My An is an absolute construction zone currently! :o

You could just cut your visit to Hanoi short and go to Hoi An for 2 days, and then fly Da Nang to Cam Ranh.

No more than 3 days in Hanoi, a few in Dalat. Avoid Da Nang, as there are terrible choices for food unless you are nuts for seafood (questionable as it can be full of mercury etc). Saigon is a lot of fun, more night life and better choices of food. Nha Trang is nice as well.

Care to quote your source?
I will be in Da Nang in May and I am planning to hit my favorite seafood shack on the drive by the ocean, and you comment makes me wonder.
Questionable food sources is a problem that seems to hit the local news at least once a month, and it also happened in Ha Noi, HCMC, i.e, basically could be anywhere, not only in Da Nang.

I'm not crazy about Danang (Hoi An has the best food in VN) but you can't fault the seafood. Some people are just not seafood people, and seafood in Asia is quite different from that in the States or Europe.

Durn. I know the choices have probably exploded in the years since I went, but the pho basically prevented starvation back then. That and the cha gio (though IIRC the spring rolls had the thin noodles inside). Also some fruits like rambutan.