Hanoi Vietnam is a weird, crazy, yet wonderful place that’s rich in culture and history, but is modern, chaotic and touristy at the same time. The city of Hanoi is so intriguing, it’s nothing like we’ve ever experienced before!
We spent 7 days here on our budget honeymoon, seeing, doing and experiencing things that most couples would miss on their Vietnam Honeymoon. There are just so many adventurous things to do in Vietnam while you’re here, make sure you check them out. We’re called the Honeymoon Backpackers for a reason, so here are the nine things we learnt while visiting Hanoi Vietnam.

1. How To Cross The Road In Hanoi’s Peak Hour Traffic!

Hanoi is actually insane, but Hanoi Vietnam during peak hour is next level! I mean there’s lanes and traffic lights, but they’re more of a guide rather than a must. Bikes weaving in small gaps between moving cars, cutting each other off, trying desperately not to get stuck behind someone slow. It’s no wonder motorbike accidents are one of their biggest killers, at least it’s mandatory you wear a helmet right?
Not going to lie, we feared for our lives the first day attempting to cross the road, after almost getting taken out by a speeding motorbike. As time went by we finally managed to figure out how to cross a road and we even found train street in Hanoi!
If you think you can just wait for a break in traffic you’ll be bloody waiting all day. You just have to walk with confidence. We don’t mean walk in front of a moving bike and hope that they don’t hit you. Look for a gap and take it, use your hands to signal where you are going and if you want the bike/car to pass you wave them through.
It felt like an intense real-life video game, dodging bicycles, avoiding motorbikes & running from cars who’re inches from hitting you. If you’re just in Hanoi on a short layover, let’s hope you pick up things quickly! After 3 solid days, we managed to master the art of crossing the road during Hanoi peak hour traffic, hell yeah!

2. Where To Find The Cheapest Beer In Hanoi Vietnam!

Our favourite thing about Hanoi is Ta Hien street’s 5,000d Bia Hoi. In case you’re not familiar with the exchange rate that’s about 22 cents a beer. Thank you beer god!
Bia Hoi is super cheap and easy to drink, although you might need to have a couple more than usual to get drunk. This fresh, local beer is brewed daily & contains no preservatives. No wonder it’s so popular amongst travellers visiting Hanoi… Make sure you add this to your Vietnam itinerary!
You can find this cheap, delicious liquid on Ta Hien street in the Old Quarter. One long road filled with people drinking, eating & having a blast. It’s the main party street of Ha Noi, so by 10 pm you’ll struggle to walk down the street, let alone drive your motorbike through.
We have such good memories backpacking Hanoi with our friends from Australia, we literally sat on tiny plastic stools on Ta Hien street, drinking for 3 hours & it only cost $5!
There’s a mini nightclub along the strip, which is nothing at all like any nightclub back home at all. The music is intolerable & the dancing is cringe-worthy. Yet the sound of PSY’s Gangnam Style somehow drew us inside. We were singing like complete idiots & having dance offs with locals. I think it lasted about half an hour until reality set in, we realised how much the music sucked and how expensive the drinks were. Time to bail!

3. Lockout Laws In Hanoi Vietnam

You lose track of time drinking when backpacking Hanoi, one minute it’s 6pm, next minute it’s 10pm and the police show up out of nowhere. It’s the infamous Ta Hien street shut down.
Shop owners frantically pull their tables and chairs inside, even while you’re sitting down. The police confiscate any furniture they can get their hands on and then leave, all within a space of 2 minutes. About 5 minutes later the tables & chairs are back out on the street & the party continues. At least they tried right?
We continue our loose night out in town at Base Bar around the corner, dancing on tables, breathing happy balloons & downing shots. Just before 1am they pull down the shutter, turn the music off & usher everyone to stay quiet. We were all extremely intoxicated & kinda unsure of what the hell was happening.
A few minutes later the cops walk down the street, pretending not to notice everyone “shhhhhh-ing” each other inside Base Bar. All of a sudden the music is back on & the party continues!
Apparently, the police are paid off by the bars in town & get to drink for free wherever they want. I guess tourism is pretty big in Hanoi & if no tourists can go out after midnight it’ll deter people from visiting Hanoi Vietnam. If you’re here in Hanoi responsible travel is essential! You don’t want to be that disrespectful backpacker or traveller.
Make sure you know the back entrance into your hotel if you plan on partying till late. Every shopfront, hotel and hostel will close its shutters to abide by the citywide curfew. Our poor friend Jess came back to a locked hotel and had no way in. After trying to find help or a way to call the hotel, she finally got inside…an hour later.

4. Riding A bike In Hanoi’s Peak Hour Traffic

Everyone’s been thrown into the deep end once right? You just have to embrace it and hope for the best. At least that’s what we did on our 4th night in Hanoi.
A mate from CouchSurfing offered to show us around. Except he forgot to mention it was by bicycle… and in peak hour traffic.
We’ve never been big fans of riding bikes either. I was a slow learner and didn’t get my training wheels off until I was 7 and retired at the old age of 13. I’ve done a few spin classes at the gym and always wondered why people loved it so much.  Sure, it’s good exercise, but I always left with my vagina hurting more than anything.
Before even getting to the main road I almost crashed into a lady who was walking by… I was scared, but didn’t want to bitch out when Travis was nice enough to A) give up his time to show us around & B) lend us his bikes. So I just went with it and hoped for the best.
You’d be happy to know that we made it through the entire tour without crashing… At least nothing major. Travis pointed out some local places and attempted to give us some insight into the area. But I didn’t actually see much or take anything in because I was so focused on not crashing.
It was nice to take in some “fresh air” around Hanoi. I totally get why everyone wears masks, I probably swallowed a total of 10 bugs and a tablespoon of dirt. I figured this is why people wear the masks but turns out it is just for pollution. If you want to explore the city by bike, I’d suggest avoiding Hanoi’s peak hour traffic.

5. CouchSurfing In Hanoi Vietnam

A great way to meet some fun locals and save some money on accommodation in Hanoi is through Couchsurfing. We slept for 5 days in a model aeroplane, at our hosts’ cafe in Hanoi. Probably the coolest accommodation you’ll find when visiting Hanoi Vietnam and it was completely free! The windows inside the plane lit up and had pictures taken from up in the sky. It’s not your usual honeymoon accommodation, but we’re on our endless honeymoon so we’re always looking for tips to save money.
It was a pretty wicked setup at the Bay Cafe, run by our host’s wife, keeping her busy while he’s away. He travels all over the world as a tour guide, hence the big ass plane at the cafe. It’s also a meeting place for the local English club, giving many university students the chance to interact and practice their English with Couchsurfers. We met some pretty cool people and learnt so much about Vietnamese culture and their way of life.

6. Public Transport In Hanoi Vietnam

We stayed outside the old quarter while visiting Hanoi Vietnam, so we had to master the art of public transport. After 2 days of catching the bus into town, we thought that we had the transport system down pat. Wrong…
We got on our bus where we got off, under the assumption that it did a city loop. Apparently not, we were taken to the bus depot on the other side of town and not only did we have to pay for that bus, but also for the bus back. But hey, things could have been worse.

After yesterdays mishap we thought we were smarter & better equipped. But we still managed to get stitched up….
After getting lost for 20 minutes, we finally reached the bus stop just in time to make one of the last buses of the night. We paid for our ticket and double checked with the girl that we’re on the right but. I knew we were, but she kept shaking her head saying ‘khong’ (no) and at the next stop pretty much pushed us off with another local guy.
We were sitting at this dodgy bus stop, at 10pm at night with shady characters lurking around. One guy tried to convince us to get on this bus, going to the opposite side of the city. Another wanted to charge us a ridiculous amount of money to drive us home on his motorbike, while his friend attempted to open the zipper of my bag that I was clutching tightly. Yea, it wasn’t going well hey.
Thankfully we managed to get on the right bus & navigate our way back without any more dramas.

7. Where To Find The Best Street Food In Hanoi Vietnam

One of our favourite things about Hanoi is the incredible food in Vietnam. Hanoi’s signature dish is Bun Cha and it’s freaking delicious. Pork patties cooked over hot coals, thrown in a soup with papaya and served with salad and (bun) rice noodles.
You’ll also get a good Pho wherever you go too, but you can get that anywhere in Vietnam. Bun Cha is predominately served in Hanoi…You can find it in other places around the north, it’s just not as good.

Did you ever have dinner at a friends house back in school & had to pretend you liked the food, even when you hated it? That’s kinda how we felt at this place when we were taken by a local on a Hanoi street food tour through the Old Quarter. Luckily I was “soo full” from the first place he took us, I only had enough room left for 1 of the weird, fish jerky things. Don’t be deceived by the photo, it wasn’t good at all. The mystery meat was fermented Pork, but it smelt weird and stuck to the leaves on the plate.
We finished off our street food tour with the most delicious coconut ice-cream I have ever tasted and Hanoi’s famous egg coffee (cafe trung). The coffee was delicious, it kinda reminded me of meringue & the strong bitter coffee cut through the sweetness perfectly.
Dylan and James opted for the egg beer, it was the egg whites mixture and a normal beer that you just pour into a cup. The boys gave it a good go considering it was probably just to take the piss out of travellers backpacking Hanoi. For more food inspo check out this article: 10 must try Vietnamese foods or book a Hanoi street food tour, they even have Vegan food tours!

8. The Worst Food You’ll Find In Hanoi Vietnam

You know how we said that there’s so much good food everywhere you go? Well, there’s also a lot of bad food, like really bad food. We sat down at a restaurant to get lunch and noticed the pretty bird cages all around the restaurant. Isn’t it cute that they have so many pet birds! Yeah turns out they’re not pets, but in fact food on the menu… Keen to eat swallow for lunch or what?
You can also eat snake, tortoise, snails, cat, eel, dog & pretty much any other animal you can think of. Most local places prepare their meals on the side of the road, it’s interesting to watch. Whether it’s grilling meat over hot coals, cutting veggies, roasting a dog on the spit or skinning frogs on the side of the road.

I’ll never take for granted an English menu again. Most authentic non-touristy food places don’t have a menu let alone anything in English. Sometimes you just have to point to something and hope for the best.
We thought we were doing okay ordering food with the little Vietnamese we know. Next minute our table is full of 6 dishes that I’m pretty sure we didn’t order & a whole chicken, head, feet and all.
If you think that you’re going to get a knife & fork to eat your food, think again. They use chopsticks and spoons, but that’s about it. If you can’t use chopsticks, you’ll learn quickly otherwise you’ll be going all caveman and eating with your hands. To avoid eating dog or other strange animals, check out our Vietnamese food guide!

9. Organised Chaos In Hanoi Vietnam

Hanoi is so chaotic, yet organised at the same time. If you want to paint, there’s a whole street selling paint… Yep, every single shop selling the exact same thing. The city has dedicated streets for everything you need, food, clothes, welding, pottery, it is pretty impressive how well organised it is.
It baffled us that people would want to be selling the same thing as their competitor next door? Turns out they’ve been doing this for over 1000 years in the old quarter! Still, to this day artefacts are sold according to their category in the designated streets. The roads are named ‘Hang’ which means merchandise followed by the artefacts they sell.

We loved our time visiting Hanoi Vietnam but only really scratched the surface of what it has to offer. From getting lost in the chaos, drinking 22c bia hoi, & sucking in happy balloons… If you plan on visiting Hanoi Vietnam for your Vietnam Honeymoon, check out our guide! Inspired to visit Hanoi? Here are the top things to do in Hanoi Vietnam. Perhaps you are on your honeymoon travels and want to share your story? Contact us for your chance to be featured on the biggest emerging honeymoon blog on the internet, Honeymoon Backpackers. Check out our Honeymoon Chronicles with stories, experiences, tips and advice from real couples who’ve visited the best honeymoon destinations on a budget!

Make sure you check out our honeymoon travel guides. If you’d like us to plan a customised honeymoon itinerary, contact us.
All opinions remain writer’s own. The content of this website is subject to copyright. For more information, please refer to our copyright & disclosure policy.
For all media, advertising and feature inquiries email monique@honeymoonbackpackers.com