The short answer to your question is no, it’s usually not that rainy. But since rain is a natural phenomenon you can not be 100% sure.
I’ve been to Hanoi during October twice, and both times I’ve seen no rain at all. Last time I was there I spent 5 days shopping and sightseeing. Highlights were Trang An and Halong bay, please scroll down and see some videos.
Hanoi in October Itinerary
First Day- Hanoi and Its Craziness
After landing in Hanoi around 11 am I got to the Old Quarter at around 2 pm. After checking in and taking a quick shower it’s time to go out and explore.
If you’ve never been to Hanoi in October or on any other month, here’s what the city is like, it was hot by the way. The title of the video is in Spanish, it means: visiting the old quarter
The traffic never stops. If you stand there waiting for the traffic to completely stop so you can cross well…that’s not how it works in Hanoi, you kind of have to just throw yourself into the chaos carefully.
Activities for the afternoon include:
- Buying souvenirs
- Having a drink by the lake
- Go shopping for anything you want
- Silk, fake backpacks, jackets and shoes
- Have dinner, it can be at a fancy restaurant or a stall by the lake
- Go into one of the many coffee houses
- Sit by the lake
Tip* Don’t forget to buy a sim card so you can use Google maps. Take a look at the following pics, swipe left or right.
For dinner (high-end dining) , you can go to green tangerine, one of the most recommended restaurants in town.
I was there during the first week of October and I was able to sit outside and have a really nice dinner, I’ll talk a bit more about restaurants later.
Second Day of Hanoi in October- Trang An
Okay, Trang An is not part of Hanoi but is super close and is one of the most popular tours from Hanoi. It’s all about exploring new places when traveling right? Trang an definitely will blow your mind.
Tours to Trang An are usually paired with a visit to Bai Dinh Pagoda, you’ll be picked up from your hotel and at the end of the day, they’ll take you back. It also includes lunch.
I booked through my hotel and they charged me 50USD, I saw signs on the streets- from tour operators- offering the tour for as low as 30 USD, is up to you how to book it.
Here’s a video of the one day trip to Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An, Hanoi in October, not a single drop of rain during the day.
For this tour, you’ll usually be picked up around 8 am and then the tour bus will drive around the old quarter picking up some more guests. You’ll then drive for around 2 hours- bathroom stop included- till you reach the location of Bai Dinh Pagoda.
You can see Bai Dinh Pagoda in the last 2 minutes of the video above and I’ll also leave some pics here, swipe left or right, you’ll also see how sunny it was during october.
While Bai Dinh temple is beautiful, I’d say the highlight of this tour is Trang An. October can get very very sunny, so don’t forget to wear light clothes and carry sunglasses and a hat with you.
The Trang an boat ride takes around 2 hours, in my humble opinion, that’s 30 minutes too long, if you can bring a little cushion to sit on, the ride will be a lot nicer.
Trang An is so worth it.
As I mentioned, this tour includes lunch, but it wasn’t anything memorable, we stopped at this all you can eat buffet restaurant where there were many MANY other tourists.
I got back to the old quarter around 7 pm, after taking a quick shower it was time to go back outside to look for pho and spring rolls. I was looking forward to Cafe Nola, but when I got there it was very creepy, I think it’s better if you go in the morning.
So I opted for having dinner at a nearby restaurant called Duong Restaurant Ma May Hanoi. The food was really good and worth the price. They have some really good spring rolls.
On my way back to the hotel I got some souvenirs and bought some shoes too. I got some crazy cheap Adidas, I’ve been wearing them for the past 3 weeks and they’re still holding up quite alright.
Third Day- Going to Halong Bay
This might be the best part of your short stay in Hanoi, joining a 2 days 1-night tour to Halong Bay. Prices for this range between 90 USD to 175 USD per person depending on the kind of cruise you want to be on.
There are tour operators offering these tours all over the old quarter, and your hotel most likely can also help you book if you wish. Here’s a video I made about Halong Bay.
This is usually how the first day goes
- Pick up at your hotel/hostel around 8:00 am
- Drive for 4 hours to the port
- There’s a souvenir and snacks stop on the way
- You arrive at the port around midday
- You’re taken to the cruise by boat and check-in
- Lunch is served
- Rest for 1 hour
- Meet to go kayaking around the bay, visit a pearl farm and back to the ship
- Meet for drinks on the deck
- Hang out on the deck and watch the sunset
- Have dinner
- Go up to the deck and watch the stars
Fourth Day- 2nd Day on Halong Bay
The day begins with a Yoga class at 8 am, unless you drank too much last night. After Yoga, you can have breakfast for an hour and then make 1 last exploration stop at a cave.
Once you get back to the ship you’ll have to gather your things and check out, the ship will start making its way back to the port, you’ll still enjoy one last lunch onboard.
Once you’re back on land you’ll be taken back to your hotel in the Old Quarter.
You’ll arrive at the Old Quarter around 6 or 7 pm, just in time for dinner, then again you can choose to go and explore the night markets or pay a visit to one of the most famous restaurants in town.
Essence Restaurant
The food was definitely tasty and the presentation was Instagram worthy. This restaurant is part of the Essence Hotel, if you happen to stay there then all you’ll have to do is go downstairs and eat.
After dinner, you can go and walk around the old quarter and make some final souvenirs or clothing shopping.
Fifth Day- Time to Leave Hanoi
So this is the day to say goodbye to the beautiful and chaotic Old Quarter of Hanoi. I’d recommend you to get up really early in the morning and go stroll around while there are still not that many motorcycles around.
You’ll get to see a more peaceful and calm side of the small traditional city, scenes of people cleaning the streets, preparing food, people running, and some nice Vietnamese ladies selling flowers on their bicycles.
Depending on the time of departure out of Hanoi, you might still have time to have lunch, if not, then its time to pack your bags and go.
There are two things I want to put some focus on, the first one is, how expensive is it to eat in the nice restaurants of the Old Quarter?
Nice Dining in the Old Quarter
Green Tangerine
If you make a Google search for the best restaurants in Hanoi, Green Tangerine for sure will show up in the results. The ambiance of the restaurant is nice, the food is good and the service is great.
You can make a reservation through their website or through Facebook. Getting there using Google maps is very straightforward.
This restaurant is definitely on the expensive side of Hanoi’s prices, but how much is it? Take a look
In USA dollars that is 73USD. Food was more than enough for 2 people and included a glass of wine and a beer.
Duong’s 2
The serving sizes here were bigger than Green Tangerine’s, everything tasted great, their spring rolls are to die for. If I had to choose between Green Tangerine or Duong’s, I’d definitely go for Duong’s.
Here’s what a nice dinner for 2 will cost you.
In USD that would be a total of 54USD.
As you can see, with those 2 examples, eating in fine restaurants in Hanoi is definitely pricey if you compare it to the more popular food at the markets or local shops. It’s up to you to decide which kind of experience you’d like to have.
The second point I want to focus on is fake products and other goods shopping.
Buying Fake Goods in Hanoi
You see those Adidas shoes up there, and the north face bag and rain jacket, well they’re fake, I mean they have to be.
- Two pairs of shoes: 43USD
- The North Face bag: 11USD
- The North Face Rain Jacket: 15USD
To be honest, they look like the real thing, I’ve been wearing one of those pairs of shoes for around a month now and it works just fine. If you’re on a long trip through Southeast Asia Hanoi is a good place to buy any extra backpack or shoes you might need.
If you want some magnets as souvenirs, you’ll spend around 5 USD for 6. If you want some coffee, you’ll spend around 10 USD for a box of 10 units.
Where to Stay in Hanoi
I’ve talked about this in other posts, for example
And my answer will always be, the Old quarter, now there are many many options to stay in at the Old quarter. The one hotel I always stay at is Hotel L’heritage, the prices are very affordable and the location is great, you’ll be 10 minutes away from the lake.
You can use Booking.com to make your reservations, I’ve used many times over the past 5 years and I’ve never had a single issue.
Conclusion
Visiting Hanoi and surroundings during October is fun, so don’t be afraid to book that flight and that hotel and go have fun.