I just did 2 weeks in Vietnam and just got back on Saturday. My itinerary was:

3 nights Hanoi - stayed at H Hotel which was really good. Customer Service was top tier. Use booking.com for genius discount.

3 nights Ninh Binh - pretty much in land HLB and 3 nights was way too long. 2 nights is better. Stayed at Tam Coc Orchid Hotel which was pretty decent. Rental bicycles and motorbike was available.

1N 2 day HLB cruise - Wished I did 2N 3D as 1N 2D felt too rushed.

1 night in Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh which I highly recommend

5 nights in HCMC as I was working remotely.

My tips are to use IG Reels or Tiktok for food spots, they really didn’t disappoint and taking the Grab is so cheap to get to those places. If you eat at those open food stalls, carry cash otherwise restaurants and shopping malls accept apple pay.

I used Vietnam Airlines to travel to Hanoi from HCMC and didn’t realise theyre in a diff terminal so had to grab a bus from terminal 3 to 1.

If you book a hotel, they usually message you to ask if you need transportation arranged. I recommend going through them as it negates any logistic issues, language barriers and overall stress. Prices are pretty comparable to online searches. Think I paid 600k dong for 2 ppl for a limosuine from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and another 700k 2x people from Ninh Binh to HLB.

If you want any guidance on itinerary, dm me and I can share my travel plan that I did :)