Where to go for New Year's Day around Hanoi?

Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc

Located nearly 80 km from Hanoi, Tam Dao is a familiar destination for adventurous young people, with its steep and winding mountain roads. Tam Dao attracts visitors with its beauty always shrouded in mist, its cool weather, and its fresh air.

Regarding transportation, you can use cars, buses, or motorbikes, which are popular choices among young people who enjoy backpacking. Traveling to Tam Dao by motorbike also helps you save on transportation costs and gives you more freedom in your schedule. However, you should only go to Tam Dao by motorbike if you are a confident driver, as the road has many downhill sections, which could lead to brake failure on a scooter.

Besides its pristine mountains and forests and time-worn architectural structures, Tam Dao also boasts a climate that experiences all four seasons in a single day, much to the delight of many tourists.

Tam Dao also boasts countless Instagrammable spots such as the stone church, the Heaven's Gate, Silver Waterfall, Cloud Bridge, Tam Dao National Park, Truc Lam Tay Thien Zen Monastery... Or, if you want to immerse yourself in nature, you can trek to Rung Rinh Peak, a pristine primary forest and mountain peak that remains very unspoiled. Located 20 km from the town center, within Tam Dao National Park, trekking to Rung Rinh Peak attracts adventure enthusiasts and offers a thrilling feeling upon successfully conquering the steep slopes.

Hai Phong Food Tour

Visiting Hai Phong for a food tour has always been a popular choice, especially among young people. From Hanoi, tourists can choose to travel by train, which takes about 2 hours. Once in the city center, you can rent a motorbike for 100,000 - 150,000 VND per day.

To save time and experience many dishes at once, visitors can choose to visit one of the famous "culinary paradises" such as Cat Bi Market, Co Dao Market, Chu Van An Market, or An Duong Market. Here, you will find many Hai Phong specialties such as sea snails, beef skin, and rice cakes, all available at each stall.

With its coastal location and numerous beautiful islands, Hai Phong boasts an enormous abundance of seafood. The local cuisine is quite distinctive, especially appealing to those who love snacks. Some of the delicious dishes of Hai Phong include Hai Phong crab noodle soup, crab spring rolls, baguette sandwiches, avocado ice cream, red rice noodles, spicy fish noodle soup, chrysanthemum tea... and countless other famous and attractive dishes.

Besides the rich culinary scene, tourists can also take photos at many destinations. During a 3-day trip, visitors can check in for beautiful photos at Hai Phong train station, the "I am a Hai Phong resident" wall on Tam Bac pedestrian street, the city theater, the city museum, and more.

Dong Mo Tourist Area

New Year's Day is the ideal time to visit Dong Mo to immerse yourself in nature after stressful working days. Located more than 40 km from Hanoi, the vast Dong Mo tourist area offers a very fresh atmosphere. And especially, it's a stark contrast to the noisy and bustling atmosphere of Hanoi.

Dong Mo is divided into three main areas, with Phuong Island featuring a row of stilt houses and tall trees, making it ideal for team building or camping. Here, you'll find all the necessary services such as tent and campsite rentals, campfire facilities, and barbecue equipment, so you don't need to prepare too much. Additionally, Son Tinh Camp, located deep within the primeval forest, offers many exciting outdoor activities like Tarzan swinging, boating, raft racing, and statue painting.

Another special feature is that visitors can visit the Vietnam Ethnic Culture Village. This is a vast complex that replicates the unique architecture of the villages and hamlets of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups. Not only can you explore typical structures, but you can also learn about the culture of each different ethnic group in a very interesting way.

Visiting the Ethnic Minority Cultural Village, you're sure to find some amazing photo opportunities. The structures here include traditional communal houses from the Central Highlands, ancient Khmer temples, and especially the Thap Ba Tower, similar to the Thap Ba Ponagar Tower in Nha Trang city.

Moc Chau

With the 3-day New Year's holiday, Moc Chau is an ideal destination for exploring the highlands, especially during the season when plum blossoms blanket the landscape in white, attracting many tourists to admire them.

In addition, during the New Year holiday in Moc Chau, tourists can participate in festivals and rituals of the local people, especially folk games. Although these events don't take place as frequently or last as long as the Lunar New Year, people still organize games like pao throwing, spinning tops, football, and playing musical instruments during this time.

Besides enjoying traditional ethnic dishes, visitors can also sample local specialties such as stir-fried veal, stream fish, "piglet carried under the arm" pork, smoked wild buffalo meat, and "nậm pịa" (a type of fermented fish paste).

In addition, tourists can visit and check in at famous locations such as: Pha Luong peak, heart-shaped tea hill, Dai Yem waterfall, Ban Ang pine forest, Love Glass Bridge, Moc Chau plateau, Na Ka plum valley...

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao