Hanoi travel guide for Muslim travellers

Halal food Hanoi

Batavia Halal restaurant 

This is the truly Indonesian Halal restaurant own by Pak Rizal & Cik Hera, serving Authetic Indonesian cuisine like Daging deng deng, Ayam Sates, Beehoon goreng... Restaurant can accompany 100 customers a time with space and warm atmostphere.

Cuisine : (Indonesian & Vietnamese cuisine)

Menu : Rendang, Sate, Sate Ayam, Nasi Goreng, Gado-gado, Sop Iga, Sop Buntut, Oxtail Soup, Ikan Bakar, Ayam Penyet, Mie Goreng, Masakan Padang, Masakan Bali, Masakan Sunda, Masakan Jawa, Jajanan Pasar, Bakwan Jagung, Pastel, Risoles, Tahu Isi, Martabak Sapi, Dadar Gulung, Kelepon, Martabak Manis

Service options : Dine-in · Takeaway · Delivery

Address : 116 P. Ngọc Hà, Ngọc Hồ, Ba Đình, Hà Nội

Open : 9 Am

Closes : 10 PM

Phone : 02439382525

Namaste Restaurant 

One of Indian cuisine options should be Namaste Halal restaurant, Owner is an Indian living in Hanoi for long time, Very first person bring Indian cuisine to Hanoi, Restaurant located at Hoan Kiem district very near central, With spacous & warmly atmosphere Namaste has received thousand good feedback from Tripadvisors customers and facebook

Cuisine : (Indian Cuisine)

Menu : Soup, Kebabs , Curry, Salads, Raita...

Service options : Dine-in - Takeaway - No-contact delivery

Add : 46 P. Thợ Nhuộm, Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

Open : 11 Am -> 2 Pm

Closed : 5 Pm -> 10 Pm

Phone : +84904224400

D'lion Restaurant 

Located at 92 Le Duan street, Dlion restaurant serving authetic Malaysian, Singaporean and some Vietnamese cuisine, With more than 5 year expererience restaurant serving Solo Muslim travellers or Muslim tour group, Special menu at restaurant should be Crab with chili Singaporean style, Daging randang, Ayam Sates, Nasi lemak & Vietnamese Halal Pho

Cuisine : (Malaysian,Singaporean & Vietnamese cuisine)

Service options : Dine-in · Takeaway · Delivery

Add : 92 Đ. Lê Duẩn, Văn Miếu, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội

Open : 10 Am

Closed : 10 Pm

Phone : +84983109292

Hanoi Hotels for Muslim Travellers

Melia Hotel

The first options is Melia Hotel – This is 5 star luxury hotel located at Hanoi central serving Halal breakfast and Halal meals

Add : 44 Ly Thuong Kiet Street – Hoan Kiem district – Hanoi

Phone : +842439343343

Website : www.melia.com/vi/hotels/vietnam/hanoi/melia-hanoi

Room rates : From 130 USD/room/night

Sunway Hotel

Very first 4 stars hotel in Hanoi serving Halal food to Muslim customers, Hotel located at Hai Ba Trung district, little far from Hanoi central, Sunway hotel Hanoi belong to Sunway hotels group belong to Malaysian, Hotel own a Halal restaurant serving authentic Vietnamese cuisine

Add : 19 Pham Dinh Ho Street – Hai Ba Trung district – Hanoi

Phone : +842439713888

Website : www.sunwayhotels.com/sunway-hanoi

Room rate : From 70 USD/room/night

Cosiana hotel 

This is 3 star hotel located at Dong Da district, not very central but easy to walk to Hoan Kiem lake, serving authentic  Singaporean Halal meals and buffet breakfast this has archieved good reviews from Muslim travellers travelling to Hanoi

Add : 92 Le Duan Street  - Dong Da district – Hanoi

Phone : +8424394299292

Website : www.cosianahotel.vn

Room rate : From 40 USD/room/night

Others recomendation hotels 

I - Top best hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi  

1 - Viola Royal Hotel & Spa - 3* hotel

2 - The Hanoian - 3* hotel

3 - La Siesta Premium Hang Be -top hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi

4 - Golden Sun Palace Hotel - top best hotels to stay in Hanoi Old Quarter are

II - Top luxury & 5 stars hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi 

1 - The Oriental Jade Hotel & Spa - top 5 star hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter

2 - Apricot Hotel

3 - Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi - top-rated hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi 

4 - Mövenpick Hotel Hanoi

III - 4 star hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi

1 - The Light Hotel 

2 - L’Heritage Hotel

3 - Anatole Hotel Hanoi - top best 4 star hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter

IV - Boutique hotels in the Old Quarter Hanoi 

1 - The Chi Boutique hotel

2 - Hanoi La Siesta Hotel Trendy

3 - O’Gallery Premier Hotel - top boutique hotels in Hanoi Old Quarter

Ha Noi is Vietnam’s capital city. Located by the banks of the Red River and in Northern Vietnam, Hanoi is the second-largest in the country by population apart from Ho Chi Minh. Ha Noi is an old city. Hanoi is the connecting city to interesting sites in North Vietnam such as Halong Bay, Sapa, Ninh Binh, Hai Phong, etc.

It is also one of the most famous tourist attractions in Vietnam. Hanoi is on a great location facilitating to become an important economic, political, cultural, social, and scientific centre of Vietnam country.

How Hanoi Is Special?

Hanoi 36 streets, the name has come to the subconscious of many people with the most simple simplicity. They have names like Hang Mam, Hang Non, Hang Duong, Hang Muoi, etc which represent the main goods traded here. The old town has a very unique feature of the city, where the bustle is crowded. It always crowded but still retains the traditional cultural values from the thousands of ages of the land of the period.

Each street gathers workers from the famous craft villages around the ancient Thang Long citadel. Plus it turns each street here into a miniature village in the heart of Hanoi.

Top Things To Do In Hanoi

1. Take A Stroll In And Around Hanoi’s Old Quarter

Hanoi Old Quarter is an interesting area for a traveller to discover. With its French colonial architecture and many tree-lined boulevards and alleyways, it is an exciting place to explore on foot and have street food at night. Walkthrough the most popular attractions like Hoan Kiem Lake, Hoa Lo Prison, and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Especially, with a guide, you can walk inside the Old Quarter to see the real-life and small and very narrow house and roads of Hanoian.

2. Ha Long Bay Cruise With Overnight

Most companies and cruises start the tour from Hanoi to Halong Bay. Therefore, staying at a hotel in Old Quarter driver will pick up you at your hotel for the trip. The Halong Bay trip from Hanoi should not miss when you come here. According to the time, you can choose 1 day or 2 or 3 days in Halong Bay. There are also many choices for an overnight cruise trip to this famous place.

3. A Day Trip To Tam Coc Cave Or Trang An Grottoes

With a short time, visitor can choose 1 day to Ninh Binh 100km away from Hanoi to visit Tam Coc cave or Trang An grottoes. Have a boat ride along the Hoang Long River surrounded by rice paddy fields and Limestone Mountains to get the beautiful scenery in Tam Coc. You can reach the complex system of caves and Limestone Mountains and temples in Trang An. Reach Trang An, there is another option for discover King Kong Skull Film scene with ethnic village remain here.

4. Water Puppet Show

The water puppet show is the special of Hanoi. It is a unique art of Hanoi and Vietnam. It will be a miss when visiting Hanoi without a water puppet show enjoyment. There are some theatres for choose such as Thang Long water puppet theatre near Hoan Kiem lake or within Ho Chi Minh museum. You will enjoy an hour-long performance of water puppets reenacting Vietnamese folktales and legends while accompanied by a live orchestra.

5. Duong Lam Ancient Village

Address: Duong Lam Village, Son Tay Town, Hanoi, Vietnam

Far from Hanoi city about 50 km, Duong Lam Ancient Village is the unique ancient villages in Hanoi. The village is the unique laterite museum for the mossy ancient houses for over 400 years old. It is the museum for the rural lifestyle and agriculture village. There are many ancient houses remains as original as well as traditional craft and career keep here. It makes a wonderful time to explore the countryside and old values of Vietnam

6. Bat Trang Ceramic Village

Address: Bat Trang, Gia Lam District, Hanoi

Bat Trang traditional ceramic village is a tourist attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. It is 60km from Hanoi city centre.

Bat Trang shows products in different shapes and styles. The price here is quite reasonable thanks to family companies. Travellers come here to buy their favourite ceramic products. Visiting this ceramic village, travellers can take part in many entertainment activities such as riding a buffalo vehicle to visit the village.

7. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Located on Hung Vuong – Dien Bien Street, this is the place to keep the remains of President Ho Chi Minh. In Hanoi, everyone wants to visit Uncle Ho’s mausoleum once. Besides, there is Ba Dinh Square where Uncle Ho read the declaration of independence giving birth to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Here you can also visit the Ho Chi Minh Museum where keep a lot of Uncle Ho’s memorabilia. It is a very interesting sightseeing spot for those who first come to Hanoi.

8. Tran Quoc Pagoda

It is situated in Thanh Nien Road in the eastern shore of West Lake and has a history of about 1400 years. Tran Quoc pagoda is the oldest temple in Hanoi city in particular and in Vietnam in general.

The construction of this pagoda started in 541 and completed in 545 under the reign of the King Ly Nam De on the bank of the Red river. At the first time, the pagoda was named as Khai Quoc meaned National Founder.

The pagoda is considered as a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism where worshipping Buddha and other famous characters.

Among the collection of pagodas in Hanoi, you cannot ignore this pagoda when visiting Hanoi.

9. Temple Of Literature

Dubbed as the first university in Vietnam, Temple of Literature is not only a famous Hanoi historical monument but also a place of the quintessence of previous feudal historical periods and preserving the traditional values of Vietnamese soil.

Today, the Temple of Literature – Quoc Tu Giam is also a place for organizing poetry festivals. The place to praise outstanding and excellent students and a famous tourist attraction attracting a large number of domestic and international visitors. At the same time, this is also a rendezvous for “please calligraphy” of the people of Hanoi in the traditional Tet holidays. With the wish of a peaceful new year or in important exam seasons of the country with the successful faith of the “scholars.” ”.

10. West Lake

West Lake is located in the Northwest of Hanoi inner city with an area of about 500ha, the road around the lake is nearly 20km long. This is the most romantic corner in the colourful picture of Hanoi, the world of clear winds, liberal and poetic. West Lake is not only a fun place in Hanoi that attracts visitors but it also contains national cultural values.

Around the lake are now more than 20 temples, pagodas have been ranked with many famous monuments with many valuable documents such as more than 100 steles, 165 couplets, 140 diaphragm, nearly 20 ancient bells, 60 deities, over 300 bronze, wood and stone statues.

11. Hoa Lo Prison Museum

Visiting Hoa Lo Prison is a moving experience. This old internment facility used to be named the Hanoi Hilton. This prison was used to house prisoners during the war between the United States and Vietnam.

Right in No 1 Hoa Lo Street, Hoan Kiem District, visiting the prison it shows you a part of Vietnam history clearly.

12. The Ethnology Museum

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology or The Ethnology Museum in Hanoi offers an insight into the 54 different ethnic groups of Vietnam. It is for an effort to preserve cultural heritage and promote socio-cultural diversity within the country. Just visiting the museum, visitors can see the vast research on offer at this public museum. And it is also a centre for ethnographic research.

Infact, the Museum was constructed on the land of 9,500 square meters, around 8 kilometers from the city centre. It took 10 years for the construction finish from 1987 to 1997.

13. National Museum Of Vietnamese History

The museum was built between 1925 and 1932. This architecturally impressive museum was formerly home to the École Française d’Extrême-Orient. Its architect, Ernest Hebrard, was among the first in Vietnam to incorporate a blend of Chinese and French design elements.

The Vietnam National Museum of History has the French architectural style. It is one of the most attractive museums in Asia. It contains a large collection (40,000) of valuable objects depicting Vietnam’s history of construction and defense.

14. The Vietnam Woman’s Museum In Hanoi

Being one of the famous museums in Hanoi, Vietnam Women’s Museum was built in 1987 with the mission of spreading the public knowledge of Vietnamese women. It is also for the devoting to gender equality in Vietnam.

Moreover, it is being run by The Women’s Union of Vietnam that is well known as one of the most dynamic organizations. The museum finished in 1995 and has been successfully displayed 25,000 artifacts, photos and items with regards to Vietnamese Women contemporary life and cultural customs. At this museum, it is also chosen to hold a number of formal exhibitions such as Ao Dai which is the traditional dress of Vietnamese women or artworks about ethnic minorities.

15. Thang Long Imperial Citadel

Thang Long Imperial City is one of oldest cities in the world. Factually, Hanoi certainly has its own way to stand out from fellow Southeast Asian cities. Thanks to the rich culture, Thang Long Imperial City reflects as one of the most ancient historical sites.

The large central sector of Thang Long Imperial Citadel of Hanoi was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010

Location: Next to Ba Dinh Square, opposite the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and also near the Vietnamese Presidential Palace.

16. The Fine Arts Museum Of Vietnam

The Fine Arts Museum of Vietnam is on 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi city. Just across the street from the Temple of Literature, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum is easily to visit from afar. It attracts a lot of tourists both domestic and foreigners thanks to the collections of artifacts, but also in both art architecture and historic buildings

This building was built in French colonial where was the living space as a Girl School for Indochina high-ranked officers since 1930s. In 1966, it officially became Vietnam Fine Arts Museum where store many of Vietnamese artistic essences.

The museum displays not only paintings, ceramics and lacquers created by modern Post-war artists but also many of its contents date back as far as pre-historic and feudalism time.

Unfortunately, many of the art work found here are replicate, for the original has by and large been destroyed during Viet Nam war. It is worth heading here after you have visited the Temple of Literature. Guided tours in English and French are available at entrance door.

In 1966, The Fine Arts Museum of Vietnam first opens to welcome tourists. The area is 4,737 sqm while the display area is around 3,000 sqm.

17. Ngoc Son Temple

Located in the northern part of Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple is one of the most notable Hanoi Temples, and one of the city’s most-visited. Also known as the Temple of the Jade Mountain, it was initially built in the 18th century (though has underwent many renovations) on a small islet that is steeped in myth and legend. Walk through the famous The Huc Bridge with red color, Ngoc Son temple is dedicated to three national heroes. They are the General Tran Hung Dao who is celebrated for defeating the Mongols in the 13th century; La To, the patron saint of physicians; and the scholar Van Xuong.

Walking around Hoan Kiem Lake and then make a visiting to Ngoc Son temple it is the perfect time in your walking trip to Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter.

18. Al Noor Mosque Hanoi

Early 19th century, traders from India and the Middle East went to North Vietnam to purchase fabrics and exchange currency. There were about 1,000 Indians in Indochina. They were wealthy merchants and held large market share of silk and cloth. In Hanoi, they concentrated in Hang Dao Street, Hoan Kiem district today. To meet the religious needs, in 1885, the Indian community from Bombay (now Mumbai, India) raised money to build the Al Noor Mosques, now the only Muslim Mosque in Hanoi.

Officially put into use in 1890, the mosque was quite small, with an area of about 700 m2, but the place of worship was built in the typical Islamic style, with a dome, the curved doors and the pinnacle.

Prayers Time:

Iquama: +10mn after adhan.

Fajr: 04:55 AM; Sunrise: 06:12 AM; Dhuhr: 11:44 AM; Asr: 2:52 PM; Maghrib: 5:14 PM; Isha: 6:27 PM.

The Holy Friday

Mass time: 12.30 PM

Friday is the feast day of the spiritual life of Muslims. On this day, they wear traditional costumes with round hats on top and go to the mosque to pray. This activity is not absolutely required, but if in a radius of less than 30 km from the mosque, the faithful should go to pray.

When Is The Best Time To Visit Hanoi?

When should we go to Hanoi? Hanoi is located in the tropical humid monsoon climate. So there are two distinct types of weather: hot, humid, rainy in summer and dry, cold in winter. Travelling to Hanoi is always beautiful in any season. Each season has its characteristics.

In particular, autumn tourism in Hanoi (from early September to the end of November) is the most beautiful, this is a pretty cool period, no sunshine is very convenient for sightseeing. Of course, coming to Hanoi in the winter is also very interesting, feeling the cold, enjoying the typical dishes is also a very attractive suggestion.

How To Get To Hanoi City?

Same as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi is the biggest and the most important in North Vietnam.

Hanoi has Noi Bai international airport therefore, all flights to Vietnam have in this airport. It is 45 minutes from the city centre.

By Flights

International flight: There are many different airlines have a flight to Noi Bai airport. It is easy for travellers to reach Vietnam by Hanoi first as well as end tour in Vietnam from Hanoi city.

Airlines within Vietnam country: Vietnam airlines, Jetstar Airlines, Vietjet airlines.

Airlines from foreign countries: Airasia, China Southern Airlines, Asiana airline, Eva airlines, Qatar airline, Korea Airlines, American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Turkish airlines, Russian airlines, Cathay airlines, Angkor airlines, Laos Airlines, Singapore Airlines, etc.

Domestic flight: Airlines within Vietnam country: Vietnam airlines, Jetstar Airlines, Vietjet airlines.

It has flights every day at different times.

By Private Transport

If you are staying in Vietnam already, you can travel to Hanoi city by private car. With a short distance from the province around Hanoi in North Vietnam, this is the best way to travel to Hanoi. Although it is the most expensive transport, you can flexible time and have stopover en route as your arrangement.

By Train

There are trains from North to South and vice versa. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are the main ones for these trains. Trains leave daily according to each time.

Hanoi has two train stations. Travel from North to South and vice versa, it is Le Duan street train station. Another is Tran Quy Cap train station for travel to Lao Cai.

Train schedule you travellers can reference at this link to have the plan of in and out Hanoi city. There are main cities stops along with the country. http://giotaugiave.vr.com.vn/, http://www.vr.com.vn/en

By Open Bus Or Public Bus

The sleeper bus leaves Hanoi daily. Most buses stop in big cities along with Vietnam.

For example Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Vinh – Quang Binh – Hue – Danang – Hoi an -Nhatrang – Dalat – Ho Chi Minh City or vice versa.

The convenient of the open bus can pick up at some hotels and bus company address is in the city centre which is easy for the traveller to come to travel. As for the public bus, a traveller must go to the bus station for the book ticket and travel.

How To Travel Around Hanoi City?

By Grab/Bee  : It is cheap and convenient. You can choose to Grab ride from Noi Bai International airport to Hanoi Old Quarter around 13 USD each way. The same for Bee

By taxi : There are many taxies in Hanoi city. You can wave a taxi everywhere. The recommend you choose a reliable taxi company to travel so that you can avoid not a good one. The famous companies are Mai Linh taxi (0243 838 38 38), Taxi group (024.38.26.26.26)