West Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam

Explore the biggest freshwater lake in Hanoi

Quick Information

See Map
Best time to visit
Jan - Dec
Ideal Duration
5-6 Days
Visa
On Arrival
Starting from
Rs. 9
  • Adventure
  • Ideal for friends
  • Romantic

About West Lake in Hanoi

West Lake is the largest fixed water body of Hanoi, stretching for over 17 km in its shoreline and an area of 500 hectares within.

A 15 minutes’ drive away from the cacophonous old quarters of Hanoi, West Lake offers a more peaceful and tranquillity alternative to the visitors. Also known as Ho Tay Lake in the local language, this place is an absolute gem of a destination if your goal for the day is to simply soak in the urban fabric of Hanoi and spend time relaxing.

The origin of the lake is shrouded in several folklore and legends and, thus, not really known. One popular legend is the story of the battle between local deity Dragon King Lac Long Quan and a wicked fox spirit with nine tails, whom he had defeated and laid down here where the lake stands. Another one and the more widely believed one is the story of the buffalo calf, which confused the bell of a pagoda with his mothers and ran so fast that his hood created a crater for the lake.

But these are mostly myths. In its actual heyday, West Lake in Hanoi was lined with royal palaces and houses of the elites, and the lake was used as a centre for recreation and relaxation. The second part still remains, but the surroundings have transformed into a more contemporary look with shops, restaurants and skyscrapers around.

There are several West Lake attractions around for a visitor to explore. Vietnam’s oldest temple Tran Quoc Pagoda built in the 6th century as a symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism is located in a small island. Other than West Lake Pagoda Hanoi, Quan Thanh Temple is also there, which is one of Vietnam’s Four Sacred Temples. For refreshment purposes, one can visit the south side for a street-full of the best seafood restaurants and to the northern side for more sophisticated diners.

Cycling around West Lake Hanoi along the beautiful pathways is a very rewarding activity to do here, as a dose of health for the body and the mind, as well as for exploring the area properly.

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Hanoi Packages Reviews

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Gawthami's 5 days trip to Hanoi

I would like to sincerely thank the whole team for helping me throughout the entire journey and making my tour smooth, enjoyable, and truly worth every penny. I'm really happy with all services — everything was well-organized, hassle-free, and exceeded my expectations. Thank you for making this a memorable experiences.Special thanks to Sophie for everything from day one to last day yu have helped me and answered my all queries. ...Cảm ơn bạn... Food was the highlight for my trip.

Gawthami SaliYan Bangalore

Preetika's 8 days trip to Hanoi

One day should be kept completely free at each destination. In our trip half a day was planned, due to daily tours one doesn't get anytime to experience the city by walk and explore. Also last leg ie HCM in my tour wasn't planned as well as Hanoi wnd DaNang, as a result, there was no time to visit CuChi tunnels, war museum etc. it seemed the agent had got tired and didn't prioritise or was not well versed with HCM city leaving these war memorials optional. Ha Long Bay Cruise. Ninh Binh boat ride. Bana Hills, Hoi An Ancient town. Shopping and Hop on Hop Off bus tours in Hanoi and HCM city

Preetika Chawla New delhi

Poorvi's 10 days trip to Hanoi

We booked our Vietnam trip with S Vietnam Trips in May 2025 for 10 days. Right from the day one of raising enquiry on Travel Triangle to the day of finishing trip, Jenna Phuong was very responsive and helped us in every step. She guided us during itenary design phase and also was very patient to accommodate all our customizations. The trip went very well, hotels booked were very good, local tours arranged were also very good. She was reachable through out the trip for any help and guidance. They also assign a local coordinator in each city who was continuously in touch with us through out the trip, guiding us on daily basis. Overall had a very good time, entire trip was memorable, enjoyable without a single flaw. Definitely, we recommend S Vietnam Trips to everyone.

Poorvi Baliga Bengaluru

Sumanth's 10 days trip to Hanoi

We were very sceptical as there were no google reviews for Svietnam but they were professional and gave timely replies to our queries. We had a good trip and would recommend them for good trip MK botique hotel and the staff support was excellent.

Sumanth S Bangalore

Vishal's 7 days trip to Hanoi

We had a 8D7N trip to Vietnam and it was pretty well organised. The itinerary was adjusted and customised according to our needs. We had multiple discussion with the travel agent (Rose Nyugen) for 2 continuous days & she made sure that she answered each and every query patiently. The pricing was decent. And the hotels provided by them were top notch. Rose made sure that she was available 24X7 during our entire tour. Will definitely recommend Vietnam Aurora Travels for your Vietnam trip

Vishal Gore Bengaluru

Vijayasree's 10 days trip to Hanoi

We booked 9 days tour with Bamboohat tours. The tours, stays and pick-ups were excellent. Ms Sophie did excellent job in planning and execution. We'll done. Thanks

Vijayasree Menon Hyderabad

Heer's 13 days trip to Hanoi

Overall it was good. If the travel triangle people were more interactive then the agents… the holiday could be more comfortable. There was lots of confusion where agent forgot to book hotel and was asking us last home to share hotel cost. Miscommunication on billing amount. All this could have been avalided if travel triangle concerned employee was more interactive and involved. I had to ask again and again to her to connect. Ninh binh day trip with Indian food

Heer B Mumbai

Bhavesh's 7 days trip to Hanoi

Trang is an amazing person. She came to meet is on our arrival and explained to us entire trip plan. Also she was sending reminder of schedule every night for the next day. Best part she was available 24hous for us, which make us feel so comfortable. We had really great time and we strongly recommend Golden Footstep for any one planning to visit Vietnam.

Bhavesh Patel Mumbai

Vipul's 10 days trip to Hanoi

Tom was highly supportive. Hotel choices were great and near to markets. Cab was always on time and very clean.

Vipul Patodi Vietnam

Preeti's 7 days trip to Hanoi

Our Trip to PhuQuoc was very well planned as per our requirement.Everything was delivered perfectly as promised.Thankyou for making our trip really memorable.

Preeti Wishup Mumbai

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FAQ's of Hanoi

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Yes, there are plenty of accommodations near Lake Hanoi. But most people prefer to stay in the old quarter and travel by taxi or on foot to the lake.

 

The rental cost depends on how long you will be riding. It starts around USD 5 to 6 for a whole day’s rent.

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