1

9 days possible? Maybe. But I would not try it.
Enjoyable? Almost certainly not.
Memorable? Yes, but only for all the rushing about.
Slow down. Do some of it this time and do more of VN next time

For the last part Ha Noi to HCMC it would have to be plane. And there are regular daily flights.

2

It's a bit of a squeeze, you probably won't have more than a day left for Saigon by the time you get there. There are flights to Saigon from Dong hoi near the the national park there info is at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dong_Hoi_Airport

For Sapa, you take the overnight train there (stay at least 1 night in sapa), then the same again when you come back you'll be arriving in Hanoi at 5am have your Halong tour trip ticket purchased beforehand so you catch that tour bus at 7:30am or so to Halong bay.

Or if you have money you can just arrange a private tour for the Halong bay/ninh binh/phong nha trip

3

Ya currently wont go to south vietnam. Will go there next time. So it will be north vietnam only this time. Changed plans to Hanoi>Sapa>Hanoi>Ha Long Bay>Ninh Binh province
If we have time we might try to go to Phong Nha-Ke Bang park but most probably that wont be possible.

What and how would be the best way to go to Ninh Binh? Also after I reach Ninh Binh can I go from there to Phong Nha Ke in a train since it's pretty far.

I hope this will be a more memorable and enjoyable experience.

@battambang
Interesting point about purchasing the bus ticket to Halong before hand. Is it because it is hard to get tickets to halong otherwise? We weren't sure how long we would stay in Sapa...

4

Ha Noi to Ninh Binh:
Train schedule
scroll down

5

Thanks a lot guys.

Also is it possible to go from Sapa (Lao Cai) to Halong Bay or do we have to got to Hanoi first?

Also what is a good cheap hotel in Hanoi close to the airport?