Everyone tells you to go north to south or south to north, and honestly either works — what matters more is not trying to do the whole country justice in under two weeks. Give it eighteen days minimum, and be ready to cut something.
Where the time should actually go
Three nights in Hanoi, three to four days on the Ha Giang Loop if you're comfortable on a bike (or with a driver if you're not), two nights in Hoi An, a night in Da Nang for the coast, and four or five days easing into Saigon's pace at the end. Skip Nha Trang unless beach clubs are specifically what you're after — it's the one stop I'd cut first.
