At just over 80km from Hanoi (and even closer to Noi Bai airport), Tam Dao is the closest birding destination to the capital city. While it can be done in a day trip, this former French hill station is a popular weekend getaway among locals, and as such it offers a large number of hotels and restaurants. The birding here offers a mix of highland species and migrants, including several hard-to-find targets such as the blue-naped pitta. Nearly 400 species have been recorded here on e-bird.

Birding Highlights: Grey Laughingthrush, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Chestnut Bulbul, Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler, Collared Babbler, Black-chinned Yuhina, Chestnut-collared Yuhina, Indochinese Green Magpie, Spotted Forktail, Green and Purpple Cochoa, Short-tailed Parrotbill, Blue-napped Pitta, Red-billed Blue Magpie, Grey Treepie, Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill. Winter visitors that may turn up here between December and March include Black-breasted, Japanese, Eyebrowed and Grey-backed Thrush and Fujian Niltava.