Hanoi Full Day Private Tour: History, Cyclo Ride & Water Puppets
A day that moves between monuments, a cyclo seat and a puppet stage
A private full-day tour of Hanoi with an English-speaking guide, hotel pickup and Vietnamese lunch included. The itinerary strings together the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and its gardens, the 11th-century One Pillar Pagoda, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (or Temple of Literature on Mondays and Fridays), and a lacquer workshop where artisans work in front of you. After lunch, you board a cyclo to circle the French Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, stop for coffee at train street, and finish with a water puppet show: a folk art form invented in the 11th century. The tour runs 8 to 10 hours and returns you to your hotel by 5pm.
Step-by-step itinerary
Explore Hanoi's history and culture
- Pick up and start trip
- Visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and garden
- See One Pillar Pagoda
- Explore Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
- Visit Lacquer Workshop
- Enjoy Vietnamese set-menu lunch
- Take cyclo ride around French quarter
- Have coffee at train street
- Watch water puppet show
- Return to hotel
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off.
- private vehicle for the full day.
- English-speaking guide.
- entrance tickets to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and gardens, One Pillar Pagoda, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (or Temple of Literature on Mondays and Fridays), lacquer workshop and water puppet theatre.
- cyclo ride through the French Quarter.
- Vietnamese set-menu lunch.
- bottled water throughout the day.
Times
- Every day 08:00
Before you book
Operated by Vietnam Stunning Travel
Prices and times updated 3 days ago
Traveler reviews
The experience
The day starts at 8am with pickup from your hotel. The first stop is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where you walk the grounds and see the two houses where he lived and worked between 1954 and 1969 (on Mondays and Fridays, the mausoleum itself is closed, so the guide takes you to the Temple of Literature instead, Vietnam's first university). From there you move to the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th century in the shape of a lotus flower and recognized for its singular architecture. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology comes next. It documents the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups across the country, their customs and traditions, and the way people live across different regions.
Before lunch at 12:30, you visit a lacquer workshop to watch craftsmen at work. They use natural materials and hand techniques to produce fine art pieces, and you see the process unfold in front of you. After a Vietnamese set-menu lunch, the afternoon shifts to movement and smaller moments. You board a cyclo, a three-wheeled taxi pedaled by hand, and ride through the French Quarter, passing the Cathedral, Opera House, the Sofitel Metropole hotel and circling Hoan Kiem Lake. A stop at train street follows, where you sit for coffee in a narrow alley lined with old railway tracks. The day closes with a water puppet show, a Vietnamese folk art form that dates to the 11th century and uses puppets moved across water by puppeteers hidden behind a screen. By 5pm, the driver takes you back to your hotel.
Your guide speaks English throughout, and all entrance tickets are included in the price. You travel in a private vehicle, so the pace and stops are yours alone. Bottled water comes with you for the day.
Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want a private guide and vehicle so the pace stays yours. You move between monuments, workshops and performances without coordinating with other travelers or managing your own transport. The itinerary mixes major historical sites with hands-on moments: watching artisans work, riding a cyclo through narrow streets, and sitting for a folk art performance, so the day holds both learning and movement.
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Top questions
Can children come?
Yes. Ticket types: Child (5 to 9 years); Infant (under 5): free.
What happens if it rains?
It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.
Can I visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on any day of the week?
The mausoleum itself is closed on Mondays and Fridays. On those days, the tour visits the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, instead, while you still walk the Ho Chi Minh gardens and the two houses where he lived and worked.
What does the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology show?
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology focuses on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups across the country. You get an overview of the people, their customs and traditions, and how different communities live.
Is the cyclo ride through the French Quarter included?
Yes, the cyclo ride around the French Quarter, Hoan Kiem Lake, the Cathedral and Opera House is part of the afternoon activities included in the tour price.
What time does the tour start and end?
The tour starts at 8am with hotel pickup and returns you to your hotel by 5pm. The full day runs 8 to 10 hours depending on how the stops unfold.
Hanoi Full Day Private Tour: History, Cyclo Ride & Water Puppets
8h–10h · EN · at your hotel
from US$ 160 per person
Next, you choose your date and number of travelers and see the final price.