Things to do in Northern Vietnam
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Hanoi Old Quarter: Private Street Food Walking TourYou’ll follow a local through Hanoi’s Old Quarter, weaving between food stalls and street corners packed with history. Taste bun cha on plastic stools, sip egg coffee by Hoan Kiem Lake, laugh with your guide — all with pickup included so you don’t have to worry about finding your way home.
Halong Bay & Lan Ha Cruise: Kayak, Caves, Cooking & PickupYou’ll float through Lan Ha Bay’s quieter waters with a local guide, kayak into hidden lagoons, try your hand at Vietnamese cooking, and wake up to Tai Chi as mist drifts over limestone cliffs. Full meals and hotel pickup are included—so you can just show up and let yourself drift for a while.
Hanoi Half-Day Tour: Old Quarter, Train Street & MausoleumYou’ll wind through Hanoi’s Old Quarter with a local guide, stand quietly at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, taste sticky rice cakes in Dong Xuan Market, and sip egg coffee as trains roar past on Train Street. This half day tour lets you feel Hanoi’s pulse up close — sometimes loud and messy but always alive.Is it for me?Book this tour if you have a half-day in Hanoi and want a guide handling the route, timing and entry logistics—the private car and fixed itinerary mean you skip the navigation and see the main sights without arranging transport separately.
Hanoi Cooking Class: Garden Villa, Pho or Bun Cha & Egg CoffeeYou’ll slip into a quiet Hanoi villa to cook your favorite Vietnamese dish side by side with local women who share family stories as you go. Savor every step—from wrapping herbs to sipping creamy egg coffee—and leave with new flavors (and maybe a few laughs) you won’t forget soon.
Hanoi Jeep Tour: Train Street, Hidden Gems & Hoan Kiem LakeA 2-hour Jeep tour through Hanoi in a Vietnam People's Army vehicle, led by an English-speaking guide who takes you past Long Bien Bridge, Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter to Train Street and hidden local spots. Pickup from your hotel or a meeting point in Hoan Kiem is included; the tour stops for egg coffee at a café made from recycled materials and includes water, rain ponchos and all entrance fees.Is it for me?Book the summer option (April–October) if you want the tour during the warmer months, or the winter option (November–March) for cooler weather and lower humidity. Both follow the same route and stops; the difference is the season you experience Hanoi in. The Jeep is open-air, so the season shapes how the ride feels.
Pottery Class in Hanoi Old Quarter: Make on Electric WheelA 3-hour pottery class in Hanoi's Old Quarter where you work on an individual electric wheel, guided by a professional potter from Bat Trang ceramics village. You make as many pieces as you want, choose one to glaze in your preferred color, and pick it up the next day or two after firing. The class runs mornings (8:30–11:30) or afternoons (14:00–17:00) at a studio in the heart of the Old Quarter, steps from Ho Guom Lake and local coffee shops.Is it for me?Book the morning slot if you want the class done early and the rest of the day free to explore the Old Quarter and Ho Guom Lake. The afternoon session works if you sleep in or prefer to spend your morning elsewhere in Hanoi. Either way, plan to return 2–3 days later to pick up your finished, glazed piece—or arrange white-glaze firing in 1–2 days if you're leaving sooner.
5-Day Ha Giang Loop & Cao Bang Tour: Dong Van Karst PlateauA 5-day guided motorbike tour of Ha Giang and Cao Bang, Vietnam, where you ride the Ha Giang Loop and explore the Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Geopark with a local guide and easy rider. You stay in homestays, eat family dinners, and visit the northernmost point of Vietnam, Ban Gioc Waterfall, and the 400-year-old Khuoi Ky Stone Village. The tour includes all entrance fees, helmet and rain gear, and a dorm bed at the starting hostel the night before departure.Is it for me?Book this tour if you want to ride through remote mountain passes and stay with families instead of hotels—the homestays and local guide mean you're not passing through these villages, you're eating and singing karaoke inside them. The fixed itinerary and included transport, meals and fees mean the five days hold together without you building it.
Hanoi: Private Museum Tour, Hoa Lo Prison & Tire Sandal WorkshopYou’ll walk through Hanoi’s big historical sites with a local guide who brings real stories to life — from Ho Chi Minh’s simple stilt house to the haunting cells of Hoa Lo Prison. Try making tire sandals if you’re up for something hands-on, or dive into powerful exhibits at the Women’s Museum. Expect moments that stick with you long after you leave.
Ninh Binh Day Trip: Trang An Boat, Hoa Lu & Village Bike RideYou’ll share tea with a Vietnamese family in Tam Coc, cycle past rice fields and karst peaks, taste local dishes for lunch, float by boat through Trang An’s caves, and explore Hoa Lu’s ancient temples with a guide who brings stories to life. It’s a day full of small moments that stick with you long after you’re back in Hanoi.
Ninh Binh: Sampan Boat, Hoa Lu & Mua Cave Day TripYou’ll glide through Ninh Binh’s lush paddies by sampan boat, wander ancient Hoa Lu temples with a local guide, climb Mua Cave’s 500 steps for wild views over Tam Coc, and share lunch in between. Expect moments of quiet beauty — and maybe a little sweat on those stairs.
Hanoi: Full-Day City Tour with Local Lunch & Hotel PickupYou’ll join a small group for a full-day Hanoi city tour led by a local guide who brings every site to life — from Tran Quoc Pagoda’s lakeside calm to Hoa Lo Prison’s stark stories. Enjoy traditional Vietnamese lunch and wander historic spots like the Temple of Literature and One-Pillar Pagoda before returning to your hotel with new perspectives.
Ha Giang Loop: 4-Day Motorbike Tour & Homestay with Ma Pi Leng PassYou ride a motorbike through Vietnam's northern mountains for four days, staying in homestays and eating local food cooked by families in the villages you visit. The tour includes Ma Pi Leng Pass, Lung Cu Flag Pole, a swim in Du Gia waterfall, all meals, private room accommodation, and pickup from Hanoi. You're back in the city by afternoon on day four, in time to catch an evening bus or arrange onward travel.Is it for me?A good fit if you want to see the Ha Giang Loop's main passes and villages without arranging transport, accommodation, or meals yourself—the four-day structure and included homestays mean you're traveling at a steady pace with time to walk through villages and swim at the waterfall, which is what makes the experience feel less like sightseeing and more like moving through the landscape with someone who knows it.
Hanoi: Walking Food Tour & Train Street Small GroupYou walk through Hanoi's Old Quarter with a local guide, stopping at 5–8 family-run eateries and street stalls to taste phở, bún chả, bánh cuốn, spring rolls, and egg coffee. The tour includes a visit to Train Street, where trains pass through the neighborhood, plus cultural context on the area's 36 craft guilds and daily local life. Hotel pickup and all food and drinks are included; the group stays under twelve people so the pace stays manageable and the guide can accommodate dietary needs.Is it for me?Book this if you want to eat what locals eat without spending the morning figuring out which stalls are safe and which dishes are worth trying — the guide's knowledge of the neighborhood and the small group size are what make it possible to taste real food at a real pace.
Halong Bay Cruise: Overnight Kayak, Caves & Floating VillagesYou’ll drift through Halong Bay’s limestone towers by kayak, wander echoing caves with a local guide, share fresh meals on deck, and wake up surrounded by misty water far from Hanoi’s noise. Expect real moments: laughter with locals, tired legs after island hikes, salty air in your hair — it stays with you long after you leave.
Hanoi Jeep Tour Led By Women: Long Bien Bridge & Red RiverA half-day Jeep tour of Hanoi led by a woman guide, departing from Old Quarter hotels or the Opera House, that takes you across Long Bien Bridge, past Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Temple of Literature, through narrow alleys to Huu Tiep Lake where a 1972 aircraft wreck sits in a quiet neighborhood, and ends with lunch at a family-run eatery and egg coffee at a café that has served it since 1946. The tour includes hotel pickup, a professional guide in English, lunch, and a helmet; it runs four hours and suits all fitness levels.Is it for me?If you're staying in Hanoi's Old Quarter or near the Opera House without a car, the pickup settles the logistics—the guide arrives at your hotel, and you don't navigate the city's traffic yourself. The Jeep's size and the guide's knowledge of narrow alleys mean you reach neighborhoods and stories a larger tour bus cannot access, which is what makes the difference between seeing Hanoi and understanding how it works.
Hanoi Old Quarter: Vegan street food tour with local guideYou’ll taste up to ten different vegan dishes across Hanoi’s Old Quarter, wander tiny alleys with a local guide, hear stories of language and history, and share laughs over sugarcane juice or fresh beer—moments you’ll remember long after the trip.
Bai Dinh and Trang An day tour from Hanoi: Pagoda and karst cavesA full-day guided tour from Hanoi to Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An Landscape Complex, with hotel pickup, lunch and an English-speaking guide. The itinerary pairs the largest Buddhist pagoda complex in Vietnam—a pilgrimage site for devotees across the country—with a 2.5-hour boat journey through the karst terrain, caves and waterways of Trang An. The day runs 11 to 12 hours.Is it for me?Book this tour when you want to see both a major religious site and a dramatic natural landscape in a single day without arranging transport or timing the stops yourself—the guide and fixed schedule handle the route, and the boat ride through Trang An is the part most travelers cannot easily access on their own.
Ninh Binh Day Trip from Hanoi: Hoa Lu, Tam Coc & Mua CaveYou get picked up from your Hanoi hotel and driven two hours to Ninh Binh, where you climb 500 steps for a panoramic valley view, explore three temple levels carved into a mountain, drift through limestone caves on a slow boat, and cycle through a rural village. Everything—transport, guide, meals, and all entry fees—is handled. Plan for a full day out from early morning to early evening.Is it for me?Right for travelers based in Hanoi who want to see Ninh Binh's main sites in one day without arranging transport or timing themselves. The early start and full itinerary mean you cover four landmarks in a single push, which is what makes the distance manageable and the day complete.
Sapa: Motorbike Day Tour Waterfalls, O Quy Ho Pass & VillagesYou’ll ride twisting mountain roads past waterfalls and tea gardens on this Sapa motorbike tour, stop for lunch with Black H’mong villagers in Lao Chai, walk up to Silver Waterfall’s roaring spray, and cross terraced valleys dotted with waving kids and water buffalo—a day full of raw mountain air and real moments you’ll remember long after.
Tam Coc Boat Ride Ninh Binh: Private guide, no crowdsYou're picked up at your Hanoi hotel and driven two hours to Ninh Binh with a private guide. You walk the ancient temples of Hoa Lu, take a sampan through cave grottos (Tam Coc or Trang An), bike through a countryside village, climb 500 steps to a mountain view, and eat a Vietnamese lunch with all entry fees covered. The car drops you back in the evening on your schedule.Is it for me?A good fit if you want to see Ninh Binh's main attractions in one day without arranging transport, entry fees or timing yourself — the private guide and car mean you move at your own pace and choose between Tam Coc and Trang An. Plan for a full day out, roughly 10 to 12 hours from pickup to dropoff, which is what fits all three sites and the mountain view into one trip.
