Northern Vietnam · Day tour
Hanoi City & Craft Villages
Ten and a half hours out of the Old Quarter: an incense village and a conical hat village in the countryside south of the city, then the Temple of Literature, Tran Quoc Pagoda and Train Street on the way back.
- Length
- Full day
- Approx. 7:15 AM – 5:30 PM
- Pick-up
- Hanoi
- From your hotel
- Guide
- English-speaking
- Group or private
What you see
The day in short
Everything below is covered by the programme. The order can move with the traffic and the weather; the list does not.
Where it goes: Hanoi
Highlights
- Quang Phu Cau incense village, where the drying bundles are stood up in red fans across the yards
- The incense itself: preparing, colouring, drying and bundling, shown by the people who do it
- Chuong village and the nón lá, with a workshop where you decorate your own and take it home
- A Vietnamese lunch at a local restaurant, with a vegetarian option
- Train Street and an egg coffee as the train comes through
- Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest Buddhist pagoda in the city, on its islet in West Lake
- The Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first national university
- Photo stops at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and St Joseph's Cathedral
Hour by hour
The running order
Approx. 7:15 AM – 5:30 PM. These are the timings operations work to; your guide confirms the pick-up the evening before.
Want it privately?07:15 AM
Pick-up at your hotel in the Old Quarter. If you are staying outside it, we meet at the Opera House.
08:45 AM
Quang Phu Cau incense village: the workshops, the drying yards, and how the sticks are prepared, coloured and bundled.
09:45 AM
Back on the road, across the rice country to Chuong village.
10:10 AM
Chuong village and its conical hats: how they are made, who still makes them, and a workshop to decorate your own.
11:10 AM
The hour's drive back into Hanoi.
12:15 PM
Lunch at a local restaurant. Vegetarian on request.
01:15 PM
The Temple of Literature: the architecture, and the nine centuries of Confucian schooling behind it.
02:30 PM
Tran Quoc Pagoda on West Lake.
03:10 PM
Train Street, and an egg coffee while the train passes a few feet away.
03:40 PM
Photo stop at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex.
04:40 PM
Photo stop at St Joseph's Cathedral.
05:00 PM
Dropped back at your hotel in the Old Quarter, between five and half past.
What's included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off in the Hanoi Old Quarter
- Air-conditioned vehicle, small group
- English-speaking guide
- All entrance fees on the programme
- Village access and permission fees
- Lunch at a local restaurant, vegetarian on request
- The conical hat workshop, and the hat you decorate to take home
- Bottled water
What's not
- Personal expenses and drinks at lunch
- Anything not on the programme
- Tips for the guide and driver
- Public holiday and Lunar New Year surcharges, quoted with your trip
Before you book
- The villages are a real drive out — about ninety minutes down and an hour back — which is what buys you countryside rather than a city loop.
- Shoulders and knees covered at Tran Quoc Pagoda and the Temple of Literature.
- The mausoleum is a photo stop from outside the complex on this day, so its Monday and Friday closures make no difference to the programme.
- The order of the stops can change with weather, traffic or opening hours. The full programme is still covered.
- Tell us about allergies or dietary needs when you book and the restaurants on the route are briefed.
The route
- 1Quang Phu Cau Incense Village
- 2Chuong Conical Hat Village
- 3Temple of Literature
- 4Tran Quoc Pagoda
- 5Hanoi Train Street
- 6Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
- 7St Joseph's Cathedral
Map is schematic and not to scale for travel times.
Our own camera roll
From this day
Good to know
Questions
Do we actually make something, or just watch?
At Chuong you decorate a finished nón lá in a workshop and keep it — that is included. The incense village is a working one rather than a class: you see the whole process and the artisans will talk you through it, but the drying yards are their livelihood, not a studio.
How much of the day is in the vehicle?
Roughly two and a half hours in total — ninety minutes out to Quang Phu Cau in the morning and about an hour back from Chuong before lunch. Everything after lunch is inside the city.
Is the incense village worth it if we are not photographers?
The colour is the obvious draw, but the craft holds up without a camera: it is one of the last villages still making incense at scale, and the workshops are open to walk through.
Where does pick-up happen?
From your hotel in the Old Quarter, or the Opera House if you are staying further out. Give us your hotel name and address when you book and we will confirm a time the evening before.
Can this run as a private tour?
Yes. Every excursion here can run privately with your own guide and vehicle instead of joining a group. Tell us how many of you there are and we will quote it.
Can we combine this with other days?
Yes — most guests string two or three of these together, or add them either side of a multi-day journey. Send us your dates and we will lay them out in a sensible order.
Book the Hanoi City & Craft Villages
Give us your dates, your hotel and how many of you there are. We confirm availability the same day and pick you up from the door.