Start the day with pickup at your Old Quarter Hanoi hotel between 8am and 8:30am, then begin the 2.5-hour trip to Hoa Lu in a climate-controlled vehicle. Upon arrival in Hoa Lu, you’ll visit the two temples that remain from Hoa Lu’s time as an imperial capital. Explore sites built by the Le and Dinh Dynasties, atmospheric temples that evoke Vietnam’s grand, pre-colonial culture.
Pause for lunch at a local restaurant, then continue towards Tam Coc. Board a row boat along the Ngo Dong River, exploring the water-carved limestone caves along the way. This is the heart of the Trang An Landscape Complex UNESCO site, and traveling by river gives you especially dramatic views of the cliffs that erupt from the flat valley bottoms, lush rice paddies, and mountains.
Return to shore for an hour long bike ride through the villages and rice fields that surround Tam Coc, taking quiet roads that offer a serene experience of life in the Vietnamese countryside. Meet the driver at the end of the bike ride, and begin the return trip to Hanoi. This 10-hour tour concludes with drop-off at your hotel.
