Hanoi Trip Report

We stayed in Hanoi in January for 5 nights and I would like to thank everyone for their postings on Trip Advisor. There is so much information available that I was able to book our trip to Thailand and Hanoi with the confidence that I would get what I expected from hotels, restaurants and flights etc and I was not disappointed in any way. I researched our trip for the best part of 12 months and if I wanted answers to any questions I might have I always found them on Trip Advisor. Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply to postings.

We stayed at Elegance 2 hotel on recommendations from Trip Advisor. The hotel was as everyone had described and the staff were really friendly. I would have no hesitation in staying there again.

We had arranged a full day tour with Hanoi Kids before we arrived in Hanoi. Two of them turned up at our hotel at 9.00 am prompt as arranged.

They were both fantastic guides and what we noticed most was their enthusiasm and pride of Hanoi whilst explaining everything to us and ensuring we were enjoying ourselves.

They took us to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, museum and stilt house, the One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature and lots of other temples, including West Lake Temple and Hoan Kiem Lake.

I told them I would like to visit the museum of Ethnology the following day but on checking my guide book found that it is closed on a Monday.

They suggested we went to the pottery village instead and after making a quick phone call they said they had arranged for a ? day tour to Bac Trang pottery village the following day with another member of Hanoi Kids.

The following day were met at our hotel by another 2 Hanoi Kids. We took a taxi to the pottery village which was very interesting. After lunch at the pottery village we were asked if we wanted to go somewhere else or return to our hotel. I said we had only booked a ? day tour but if they didn’t mind taking us somewhere else we were quite happy to go with them. It was suggested we went to a local market. I can’t remember the name of the market but it took a while to get there as our taxi driver kept taking the wrong turning. It was an enjoyable afternoon and the locals found us amusing because they were all wrapped up against the cold and we were walking round in T shirts. I don’t think they get many westerners at this market.

We got back to our hotel at 5.30 pm. It was a long but very enjoyable day and again both the girls were fantastic guides and their enthusiasm is great.

I heard about Hanoi Kids on Trip Advisor and I must admit I thought there would be a catch because no one does anything for nothing any more. However there was no catch whatsoever and we had 2 fantastic days with 4 brilliant Hanoi Kids. The only cost to us was taxi fares, our entrance fees (the “Kids” had free passes) and lunch for us all.

They were all so welcoming and friendly and not only did they want to share their knowledge of Hanoi with us they were genuinely interested in our culture and hobbies. I asked them on both days if we could give them a donation but they all refused saying they were volunteers.

I would definitely recommend Hanoi Kids as tour guides.

We went to the Water Puppets which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We booked an overnight trip to Halong Bay through our hotel on Blue Paradise Junk. It was a new junk and we had a deluxe cabin with a balcony. As there were only 12 of us on the tour we had lunch and dinner served to us instead of having a buffet lunch and dinner which we much preferred.

It was very good and I must say it was one of the highlights of our trip. The scenery is stunning and after the hectic pace and noise in Hanoi it was so peaceful too.

We ate at the Green Tangerine which is quite expensive by Hanoi standards but the food was very good.

We also ate at the Tamarind which was opposite our hotel. We are not vegetarian and thought the food here was excellent and would recommend eating here.

Hanoi Trip Report

Thanks Sue

We go in October and we will be using Hanoi Kids. A very good and informative report thanks for posting it

Hanoi Trip Report

We just back back from our trip to Hanoi. My recommendation will be Elegance 3 instead since I have stayed with them. Also, we booked our 3D2N trip to Halong Bay on Paradise Cruise through the hotel and it was wonderful. It is low season and there are only 5 people on 2D1N cruise and my companion and I on the 3D2N cruise. We also had fine dinning instead of buffet. It is a bargain since it felt like we had chartered the whole cruiser at group rate.

Also, I will NOT recommend the Hanoi City tour as the guide do not explain the background informations on the sites. FYI, I have booked through the real Sinh Cafe but they seemed to sub contracted us to other agencies. I regreted not giving Hanoi Kids a try instead.

We ate at Club Oriental. The food and the service is good but too expensive. It will be better to spend the amount at Ngan instead.

Lastly, beware of cab scams.

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