03 May 2022
Lovely couple that run this tour agency but unfortunately they sell tours that are very disappointing. After booking a tour and paying through Airbnb, they advised the tour wasn’t actually on and tried to push us onto another. We ended up agreeing as we wanted to see some of the countryside surrounding Hanoi. They promised a luxury minibus but unfortunately we were picked up in a shabby big bus that didn’t have aircon! Lol. Two tours had been blended together to save the tour company money so 22 of us were crammed in. It was a good group and we all laughed at the cheekiness of these dodgy tour operators as Vietnam reopens to tourism. We dropped the first group at the pagoda while we drove another hour to the old capital only to have to rush because we needed to get back to the pagoda to pickup the other bunch. By this stage (1pm) we’d been on the bus since 7am and spent 45 minutes being a tourist. Lunch was one of those ‘restaurants’ where the food is waiting on the table and it looks like leftovers. In Vietnam you can get great pho or local food for VND 50,000 but the slop they served us for lunch was very unappealing. Even worse luck if you’re a vegetarian! Nobody of the group of 22 thought the meal was any good. Things got worse with the tour guide (Li Li?) not speaking passable English and not being able to coordinate with the bus driver for drop offs, making people late for other commitments. The countryside around Hanoi is beautiful but don’t go on this tour; hire a driver or taxi for the day and see it properly. This tour was overpriced and underwhelming.