Hanoi in Half a Day: Temples, Lakes and Old Quarter Life with a Local Guide

See Hanoi the way locals live it: a thousand-year-old university, a temple on a lake, and the lanes of the Old Quarter where each street once sold one trade. Your Hanoi-based guide will show you how the city works, not just what it looks like. We pick you up at your hotel in central Hanoi by private van. First the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum area and the One Pillar Pagoda (from outside), then the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, founded in 1070. Next, Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on its red bridge. We finish on foot through the Old Quarter's guild streets, with a stop for egg coffee or iced tea where locals drink it (own expense), and drop you back at your hotel. Included: private air-conditioned van, English-speaking local guide, entrance fees, bottled water. Not included: meals and drinks, tips. Good to know: about 3 km of easy walking. Please cover shoulders and knees for the temples. Runs morning (08:00) or afternoon (13:30), and works well on arrival day after an early flight.