Village Discovery

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Head out of the city to explore the surrounding villages and learn about the crafts that are their livelihoods. Visit villages known for their ceramic, wood carving, lacquer, statue or furniture making skills. Learn the secrets of their trades, meet the locals and enjoy lunch in one of the villages. There's also the opportunity to visit a traditional communal house.

Highlights:

Wander through a pottery making village.
Explore a traditional Vietnamese "community house"
Saviour lunch in a local restaurant
Venture through North Vietnamese countryside

Tour style:Local Life & Culture, Heritage & History
Inclusion:

English speaking guide, Entrance fees as indicated, Transport as indicated, Meals: 1 lunch.

Exclusion:

Items of a personal nature, Tips or gratuities for drivers or guide.

Group size:Maximum 12
Schedule details:

Duration: 8-9 hours
Meeting point:
Pick up centrally located hotels in Hanoi.
Start time: 8.30 AM-9.30 AM
Finish point:
Drop off centrally located hotels in Hanoi.

Additional information :

Voucher exchange details:
Please present your voucher to the local guide at the beginning of the tour.
Confirmation of booking:
Please contact Hanoi Urban Adventures to confirm your tour 24 hours prior to departure.
Dress standard:
Dress standards are conservative throughout Asia, especially outside major cities. To respect this and for your own comfort, we strongly recommend modest clothing. This means clothing that covers your shoulders and knees. Loose, lightweight, long clothing is both respectful and cool in the predominantly hot Asian climate.
Child policy:
Children must be between 6 years and 11 years of age inclusive.
Language: English

Also runs from:1 Apr 2012 to 31 Mar 2013

Itinerary:

Our Hanoi tour begins with a 1 hour drive from the hectic capital of Hanoi to Bat Trang ceramic village. Here our local guide will take us through the production process in the village, we have a chance to visit the workshops and have a look at the kilns used for firing the ceramic pottery.

Continuing we visit the community house of Dinh Bang (approximately 45 minutes). Traditionally all villages in Vietnam had a "community house" in the centre of the village, it was where all decisions regarding the village were made, it connected everyone to the village and was the core of Vietnamese culture. With few "communal houses" remaining in Vietnam today, the Dinh Bang communal house provides us with an interesting insight into Vietnam's past, and something you must see on your Hanoi travels.

Not far from the communal house lives a family who make lacquer ware. Our local guide will assist us in learning more about the process and translate for those of us who may have questions for the family, a special experience you won't find on other Hanoi sightseeing tours.

Our next stop is the Do Temple to experience some local Hanoi history. Do Temple or Den Do Temple honours the 8 Ly emperors of the Ly Dynasty. During their reign Vietnam experienced an era of prosperity and independence. The first emperor of the dynasty Ly Cong Uan founded Hanoi in 1010. Other achievements during this enlightened period included the construction of the Temple of Literature and first University in Vietnam. The temple was built in 1030 by Emperor Ly Thai Tong to worship his father Emperor Ly Thai To who died in 1028. Over the centuries the temple has been upgraded and restored on a number of occasions. Unfortunately the temple was damaged in 1952 during the French war and was restored in 1989 to the original architecture from the 17^th century.

In the middle of a lake situated at the front of the temple there is a two story, eight roofed house which floats on water and is used as a stage for water puppet shows. On March 15^th each year there is a festival honouring the 8 emperors of the Ly dynasty - Ly Thai To (1009-1028), Ly Thai Tong (1028-1054), Ly Thanh Tong (1054-1072), Ly Nhan Tong (1072-1128), Ly Than Tong (1128-1138), Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175), Ly Cao Tong (1175-1210) and Ly Hue Tong (1210-1224).

We head the small township of Tu Son for lunch. The restaurant has simple dishes for us to choose and is all genuine local food. Sampling some local village dishes is a real special Hanoi travel experience.

Following lunch we visit the village of Dong Ky, a traditional wood carving village. Our Hanoi cultural tour takes us through a beautiful rural setting of rice paddies with plenty of opportunities to stop for photo opportunities. We will be dropped at the beginning of the village for our visit, our local guide will take us through the village to meet the people, learn about their craft and lifestyles.

We return to Hanoi by private vehicle as we finish our Hanoi tour experience.

Your trip:

This tour is offered on a "join-in" basis. Maximum group size is 12.

Tipping:

If you are happy with the services provided by your local guides and drivers a tip - though not compulsory - is appropriate. While it may not be customary to you, it is of great significance to the people who will take care of you during your travels, inspires excellent service, and is an entrenched feature of the tourism industry across many Intrepid Urban Adventures destinations. Please consider this when budgeting for your extra expenses on this tour.

Cancellations made more than 2 days prior to travel receive a full refund
Cancellations made 2 days or less prior to travel attract a 100% cancellation fee.

Hanoi Urban Adventures

The Hanoi Urban Adventure team are passionate about their city. Each of our Hanoi tours will show you different aspects of our country, different corners of its streets, unique insight into our home communities and much more! Come see the best of Hanoi and its surrounds with us.

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18°C
Feels like: 18°C
Drizzle. Fog. Mild.

Responsible Travel with Urban Adventures

Wherever we go in the world, we take a responsible attitude with us. That means travelling in a way which both respects and benefits local people, their culture, their economy, and their environment. Please read on for more information on our Responsible Travel policy and how you can be a responsible traveller for your entire journey.

Top 12 Responsible Travel Tips

The following tips are for your overall travel plans, not just for your time spent on an Urban Adventures tour.

Before leaving home, learn as much as possible about the countries you are visiting - the religion and culture, the local rules and values.
Learn some of the local language and don't be afraid to use it - simple pleasantries will help break the ice. Keep practicing.
Learn what's appropriate behaviour and body language. Like the concept of "saving face" in Asia or giving the thumbs up in western or central Europe.
Support locally owned businesses, hotels, restaurants, and other services. Eat local food and drink local brands and brews. Use public transport, hire a bike or walk where convenient - you'll meet local people and get to know the place. Use our local travel practices as a guideline.
Think first. It's best not to eat in restaurants, shop in stores or visit local shows, markets or zoos that promote cruelty or exploitation of endangered species.
Shop from traditional artisans and for locally made products, helping keep traditional crafts alive and favour local products over imported items. Bargain if that is a local practice, but bear in mind that a small amount to you could be extremely important to the seller.
Dress respectfully with an awareness of local standards. Dress modestly at religious sites and check what swim wear is suitable for pools and the beach.
Always ask first before photographing or videoing people. Send them back copies of photos to help make it a two-way exchange.
Be wary of giving gifts or money to beggars, children and people you have just met. Supporting the community through a local school, clinic, or development project may be more constructive.
Leave only footprints...take care of the environment as you would your own home. Take out all you take in, to areas away from the cities. Use alternatives to plastic and say 'no' to plastic bags. For cigarette butts, an empty film container makes a perfect portable container.
After returning home think how you can support programmes and organisations that are working to protect the welfare, culture and environment of where you've been lucky to visit.
Smile - The traveller who wishes to have a happy and successful trip should keep as calm, cheerful and friendly as humanly possible. And have fun!

Responsible Travel Code of Conduct

The following are Urban Adventures's key principles for operating responsible tours.

We aim to:

Use locally owned infrastructure on our tours where possible.
Spread the financial benefits amongst local people and operators.
Provide employment and leadership opportunities for local people.
Respect local customs and culture.
Provide safe tours for Urban Adventure partners, staff, and travellers.
Educate travellers and our partners about how and why we choose to travel this way.
Limit the negative impacts to daily lifestyles of local people not involved with Urban Adventures groups.
Limit the physical impact of trips in all destination communities-particularly sensitive natural and cultural environments.
Provide support to organisations and local communities visited by Urban Adventures groups.
Provide fun enjoyable trips to Urban Adventures travellers.
Provide opportunities for travellers to interact with local people.
Actively ban partners, staff and passenger participation in or endorsement of commercial sexual activities or illegal drug use on Urban Adventures tours.
Actively discourage the participation of Urban Adventures groups in activities which exploit animals - wild or domestic.
Use local partners that adhere to Urban Adventures' Responsible Travel and Local Travel principles and provide the best possible service to Urban Adventures travellers and staff.
Work to prevent the exploitation of children in tourism.
Support and encourage fair employment practices.
Give our travellers the best possible value.

For more information on how to be a responsible traveller, region-specific guidelines, and voluntourism, check out what our friends at Intrepid have to say.

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