Enjoy a full-day tour of Hanoi with a private guide and get a local's insight into Vietnam’s mythology, traditions and customs. Visit cultural and historical sites, such as the Mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, as well as everyday locales such as the houses of the Old Quarter. Following a pick-up at your hotel by your guide and driver, go to the Ho Chi Minh Complex to discover the heart of Viernam at “Uncle Ho’s” Mausoleum. Standing before the mausoleum are 79 cycad trees, symbolizing Ho Chi Minh’s 79 springs of life, while 2 bamboo ranges whistle in the wind to commemorate the former president and Father of the Nation. See the nearby house-on-stilts and quaint One-Pillar Pagoda, built out of wood for the 11th-century Emperor Lý Thái Tông. Continue to the Quan Thanh Taoist Temple, one of the Four Sacred Temples of Hanoi. Journey by eco car (optional) into the Old Quarter and mingle with the locals as they go about their hectic lives. In the afternoon, explore the vibrant eastern sector of Hanoi, including the Museum of History, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple, and Huc Bridge. Journey by eco car into the Old Quarter and mingle with the locals as they go about their hectic lives. End with a unique water puppet show and experience an art form conceived by Vietnamese peasants hundreds of years ago.

Your shared or private tour will begin as you are picked up from your hotel before being to the historic complex of Ba Dinh. You will visit Ba Dinh Square, where the former President Ho Chi Minh read Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945. You will visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and One-Pillar Pagoda, a must-see monument in Ha Noi. The One-Pillar Pagoda is an ancient Buddhist pagoda which is supported by only one pillar and resembles a lotus blossom. You will also visit Van Mieu and Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature), the first imperial school in Vietnam. Lunch will later be served at a local restaurant, after which you will pay a visit to the Women’s Museum (which is listed among Asia’s top 25 museums (closed on Mondays). The museum honors Vietnamese women throughout history, and includes displays of the country's recent history as well. Exhibits include: “Women and Ethnicity”, “Women and the National Struggle”, "Vietnam Women’s Association and Feminism”, “Women and Traditional Costumes” and “Women’s Cultural Traits Expressed Through Handicrafts”. Following the museum, you will take a cyclo (pedicab) ride around the “the 36 meandering streets” of Ha Noi’s historic Old Quarter and visit Tran Quoc Pagoda as well as Quan Thanh Temple. At the conclusion of your cultural experience, you will be returned to your point of origin.