CYCLING TO COUNTRYSIDE OF HANOI

Intinerary

See another side of Hanoi with a day cycling trip that takes you away from the busy chaos of Hanoi’s city centre and into the nearby countryside. Observe local life as you cycle through villages and along the banks of the Red River. Visit a traditional craft village (ceramic, painting, pottery, wood carving..) where you will see their magical traditional way of producing and also past floating houses to colorful flower gardens. Before finishing the active day, we cycling around the West Lake. Sip a cup of coffee and admire the lakeside views before pedaling back to your hotel.

Tour Itinerary
Duration: halfday or full day cycling (7 hours – 30km total).
Cycling to Countryside of Hanoi, visit local family

Opt 1: Biking route: Hanoi – Co Loa ancient citadel – Hanoi
7:30Am Meet up at your hotel. After a short briefing about the bike, gears, and the biking trail, you will begin your adventure by pedaling from your hotel to the other side of the Red River. You cycle across the Long Bien Bridge, the first steel bridge spanning the Red River in Hanoi, built by the French (French architect Gustave Eiffel, 1899-1902) and named after Paul Doumer (Governor General of French Indochina).

Continue cycling to Duong river, crossing the countryside of the Red River delta, a good chance for taking nice photos and witness the rural daily activities on the farm.

Then take a local boat crossing the Duong river, to get to the rural area where people live of agriculture. You cycle from villages to villages, through rice fields and meet friendly people. Arrive to Co Loa citadel around noon. This old fortress attracts many travelers for its historical and cultural value. It would be interesting for you to find out that Co Loa Citadel is not only built in a large scale, but also took a very long time to construct. Especially, it has also been the source of various relics of the Dong Son culture of the Bronze Age. This would be a chance to explore such large site and its beauty. This spiral-shaped complex will take you to the mysterious ancient Vietnam thousands years ago.

After a short break, biking the road back your hotel or you can be picked up by our vehicle and transferred back to your hotel in Hanoi.

Opt 2: Biking route: Hanoi – But Thap pagoda – Dong Ho folk painting – Hanoi

07:30 Meet our tour guide at your hotel and transfer by car out of the center Hanoi to the dike of the Duong River (cross the Red River).  Then start cycling to But Thap pagoda (20km). We ride along the Duong riverbank, enjoy the peaceful countryside the river meanders through with rice and corn fields dotted with rural villages, bamboo trees and old pagodas.

We visit But Thap pagoda, the most typical pagoda in Vietnam, But Thap is recognized as one of the country’s most important cultural relics. The pagoda was built under the dynasty of King Tran Thanh Tong (1258-1278), and rebuilt in 1647 in the Le Dynasty by the Chinese Zen Buddhist priest Zhus Zhus (Chuyet Chuyet in Vietnamese).

Have lunch at a local restaurant or family.

After lunch, we continue biking to Dong Ho Village, where locals practice a unique form of folk woodcut painting using natural materials, such as Diep paper made from tree bark, then mixed with powdered seashells and color from tree leaves, flowers, and even coal. There are only 3 families left still engaged in the painstaking craft, and you will meet a master craftsman to learn how to make the wooden block paintings. Continue exploring the village by bike, and discover villagers making other paper crafts.

Then get on car transferring back to your hotel.
 

PRIVATE TOUR Biking countryside of Hanoi (USD/person)

No of travelers	2 pax	3-5 pax	6-8 pax	9 pax up
Co Loa ancient citadel	$53	$42	$35	$30
But Thap pagoda – Dong Ho folk painting	$82	$60	$54	$48

In case you cannot (or don’t want) ride a bike, you can choose a backseat on motorbike.

Not fit your requirement? Feel free to contact us to plan this trip and get the best possible price based upon your travel period and specific touring needs.

Tour inclusive

• English speaking tour guide
• Bicycle with helmet
• Sightseeing fees
• Ferry or boat
• Lunch
• Mineral water

Tour exclusive

• Transportation by car if any
• Drinks, others not mentioned above
• Tips