08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street –view location. Bike, helmet preparation to start Hanoi ancient village biking tour.
Travel west of Hanoi to Duong Lam village, a purely agricultural village of the Northern Red River delta where still preserved are many hundred-year-old houses. Upon arrival, bike along tiny ancient alleys to visit Mong Phu temple in Mong Phu hamlet – the only hamlet whose original village entrance gate remains intact, dedicated to national heroes. Continue riding around the village to discover the daily life and farming, practice of Vietnamese peasants along the terrace with a stop to visit ancient houses: the biggest ancient house was build 200 years ago and the most ancient house dates back to 400 years ago.
Lunch at local restaurant. After lunch, visit Ngo Quyen temple and Phung Hung temple, dedicated to two national heroes then visiting Mia Pagoda, built in 15th century.
On the way back Hanoi, visit Van Phuc Village, the most famous traditional village for weaving silk of Vietnam. Discover how they create the perfect silk products, a complex technical process includes several work stages such as sewing, weaving and dyeing silk. Have free time for shopping at Van Phuc Silk Village. You can also buy the silk products as souvenirs to bring home.
Back to your meeting point, drink and refresh before being back to your hotel.
Destinations: Duong Lam ancient village, Van Phuc silk village
Accomplished: 90 km
08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location.
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Bike, helmet preparation to begin cycling Hanoi full day. Hanoi, a city between the rivers, built from lowland, Hanoi has many scenic lakes and sometime is called “city of lakes”. Among its lakes, the most famous are Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, Halair Lake, Bay Mau Lake…As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is considered to be the cultural centre of Vietnam, where every dynasty has left behind their imprint. Even though some relics have not survived through wars and time, the city still has many interesting cultural and historic monuments for visitors and residents alike…
Visit Hoan Kiem Lake with Ngoc Son Temple and continue with the Historic Museum, closed on Monday and Friday, to understand about history of Vietnam. We will visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum from outside, his former residence, One Pillar Pagoda
Lunch at local restaurant
In the afternoon, visit Ethnology Museum, dedicated to Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups – closed on Monday and Friday and then visit the first university of Vietnam, the Temple of Literature.
Return to meeting point and take taxi back to your hotel.
Destinations: Hanoi
Accomplished: 30 km
08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location.
Bike, helmet preparation to begin biking Phu Lang pottery village.
Our escort car will pick you up at your hotel and drive to Bac Ninh city via national road 1A (40km)
From there, you will follow by bike on national road 18 to Phu Lang pottery village (20km)
This village is off the tourist trap where local people produces ‘red pottery’ – no other colored detected.
Most of the vases are specifically used in the daily life of the farmers
Bike back (20km) and then your escort car will wait for you at Bac Ninh to drive you back
Drop off at your hotel
Destinations: Phu Lang pottery village, Bac Ninh
Accomplished: 50 km
08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location.
Bike, helmet preparation to begin cycling Chu Dau ancient pottery.
Our escort car will pick you up at your hotel and drive to Hai Duong city
From there, you will follow inter-provincial road 390 passing a local boat across Thai Binh river in about 7 km to Chu Dau village.
Chu Dau is considered the oldest ceramic village of Vietnam. The high quality pottery and ceramic products of this village exported to many countries in the world in the 15th century. The original recipe however has been lost after the death of the ancestor.
The effort recently to recover Chu Dau ancient ceramic has been made by locals as well as international organizations.
Lunch at local restaurant.
Continue to bike to Thanh Ha lychee village (28 km)
The lychee of Thanh Ha is one of the most famous fruit because of their deliciously sweet taste in Vietnam. You will have the chance to taste the sweet and delicious lychees and see by their own eyes the blazing red of lychee gardens. It seems that the golden sunlight of summer is replaced by the dark red of bunches lychees. Back to the main road, load your bikes into car and back to your hotel.
Destinations: Hai Duong city
Accomplished: 50 km
05:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location.
Bike, helmet preparation to start Hanoi free bike tour.
We cycle to Quang Ba early morning flower market. This whole sale market only gathers from 05.00 hours to 05.30 hours then vendors will sell flowers to every corner of Hanoi.
06.00 hours cycle to the West Lake and you will local people doing the morning exercises of many kinds and also medium aged men and women with old French- made Peugeot bicycle gathering on completion of the session.
06.30 you are Hoan Kiem lake, take one round of this beautiful and charming lake to see people practicing Tai Chi and stop to have Pho then coffee for your breakfast (You pay your own)
Back to the meeting point
Back to your hotel.
Destinations: Quang Ba, West Lake, Hoan Kiem Lake
Accomplished: 25 km
08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location.
Bike, helmet preparation to start biking Perfume Pagoda
Depart to Van Dinh on the road 21 (car supports you and bikes) then from here, discharge bikes to start cycling (25 km) to Perfume Pagoda
The Perfume Pagoda (Chua Huong) is in fact a vast complex of pagodas and shrines built into the limestone Huong Tich mountains. From the middle of the second lunar month to the end of the third lunar month, it is the site of a very popular religious festival which draws large numbers of pilgrims. You first start the trip by boating on a river among a beautiful karstic landscape, then you hike quite a long trail, which is all lined up with stands of food and religious souvenirs, to reach eventually the main sanctuary in a cave. Along the way, there are a great number of other places to worship. It is a festive occasion for the Vietnamese who often make the trip in large groups.
Enjoy a 1.30 hours boat trip on Yen (Swallow Bird) stream and visit Trinh temple before disembarking at Ben Duc (Duc quay). Following is a short trek to Thien Tru pagoda (the main pagoda). Get up to the mountain peak by cable car to visit pagoda inside grotto Huong Tich, where people often come to pray for health, luck, … etc. Return to Thien Tru Pagoda area on foot for lunch. After lunch, rowing back to Yen boat quay and we will cycle back to Van Dinh to upload bikes to car and drive back.
Meals: Lunch
Destinations: Van Dinh, Te Tieu, Perfume pagoda, Hanoi
Accomplished: 50 km
08:00: get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location
Bike, helmet preparation to begin cycling vegies farm Song Phuong.
Leave Hanoi to the west of the city there are many small farms, where much of the produce sold in the city markets is grown. There are vegetable gardens, tropical fruits and very hospitable local people. Our destination is Song Phuong Vegetable Village.
09:00: we will tour around vegetable fields growing a variety of produce, including cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, green peas, Chinese peas, and corn, as well as fruit gardens with oranges, pomelo, papaya and more.
09:30: we will join a farmer working in his field. You will have the opportunity to help in the work of the small land-holding. Depending on the season this will involve raking, sowing, watering greens, picking greens and other gardening activities. You will be having the opportunity to ask experienced local farmers about cultivation techniques and lifestyle.
12:00: a short relax & enjoy your Vietnamese tea.
We leave Song Phuong Vegetable Village to cycle back to meeting point. You then take taxi back to your hotel.
Meals: Lunch
Destinations: Song Phuong garden village, Hanoi
Accomplished: 40 km
08.00 get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location
Bike, helmet preparation to start bike trip Chu Dong Tu temple.
Depart to Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung temple at Van Giang, Hung Yen – the temple is beautifully located at the Red River bank surrounded by fluvial and rich cultivation farms.
The legend has it that Da Trach Temple was built on the former high platform of Chu Dong Tu and Princess Tien Dungs castle and citadel, after they returned to the Heaven. Once a year, villagers in traditional ao dais and sarongs make their way to the temple of Chu Dong Tu to make offerings of incense, flowers and candles. They say prayers for the soul of the famous fisherman and for their friends and family who risk their lives by fishing out at sea. It is an interesting local spectacle and if youre in the area, definitely worth a visit.
On the way back, we visit Bat Trang pottery village which translates as bowl-making village became famous for its bricks and for its bat dan, a type of bowl popular in the Red River Delta. Bat Trang was so well known that its bricks. The villages ceramics were finished with five types of glaze: iron brown, blue and white, ivory, moss green, and cracked. The most typical designs, and the ones that are most popular to this day, involve a combination of white and deep cobalt blue.
Back to the meeting point and discharge things.
Have a drink and back to your hotel by taxi.
Meals: Lunch
Destinations: Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dzung temple (Hung Yen), Bat Trang pottery village (Hanoi)
Accomplished: 80 km
08.00 get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location
Bike, helmet preparation to start Biking tour Bat Trang pottery village.
Depart to Bat Trang pottery village which is on the right the Red River bank – Bat Trang, which translates as bowl-making village became famous for its bricks and for its bat dan, a type of bowl popular in the Red River Delta. Bat Trang was so well known that its bricks. The villages ceramics were finished with five types of glaze: iron brown, blue and white, ivory, moss green, and cracked. The most typical designs, and the ones that are most popular to this day, involve a combination of white and deep cobalt blue.
Back to the meeting point and discharge things.
Have a drink and back to your hotel by taxi.
Destinations: Bat Trang pottery village, Hanoi
Accomplished: 60 km
07.30 get together at our bike store meeting point – 38c, lane 209, Doi Can street – view location
Bike, helmet preparation to begin Hanoi rural bike tour.
Cycle exit the bustling city to outskirt of Hanoi passing West Lake, Nhat Tan – Hanoi most beautiful bridge and also the former Soviet Union funded Thang Long bridge to ancient citadel and capital of Vietnam of Co Loa. You will bike on the remaining vestige of the ancient citadel where King An Duong Vuong 257-207 B.C) ruled Au Lac and villages, farms nearby.
Visit too the showroom to understand more about Au Lac, the King and his beloved daughter legendary tale.
Continue to visit fresh vegetable farm that provides majority of the vegetables of Hanoi called Tien Duong. You will have chance to learn and see farmers do their daily field work and understand more about the cultivation habit of Vietnamese.
Having lunch at local family
In the afternoon, visit Me Linh flower village which is similar to Tay Tuu and short visit to Trung Sisters temple
Trung Sisters (or Hai Ba Trung in Vietnamese, 40-43 BC) ruled the country with notable achievement of bronze drum and soldiers on the elephants. Ma Vien defeated them to begin the 2nd time rule of the Chinese against Vietnamese…
Meals: Lunch
Destinations: Co Loa, Tien Duong, Me Linh of Hanoi
Accomplished: 60 km
