Hoa Lu Tam Coc Full-Day DELUXE Tour Including BUFFET LUNCH & River Boat Ride

Hard to communicate with guide. Spent too many hours stuck in traffic. Felt nauseated in the van.

We were picked up on time even though our hotel was not in the Old Quarter. Quite a long day as trip there and back is quite long. This was not helped by having another tour group in our bus that meant we went slightly out of our way to drop them off and pick them up. If our tour had been full this probably would not have happened.Trip up the river was interesting and relaxing and the bike ride following it gave you a chance to look at the county from a different perspective. On return to Ha Noi traffic in the centre was very congested so guide put us in a taxi back to our hotel at their expense.

Excellent trip. Both places were worth visiting. The boat trip was amazing the scenery around is amazing. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and funny. My only complaint relates to the lunch. The quality of food wasn't great and hygiene level in the restaurant was poor. Overall it was a very good tour. I would highly recommend to anyone.

The scenery at the river boat ride at Tam Coc was really beautiful and was what we expected. The ride itself was nice. But at the end of the river before turning around, there were many boats with merchandise pressuring you to buy things from them and the prices were not cheap compare to what's the usual price in Vietnam. The worse part of this tour for me was the bus ride to go in and out of Hanoi. It was more like a full size van with narrow seats, not a coach bus. They packed the 24 seats van full with another tour group and it was a 2 hrs ride plus 45 minutes going around old quarter hotels to pick up people. We were the 1st ones to be picked up. So, it was 2hrs and 45minutes on those narrow seats for us. It was very uncomfortable to me. Also, I thought this tour does not include bike ride since the description did not mention the biking as several others do. But it still included 1 hr bike ride. So, we had to wait around.

The tour was nice and the agenda pretty much respected with correct time for each activity. The only not so great point is the transport, that could have been a more comfortable for a 2h30 ride each way: chairs are very close to each other, not reclinable and also the clima was not working properly.

We went on this tour after reading the many reviews on Viator. While it was a lovely experience on the river boat the river we went on certainly wasn't the area where we were. The 2 hour bus ride was on a cramped bus with little to no leg room. My husband is quite tall and his shoulders almost touched the guys across the aisle from us. The toilets at the travel stop were dirty and smelly. The lunch was advertised as a buffet with goat meat the local delicacy. The only goat meat was a few pieces floating around in a soup. The lunch restaurant was a large area with seating for approximately 200 and there was a constant coming and going of buses leaving and arriving. I find it hard to believe that this is the only available restaurant in the area. I would have preferred an a la carte restaurant where we select and pay for our own meal. The river boat ride was enjoyable but we were told by the guide that as it was a 2 hour ride we should tip the rower. We were happy to do this but the majority of the people on the bus were backpackers with limited funds and their thoughts were that for Vietnam the tour was expensive and they shouldn't have to pay extra on the day. At the end of the oat ride it had started to rain and we were the last boat to arrive back to the starting point the tour guide met us with nobody wants to go on the bike ride do you. It didn't particularly worry us but there were 2 people on the bus who would have liked the bike ride but were told nobody wanted to go. We would have been happy to sit at the restaurant and have a rest while they had their ride which they had paid for and were entitled to do. I felt for the quality of the bus ride, lunch, boat ride with a requirement to tip and no bike ride it wasn't as described in the advertisement.

The photos advertising this tour are deceiving, it looks like rice paddies when it is not. The people rowing the boats are amazing in how they do it with their feet. When you get through the last cave its like a whole group of women in boats gang up on you and try and get you to buy something and for the lady rowing the boat. had already seen this on TripAdvisor and here and we declined. they were not happy. Then the women in all the boats try and get you to buy some handicraft thing they have in a bucket on the boat. Then our lady did a side track to a duck farm and purchased 3 ducks for her dinner, that was kinda cute. we got back and tipped her 1 US and she got upset with us and kept demanding more, we walked away. The temple was interesting enough but partner was templed out by then. The puh bike ride was hard case, the bikes were terrible and partners one eventually gave up and he had to double me back to town in the heat, boy that cold beer was well earned. if asked would I do it again I would say no! the hill's in Ha Long bay were way better. The guides were very good.

This was a very worthwhile trip, as it is BEAUTIFUL on the river boat ride. Unfortunately some of the boat drivers are aggressive and not only pester for tips at the end, but also at the half way point they aggressively pester you to buy drinks and snacks for them but this is luck of the draw and not something the vendor can control. The boat ride itself is very peaceful and wonderful. The lunch wasn't very good, but the destination was worth the trip.

Great tour, well coordinated, great lunch with a nice tour leader. Well done Duc. Thank you

Amazing! Highly recommended. I really love this place especially when I seat on the boat, that's is a wonderful experience. Loan is an informative tour guide. She is very funny and makes us laugh a lot. Thanks to Loan and this team.