Rural Hanoi and Mai Chau Village

What You'll Do

Take some time in Hanoi's bustling capital to travel to the stunning countryside, stay in a stilted home with a local family, eat delicious home-cooked food, and ride through beautiful mountains and rice fields and get under the skin of true Vietnamese culture.

Spend two full days getting to know Hanoi, and the area around it, like a local. You’ll begin by driving to Mai Chau, learning about the fields of tapioca, of sugar cane, and the rice paddies, along the way.

Arrive at your beautiful homestay at around lunchtime. Nestled in the beautiful Mai Chau Valley, you’ll check-in and then enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch, prepared lovingly by your local host family.

Then, spend your time in Mai Chau cycling the stunning countryside, exploring majestic caves that emerge to the sight of glittering streams running in the lush green valleys below the jungle-covered mountains, and interacting with the locals in the region.

You’ll see typical Vietnamese villages dotted in the rolling valleys, and visit a local family who make bamboo rice pipes and other bamboo products, getting properly immersed in Vietnamese culture.

Experience
Highlights

Stay in a comfortable local homestay and eat home-cooked food for an authentic experience

Explore the stunning countryside surrounding Hanoi and get off the beaten track

Visit local artisans and farmers to experience rural life in Vietnam

Head to Mai Chau

Good morning! At 8:30 am, jump onto our minibus in the Old Quarter, where you’ll begin your journey to Mai Chau. This scenic drive lasts for about 4 hours, and along the way you’ll be able to drink in the views of fields of tapioca and sugar, as well as the iconic rice fields.

You’ll reach Mai Chau village by lunchtime, and have time to check-in to your beautiful homestay and enjoy a home-cooked, authentic lunch. After lunch, your local guide will pick you up and take you on a bike ride through the beautiful landscape to Mo Luong Cave.

A natural cave that rips a fissure in one of the mighty limestone mountains of the region, explore the cave to drink in the incredible stalactites and the surrounding scenery, a poetically beautiful landscape of rivers bending their way to distant mountains.

Your guide will show you around this beautiful corner of the country, and you’ll discover tiny villages, peaceful streams and leaf houses in the shadows of great mountains, before heading back to your homestay.

Your dinner will be cooked by your host family, then enjoy kicking back in a hammock and watching the sun go down over the rugged horizon, as cows go trundling past and the sounds of nature wash over you.

Accommodation

Minh Tho homestay or similar

With the knowledge that this tour is getting off the beaten track and immersing you in true Vietnamese culture, please bear in mind that this isn’t your typical 4-star experience. However, the homestays we work with are extremely clean, comfortable and friendly, and the only way to experience truly living like a local!

Meet Local Artisans

After your breakfast, your guide will meet you to take you to a local family skilled in crafting bamboo rice pipes and other bamboo weaving products.

Challenge your skills by learning from the family, and see if you can’t create something half decent you can take home to remember the tour by!

Then spend the rest of your morning exploring Lac Village, or just chill by the pool in your homestay. After a final lunch, your minibus will arrive to take you back to Hanoi.

Once back in Hanoi, we can help you with booking any accommodation you need or any onward travel.

Location Information

You will be picked up at around 8:30 am from a prearranged point in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. From there, you will drive for about 4 hours to Mai Chau, where you will explore the area and stay for the night. After lunch on the second day, you will be transferred back to Hanoi.

From £118 pp