Private Duong Lam ancient village day tour from Hanoi

We spent a wonderful day with David touring a village outside Hanoi. Saw beautiful sights, had a great lunch and learned a lot from David who is both very knowledgeable and speaks great English. Highly recommend spending a day with David. This village is very interesting to Vietnamese people therefore there were hardly any foreign tourists there. The old houses and the communal house building were genuinely authentic and so wonderful to have been preserved to show the young generation the real architecture of the past. There were also 2 great temples near by and a King’s tomb. David showed us everything with plenty of explanations. He is a genuinely fun and friendly person. I highly recommend him as a guide. The villagers are really friendly and welcomed us into their homes. We bought homemade candies and ate lunch in a 400-year old house. Lovely people, lovely village, and David is a great tour guide—both walking and biking!

Duong Lam is a really genuine slice of Vietnam and not one of the common tourist spots around Hanoi. We had a really lovely day exploring the ancient village with our fantastic guide, Kia. He was very knowledgeable and patient with all our questions. We wondered through the streets, sat and drank tea with local children wanting to practice their English with us, ate a fabulous local lunch and road bikes through countryside. Thank you Eco Tours for a really fabulous day.

The day trip to this village was one of the highlights of our stay. David was a wonderful guide taking us to a town where we were among the very few Western tourists, but also taking us to see things that were off the beaten track. We felt that we had an authentic experience with David and not just a touristy one. We visited a small family-run home where they made crackers and also had lunch at an amazing old traditional home. If we had known about David and his business Hanoi Eco Tour beforehand, we would have booked other excursions with him. He speaks excellent English, is very knowledgeable and kind and personable.

We had a wonderful time with David at the historic Vietnamese village of Duong Lam. The drive was in a very clean and comfortable air conditioned car with a private driver. During the drive David told us the history of Vietnam and answered all the questions about the country we had been thinking about the past few days while in Hanoi. The village was a welcome break from the city noise and it gave a feeling of being somewhere that most foreign tourists would never be able to experience on their own. The bike ride and cooking class were a nice change after walking around the afternoon and we even got to eat lunch just next to the 400 year old UNESCO home. After, David called local stores to help us do our shopping while in town and took us to a few places to pick up some items. So relieving to have someone friendly and thoughtful to navigate in a place where it can be difficult to communicate. Cannot recommend David and his eco tours enough for anyone who doesn't want to feel like just another foreign commodity. Don't hesitate if you want to see and get a larger understanding of the interesting and unique Vietnamese culture.