Six stops, three and a half hours, one evening
An evening walk through the old quarter and across the tracks into Hai Ba Trung, six places, ending at a bia hoi corner. The cheapest way to find out whether you like how we work.
At a glance
- Length
- 3.5 hours, from 17:30
- Group
- 2 to 10 guests
- Start
- Old quarter
- Finish
- Bia hoi corner
- Effort
- Easy
- From
- USD 39 per person
What the evening is
Six places in three and a half hours, starting at 17:30 when the food stalls are setting up and finishing around 21:00 at a bia hoi corner with plastic stools. Two stops are in the old quarter where you would probably find them anyway. The other four are not, and getting to them is why the group is capped at ten.
You will eat: a bowl of bun cha grilled over charcoal, a banh mi from a cart that has been on the same corner for thirty years, cha ca with dill and turmeric, something from a night market stall depending on the season, egg coffee, and beer brewed that morning. Enough food to count as dinner and then some.
The evening, stop by stop
17:30 to 21:00, six stops
You meet the guide at a fixed point in the old quarter at 17:25. The first two stops are within a ten-minute walk: a bun cha place with charcoal smoke coming out onto the street, and a banh mi cart where the queue is the recommendation.
Around 19:00 you cross the railway into Hai Ba Trung, either on foot in twenty minutes or on the back of a bike in six, which is the eight dollar option and also the part everyone remembers. Two more stops there: cha ca, and whatever the guide rates that week at the market.
The last hour is egg coffee somewhere upstairs with a view over a junction, then a bia hoi corner where the beer is served from a keg at street level and costs less than a dollar. The guide leaves you there rather than walking you back, because that corner is the better end to the evening.
Price
| Group size | Walking | With motorbike legs |
|---|---|---|
| 2 guests | USD 49 | USD 57 |
| 3 - 4 guests | USD 44 | USD 52 |
| 5 - 10 guests | USD 39 | USD 47 |
Filming this evening produces a strong sixty to ninety second vertical cut for USD 90 per group. There is no full film option, because three and a half hours in low light does not contain one and selling you one would be dishonest.
What is included
What the price includes
- An English-speaking guide from Hanoi for three and a half hours
- Food and drink at all six stops, including beer at the end
- Bottled water throughout
- Motorbike legs and helmet if you take that option
What it does not include
- Hotel pickup; you meet the guide at a fixed point
- Additional drinks beyond those included
- Anything you buy at the market
- A ride back to your hotel afterwards
Photographs from the evening
Who this evening is not for
- Strict vegetarians and vegans. We can adapt four of the six stops honestly. The other two are the reason people book, and a version without them is a worse evening at the same price.
- Anyone with a shellfish or fish sauce allergy. Fish sauce is in most of it and it is not separable. Tell us at booking and we will say plainly whether it works.
- People who want a seated restaurant meal. Four of the six stops are stools on a pavement.
- Families needing an early night. It finishes at 21:00 and the last hour is a beer corner, which is not a children's environment.
- Anyone expecting a full film from it. Vertical social cut only, and that is the honest ceiling.
Book it on your first evening
The most useful place for this trip is the evening you land, before Ha Giang or Ha Long. It resets you onto Vietnamese time, it gets the first meal decision made for you, and it means you have met one of our guides before the longer trip starts. Booked together it is USD 15 cheaper.
Add it to your dates
Tell us your arrival evening and how many of you. Same-day is often possible.
What people ask before booking
Is it too much food?
It is more than dinner. Come hungry, skip lunch, and know that the guide will not be offended if you leave half of stop five.
Can I do it with children?
Children over eight are fine for the first five stops. The last stop is a beer corner, and families usually leave after the egg coffee, which is a good place to stop anyway.
Do I have to go on the motorbike?
No. The walking version covers the same six stops and takes twenty minutes longer. About a third of guests walk.
What if it rains?
It runs. Four of the six stops are covered, the guide carries ponchos, and Hanoi in the rain is arguably the better version. We only cancel for a typhoon warning, and then we refund in full.
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Tell us your dates and we will send a plan with a price
Dates, how many of you, and whether you want the film package. You get an itinerary and a total in writing, not a brochure.