Civil War Free Walking Tours in Hanoi

Our guide Stella gave us a really informative tour of the Hoa Lo prison and the Temple of Literature. She didn't just tell us dry numbers, but also included stories about her grandparents and family. The stories were exciting and showed us what Vietnamese culture is like. At the end of the tour we were hungry and got some good tips about authentic restaurants. Thank you very much!

Stella was AMAZING!!! She was professional, her English was amazing and understandable and her knowledge was very rich and even her family stories made me feel closer to the whole story. She is very kind, instead of going to a museum i already been to she even went with me for lunch and taught me how to use chopsticks and try new food, super patient (I had many questions) and very open minded and curious - all things i was looking for in a tour guide. Definitely 11/10 tour

Stella was a great guide, provide a lot information about the history and the culture in Vietnam. We really enjoy the tour and her Sence of humor, we will recommend to take it.

We had a great walking tour, very knowledgeable, friendly and accommodating we highly recommend Stella. Fun and informative

It was perfect. Stella was so nice and give me so much informations, it was one of the best Tours it did. Highly recommended

Stella is an amazing tour guide, her English is the best i’ve heard till now in Vietnam. She showed us the prison and the literature temple, telling thousands of details and stories behind. I suggest this tour.

Stella was amazing full of information and very elegant lady

This is one of the best tours I have ever attended. Stella knows everything you want to know about the war and Vietnamise traditions. We left the tour with a much deeper understanding of so many things we had seen while walking through the streets of Hanoi. If you want to learn more about how the war impacted society and gain detailed insights about the prison, this is the tour you should book.

Stella was great! Very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. Detailed explanations and always kept it interesting

I was very pleased with the presentation of Stella. My only remark is that the French occupation and suppression was only a short period in Vietnam´s war history. I had expected a bit more info on the other war periods in Vietnam. However, i can certainly advice this tour to anybody interested in Vietnam´s history.

For the first time in my life, after doing dozens of free walking tours, the guide shamed me into giving her a bigger tip. I wanted to leave the same amount most people tipped on a Hanoi tour the day before, so while it may not have been generous, it should have been acceptable. Not everybody on walking tours has a huge travel budget and it's unprofessional to assume that. Also, the guide left the group to make out own way by foot or taxi between the 2 locations - we didn't mind this, but others might. The information was good and other than these issues I did enjoy the tour, but I cannot give it a good rating overall. For those who don't have a big budget and can't tip a lot you may be better off getting the audio guides at both locations and visiting at your own pace. If you are okay tipping more and want to visit with a person, then this is still a good option for you and I encourage you to go for it, as Stella is a pretty good guide.

This is a bit more niche tour that discusses war part of Vietnam’s history and then perspectives on education in Vietnam. Stella is very knowledgable and provides great context to help you build a perspective on these important elements of Vietnam’s history and culture. In this tour the expectations are to provide a higher tip than is usual even in European tours (considering it is a niche tour as well) so it makes sense to assess the value for money ratio here and I guess that is individual.

Buena experiencia

Stella was an amazing tour guide, very friendly and informative. We can’t recommend this tour highly enough. Thank you Stella for this amazing tour.

Stella was great! She explained everything perfectly and passionately, always with a smile, I would choose any other of her tours again if I came back 😊

One of my best experiences, lot of information to better understand the place where I am and its civilization

Highly recommend to take this tour! Our guide was Stella and she managed to explain Vietnam’s very complicated history in a comprehensible way. I think it would have been much more difficult to understand the exhibitions in both places without her guidance. She also answered all of our questions and was just so kind.

Really interesting tour. It’s perfect for learning more about vietnams history and culture! Our guide was really nice and explained everything very well.

Amazing guide with profound knowledge and super valuable personal insights. Strong recommendation!

If I could, I would give Stella 6 stars. The tour was simply great, we asked lots of questions and Stella always satisfied our curiosity, and more. We have learn a lot. Thank you!

I had a great time and learned a lot about Vietnamese history. Stella knows many interesting facts and stories. I can really recommend to book a tour with Stella!

Stella was a great guide! She did not only know fascinating details about the history of the places we visited, she also told about daily life in Vietnam which was very interesting. Her English is great and I felt like going around with a friend ☺️

I'm very happy with the tour! Stella is very knowledgeable about Vietnamese history and culture, offers a lot of information, and is happy to answer any questions as well as give recommendations (she helped us find a place to eat, and it was good :)). My friend and me enjoyed it and we are very curious about learning more about Vietnam now.

Stella is knowledgeable and passionate about history of Vietnam which makes her a good guide throughout the tour

We had a great tour. Everything very organized and entertaining.