Full-Day Perfume Pagoda Small-Group Tour

We had a wonderful day out with Minh as our tour guide. He is very knowledgeable about the history and culture of the area and was able to tell us more about each area we visited. We decided to take the steps up to the Perfume Pagoda, it is doable but quite exhausting and leaves you less time to explore the pagoda. We took the cable car down and the views were absolutely stunning. The boat ride was very tranquil with beautiful views along the way. Take into consideration that you have to sit quite low in the boat, and the space is quite small, but this is the case for all tours / boats. Some people complained about this but for us it was part of the experience. All in all we had a really good time!

We had an amazing time. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and caring. My mother is older so she walks pretty slow but our tour guide was understanding and was very patience with us.

Great trip. Probably a fast boat back would be a better alternative to rowing back.. Elderly or limited mobility in advisable Great month to go as no crowds

Again we had Mr. Nam, a 25 yrs old gentleman who very well educated, well informed and patient guide from this tour company. This is a trip you must not miss. The climb up the mountain, the lunch, visit to the pagodas and temples, the cable car ride - all awesome. A beautiful and serene place. The boat ride and cable car ride were great. Everything was very smooth. The guide was very knowledgeable and it was well worth the hike. We would recommend this trip to Perfume Pagoda to all.

My wife and I had a wonderful time on this day trip. Harry, the tour guide, was very friendly and informative. It ended up being $31 USD for each of us for the whole day, plus the cable car ticket. They picked us up at 8am in a van with 8 other tourists, and drove 2 hours, stopping half way for bathrooms and the option to by food or drinks. It was nice to see the countryside outside the city. Then a 1 hour ride up the river in a small rowboat rowed by a local woman. The metal bench seats were a bit uncomfortable, but we didn’t mind. The first pagoda we visited, “heavens kitchen,” was near the base of the mountain. Then a nice lunch was included at a cafeteria. There were vegetarian options. There were two options to go up to the perfume pagoda. Walk the long stone stairway up (about 2 miles) or take the cable car. We decided to walk up, and cable car down. Being in the off-season, we had the place almost all to ourselves, and the majority of the vendor stalls on the stairs were closed. It is clear that during busier season you would want to avoid the stairs. The perfume pagoda is well worth the trip, and it was great to see it when there are no crowds. We were back by 6:30pm

Perfume pagoda day trip from Hanoi We were collected bright and early from our hotel and put into a 21 seater air conditioned bus. Our tour guide Huy was brilliant from the start with enthusiasm and knowledge about the day. He was very approachable and answered any questions asked in great detail! His English was amazing!! The ride out included the classic stop off at a shop where foods, drinks and goods could be purchased. This was only a very minor delay to the trip out. Upon arrival after a ~2 hour bus ride we went from the bus to a small waiting area next to the river where two row boats arrived to collect our day trip group. The ride out was gentle and peaceful (for the most part when a motorised boat wasn’t going past). The scenery was nice. Once getting to the landing, we hopped off the row boat and started our walk up to the pagoda. The walking throughout the day has many stairs included so good shoes are a must and some fitness will go a long way. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable on the history of the pagoda and that of Buddhism. From here, a shared lunch was provided for the groups involved in our tour group with a mixture of dishes. This was a delicious break and also gave us time to talk with the other members in our group. We did have to pay for any drinks we asked for. After lunch, we paid our tour guide money to organise our tickets up and down from the perfume cave if we wanted to ride the cable car. This is a must as the pathway up to the peak doesn’t seem to have any stand out views and would not be worth the struggle (in my opinion and that of our whole group- our tour guide also pushed for us to do the cable car). The cable car was a great outlook over the green environment and got us to the peak in under 10 minutes!From here there was another walk involving multiple stairs to the entrance of the cave. The view from here was lovely! There is a walk down to the cave in some stairs I would assume are quite slippery in the wet but what awaits is definitely worth it! It is a beautiful place of worship that is within a naturally formed cave that offers visitors a huge sense of tranquility and peace. This is the last destination for the day but does truly offer a great sense into Vietnamese religion and culture. This trip did have some negatives that should be mentioned including the lack of warning for the number of stairs involved. For myself this was no issue but for other travelers who are not highly athletic or have injury/illness it would be best to discuss this with the organiser prior to booking/ arrival. Our tour guide was unbelievably accomodating to everyone in the groups fitness levels and made sure nobody missed out! As with all high tourist areas there are many many many local vendors trying to sell you items (drinks, clothing, Knick knacks) throughout the whole trip. At some points, having the convenience of being able to buy a cold bottle of water was appreciated but I never had the need to buy a barbie doll or bubble shooting gun! Also at several points along the way, you see animals in cages that can be “purchased” for release- something that is said to bring you luck. This is a little confronting to see the animals being kept in such a way. Overall, yes I believe this trip is worth the money and time when you consider the amount of locals knowledge and guidance you receive throughout! Our guide was amazing and a very kind and smart person! He is clearly very passionate about his culture and sharing that with those who come here! We went late August and there was hardly another group surrounding us. We rarely overlapped with other tourists at the main sites and the boat rides were peaceful. When booking take into account when significant religious holidays are on and be considerate that these will be times where you won’t have such an exclusive trip! Be prepared for a good amount of walking and be prepared for a great tour guide filling your day with facts about Vietnam!

The tour was the only day trip we took from Hanoi. Our guide Thang (Victor) is from the area and provided great stories on the way. The boat ride in is very relaxing. Be prepared to do some stairs. Not all at once, but we did over 500 that day even with the cable car. But the inner pagoda in the cave was worth the trip. My daughter and I were glad we made the journey.

Firstly the travel - This trip used many forms of transport to get there. Much of the day was spent travelling. The bus stopped on the way at a "handicraft store" which isn't in the itinerary. This made the trip much longer on the bus than needed. (We also stopped here on the way home for a toilet break) As this tour was stated as "This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate" we assumed that our small group would be the only ones in the bus - not so - our group was about 18 people in total - not the four of us that had booked together. Take a cushion for the boat trip - I read that statement from a previous reviewer but only took a towel (how bad could it be?) well it was pretty painful on the return trip. We were lucky we had a covered boat. Take a hat and lots of sunscreen in case you get one of the 1000s of boats with no cover. (Im not exaggerating) Secondly - when to go - the busiest and hottest part of the year is feb/march and april but theres less people mid week. Apparently there can be in excess of 20,000 -40,000 people visit per day. We have just returned and it was pretty hot (humid) but quiet (thats why we had a covered boat). It would be pretty slippery in the wet season and theres lots and lots of steps. If you fall and hurt yourself and need to be carried out it can cost $360USD just to get to the boat, depending on where you have the accident. So beware. Thirdly - the cable car - this takes you to the top but only after you have climbed many (about 250) large steps and a steep incline to get to the cable car - not for the feint hearted. Theres a charge of 120,000VND one way and 180,000VND return. Or you can walk or run up and down the path. My friend did just that (very fit) and he looked like he had taken a swim when he arrived at the top. It takes about 40mins to walk up at a medium pace (20 mins if you run) Fourthly - the lunch - well what can I say - its a local shared lunch. Fish, rice, eggs, some type of beef, lots of tofu, cabbage and fruit. You need to buy your own drinks. Fifthly (is that a word?) - souvenir city - the streets are lined with stalls selling everything and anything that you didnt know you needed. For this reason I was very disappointed. I went to see pagodas and temples - not street vendors lining the way. I was told that many had packed up and left as it was the end of the busy season. Id hate to see it when its busy. All in all a day out of the business of Hanoi but I probably wouldn't recommend to my friends. Too many shops turn this place of pilgrimage into a circus.