Hanoi Countryside Jeep Tour: Red River Villages & Co Loa Temples

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(135 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect the air to smell like that—sort of sweet and grassy, with a bit of engine oil mixed in. We left Hanoi’s Old Quarter behind in this open-air army jeep, bouncing along the riverbank while our guide, Tuan, pointed out how the city just dissolves into green so quickly. There was this moment when a woman on a scooter passed us with a crate full of ducks and just grinned at us—guess we looked pretty lost or maybe just happy.

The first village we rolled into had these pale yellow houses with tiled roofs and kids playing barefoot in the dust. Tuan waved at nearly everyone; it felt like he knew half the countryside. He stopped to buy some sticky rice from a lady at the market (I tried to say thank you in Vietnamese—she laughed and corrected me, I probably butchered it). The market smelled like fresh herbs and fish, and people were selling vegetables right out of baskets on the ground. It’s loud but not in a city way—just people talking over each other, chickens somewhere nearby.

Driving through the rice paddies was quieter. The fields stretch out forever—bright green, water shining between rows—and you see farmers bent over, hats low against the sun. We stopped near a water buffalo who looked completely unimpressed by us. At Co Loa, Tuan told stories about King An Duong Vuong building his spiral-shaped citadel here back in 257 BC. I’ll admit I zoned out for a second just watching sunlight flicker through old banyan trees. History feels heavy here but not in a museum way—it’s just part of daily life.

Lunch was at someone’s home—a simple meal but so good after all that wind and dust. Their family showed us around their small farm; I still think about how proud they were of their chili plants. On the way back to Hanoi we took narrow alleys past more rice fields, everyone waving as we bounced by. Kind of hard to describe how peaceful it felt—like you’re seeing something real but also being let in on it for just a day.