Full Day Tour to Perfume Pagoda with Traditional Boat Ride

I don’t know what I was expecting from this trip but it was wonderful! The guide Minh was superb, friendly, informative and able to answer all of our questions- I had a lot! The trip was a truly serene experience. An hour’s boat trip in a small boat rowed by a Vietnamese lady. The area is unspoilt by tourists and apparently 99% of visitors are Vietnamese and go for religious reasons, so I felt very honoured to be there, sharing the experience with them. It was very quiet ( off season) and we had an intimate group which helped. It is quite a climb ( lots of stairs up and down) and they are rather slippy in the rain but Minh allowed us to take our time. The pagoda itself is fascinating and in a wonderful setting at the base of the mountain. Then we took a cable car ( in between torrential rain showers ) up the mountain to visit the cave which was the highlight for me and a very spiritual experience. Very comfortable coach took us there and Minh even picked us up outside our hotel on foot and took us back too! Highly recommend this trip if you want to experience the real Vietnam and a snippet of its religion.

I joined this tour during the Perfume Pagoda Festival season, which runs from February to April—the longest and one of the most significant religious festivals in Vietnam. Located about 70 km from Hanoi, the site attracts thousands of pilgrims who travel along the scenic Yen Stream to Huong Tich Cave to pray for a fortunate year. Visiting in April turned out to be a great choice. The atmosphere was noticeably calmer compared to peak times, with very few international tourists. Most of the people on the boats were locals making their pilgrimage, which made the experience feel incredibly authentic and unique. While this tour may not be about dramatic landscapes or “Instagram-style” views (though the surroundings are still beautiful and charming), its real value lies in the cultural and historical depth. Our guide, Minh, truly elevated the experience. His storytelling—especially about the king and his three daughters—added meaning and context to everything we saw. It transformed the visit from simply sightseeing into something much more engaging and memorable. It’s a slightly different experience from the more commonly visited attractions in Hanoi, offering a quieter and more meaningful way to connect with local traditions and spirituality (specially if that's your thing). Highly recommended for those looking for a different vibe.

We can not thank Minh enough for his knowledge , passion and humour ! We loved the day and would 💯 recommend. Thank you Minh !

Very good experience with high CP value, good and less crowded place for visiting, beautiful boat trip and nice and clean lunch food. Culture enriched trip for in deep knowledge of Vietnam people. Guide’s English level and culture knowledge shall be improved. Get back to Hanoi so late than expected since traffic jam, need more reminders in advanced.

The best part about this trip was everything! From the initial communication with our guide Minhh, throughout the entire day, it was brilliant! We were a small group, which was perfect. Our guide, Nimh was very informative, all day, nothing was too much trouble. The lunch included was amazing, varied and lots of it. The scenery, the history, the boat ride, transport there and back via road, could not fault it. Highly recommend this tour, worth every penny.. thank you to all those involved today, especially Nimh. Ps. Do the cable car at least one way, views are stunning.

We overall had a decent time. However, as a visitor/tourist there is a lot of things closed if you don’t go during festival season. It was nice with less tourists around but if you choose to walk up or down from the cave/pagoda there aren’t any views just lots closed shops and the trail can be dangerous/slippery. The gondola was beautiful and very fun. The tour guide is a local to the area and very passionate about his towns history. It seems to be a normal technique for tour guides in Vietnam to call on people randomly and ask them a question as if they are in school. However, the tour guide Minh would ask person after person and laugh at their answers which didn’t make people comfortable. He could be fairly pushy at times and short with people when asking questions. He also would say a name of a location really fast and only 1-2x then later ask the group what the area was called and made us feel bad that we couldn’t remember. Not a great technique to teach people the names of areas if you want them to remember. The views were lovely but with our short time in the area (2.5 days) I am not sure I would have made the same decision to go. I think if you have a long time in the area it might be worth it if you don’t mine being called on and made to answer questions you probably don’t know the answer too. With all that said there was someone on our tour that this was their 3rd time. So depending on the person you get something different out of it.

We had a great time and the guide was outstanding. The views were incredible and we learned a lot about the culture.

Experience that was worth it, the Long guide made the excursion more interesting, always very attentive, accompanied us all the way and explained everything that was done.

The Parfume Pagoda your was amazing. Minh, the guide born in the local vilage, was very helpfull and informative. Before we booked we were not sure if we should do the full day tour or go there by ourselfs, but the service and information the tour and guide provides made it so much worth it. We even had some karaoke on our little boat. Thanks again Minh for the wonderfull experience.

Really happy we booked this experience for several reasons: our guide Minh is from the village and was so knowledgeable. He’s a great storyteller and we loved learning about the culture. There were practically no tourists and only locals. The views were amazing. Everything was perfectly organized and scheduled well, with the perfect amount of time for travel, for learning and for exploring. There’s also a lot of bathroom breaks, which reassures me when on these types of outings. The different combination of smells also make for a unique experience. Would definitely recommend to anyone staying in Hanoi!