★★★★★
Bigdog702
“I booked way in advance, and had a hotel change a week before the cruise, but all I did was whats app them the new hotel, and all was good.”
Tripadvisor, May 2026
Private tourNEW 2026Ho Chi Minh CitySmall group · Local experience
Hanoi Highlights and Backstreets Half Day Tour by Vintage Army Jeep
An open top army jeep from your hotel to the Ho Chi Minh Complex: the Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, the Presidential Palace and the... Ava Travel price: from $55.
Questions before you book? Message us on WhatsApp or send an email. Phone +84 904 251 545. Ava Travel Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Style
Private tour
Ho Chi Minh City
Duration
Half-day tour
Pickup support available
Choose your tour option
Live prices for the date and group size you pick. Ava confirms your departure and pickup within 1 hour of booking.
Prices are the total for the travellers and the date you pick. Ava reconfirms the departure and the pickup point within 1 hour.
Tour optionWhat's includedPrice
Group tour
Small group departureJoin a small group on the same route
✓ Local English-speaking guide✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off✓ Entrance tickets included
Best value—total · 2 travellers
Secure checkout
Private tour
Your group onlySame route, your own pace and departure time
✓ Local English-speaking guide✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off✓ Entrance tickets included
—total · 2 travellers
Secure checkout
- We confirm your departure and pickup within 1 hour
- Cancel more than 30 days ahead at no cost
- No booking fee. The price shown is the price you pay
Full refund if you cancel more than 30 days before check-in
- More than 30 days before check-inFree
- 30 to 11 days before check-in15% of total
- 10 to 7 days before check-in30% of total
- Less than 7 days, or no-show100% of total
A change of travel date counts as a cancellation and a new booking, and the same scale applies.
If the operator cancels the cruise, or in case of severe weather or force majeure, we move your date free of charge, or refund you in full if we cannot reschedule.
Price includes all taxes and service charges.
Ho Chi Minh City tour overview
Why this trip
- An open top army jeep from your hotel to the Ho Chi Minh Complex: the Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, the Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda.
- Then the Temple of Literature, Hanoi's first university, for the history behind the city.
- The second two hours leave the landmarks behind for narrow backstreets, alleys and local markets.
- Tickets and entrance fees are included, so the day runs without you reaching for your wallet.
An honest note: the jeep has no roof, so you get sun, rain and traffic noise in full, and lunch is not part of this tour. The Mausoleum is closed on Mondays and Fridays and for its yearly maintenance from late July to 2 September.
At a glance
| Duration | About 4 hours |
| Start and finish | Your hotel in or around Hanoi Old Quarter |
| Group size | Shared tour, or private for 1 to 12 |
| Walking | Easy, about an hour on foot at the sights |
| Best for | Seeing the main sights and the backstreets in one morning or afternoon |
| Guide | English-speaking guide and an experienced driver |
Price
Group departure. You join a small group on the same route with the same guide standard.
| Per adult | $55 |
Private departure. Your own guide and vehicle, your own pace. The total falls per person as your group grows.
| Group size | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $151 | $151 |
| 2 people | $151 | $76 |
| 3 people | $203 | $68 |
| 4 people | $270 | $68 |
| 5 people | $275 | $55 |
| 6 people | $374 | $62 |
| 7 people | $436 | $62 |
| 8 people | $498 | $62 |
| 9 people | $560 | $62 |
| 10 people | $623 | $62 |
| 11 people | $685 | $62 |
| 12 people | $747 | $62 |
Travelling alone. One person on a group departure pays $94, shown in the booking box before you pay.
Children. On the shared tour children aged 4 to 10 pay a child rate and a second child under 4 pays a reduced rate. On a private tour one child under 5 goes free, children 5 to 10 pay 70 per cent and 11 and over pay as adults. Tell us the ages when you book and we apply it before you pay.
How it works
- Book and confirm. Pay at checkout or message us on WhatsApp first. We confirm your date, pickup time and guide within one hour.
- Pickup. Hotel pickup in and around Hanoi Old Quarter.
- On the day. About 4 hours. Morning 08:00 to 12:00 or afternoon 12:30 to 16:30. Your guide keeps the timings loose enough for photographs and questions.
What's included
Open top Vietnam People's Army jeep with an experienced driverHelmet and rain ponchoEnglish-speaking guideTickets and entrance fees on the itineraryPickup and drop off at hotels in and around Hanoi Old Quarter
Your itinerary
Hanoi highlights, then the hidden streets
Meals: not included.
- Your guide and driver meet you in your hotel lobby.
- Ride to the Ho Chi Minh Complex for a short visit: the Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh's residence and the One Pillar Pagoda. This part takes about two hours with the next stop.
- The Temple of Literature, a thousand year old landmark, to learn about Vietnam's long tradition of learning.
- About two hours through zigzagging backstreets, narrow alleys and markets, where people live, work and pray.
- Drop off back at your hotel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers for planning this trip with Ava Travel.
Cover your shoulders and knees for the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Comfortable shoes for the short walks.
On Mondays and Fridays, and every year from the end of July to 2 September. It opens only in the morning, so the morning departure is the one that goes inside.
No, it is open top. In light rain we carry on with ponchos.
The shared tour takes solo travellers. A private jeep for one person is priced as two seats.
The group price is per person. The private price is the total for your party and the table on this page shows it for every group size. Prices are in US dollars and include taxes and service charges, and there is no booking fee or card surcharge, so the total at checkout is the total you pay.
Within one hour. We come back to you with the pickup time, the meeting point and your guide, and tell you what to bring.
More than 30 days before departure costs nothing. From 30 to 11 days we keep 15 per cent, from 10 to 7 days 30 per cent, and inside 7 days or a no-show is charged in full. Changing your date counts as a cancellation and a new booking. If we cancel, or weather makes the tour unsafe, we move your date at no cost or refund you in full.
What guests say about Ava Travel
5.0Tripadvisor rating
These are real Tripadvisor reviews of Ava Travel as your booking agent, quoted word for word. They are not reviews of Hanoi Highlights and Backstreets Half Day Tour by Vintage Army Jeep itself.
★★★★★
Kehren Eade
“She made the process SO easy, SO manageable, we felt we were in great hands at all times, even though everything was done by remote!”
Tripadvisor, August 2026
★★★★★
Arshia Z
“Whenever we had questions or needed assistance, the response was prompt, helpful, and reassuring.”
Tripadvisor, June 2026
Photos
Images on this page are used under a Creative Commons licence. Author and licence for each:
- Photo: Jakub Hałun / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Tuabiht Rellahcs / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: yeowatzup / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Ltn12345 / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Photo: Quangpraha / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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