Civil War Free Walking Tours in Hanoi

An excellent tour of the prison and Temple of Knowledge. The prison was a bit grim but history can suck sometimes. Stella was very informative and also provided many insights into the culture and politics of Modern Vietnam. It was just nice to chat and share our various stories. A great tour.

I’m so glad I booked this tour and was matched with Stella. I got lucky too in that I was the only person in the group and so was treated to a very personalised number of cultural, political, historical and societal insights into Vietnam. I learned so much about the places we visited but also at a depth way beyond what I could have hoped for. I highly recommend this tour by Stella!!

Stella is very knowledgeable and kind, patiently helping me find the group as I arrive after it had started. She was open to any questions and discussion on the past and present of Vietnam, making for an interesting exchange. Highly recommended tour for people interested in history.

Molto interessante!

Great tour to learn a lot about Vietnamese history. Stella knows many interesting facts and stories, I highly recommend her tour!

This was definitely one of the best tours I joined during my trip to Vietnam. What made it truly unique was its focus on the complex history of the country. It gave me a whole new perspective on Vietnam beyond the usual tourist spots.

Great experience! Stella is an excellent guide, she has a wealth of knowledge and she answered all our questions around history, geopolitics, culture and food. Totally recommended if you want to get a deeper understanding of Vietnamese culture!

Stella was the perfect guide. She could not only answer question directly on the topic, but had si much more information about vietnamese lifestyle, mindset of both young and elderly people and shared some personal stories , too. She was able to make us understand in a very gentle way what life must have been for the prisoners. This is the tour you should not miss. It is warmly recommended. Stella is great!!

The tour was very informative. Stella knows a lot of background information. Visiting the prison is important to understand a part of history never told in Europe. Though Details of punishment happend there are horrifying.

Stella was super cool, knew a lot and had so many Stories to Tell! Very moving Tour and Topics as Well! Definetly do it again!

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 😊