Vespa Adventures Hanoi Foodie Experience

The Vespa Adventures Hanoi Foodie Experience is a motorbike food tour run by Vespa Adventures (vespaadventures.com), which operates vintage Vespa tours in Vietnam. Guests ride as passengers behind a driver-guide, with hotel pick-up and drop-off arranged at booking for accommodation in Hoàn Kiếm, Ba Đình or Tây Hồ in Hà Nội. The operator's website carries details of how long the company has been running.

The route starts in the Old Quarter and then heads out to eateries in districts most visitors never reach, which is the tour's main appeal compared with Old Quarter walking tours. Over three to four hours, the group makes five to eight food and drink stops. The dishes are street food and regional Vietnamese plates, with coffee and beer among the drinks along the way. The mix is mostly savoury, with coffee or a dessert-style stop usually rounding out the route, and the exact stops depend on the menu chosen at booking.

Pricing depends on the menu, from 1,014,000 VND (USD 39.00) up to 2,314,000 VND (USD 89.00) per person. The price includes the vintage Vespa ride with a driver-guide, the five to eight food and drink stops on most menus, a helmet, and hotel pick-up and drop-off. Tips and any extra drinks or purchases beyond the menu are not included. Both daytime and after-dark departures are sold.

Parties travel in small numbers on individual bikes, each with a rider and a passenger, and the guides speak English. The pace is set by traffic and by the time spent at each stop rather than by a fixed schedule. Dietary needs should be raised at booking so the operator can adjust the menu, since northern Vietnamese cooking often uses pork and fish sauce, and substitutions depend on what each venue can prepare.

The experience suits visitors who want to see Hanoi beyond the Old Quarter and are comfortable riding pillion in dense city traffic. Closed shoes and clothing that covers the knees are advisable for the ride, and evening departures are cooler between May and September.