Free tour guides in Vietnam

[chouchouu]

If any of you are having upcoming trips to Vietnam I thought I would mention that we came across volunteer tour guides run by the scout association at a desk at arrivals in Ho Chi Minh. The guides are students and were lovely. Without mentioning I was on a budget they asked me if I'd prefer taking the bus into the city which was of course dirt cheap. They were so careful not to accept money I had to twist their arms to buy them drinks and lunch and they only ordered the cheapest dishes and shared. I felt bad but I guess it was a good opportunity for them to practise their English and they seemed to have fun.

[vern]

I'm heading to Vietnam in a few months and I'll keep this in mind.

Thank you samusugiru!

[chouchouu]

No probs, the Vietnamese are super friendly and kind, have a lovely time!

[FrugalBugle]

This is also available in Hanoi via Hanoikids http://hanoikids.org/

Me and my GF did this lasy year, 2 female students took us around a couple of museums in Hanoi and then to a local place for noodle soup and I think we finished the day with an egg-coffee, from a cafe that was situated through the back of a clothes store and upstairs to a small smoky room that has been there for year,s and was where the egg coffee was invented.

I almost forgot to mention, one of the students helped me get a Viet simcard for my phone also.

We had a nice day and paid for the girls' lunch and coffee.

[tuivodanh]

If any of you are having upcoming trips to Vietnam I thought I would mention that we came across volunteer tour guides run by the scout association at a desk at arrivals in Ho Chi Minh. The guides are students and were lovely. Without mentioning I was on a budget they asked me if I'd prefer taking the bus into the city which was of course dirt cheap. They were so careful not to accept money I had to twist their arms to buy them drinks and lunch and they only ordered the cheapest dishes and shared. I felt bad but I guess it was a good opportunity for them to practise their English and they seemed to have fun.

You just need a little pedagogical skill, you can earn a lot of money every day to Explore One Vietnam comfortably, because Vietnamese  need to talk to a foreigner so they can have a chance  practices their English learning. After a few visits to Vietnam, I have moved to Vietnam to live with a very good income with this job

[expatartist]

Some great resources towards the top of the thread. @Hirondelle  IIRC you lived in Vietnam for a while? What's your take on these?

I'll be back in VN (Hue & Hanoi) for 10 days in April for an art project but may look into a half day tour while there.

[Hirondelle]

I indeed lived in HCMC for half a year, but I'm not familiar with these tour guides. Sounds like a great option though. I do know that there's always many students/locals wandering around the parks close to the tourist areas so they can talk to tourists to practice their English. Contrary to what many people expect, this is not a scam!

I'll be back in Vietnam this June so I might even look into it myself. Always fun to discover more of a place you thought you knew :)

[wpgdude]

Yes I'm late to chime in on this, but myself and my wife and daughter visited Hanoi this past January and had a wonderful experience with Hanoi Kids as our tour guides for two different days.  It was great opportunity to hear about what life is really like as a local and avoid the big tour groups that we'd see at some of the different attractions.  We happily paid for their lunches and even brought them some treats from Canada as thank you gifts.  I highly recommend using Hanoi Kids.