Incredible Experience - This was one of the best day tours I've ever signed up for while traveling. I visited the incense, fish trap, and soy sauce village and had such a wonderful time. Not only did I get some amazing photos from my day, but I truly loved visiting the villages, meeting the people, and learning about their crafts. It was such a special experience - to meet these people, who are so welcoming and friendly, and to hear about their life experiences. I also had a fantastic guide, Jame, who taught me a lot about the villages and showed me how to use my camera / gave me tips for my photos. I definitely plan to book another photography tour when I visit Vietnam again.

Phenomenal tour and experience learning from local villagers - Fantastic trip organized by Mike and team. Very adaptable and repsonsive to your objectives - they put together a combined two-trip itinerary into a single day for us. Our guide was particularly in tune to providing advice where helpful but most importantly giving us space to do our own thing when we were in creative mode, which is quite under appreciated versus normal guided tours where the guide may not be a photographer and can be a bit overbearing. In contrast, the team here struck the perfect balance of suggestions of shots / locations and then letting us roam. One thing we appreciated was getting to meet all of the long time residents of the villages and hear their stories through the interpretating services of our guide. Many of these residents have been there for decades and are often the last few keeping up traditional arts and crafts. We were glad to see that our visits could help support the preservation of these traditions and we were honored to learn from these village elders. If you are at all interested in photography, this is a must do if you have a day to spare in Hanoi. Highly recommend the inscence village + fish trap combo trip - it will be a ~12-14h day but 100% worth given everything you get to do and see.

unique experience - Great tour, great impressions, great photo opportunities! Getting up early definitely payed off - no tourists in the early morning, experience the village as it originally is. Thank you Jame for lots of information and excellent guidance!

Great tour - We had fun & really enjoyed this tour. We’re not photographers, but we didn’t need to be to enjoy the tour. We got some beautiful photos, tips for taking photos, & met some wonderful people in the village. It was nice to learn about how incense is made & see the village. Our tour guides were really great too. Exceeded our expectations.

Photography tour + More - The 5:30 departure will have you question your own sanity as you depart your hotel, but stick with it. The driver was steady,calm and professional as we wafted out of the city, in the pre dawn light it doesn't seem too long before we were stopping for some breakfast.  A simple rustic, local stop point probably as authentic an experience as a westerner can get. We arrived at the first area, a fairly large complex to find local workers already well into laying bouquets of incense sticks out to dry, the freedom to move about and photograph these ladies as they work is incredible, I found that I had to keep my frame tight as too much of the backdrop is not photogenic and not what I'd want to include.  We then moved onto parts of the  village where locals are busy completing their element of the incense process, cutting bamboo, refining, and selecting etc before being dyed in the colours you see.  This is the "and more" portion, we found the local people welcoming, sharing and genuinely happy to demonstrate their labours.  Many occasions here felt as if we were part of a travel documentary from the great Michael Palin. This tour is expensive, relative to other experiences from Hanoi, but on reflection it was worth it.  We had great communication prior to with Mike, and our guide on the day James was great at helping us interact with the local people, this is where the value is, the key to unlocking a travel experience you cannot do for yourself and with just the 2 of us + guide the early start was well worth it for the freedom to roam.  Id definitely look at another tour if I'm back in the Hanoi area.

Wonderful experience! Definitely recommend - Probably one of the best experiences I had in the north of Vietnam! The day started really early but that's so we could make it to the village before the tourists masses arrive. I had a nice local breakfast and the guide not only took me to the famous sight for photos but he also took the time to take me around the village to understand the process of making incense. We also met with the locals and they shared their stories. It was beautiful to experience the realness and not just the touristy parts. This craftmanship is slowly dying and being replaced by factories and I'm grateful I got to witness it with a knowledgeable guide and the locals.

Great day trip from Hanoi - Really good morning arrived early before other tourists. Lots of opportunity to take great photos. Tour guide took us to meet many locals and hear their stories. Overall would definitely reccomend for keen photographers

Superb tour! - This tour was a highlight of our visit to Hanoi. Well worth getting up very early. Our guide Hang, was very knowledgeable and is obviously passionate about his job. He was so good at advising where to get the best photos and gave us as much time as we wanted. As this was a private tour he was able to be very flexible which we appreciated. The Colours of the Incense are superb and something you will probably see and photograph once in a lifetime! He answered all our questions and took great care with us to make sure we were enjoying the tour. He walked with us around a village street and we got to meet some local people and take more photos. The vehicle was very comfortable and our driver very good too. Again, a day we will always remember!

Amazing wanderful private trip that you never want to miss!!! - Mike is an experienced and knowledgeable tour guide who picked me up in front of my hotel (3 star hotel in alley) at 520am, prepared a nice local hot coffee in the car, walked me back to my hotel. Other than that, his timing was perfect for the tour if you want nobody into your photo or video. He is a photographer will guide you how to take nice photos and videos too! I’m looking forward again for his private tour when I go back to Vietnam next year soon!

Photography Trip of a Lifetime! - Had such a great time with Momentlives at the Incense Village tour. I had combined this tour with the Soy Sauce Village and the Fish Trap Village. Not only was it a great experience, Mike made sure we had the right light, the right frames and also the right time of day for when to be in the respective villages. We also went around the village speaking to the locals, learning about their lives and getting some fantastic shots in! This was without a doubt, the highlight of my Vietnam trip. I would book a second tour with them in the blink of an eye the next time am back in Vietnam. They are on the top of my Vietnam recommendations to anyone who wants good photos or a beautiful experience that’s not your usual touristy stuff. Book without a second thought!!