Brian

The Foreign Vagabond

  • I live in Hanoi
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 8 hours

Hi there! Nice to meet you

Brian

I have been working as a tour leader for a travel company for the past 4 years now in South East Asia. I had my contact finish up and than decided to come and live full time up here in Hanoi. So I hope to show foreign travellers some really awesome parts of Hanoi. Both famous and off the beaten path.

  • I live in Hanoi
  • I speak English
  • Verified Local host
  • Response time less than 8 hours

Book one of my offers in Hanoi

Let's explore Hanoi together! As your local guide, I'll show you the best of Hanoi on a private & personalized tour for you.

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All Withlocals tours are completely customisable to your needs. Just let me know your preferences for a private and personalized experience!

Reviews

Terri
18 April 2025
We had an amazing time with Brian on our 5 plus-hour Craft Beer Tour. It exceeded our expectations. Brian and a driver (in a nice van with A/C) picked us up from our hotel and drove us to two different breweries (Overmorrow and Labtory) and two craft beer restaurants along with a stop on “chicken street” for food in the middle. Additional finger foods were provided all along the way. We tasted 15 different beers on this tour. Brian gave us nice gifts from the Taste of Hanoi - he is one of the owners and clearly cares about his business. The bag and koozie were both worth taking home. We enjoyed the entire trip but loved all the beers from both Overmorrow and Labory the most. Getting to know the owners of those breweries and their businesses was fascinating and an added bonus. Brian is an excellent guide and business owner. He was so easy to work with. We coordinated quite a bit before our group even left for Asia. He offered great suggestions and helped us with other planning. I highly recommend this tour and Taste of Hanoi. Unique fun tour
Nicki and Shaun
8 April 2025
What an amazing, fun experience. It was scary on the back of the bikes in the traffic at first but we were soon put at ease, and we could relax and enjoy. Brian is very knowledgeable so we had a great mix of history that was very interesting and fun. Highly recommend!Fantastic day ouy
Andrew
17 March 2025
Our family of four (2 adults, 2 teens) spent about 5 hours walking the streets and back alleys of Hanoi with Brian, and we really enjoyed our experience. Besides the amazing food, Brian also offered us stories about the history of Vietnam, as well as his very interesting life and travels, so it was a pleasure to spend the time with him, and he also followed up to offer his help connecting us with other tours as we continue on our travels. He took us to at least 10 different spots where we tried amazing dishes that we'd never have found on our own. It was really fun to see how he's connected with small business owners and hosts all over Hanoi, and his training as a chef certainly helped him identify great food and also point out to us small details of each dish. My daughter is a very picky eater, yet she too had a great time being pushed a bit outside her comfort zone. We highly recommend touring with Brian for the food and the company!A great food night in Hanoi
Janette
4 January 2025
This was my second trip to Hanoi and my partner and I spent an evening with Brian on his walking tour. Great guy who is very knowledgeable about Vietnamese history. First stop was a roof top bar with views across the city. We then explored local street food vendors trying the infamous Banh Mi, a chicken and rice dish and grilled quail eggs. Without Brian’s recommendations we probably wouldn’t have stopped at these place. They were definitely popular with locals and worth a stop . We also visited a quirky bar serving a flaming Pho cocktail and then onto the Pasteur Craft Beer bar to try out a beer flight of three local beers. The passion fruit and Jasmine IPA’s were the favourite. We would definitely recommend the tour with Brian. Great way to spend and evening in Hanoi
Amy
30 December 2024
Brian gave us an amazing tour taking us to many places we would never had visited without the knowledge of a local. Brian's passion for food really shows! He gave a fantastic explanation of each dish and was very easygoing company. Highly recommend!Excellent Tour for Foodies
staceymartin007
26 December 2024
A must do tour to get a quick snapshot of Hanoi! Very informative and Brian was a wonderful guide! Great way to see Old Town. Brian suggested we change our meet time to earlier so we could get an amazing view of the sunset from the highest roof top bar in Hanoi (Skyline) . We sat at a lovely vantage point started with a Hanoi beer and Brian gave us his intro and some history about Vietnam and the new trending rooftop bars that have popped up since Covid. We then walked the Old Quater and stopped at a Bahn Mi place and had some Bahn Mi and Viet Coffee, this is one of Brian’s fave spots and we could see why. The Bahn mi bread was light and fluffy and crunchy. The flavours were very yummy and their housemade chilli sauce was a standout for me. The coffee was a thick condensed milk coffee, I didn’t really like the texture but my husband loved it and drank both of ours. We continued on and walked and talked, Brian showed us some of the most narrow laneways and living quarters of Old Town and delved into the history of the bomb shelters and the many families that lived in the small locations. We then stopped at another street food stop which Brian said did the best Nam Gha in town. We had 2 dishes one was a chicken salad and the other was a soy chicken and rice. Both were very tasty. Next stop was a very cool bar were we went to try the famous Pho Cocktail, the experience was very cool and to see how the mixologist infused the gin with the 3 spices of Pho - cardamom, cinnamon and star anise over very hot heat and then served ice cold in a Pho Bowl with all the toppings. The flavours were amazing and it really was like having a cold alcoholic pho. Delicious We continued on and walked and talked with a stop at another fave of his, saying they were one of the only places serving this dish in Hanoi, we loved the little dogs at this stop and we sat watched the old man make our food - it was a tiny omelette style made of quail eggs, butter, sliced green onions, crispy shallots and sausage topped with a pork floss. I was a bit hesitant but it was absolutely delicious, like something I had never tried before so I am glad Brian showed us this. We ended our tour at a craft beer stop at Pastuer Bee, Brian got us some paddles of their standouts and his favourites and for craft beer drinkers he was on point - we had a Passionfruit Wheat Ale, a Jasmine IPA and a Nitro Irish stout. They were all outstanding, I’m not a stout gal but I really liked the stout so I was impressed. We said our goodbyes and thanks Brian and we really had such a good night and a great snapshot of where to head next. Thank you Brian Great Tour with awesome host
Tasha
7 December 2024
We had a fabulous time with Brian who went out of his way to show us some incredible Vietnamese food. All the spots he took us to were off the beaten track and all of them highlighted a different type of noodle or main ingredient. Come hungry because you will need plenty of room for all the delicious bites Brian provides! Definitely recommend doing this tour at the beginning of your visit to Hanoi so you can eat like a local for the rest of your stay!Amazing Food Tour with Brian
Rachel
24 November 2024
Had a great motorbike tour with Brian, would highly recommend! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and adjusted the tour based on my schedule/preferences. Really appreciated the experience and getting to see so much of Hanoi in a short time. (Awesome food too!)Great experience!
Sally
17 November 2024
Brian was the perfect host. Showing us the tucked and also out-in-the-open gems! Explaining the history of the region whilst having so much knowledge about the food as well. We were able to then have confidence navigating the vast food scene in Hanoi and visiting some of the eateries again as they were sooooo good! Brian was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with- definitely doing again when we go back!!Best experience- a MUST DO!!
Nikilesh
3 November 2024
Brian is energetic, knowledgeable and a master story teller. My Hanoi experience would not have been what it was if it was not for what I saw, learnt and experienced on my tour with Brian. If you want to make your time in Hanoi worth it, he is your must-have guide.Must-have guide for your Hanoi experience

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