Hanoi Long Bien Sunrise Photo Tour

I arrived from Seattle, Washington, and participated in four half-day tours. I have been published in magazines, newspapers and wire services and won awards for some of my work. But it became clear I needed to go back to some basics and Vietnam in Focus' guides helped me rebuild a foundation with tips on positioning, settings and composition. There is so much to learn and the guides provided critical insights and encouragement. I came away with memorable photos reflecting daily life and culture.

I joined the Long Bien Sunrise Tour and it was honestly the best experience I’ve had in Vietnam. My guide Tung picked me up at 4:30 am from my hotel, and we took a taxi to Long Bien Market while it was still dark. To ease into the intense atmosphere, we first started on the bridge, where I could observe the market from above. Tung prepared me really well for what to expect inside the market: it’s loud, crowded, and full of movement, with motorbikes, carts and trucks constantly weaving through the narrow paths. As we entered the market, the sun began to rise and the light was absolutely beautiful. I was able to catch some really special moments. Afterwards, we returned to the bridge to photograph the morning traffic heading into the city. We ended the tour with a delicious breakfast and coffee at a nearby café. Despite the early wake-up and the intense heat, this tour was 100% worth it. I would have never gone to the market alone at that hour, but Tung gave me a real sense of security and brought me to the best spots for photography. It was a wonderful experience, and I’m so grateful for the treasure of images I got to take home.

This tour was amazing 10/10 Boris our guide picked us up at 04.30 in the morning to start the photo tour, immediately we felt comfortable with him and he was an absolute pleasure to spend the time with. He gave us many tips advice and information that we will always take with us. Boris took us to Long Bien bridge to photograph the train and the photos turned out amazing, beyond our expectations. We then entered the market and took photos of the people going about their daily lives. He showed us where to take the photo, how to take them and when to take them. He gave great advice to Jayne as she didn’t know her way around the camera only on auto mode, but to her surprise found with Boris’s advise she could move on and take great photos without using auto. He has great patience. we walked to old quarter after the market and took more shots, visited train street as well, we were well impressed with the information and advice we were given I can’t recommend Boris enough. without him our photos would have been just good photos but with him they were truly great. We will be super proud to show off our morning photo tour photographs to all who want to see them. On viewing photos later, we have some fantastic ones. Thanks Boris 😁 Once again a big shout out to Boris and a big thank you for all your help, advice and friendship. hope if you book this tour you are as lucky as us to have Boris take you 👍

we were picked up by Boris at 04.30am in the morning for the photo tour of Long Bien market Right from the start Boris was friendly and made us feel comfortable. He was an absolute pleasure to be with. He gave us lots of tips and advise which we will take with us, He showed us what photos to take, where to take them from and how to take them, We can’t thank him enough and he definitely went the extra mile. At the end of the tour when we looked at the photos we had taken, I can honestly say we had some great ones, and this would not have been possible without him, we would never have found the market and the photos exceeded our expectations. If you book this tour, I only hope you are as lucky as we were and get Boris to take you. Once again Thank you Boris it was beyond all our expectations. Paul and Jayne Machin

We had a great photo tour with Lavonne. The advice and photography tips were really good and we got some fabulous images. Lavonne is great company. We’d highly recommend the tour, Lavonne and Vietnam in Focus. Thanks for a fabulous tour!

Hanoi Awakes (well it never really sleeps) is the title given to my photo album after a fabulous walk around some very interesting areas in the early morning light with Jeff from Vietnam in Focus. I loved that the activity level was scaled by him to suit my lack of mobility and my elderly eyesight. He took care of my physical safety among the traffic and found safe spots for me to stand while gently advising on better angles and camera settings to get the most out of the activities around us. It was a great morning and the photos far exceed my usual level of basic competence. Thank you Vietnam in Focus for a tour which exceeded my expectations.

My wife and I took the tour on the 20/11/18 , our guide was Duc , he didn't need to teach us anything about photography. It was useful to have Duc with us to help us communicate with the people. The market is full on and you just don't know what to photograph next . Thanks guys for a great experience.

DucLinh was my guide for the morning and provided one of the best learning experiences I've had with my photography. From the impressive sights on the bridge to the bustling market, I was captivated and overawed. Must do if you are looking for something unique in Hanoi.

While in Hanoi for a few days waiting for the start of a major photo tour of Vietnam, I decided to sign up for both this tour and the Hanoi by night tour. Both photographers I worked with were excellent, taking me places I couldn't have found on my own and suggesting a variety of angles and techniques designed to make sure I went home happy. Kudos to both Duc (Sunrise tour) and Matthieu (Hanoi at Night); I also enjoyed talking with them about life in Vietnam and Hanoi in particular. Vietnam in Focus also offers longer-range trips if you're interested. Do give them a try!

What a great tour! From the morning market, the train and some back streets which I would never have found on my own! Boris was very open and happy to give tips and suggestions both on my photography and general life in Hanoi! The morning went super fast and I would certainly recommend to anyone!

Though the weather did not cooperate I had a great time with Duc on this tour, from the bridge, the train, the market and catching the crazy street crossings in Hanoi! Duc was very knowledgeable and we had some great conversations on photography and other subjects!

The service from Vietnam in Focus is exceptional. The guides were friendly and very knowledgeable, and the locations were stunning. I would highly recommend them to anyone with a camera.

Very enjoyable tour with Boris, the market area at dawn was not one I would have found on my own. His suggestions on street photography, and how locals would react, was helpful and amusing, and his ideas on telling a story, composition and panning helped to break out of my normal habits, ie explore. Came back with a few shots I liked and the basis for a couple of stories- in all a good return for a morning out.

It has taken me a while to write this review because i have a busy work and family life schedule, but the delay shouldn't undermine in any way the enthusiasm and high regard that i have for the entire crew at Vietnam in Focus. There is the old saying that you only have one shot to make a first impression, and these guys were absolutely outstanding from the very start in communicating with me and making the entire booking and photo tour experience enjoyable and stress free. While I was only allowed to identify one tour as part of this site review, I actually took four different tours with them during my trip and each one was well worth it. Their business approach is well thought out, leaving the excellent photographers to handle the photography side and the individuals with exceptional organization and customer service skills to handle the business side. This is very different from many other tour companies that I had dealt with in other countries, where photographers try to do everything and it ends up being a complete disaster. Alex and Yen were incredibly helpful in organizing the different tours and very responsive and accomodating whenever I had question or a concern about my trip. The photographers exuded enthusiasm and a love of photography that was undeniably infectious. As with any tour or service, you only get what you put into it, so to really learn from these guys and this experience be open to engaging them on sharing their technical skills and getting to them to demonstrate how they think about and might approach a shot. What I learned is that these photographers aren't just there to walk you around and stand by why you did your thing, but rather they would engage with you, discuss their life with you and how they got to where they are today, share their way of thinking about photography and help you think about how to approach a subject differently than you otherwise might. The experience felt personal and not business like. They love photography and won't hesitate to share and critique (and critique is okay, even if one should feel confident in his or her own style and what makes a photograph interesting for him or her, you become better only if you are willing to seek and accept feedback). In fact, I think at one point Boris turned to me (chuckling and joking of course) and emphatically stated that I have enough equipment so don't buy anymore but rather just go out and take pictures! He was more right than he knew, as he was echoing the sentiments of my wife that I collect too much equipment and not enough photographs...and it is why I decided to go on this on this trip in the first instance after a several year hiatus. Colm, Boris and Mansour were all very delightful and downright personable, just the kind of people you would love to share a beer with (and by the way we did share many, along with alex and yen!). I couldn't recommend these guys enough and perhaps someday will get back to see more of the country side and without a doubt would turn to these guys for that experience. I am going to do a shout out for some of the shirts Boris has created on the side. Very comfortable and very cool if you are interested in bringing something back other than the typical tourist trinket. I highly recommend these team and Vietnam In Focus team, I'll be sharing some images and working on a web site to share my reinvigorated passion shortly. Look forward to seeing you all again some day.

I was delighted with the experience on this tour. I have done a few now in different countries and this was definitely one of the best ones. Mathieu was very knowledgeable and very friendly. Many thanks. It was a nice touch also to be emailed later a few shots of me doing my photography! I have lived in Asia for quite a few years now and been to many markets, however this one was very unique given the high intensity of the activity and lots to capture. The houses on the rail tracks also great to see. Hope to return in future to do another tour! One last point, a compliment to Ms Yen for ensuring all the joining instructions were very clear, makes a big impact!