Like any other tours, the tour will pick u up right on ur hotel. Our tour guide was cheerful and spoke English very well. In my humble opinion, Hoa Lu was just like any other temple in Asia. The exciting things were rowing boat and cycling with a view in Tam Coc. Please be careful with the boat rider as at the end of the trip they will ask u some money for tips. Just give them a small amount of money. Overall it was such a nice experience to be there and we enjoyed it a lot.