HEAVEN EARTH BICYCLE TOURS: OUR STORY
It all started with love at first sight... for a country
1994. I arrived in Vietnam for the first time. The country had just opened to tourism, and Hoi An was still just a sleepy village on the banks of the Thu Bon River.
Far from the tourist circuits that didn't yet exist, I fell in love with this authentic Vietnam, its endless rice fields, its villages where time seemed to have stopped.
1996. Thu and I got married in Hoi An. She knows every corner of her native region, every family, every hidden path. As for me, I never tire of exploring by bike this countryside that changes its face with each season.
Rides with friends... that changed everything
For years, I cycled around Hoi An. Not on tourist routes — there weren't really any — but on those little dirt paths that wind between rice fields, cross forgotten hamlets, run along rivers where fishermen still cast their nets by hand.
When friends came to visit us, I naturally took them with me. We would leave early in the morning, pedal for hours without meeting a soul, stop at families Thu had known since childhood.
No program, no stopwatch. Just discovery, encounter, wonder.
One day, after one of these rides, a friend said something that changed everything:
"This is the best day we've had since arriving in the country. You should organize tours like this for tourists."
The idea took root. Slowly. But it never left me.
2009: Heaven and Earth is born
For years, I continued to explore, create new itineraries, build relationships with villages and local families.
Thu and I thought: what if we shared that Vietnam? The one that classic tours never show?
In 2009, we opened our office in Thu's family home, at 61 Ngo Quyen Street in Hoi An. See the map.
No big sign, no aggressive marketing. Just a simple promise: to take you where others don't go.
Our first customers were often surprised:
"But why doesn't anyone offer these tours?"
The answer was simple: because creating these routes takes time, knowledge of the terrain, and above all authentic relationships with local communities.
17 years later: still true to our roots
Today, 17 years after our creation, Hoi An has changed a lot. The small village has become a major tourist destination.
But our philosophy hasn't budged an inch.
We regularly adapt our tours so they maintain their authenticity despite the region's evolution. We continue to create new routes, explore new villages, forge new partnerships with local families.
Are our itineraries copied? Yes, regularly.
But what can't be copied is our knowledge of the terrain, our relationships with the villages, our passion for this country we've loved for over 30 years.
Every tour we offer today still carries the spirit of those first rides with friends: taking time, sharing, discovering the real Vietnam.
Our promise
When you leave with us, you're not doing a "tourist tour".
You're experiencing a day like the one that started it all in 1996: an authentic ride, off the beaten path, with people who know and deeply love this region.
We look forward to sharing our Vietnam with you.
Thu & Pascal
Founders of Heaven and Earth Cycling Tours
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