First time using a platform like this, or a t...
Vietnam
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Feb 21 - Mar 1, 2024
First time using a platform like this, or a travel agent of any kind, and it worked out well. Dat was a very responsive travel planner who provided us with lots of ideas and options for tours, day trips, activities, hotels, everything. Overall everything went incredibly smoothly and was a lot of fun! The airport transfers, random pickups and drives were all very timely and comfortable. We focused on food and did a lot of related activities, the standout being Chef Ai's cooking class in her home kitchen in Hanoi, which started with a morning market walk and included plenty of cooking and eating but also really good discussion about Vietnamese food, culture, history, and the future! We also had city-specific guides with us for multiple days and I have to give kudos to Cuong (our honest and incredibly informative guide in Hanoi and Ninh Binh), Trinh (our foodie guide in Hue) and Nam (our comical and friendly guide in Saigon). They were full of information and insight, spoke English very well, provided us with great recommendations for things to do when we had free time, and were just pleasant people to spend time and chat with.
If I have anything critical to say it's that we spent too much time in Hoi An (4 days) and not enough in Hue (1 full day), but that's personal preference. Overall we hit many of the main sights and cities of Vietnam and for our first visit to the country it was a great introduction and overview. I want to return to spend more time in the mountains and do some trekking.
Overall highly recommended!
Activity Reviews
Our guide Cuong walked us around the old quarter for various dishes, snacks, and drinks. It was pleasant, well-paced, and delicious!
One of our best experiences in Vietnam! Chef Ai and her niece were engaging, pleasant, and skillful. From the market walk to food prep to sharing a meal together, it was a really special and comfortable experience in Chef Ai's home.
Trinh guided us around her hometown of Hue for an amazing night of food. She's a foodie herself so it was fun to chat, ask all sorts of questions about how central Vietnamese food differs from the rest of the country, and to learn about the history of the area at the same time.
This tour is interesting but felt a bit rushed and ultimately very touristy. The cooking experience was actually really well-done and interactive, but the rest of it was not our cup of tea in that it was very touristy. Chef Hai, our guide for the day works hard and was at his best in the kitchen, he made the experience better in every way.
Hoi An is a cute town and seeing it in the morning was a very different (and pleasant) experience compared to the chaos of the evening. Our guide however seemed mostly disinterested and didn't volunteer much info, preferring to walk hastily from place to place and look at his phone while we were eating.
