Create your custom-made trip to Vietnam

Thank you for crafting a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my son and stepson. We had an amazing time in Vietnam under the care of Sens.
I’ve traveled to many places around the world, and I think Vietnam may very well be my favorite place. The food is wonderful, the scenery is gorgeous, and above all, the people are so kind and optimistic.

Regarding the tour. Mr. Khoa was an outstanding guide. He was pleasant, patient, and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to make sure we stopped at... read more

Thank you for crafting a once-in-a-lifetime experience for my son and stepson. We had an amazing time in Vietnam under the care of Sens.
I’ve traveled to many places around the world, and I think Vietnam may very well be my favorite place. The food is wonderful, the scenery is gorgeous, and above all, the people are so kind and optimistic.

Regarding the tour. Mr. Khoa was an outstanding guide. He was pleasant, patient, and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to make sure we stopped at interesting places and beautiful views.

Our accommodations were great. The hotel in Hanoi was very well located, and the staff was attentive. The rooms were very spacious and clean. Our visit to Mai Chau was outstanding. Our lunch was tasty, and the “homestay” was a fun and delicious experience. We very much enjoyed biking through the villages. I hadn’t been on a bike for 20 years, but it’s true that you don’t forget how, and it was so much fun! Again, Khoa made sure to stop at interesting places and explain what was going on. Our driver was excellent. I always felt that we were in safe hands as he navigated the crazy streets of Hanoi, and the winding roads in the country.

Our visit to the school in Mai Chau was wonderful. We’d bought some soccer balls and badminton sets in Hanoi under Khoa’s recommendation, and they went over very well with the staff and students. We were warmly greeted by all of the staff/teachers, and were treated to oranges and conversation before we got a tour of the school. There was one young student in particular who was a wonderful conversationalist in English. He is a particularly fond memory.

I’m glad that you convinced us to go to Bai Tu Long Bay. It was stunning. The host on the Swan Cruise, Marcus (Minh) was very engaging and fun. I liked the size of the group on the cruise—being somewhat small.

I have only two disappointments I would like to convey. The first was the lunch at Mother’s Kitchen in Hanoi. The food was very good, but I would much rather have gone to a true local spot for some Pho or Cha Ca. Similarly, the lunch in Ninh Binh was another tourist spot I would like to have avoided. I recall the food being just “okay.”

While on the Swan Cruise we met a Vietnamese woman from Hanoi who was traveling alone for the first time, and rounded out our table of three to a table of four at mealtimes. In such a short time, we became friends, and continue to communicate!

None of this could have happened without the fantastic work that Linh and Ha did to pull this all together for us. Gam un!

I hope to visit Vietnam again one day, and look forward to you helping plan a trip to visit the South! In the meantime, I wish you all the very best.

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly,... read more

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly, knowledgable and explained a lot.

Hung, our guide from Oxalis was amazing. He adapted the tour for us, added an additional cave (which required a lot more climbing), and was full of energy and fun.

Ni was an excellent guide with lots of energy making sure we always get the best out of it. She adapted the programme perfectly around the weather (rain, rain, rain) and our interests.

I have a few areas were changes could be possible (not to be regarded as criticism, just for future planning):
1.) Swimming in Ha Long is not allowed. Should be taken out of the description
2.) The hotel in Phong Nha (I think we were in a different than in the programme) was not the greatest. I would suggest two possible improvements: a) IF staying in this hotel it should be highlighted that they can wash the clothes from the treck but the laundry should be handed in before 6pm to avoid express charges - this could then be in the programme and used to plan packing and getting things clean and dry again after the treck. b) It would also be good to allow for a late breakfast. After the trek we were super-tired and a sleep-in, then breakfast, then cartrip would have been appreciated. b) Alternatively, rather than staying overnight in the Phong Nha area the car trip to Hue could be done immediately afterwards. This would allow us to sleep in the car but gain a whole day.
3.) The hotel in Hue was quite loud with lots of party across the road.
4.) In Hoi An the first fisherman experience was superb. Friendly, happy and "off the beaten path". The second fisherman village was then very touristy and a bit of a shock. The basket boat row could well have been done with the first fishermen (or skipped). Maybe alternatively, one could learn about local ways to grow crop and harvest and process it.
5.) The Mekong trip was interesting, but somehow less exciting than the previous parts of the trip. I had expected more nature and was a bit disappointed. In total we spent too much time driving relative to the experiences made. While it is important to understand that various religious groups live together in harmony (and I think it reached the kids that this is by no means the standard), the visit to the Cham village was rather disappointing. It also feels wrong to walk along a street and look at people. The floating market was nice but the number of tourists outnumbers the locals. Tra Su made up for it (but only lasted for about 1 hour).... We had fun in the evenings though, eating locally, strolling around and enjoying the locals (who enjoyed us...). If a "Mekong Experience" could be organised from HCM - maybe in combination with the tunnels it would save two days and a lot of driving. I would then rather spend another day or two in the Tu Lan area. Alternatively one could try to save a day and use the time to see Angkor What. It would also be nice if the car had internet for the long drives (the car from Pho Nah to Hue to Hoi An to Danang had internet which was very welcomed).

As said, these comments are not a criticism, we thoroughly enjoyed our journey, were exhausted from all the input (and still are), and thank you again for the great organisation and putting such a dense and exciting programme together.

Best wishes,

Eike.

I would, and have recommended Kimkim to help plan any trip. We used them for the first time to help plan our trip to Croatia and had such a good experience we used them again for Vietnam. Victor made planning so easy, from helping with the itinerary, booking hotels and internal flights, private tours with great guides, transfers and getting our visa letters. He was always available if we had any questions while in Vietnam.
Khai was a great guide in Ho Chi Minh City and thanks to him we made... read more

I would, and have recommended Kimkim to help plan any trip. We used them for the first time to help plan our trip to Croatia and had such a good experience we used them again for Vietnam. Victor made planning so easy, from helping with the itinerary, booking hotels and internal flights, private tours with great guides, transfers and getting our visa letters. He was always available if we had any questions while in Vietnam.
Khai was a great guide in Ho Chi Minh City and thanks to him we made our flights to Danang when there was a small problem at the airport with our names. The Vespa tour we went on one evening with Linda and her team was one our favorite things.
In Hoi An, we were well taken care of by our guide Than. Our hotel there, Golden Holiday, was the best and Hoi An was amazing.
Last but not least, our guide Anh in Hanoi was fantastic. She is energetic and loved telling us all sorts things about Vietnam life.
Needless to say thanks to Victor and his team we had one of the best trips we have ever taken and loved every minute of Vietnam.