Personalized trips to Vietnam
for independent travelers

I loved my trip to Vietnam, Doris (in the back office) and Hoang (the guide who accompanied us) were always very helpful and helped us discover several incredible places that we wouldn't have gone to without them.
We don't usually travel with a guide, but Hoang and Doris always gave us the necessary space so we didn't feel like we were on a traditional tour.
Everything went very well, and I highly recommend it!

We knew that planning a 3-week Southeast Asia vacation for my family would be too difficult and overwhelming by ourselves. I'm so happy we went with Hien to help us plan our vacation itineraries for Vietnam and Thailand! I gave her some ideas of places we wanted to visit, as well as some experiences we wanted to have and she ran with it and came up with an amazing itinerary of cultural experiences, historical tours, foodie tours, eco-tours, etc. We've been back home for a week now and have had time to reflect on our whole trip. The trip was absolutely AMAZING. Everything was planned out perfectly. We always knew we would have a guide greeting us at the airport. We knew we would have a guide/driver to our tours and other scheduled events. The lunches and dinners that were set up especially for us were top-notch. We always knew once we had a new guide, we would have their number and they would be available to answer questions we had or help us out when needed. They were also great picture-takers and we got some wonderful family pictures of our trip! Thank you so much for planning such a wonderful and not-soon-forgotten vacation for our family! We were able to get a taste of what true Vietnam and Thailand are, aside from the usual tourist-trap type locations. The local families we spent time with were so welcoming and the kids really appreciated the local life and customs we partook in. Biking through the villages and rice paddies was an amazing experience that we all are still talking about. The elephant sanctuary in Thailand was also a hit among all family members. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience it was! I want to give accolades to our guide, Cuong, who we had in Hanoi and Ninh Binh. He was an amazing guide and an absolute life-saver when we had to find medical care for our son, as he helped us find what we needed and acted as an interpreter. He truly is top notch among guides and we are very thankful we had him! He was so knowledgeable about everywhere we went and even changed up our schedule in Ninh Binh to better suit what we were looking for in a local experience, to make it that much more meaningful to us.

Hotel Reviews

Chanalai Garden Resort

Lovely hotel, well decorated, friendly staff in the restaurant. Close to beach, pool was very nice. Rooms were clean. We had booked a twin room for our kids but they did not have one available upon check-in, so we had to wait until the next day for one to be available and then move all their belongings. They didn’t allow us late checkout on our last day, but they did store our luggage for us and allow us use of the facilities until our later flight that evening, which was much appreciated.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

De Charme Hotel

Amphoe Muang, Si Phum, Chiang Mai

Hotel looks nice from the outside but the rooms are dated. The shower and bathroom could use a good scrubbing. The bed was rock hard. We had no hot water the first day. They did fix the hot water the second day and brought a mattress topper, which helped a lot. Staff were not very friendly either. They did allow us a late check out the last day, which was appreciated with a later flight.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Plenty of restaurants in walking distance

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

True Siam Rangnam Hotel

Phayathai, Rajthevee, Province

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Silverland May Hotel

Very nice hotel. Very clean with impeccable service and helpful and friendly staff. Large breakfast selection.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aqua of The Seas Cruise

Room was spacious and clean. Not much to do on board in the evening. There was a very loud and obnoxious large group that ravaged the buffet the first day until the second day when everyone was given plated meals. Their children were also loud and uncontrollable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location - Halong Bay

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hidden Charm Ninh Binh

Ninh Thang, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh

Lovely accommodations and close to everything. Amazing views!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dal Vostro Hotel & Spa

Hanoi

Nice accommodations and great location right in the center of the Old Quarter. Hotel staff were extremely nice and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In the center of it all. Lots of shops and restaurants close by.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Phuket Hanuman World Zipline Adventure 32 Platform ( private transfer )

Phuket

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day Chiang Mai Elephant Jungle Sanctuary - Join tour

Chiang Mai

The highlight of our time in Thailand! Such an amazing experience to be all hands on with these beautiful creatures!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Doi Inthanon National Park (N)

Chiang Mai

Hiking through the jungle and seeing the rice paddies and wildlife was an experience! The waterfalls were beautiful.

Quality of Experience

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Chiang Mai Half Day city tour - Monk Chatting

Chiang Mai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Maeklong Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak floating market

Bangkok

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bangkok City Tour Full Day (RA)

Bangkok

The temples and the Grand Palace were beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Bangkok Evening Food & Tuk Tuk Tour

Bangkok

The tuk tuks were a lot of fun and the food sampling we did was really cool and delicious!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cu Chi Tunnels & Half Day City Tour

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Day Trip to the Mekong Delta (Ben Tre)

Ho Chi Minh City

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Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Ho Chi Minh City Full Day Sightseeing with Temples

Ho Chi Minh City

We visited Cho Lin market, Thien Hau pagoda, Ong Bon temple, Independence Palace, Central Post Office, Book Street, and Jade pagoda.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Trung Trang Cave - Tuan Chau - Disembarking Aqua of The Seas Cruise

Ha Long Bay

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Hanoi - Lan Ha Bay - Onboarding Aqua of The Seas cruise

Vietnam

The caves were cool and the scenery of Halong Bay was beautiful.

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Food

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Boat Trip Exploring The Natural Beauty of Trang An & Visit Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

Vietnam

We actually changed up our itinerary this day and went to Tam Coc instead of Trang An. We went through many caves and had a beautiful scenic view at the Kh Gioi Ravine. Visited the Bich Dong Pagoda and Chus Ha Ha Pagoda. Went motor biking in the evening, which was an absolute blast.

Quality of Experience

Awww

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Ninh Binh - Biking trip to Tho Ha village, Nho Quan

Ninh Binh

We loved biking through the village and rice fields. We enjoyed our cooking class and going through the Galaxy Grotto caves.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Hanoi fullday city tour with Jade Temple

Hanoi

Another great day with our guide, Cuong. We had a full day with a visit to the Hang Be market, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, Temple of Literature, Hoa Lo Prison, Jade Temple, and finished with a water puppet show.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Street food walking tour (S)

Hanoi

Cuong was an amazing guide for this street food tour. We got to experience some of the best eats in Hanoi. It was so much fun and the egg coffee was top notch!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful trip and planning it was super easy! We had 4 different drafts before we settled on one we loved. Dat was great about communicating the changes and answering questions as we planned. He even made sure the visas we got for both countries were correct.

Transfers: All pickups and drops off went smoothly! It was so nine knowing those logistics were taken care of. It was great to have the domestic airline tickets booked as well. We simply had to show up at the right time and be transported to the next spot.

Highlights
Hanoi: Tam Coc River tour was amazing! I would suggest people bring a hat or umbrella as it was super hot!
Bahn Mi 25 - best sandwich we have had! We went two times!
Dal Vostro Hotel - this was the best hotel we stayed at and the best breakfast we had on the whole trip. The rooms were great and the staff was so incredibly helpful and kind!

Sapa: trekking is a must! I do wish we would have realized how muddy it got on parts of the trail. I would have brought shoes that I did not care about ruining. Thankfully we were able to get them washed for $2 in town! This was such a beautiful place and the people we met along the way were lovely. We had an amazing lunch at red Dzao house and got a foot massage after trekking for $6. We did not do the part of the itinerary about spending time in the Dzay village. Once we arrived there, we got in the car and left. It was disappointing. Hotel was great - not as friendly as the one in Hanoi.

Ha Long Bay - AMAZING! Doris cruises were so wonderful! The rooms are huge and the lunch they served upon arriving was outstanding. We got to kayak and swim. I was stunned by the scenery and the small cruise made the experience personal.

Ho Chi Minh - we learned so much while we were here. The War Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels - while hard, were well worth the time. Johnathan our tour guide was great! Dinner at Propaganda was a highlight! The hotel was ok. It was right across from a nightclub, so the first night was really loud. The breakfast was ok - nothing special.
Mekong Delta was awesome! Again, we learned so much! Watching the coconut candy get made was fun. We brought some home to share. The set lunch was not good at all. It was a lot of food that didn't taste that great.

Phnom Penh - The Killing Fields and S-21 were really heavy places to visit, but also necessary. Our guide was helpful. It was really special to meet 4 of the survivors of S-21. We had an amazing dinner at Eleven - one & at The Titanic. Our hotel was great! Getting a tuk tuk was easy and able to walk to restaurants!

Siem Reap - We LOVED our guide - Narong! He was so funny, helpful and taught us a lot! He is also a sharp dresser! He and the driver took such good care of us with cold water and cold wipes, especially after a hot day at Angor Wat. The hotel was lovely - and the massages are heavenly! We had a wonderful dinner at Haven and at Mesa. Lunch was supposed to be included on the Angor Wat day - but our guide said it wasn't. The lunch place was good!

Overall it was an amazing trip! Here are a few things we felt could be improved upon:
1. The lunches on the group tours (private tours was great) were disappointing. It just wasn't good food.
2. There were 2 things on our itinerary we did not do - one in Sapa and one in Tam Coc - disappointing.
3. Be clear about what meals are included.
4. It was hard to communicate with Dat once we were in country. There were times we reached out via whatsapp and had to follow up because we didn't hear back from him. There was also an urgent matter he had to attend to which is fine, but it would have been nice to have a back up number.
5. I might chose a different hotel in Ho Chi Minh City - because of the nightclub.