Hien Do

I was very impressed with Realistic Asia’s service. Hien was a fantastic guide, she made the whole end to end process so easy, allowing us to relax and enjoy our trip, from planning our trip to budget, the easy to follow comprehensive itinerary through to the WhatsApp prompts and reminders about timings and drivers.
I really recommend Realistic Asia for a stress free trip!

Hotel Reviews

Hanoi Allure Hotel

Big rooms, nice welcome, attentive staff, friendly and helpful for a late check out and other services when our flight was delayed.

Authenticity & Character

Great decor, it has 2 wings

Location

So central in the old quarter of Hanoi, close to the action!

Staff

attentive staff, friendly and helpful for a late check out and other services when our flight was delayed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice big rooms, quiet air conditioning.

Gateway Inn Pu Luong

A good location, fabulous views with friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Furnishings a little bit tired but clean and comfortable

Location

Fantastic views

Staff

So friendly, engaging and happy to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

Would only let us have 1 extra pillow between us but likely because of availability of spares

Lalita Boutique Hotel & Spa Ninh Binh

Sleek hotel with helpful staff.

Authenticity & Character

It has a great rooftop pool and little bar

Location

I couldn’t be sure if they had access to a driver to take us the short way into town, but likely had bikes if we wanted to use as they are on the outskirts

Staff

The receptionist was happy to help us plan the day and organise a driver, had some great tips, thanks!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pool looked like it could be cleaned a bit more frequently but it wasn’t too bad and I used it without issue, otherwise all good!

Doris Cruise

A quaint little cruise ship with some surprises!

Authenticity & Character

It had a great sized bedroom and bathroom with a huge bath!

Location

Visiting Lan Ha bay which was quieter was a great scoop. It offered some fun activities.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful, when I thought I had lost something they were quick to check it hadn’t been handed in

Cleanliness & Comfort

The toilet flush did stop working and the balcony door was tough to open but nothing major and we had no other concerns.

Activity Reviews

Pu Luong - Caving | Scenic Rice Fields

Pu Luong Nature Reserve

Beautiful countryside, the cave is a little past its best (not many bats live here anymore) but it’s still worth a visit and was welcome way to cool down after the hot trek down and before the hotter trek back up!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So great to have a local guide for our 3 trips to share her local knowledge and was also keen to learn about Australia, I hope she visits soon!

Enchanting 19km Off-Road Trekking

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

It was out of season so the waterfall wasn’t as breathtaking as it could have been but a welcome cool off experience.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So great to have a local guide Tuyen for our 3 trips to share her local knowledge and she was also keen to learn about Australia, I hope she visits soon! We were blessed and grateful to be invited into Tuyen’s home for some respite on this big trek as it was a hot day. She checked often to ensure we didn’t need a rest. Thanks Tuyen!

Transport

Village Life | Water Wheels | Rafting ( Day3)

Pu Luong Nature Reserve

Lovely to see the working water wheels and experience more village life.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So great to have a local guide Tuyen for our 3 trips to share her local knowledge and was also keen to learn about Australia, I hope she visits soon!

Transport

We had a very diverse adventure that started in Hanoi for a few days and then proceeded to Ba Be, Cao Bang, and Lang Son. Victor Tran was our guide for the north along with a very careful driver. Victor did is best to be flexible and do what we wanted to do and provided significant insights into the culture. We did an outing to a tea farm, cooking and walking and visited the street food scene in Hanoi along with the Temple of Literature and a general tour of Hanoi. This leg required a lot of time in the car to reach remote areas but the landscape with the karst mountains was amazing sometimes hidden in the mist and a bit of rain. Driving to Ba Be and doing an outing on the lake in the same day meant that the outing was limited since we got a bit of a late start. The Ban Gioc Waterfalls were enjoyable, and we considered the Nui Thung- God eye Mountain very impressive and should not be missed. We were less impressed with Lang Son though the hotel was very nice. One of the highlights of the trip was the Dragon Legend Cruise on Bai Tu Long Bay with cruising the iconic limestone islands, kayaking, beach lunch and visit to the floating village. The boat, rooms and food were superb. The visit to Ninh Binh, though it is a very tourist-oriented town, the boat trips through the caves and hills was pleasurable and the LeClos Du Fil hotel was excellent. Also, the Cuc Phuong park was steamy but the visit to the primate center was memorable. From there we proceeded by air to Phong Nha to visit the amazing cave there, another very memorable experience along with a walk in the Botanic Garden with waterfall. Hue and the Imperial City tour, Tu Doc Royal Tomb, lagoon visit and staying at the incredible Ancient Hue Garden Houses hotel. The last stop was Hoi An, exploring the city, visit to My Son and the incredible dance group performance. All the guides were great, some better than other but very professional and very knowledgeable.

We arranged a 10 day trip to northern Vietnam w Kimkim for our family of 4 from San Francisco. Planning was a breeze with hien. Took a bit of advice around preferences and timing and turned it around to an incredible itinerary within a day. Adjusted to changes we requested. Saw prior reviews around transparency of pricing- which I get - though our pricing was very reasonable so i didn’t feel the need to run the numbers against if I’d planned myself. In country experience (coordination, local guide, driver etc) was superb. Our guide kc was absolutely tremendous- knowledgeable, flexible, knew how to adjust to and engage our 6 and 9 year old. Just a wonderful experience all around, we will recommend and likely use again on our upcoming travel.

The entire process from the very first phone call to our final transport to the airport was seamless. Hien was a great communicator and listened to what we wanted for this trip --- it was paced out well with lots of activities and down time for us to enjoy. Hien followed up with quick responses and checked-in. All of our stops had something memorable: the food tour in Hanoi, gorgeous views of Halong Bay, Motor bike riding and custom tailors in Hoi An, to the historical and vibrant city of Ho Chi Minh. We enjoyed all the hotels and breakfasts, starting each morning off well. The guides were well versed, knowledgeable and accomodating -- KC in Hanoi, Mr. Phat in Saigon and Cat with Vespa Wanderers to round out our 10 day adventure in Vietnam.

We look forward to visiting Vietnam and look forward to using Realistic Asia again in future trips.

This was our first trip to Vietnam, and we were incredibly fortunate to work with Hien. From the start, she was attentive, responsive, and genuinely helpful in planning our itinerary, taking into account all our requests and the places we wanted to visit. She even assisted us with booking our international flight from PEN to SGN, which made things so much easier.

Hien’s communication was outstanding—she consistently responded quickly and thoroughly to all our questions, offering top-notch service that truly stands out. Her dedication made a huge difference in our experience.

We highly recommend Hien of Realistic Asia and KimKim. Thanks to her, our trip became a beautiful and lasting memory. We’re already looking forward to visiting Vietnam again in 2027!

We had a truly amazing family trip to Vietnam, and with Hien's help, everything was organized smoothly. It's no small feat, because we are ambitious travelers who like to see and do as much as we can. Our Ha Long Bay two-night cruise was definitely worthwhile - it's nice to get a bit further out where there are fewer boats. We also really enjoyed having time to wander around Hoi An on our own, though our guide was ready with lots of tips for the best shops and snacks. Transportation was seamless and flexible. Our guide, KC, in Hanoi was great with the kids - our youngest was sad to leave him behind as we continued on. The only thing I would suggest is making sure you specify if you're not the type of family that likes big family-style meals - we had some great meals, but they were a tough sell for our picky children!

Hien and her team made our trip to Vietnam as effortless as possible. She worked with me for weeks to finalize the travel plan and tours, which was tricky because I was traveling with a young child. She provided check ins and numbers throughout the trip. When we found that one of the hotels was not what we expected it to be, Hien found a solution quickly to correct the situation. We really appreciated how seamless our travel was because of her plan and execution of transport, guides, tours and hotels. I would definitely recommend her again.

Our entire planning process was very helpful. Our local guides in Cambodia and Hanoi were knowledgeable, and helpful. OVerall, it was a great experience. Highly recommend this team.