Hien Do

STRONG CUSTOMER SERVICE/ EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION

Hien helped us plan our Vietnam/Thailand trip from June 1 to 13. We packed a lot into this 2 week trip which Hien kept tweaking to our preference and satisfaction. Unbelievably organized compared to the last travel agent we used.
Throughout the whole trip, she kept checking on us and reminded us of driver/pick-up times (always punctual) and who our guide will be, etc.

When things didn't go according to original plan, she already had a quick back-up. For instance...Ha Long Bay Paradise Peak Cruise's air condition malfunctioned at last minute so she booked us on sister ship, Paradise Elegance. Although the room was smaller than our room on P.Peak's, she made it right by making sure our room had a large wrap around balcony and my husband got a free 60 minute massage. Additionally, we were supposed to have dinner cruise the following week on Manohra Cruise in Bangkok, but boat caught on fire. Hien was able to get us a refund pretty quickly since back-up dinner cruise ship could not accommodate us at a specific time.

Choice of guides were also great! KC (Kim Cuong), our Hanoi guide, took us on street food tour which included (per our request) a hunt for reasonably priced Kopi Luwak coffee beans (from movie "The Bucket List") and a perfect seat to watch the train's approach on Hanoi's famous Old Train Street.
Tim (Tipparat), our Bangkok guide, also went the extra mile. She picked us up at BKK airport. During our 1 hour drive to our hotel, she helped us make reservation at Michelin Star restaurant, R-Haan. She also got us seating at the famous Jay Fai " street food" restaurant prior to our actual street food tour. Not sure how she did it because Jay Fai does not take reservations. There is usually a long queue.

We went on many excursions, such as a hike in SaPa's rice fields, a trip to Ninh Binh (Mua Cave, Tam Coc), and my favorite, Chai Lai Orchid Elephant Sanctuary. All perfectly planned.

Hotels--Hien will work with your budget. We chose to stay at mid-luxury hotels.

Hanoi: Peridot Boutique Hotel is located in Old Quarter. Great location...we were able to walk to Hoa Lo Prison, the Water Puppet Theatre, Chinatown area, and Train Street. Great breakfast buffet.

Sa Pa: Topas Ecolodge-- we just stayed in a Premium Executive Bungalow and it had a great view. Food at Topas...breakfast buffet and dinner surprised us...actually quite good.

Sa Pa: Hotel de la Coupole -M Gallery --beautiful hotel. Absinthe Bar (Afternoon Tea) offers sweet and savory treats paired with tea and coffee. Chic Restaurant had great breakfast buffet but limited choices for dinner.

Chiang Mai: Tamarind Village-- great location in Old City. The Sunday night market is pretty much right in front of hotel. You can walk to the temples. Breakfast buffet was great.

Bangkok: Anantara Riverside --we had a great room with river view. Restaurants are very mediocre --Trader Vic's, Brio, Benihana--all these restaurants are in the US. Drinks at the bar (alcoholic and non) are very expensive even by US standards. Breakfast and dinner buffet also mediocre. Expected more from a luxury ( or mid-luxury?) resort. At least just about a 10minute Grab (Uber in SE Asia) ride to Iconsiam where you can find "air conditioned street food stalls" at bottom level.

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.