Lucy Do

We absolutely loved our trip to Vietnam. Lucy, our local specialist helped tremendously during our planning phase. She was very accommodating even when we had to make several changes. Our guide, KC and driver, Quang while we were in Hanoi were spectacular. KC was very informative and kept us entertained the entire time. He really made the first part of our trip extra special. Quang was such a great driver and was able to handle the crazy traffic in Hanoi with ease.
All of our hotels were high end and the staff were always there to help us in any way. Annie from the GM Premium Hotel in Hanoi was like a personal assistant helping us find places to eat, an ATM and providing us reservations even on the 80th anniversary which was hard to come by.
We had a cooking class with Chef Ai and her niece and it was definitely a highlight of our trip.
In Phu Quoc we stayed at the Dusit Princess Moonrise hotel. The staff was exceptional. We especially loved Victor in the hotel bar and Ms. My who gave us several excursion options. We had a great experience at the spa there and loved our massages.
In Ho Chi Minh City the hotel restaurant manager was extra special. He sat and talked with us for over 30 minutes even after they closed. He suggested drinks to try and other establishments in town that we might like.
Our last night in Ho Chi Minh City was spent on a street food tour with Vespa Wanderers and we loved it! Riding on the Vespas was so exciting and the food was great. At the end of the night they gave us a mini scrapbook with pictures taken of us throughout the night. That made it all more special and we have no idea how they were able to get it completed without us knowing.
Vietnam was everything we had hoped and more. Each hotel had a special welcome for us when we got there. Lucy made sure everyone knew we were there to celebrate our anniversary and they made sure to make it extra special. We can't wait to go back

We had an excellent trip. Lucy was always helpful and prompt in her support, changing and improving things for us in the planning stage. When we got here everything ran smoothly. Our guides were also excellent. Andy was very knowledgeable and keen to work with us. We especially loved our guide Bau in Sapa . She was very easy to talk to about life in northern Vietnam and even though our second scenic route was not very scenic because of mist she made it a pleasure to be walking with her.

The boat trip in Ha Long Bay also had many plus points. Our room was lovely and the food amazing. We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to see much of the bay being mostly in one spot rather than cruising. The swimming and kayaking were very strictly controlled- we didn’t get a second kayaking choice on the cave visit. These were the slight hiccups at the end of our trip.
We loved La Siesta Hotel in Hanoi. The staff were helpful and kind , the Skybar was amazing and the breakfast wonderful. We also loved Le Clos du Fil - a quieter and calmer hotel with a lovely pool and a perfect place to draw breath in our busy trip. Perhaps the hotel in Sapa was not quite up to the standard of the rest? It had great views but it was a bit tired looking in places.

These are small things which I hope you can use in future bookings. We did have an amazing time and we are very grateful to Lucy for putting this in place for us. We hope to be planning our next Kim Kim trip soon!

Janice and Alex

The planning was good and easy and accommodated my asks and adjustments.

Some hotels were not as good as others but all in all they were good. Our favourite was the Bespoke Trendy hotel in Hanoi and our least favourite was the DeLaSoi in Sapa for various reason.

I would also call out that the tour guides wanted to take us to factory tours even when we asked not to go to factory tours.

Hotel Reviews

Doris Cruise

Very large boat and did not really sail into some of the areas because of the size. It was full to capacity and not very personalized. Felt like over commercialized and were we herded around like cattle. I would not recommend this tour option. They packed the guest into a smaller boat and then picked up other guests form other boats for any off-boat tours (group as large as 40 people on side tours) They were too commercial and were more interested in scale and taking large groups around. Nothing was personalized Meals were not very good, Buffet but very standard and plane and very set (had 45 min each meal to finish and move out)

Authenticity & Character

very commercial

Location

The large boat never really sallied anywhere and we had to get on a smaller board to go anywhere which was a shared boat with all the large boats in the area

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

DeLaSol Phat Linh Sapa Hotel

Breakfast was not good. Did not even offer breakfast tea and when we asked for tea nobody could speak English. No staff spoke English so hard to communicate. Food was left open and had fly's on it. very bad breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chapa Express Train

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

What you would expect on a train

Bespoke Trendy Hotel Hanoi

Cant say enough about this hotel. I have NEVER stayed in a hotel that went that far out of their way to accommodate us. They were the best

Authenticity & Character

REally unique and really felt like a bespoke hotel

Location

Great location and in the heart of the city

Staff

They made the visit a pleasure. Helped with everything and were the best. They arranged so much for us and gave us so many tips on where to go and what to do

Cleanliness & Comfort

White Lotus Hue Hotel

Hue

Not a great location and not very modern

Authenticity & Character

more a business hotel. Not a great pool or breakfast area.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Saga Hotel Hoi An

Hoi An

Good hotel but if your room is street facing then it could be noisy. Only feedback was that they have a shuttle to the old town but last shuttle stops 5:30 but night market starts 7PM so not easy to go into the old town after 5:30.

Authenticity & Character

The staff were great and very helpful

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paragon Saigon Hotel

Hotel was ok and in a good area with easy walking to sites and places. The staff were very helpful and always available.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lan Ha Bay – Dark & Bright Cave – Disembark Cruise (Doris Cruise)

Ha Long Bay

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycling At Viet Hai Village – Kayaking – Swimming (Doris Cruise 3D2N)

Ha Long Bay

Boat was very commercialized and full capacity (40 people). Teh boat was too large to go into the smaller areas and basicalyl jsut went up and down for 30min cruise. Any acticvyties were off boat at the boat was too large. They then put you into a smaller boat with people from other boats to go swimming or cylcing. Very impersonal and mass tourist with no real engaement.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

boat does pickup from 4 other boats so waist a lot of time just picking people up and dropping off

Onboarding - Lan Ha Bay – Ba Trai Dao/ Tra Bau (Doris Cruise)

Ha Long Bay

Very busy and full of tourists.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Black Hmong Villages of Sa Xeng & Sau Chua

Sapa

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek Along the Rice Terraces in Muong Hoa Valley - Visit Lao Chai and Ta Van Villages

Sapa

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hanoi Fullday City Tour with Train Track Coffee Enjoying

Hanoi

Have to see it but very tourist trap. Teh old town cycle was ok but guy cycling us around just wanted more money for a tip

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cyclist complained while cycling us around old town. Went so slow people were going past us and then he asked for double tip

Touch the History of Former Imperial Capital - Hue Full Day Sightseeing (S)

Hue

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A Wonderful Day Experience At Van Lang Fishing Village

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

Food

Food was just ok

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Original Taste of Hoi An

Vietnam

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Enjoy Walking Tour of Hoi An's Ancient Town

Hoi An

Tour was good and we enjoyed the foot tasting part. Only part we have a issue with was that theatre show. It was rubbish and there was 100% agreement from the audience that it was a tourist trap. Not worth doing at all

Quality of Experience

remove the theatre show

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to the Mekong Delta (Ben Tre)

Ho Chi Minh City

It was a good experience and glad we added

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ho Chi Minh City Highlights

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore the Cu Chi Tunnels

Ho Chi Minh City

Interesting but a little outdated. The video shown was from 1980 and quality was bad

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall this was a good experience. Lucy set everything up for us and all of the transfers were seamless. Our guides and drivers all met us in the hotel lobbies and were very easy to find. This dramatically reduced any travel-related stress. Most of our guides were wonderful and very hospitable. However, I do think there is some room for improvement. I think we felt underprepared for some of the excursions/tours. For example, it was almost 100°F during our walking tour of the rice terraces and our guide spoke little English. While beautiful, this was maybe not the best choice of a tour for this weather. Additionally, we did a tour involving river boats where it wasn’t clear to us ahead of time whether we’d be getting wet and needing swimming gear. In hindsight, I think we also would have reduced the Ha Long Bay trip to maybe just a day visit or gone to Cat Ba instead. In general I think it would have been nice to know what other tour options there were, as we met others along the way that took motorbikes to a waterfall in Pu Luong or saw some folks doing a seaplane tour in Ha Long Bay.