Lam did an amazing job putting together an itinerary based on phone/text conversations. We told him the where and what and he did the rest. The accommodations were beyond expectation, the guides were unbelievably friendly, and the places we were taken were spectacular. Having guides and drivers is worth every penny. So much time and money would have been wasted had we tried to accomplish this ourselves.

We got to experience so much more because of our guides local knowledge. Lastly, how great it was not to worry about how we were getting to the next adventure. Had we not used Indochina Pioneer I truly believe I wouldn’t have as many astonishing memories.

Link: https://www.tripadvisor.com.vn/ShowUserReviews-g293924-d2211874-r751994054-Indochina_Pioneer-Hanoi.html

Mr. Lam….

Here we are already a week back home in the US from three weeks in Asia.  The continued changes/challenges that are occurring all around our world right now are such a strange and unique phenomenon.  I hope everything is going alright on your end, both professionally and personally, in regarding the CoVid-19 issues.  WOW!

Since we’ve been home….and even while Mary and I were in Asia….we both remarked on repeated occasions about how fortunate we felt to be able to experience the parts of Asia that we did….and do it the way we did!  It was only by way of the assistance that you put into place through the guide services and drivers that we could’ve come away with having such a truly FANTASTIC journey!!

I cannot adequately put into words what a benefit it was to have employed your service for this trip.  We are tremendously thankful to you for your flexibility in working with us using our itinerary and blending what we had in mind with what additional experiences might complement our plans.  Thank you for working on our behalf to get us into the wonderful hotel accommodations in the various areas.  To expound on that a bit…. In Can Tho, we stayed at the Lighthouse B & B.  Not knowing what to expect about ANYTHING prior to our arrival….then,….becoming aware of the modest way of life…the poverty that exists in that area….we were STUNNED to be treated to such a fabulous place to stay in the LightHouse!!!  Beyond all dreams/expectations! MARVELOUS in every single way!!   People make such a big difference…and that was so true at the Lighthouse.  Despite our inabilities for fluent communication in Vietnamese, the staff at the hotel were so accommodating, friendly and made us feel so welcome.  We had the opportunity to meet the owner just prior to leaving…..such a privilege to meet her and express to her our gratitude.

The second place we stayed at was the Riverside Resort in HoiAn.  Such a unique, paradise-like place!  Again…the PEOPLE!  I hate to used the same words again and again, but, so WONDERFUL was that whole experience!!  I could easily see coming back to Hoi An and spending a week or more just at that Resort and in browsing around the Old City and surrounding areas of DaNang.

The Liberty Central Hotel in Saigan felt special too.  We couldn’t get over at so many of these hotels…..each one of these hotels….the FOOD was beyond remarkable!  Such an array of choices and taste sensations!  An apparent tradition in Asia is the welcome drink….what a great thing!  It is such a nice gesture…not at all expected, and so revitalizing to a traveler/tourist.   The people who worked at every single hotel in which we stayed were so warm and accommodating…such easy people with whom to engage.

The Lapis Hotel in Hanoi …..again….more of the same ….just great!

Inasmuch as every Hotel was wonderful…if there was one that was not quite as great as we’d come to expect, it would be the Siam Hotel in Thailand.  The room was darker…older, a tad bit less appealing…overlooked less ‘scenic’ things….BUT….once again, the people are what can really make a difference.  A gentleman that sits at the door made a recommendation to us for massages….and with the location being some distance from us…he made arrangements for someone from the hotel to take us there!!  Unbelievably nice!!

I need to point out also how great the guides were that accompanied us in our travels.  Each one was refreshing, energized, informed and all were delightful.  We probably connected most with our guide in DaNang though.  “Toan” was our guide throughout the area of DaNang.   He was SO fun…and connected with us so easily…amazing.  We had such a great time with him that we felt like we’d known him for a long long time.  He was kind of like a little ‘Mother Hen’ the way he watched out over us…and he had such a terrific sense of humor that we were laughing so much of the time.

It wasn’t my intent in writing to you …to write so much.  It’s just flooding from me; all the memories of such an unforgettable time that I will carry in my soul for the rest of my life.

Thank you for taking my texts/calls when we were in the midst of the vacation and seemed to bump into temporary glitches….they all fixed themselves quickly, but I reached out just to create some awareness in case there was a problem of which early awareness could make a difference.  Thank you also for encouraging us to maintain the plan to participate in the motorcycle tour with Vietnam Backstreets.  Our tour guide was “Boo”….and there was another driver….think his name was “Hue”….”Boo” caused me to forget my worries and trust that I’d be alright riding on the back of his cycle.  Both Mary and I had our reservations about doing that part of the tour….and both of us have said to each other how thankful we are that we DID it!  LOVED it!!

The recommendation has been made to every person I know who may be traveling to Asia to get in touch with INDOCHINA PIONEERS to help them with planning their trip.  This trip is like no other I’ve ever taken before, and I’m sure such a trip could never be repeated in future trip that could even begin to compare with this one.  Strangely enough, Co-V issues worked in our favor…and the timing was spot on!  (GULP!)   We arrived in Asia before things had festered up all over the world like they did in the weeks we were IN Asia…and then, we got back to the US just in the ‘nick of time’ before all the stringent restrictions were put into place all over!    Who KNEW?!!!!

Just wanted to let you know what a great job you and everyone associated with you did….and how much we appreciated it all.

Thank-you, thank-you, THANK-YOU!!

Sincerely,

Ruth Achterhoff-Aust…on behalf of both myself, and Mary Young.

Thank you, Mr. Lam Duong, for always giving top-notch service. You know what we like and you deliver the BEST Private custom holidays to Cambodia and recently Thailand. Looking forward to our next vacation. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TOP THAILAND?? It was AMAZING!! We didn’t want to leave!!

Amazing Vietnam private tour
We stayed in Bangkok (3 Nights), Chiang Rai (1 Night), Chiang Mai (3 Nights) and had a guide the entire trip from the airport for pick up in Bangkok to the airport on departure in Chiang Mai. The tour was very well put together and Lam with Indochina Pioneer was more than accommodating to our changes for what probably seemed like a million back and forth emails. Aurora (our guide in Bangkok) was absolutely amazing, not only for us, but also our children (3 and 7). everything we mentioned she made sure we did or at least knew how to do it when we were done for the day with our tour. Our guide in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai (Tree) was also amazing in showing us more than we could have imagined in Northern Thailand.

Fantastic trip from start to finish. All our expectations were met and exceeded from the moment we booked the trip with Mr Lam to our last day.
We had one minor problem during our stay and it was sorted immediately with profession
And made our trip the most memorable holiday ever.
Mr Lam customised our trip to suit us and we loved all of our guides and drivers.
We were even lucky enough to be invited to the companies end of year party and got to meet everyone who made our holiday so special. I can’t recommend this company enough and that’s something coming from someone in the tourist industry. Well done Indochina Pioneer.

Amazing Vietnam private tour
We stayed in Bangkok (3 Nights), Chiang Rai (1 Night), Chiang Mai (3 Nights) and had a guide the entire trip from the airport for pick up in Bangkok to the airport on departure in Chiang Mai. The tour was very well put together and Lam with Indochina Pioneer was more than accommodating to our changes for what probably seemed like a million back and forth emails. Aurora (our guide in Bangkok) was absolutely amazing, not only for us, but also our children (3 and 7). everything we mentioned she made sure we did or at least knew how to do it when we were done for the day with our tour. Our guide in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai (Tree) was also amazing in showing us more than we could have imagined in Northern Thailand.

We asked Lam at Indochina Pioneer to arrange a tour for 2 couples that would include a week in Cambodia, a week in Laos and 2 weeks in the northern part of Vietnam. We had done the southern part of Vietnam 2 years ago. We were not disappointed.
The tour was excellent, we had a private minibus with driver and an English speaking guide, that was from each area we visited. All flights, pickup / drop off at of each the airports within these countries was arranged by our tour representative, as well as hotels and any admission to tourist sites.
The tours were very impressive, we got to see the so many great attractions from amazing ancient heritage sites to country and mountain vistas.
There were no hiccups in our time touring these countries, everything flowed smoothly, and we were in control of our time. If we had seen enough temples for that day then we would cut it short and pick something else to see or just call it a day. The guide and drivers were very flexible to meet our needs.
We have passed on Lam’s name and Indochina Pioneer contact data to several friends, and 1 couple has used them recently to visit Thailand and Vietnam and after talking with them they were very impressed with the service.
I am sure we will be using Lam again in the future.

Indochina Pioneer designed a wonderful customized itinerary including tours, drivers, guides, hotels, internal flights, etc. Throughout the whole process, Lam was professional and responsive to our requests. We were in four countries – Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand and in each we found the accommodations comfortable and the guides informative. Lam also arranged for a variety of activities – boat rides, cooking lessons, acrobatic performances, a home-hosted meal, etc. All these added to a memorable tour. I highly recommend Indochina Pioneer.

It is not easy to decide on which aspects of our trip to highlight since there were so many. I will begin by saying that I highly recommend this company and Mr. Lam who went out of his way to accommodate our needs and provide us with a flawless experience from start to finish. Communicating with Lam thru emails over the course of a couple of months, we were able to fine-tune a custom itinerary that took us from the south of VN to the north with experiences we will never forget and accommodations that were of high quality. The four of us are well seasoned over 60 and fit travelers having lived in and visited more than 50 countries between us, and while we do appreciate the touristy stuff we are more interested in the cultural hands-on local experiences. Lam made sure that our itinerary provided us with all of this as well as the 4 and 5-star accommodations in the Sheratons when possible. We also were able to make some changes during our trip as needed thanks to Lam and the flexibility of the guide. Of note were the quality of our guides and drivers, the various Mekong delta boat trips and the interesting local stops, the historical sites in each city , the silkworm demonstration, the free evening in Hanoi when we booked a night Vespa tour (a must-do!), the street food evening , and of course, the magic of being on Halong Bay. But really there was so much more I can’t even begin to mention. There are many things that go into making for a memorable, successful holiday and Lam has the experience and genuine desire to ensure that his clients are satisfied and well cared for in his country.

We traveled to Vietnam in November for over 3 weeks. Our trip was organized by Lam at Indochina Pioneer. We cannot recommend Lam & Indochina enough. All emails were answered promptly, our drivers and guides were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. We visited some amazing places that without Lam’s suggestion for our Itinerary we would have missed.

It was great to meet Lam in Hanoi before we moved on to the next part of our adventures. Once again we would definitely recommend Indochina Pioneer for an amazing Vietnam holiday.