30 Memorable days in Vietnam with Indochina Pioneer
My husband & I have just returned from a memorable 30 day holiday in Vietnam. We have never booked a holiday through a tour company before & were initially uneasy about booking through a foreign company. However right from the first contact with Indochina Pioneer, we felt total confidence.
Lam phoned me within 10 minutes of my initial email in which I had explained a little about our interests & which areas we’d like to visit. We received emails & phone calls regularly during the planning process. The final booking was made after we had the opportunity to review not only the itinerary but also the accommodation. Lam’s organizational skills & follow up are exemplary.
We chose to stay in 3 star accommodation & some homestays most of which exceeded our expectations. The hotels were well located, clean, comfortable, had wi-fi & offered a wide range of breakfasts.
A welcome dinner with a local family was organized for our first night. This warm & friendly hospitality set the tone for the rest of the holiday.
We had 3 sets of drivers & guides, one for each region; they were all absolutely wonderful. They are what MAKE the trip. We spent 20 days with Huynh ( driver) & Huan ( guide) in the north. They became like part of the family; we all got on so very well.
The cars were driven very safely, were air-conditioned & comfortable. The drivers kept their cars tidy & always had bottles of water for us each morning. While the drivers didn’t speak English, we were still able to have a laugh with them.
The guides’ English was easy to understand. They shared their vast knowledge of the history & culture in a way that was interesting & easy to absorb. They understood our interests & went out of their way to help us experience those extra little things that make the trip more personal & special. Thank-you Huan ( in north), Vu ( in centre) & Tam ( in south)! You all put in 110%.
One highlight for us was our time in the north; especially the rural north where we tried to get away from the general tourist path. We felt privileged to meet families from several different ethnic groups, spend some time in their homes, share stories & sometimes join in with farming activities.
To fit in with our love of the outdoors & nature, many days included walks or bike riding.
On many of the days lunches & sometimes dinner were included. It meant that a vast array of dishes were served to us that we possibly would not have otherwise tried.
Our only regret is that we didn’t have more time to dedicate to the central & southern part of Vietnam.
We would thoroughly recommend Indochina Pioneer, they are professional & thorough but still give a very personal touch.
