Best of Siem Reap & Phnom Penh Tour

I would give the trip and company 4.5 stars, but that is not an option. Overall, the trip was interesting, and we felt the program allowed us to get a good overview of both Vietnam and Cambodia. Ms. Ha at the travel agency was excellent to work with. She was very prompt in responding to our queries, helped us plan a great itinerary, and attended to glitches right away. The arrangements, especially in Vietnam, were very good, our guides were always punctual, knowledgeable about their cities, and keen to share that knowledge with enthusiasm. We appreciated the fact that in Hanoi, our guide went out of his way to help us with money exchange and pharmacy purchases and also allowed us to fit in an unscheduled visit to the Hanoi Hilton (at our expense, of course). It was also very nice to have dinner with Ha on our final day in Vietnam.

The cruise on Halong Bay was a bit disappointing. For people who do not want to kayak or swim, there were very few activities, and the ship spent a lot of time anchored rather than cruising. The rooms on board, however, were very good. All hotel choices were very good, and we would like to give a shout out to the hotel in Hoi An, which was a charming place to stay at.

We enjoyed Cambodia, but the 95+ degree heat detracted somewhat from our enjoyment and exploration of the temples in Siem Reap. Due to a mix-up with the operator in Cambodia, and despite our mentioning this to the guide, we went to all the temples in a single day, which was somewhat exhausting. Our guide was knowledgeable but seemed to go strictly by the book. Unfortunately parts of Angkor Wat were closed to tourists the first day because of the king's visit. The next day's excursion to Tonle Sap Lake and Banteay Srei temple was slower-paced and more enjoyable, and on our free third day, we rented a tuktuk and enjoyed a trip through the countryside to the Landmines Museum. Our guide in Phnom Penh was great and made recent history come alive.

We had a very enjoyable trip to Bangkok, Cambodia (Angor Wat) and Phuket.  Most of the arrangements were carried out well.  The visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angor Wat and related temples was amazing and well coordinated from landing at the airport to return to the airport.  The coordination of the Phuket leg of our visit was more chaotic as our guide there did not provide us with an updated itinerary and we had to keep calling in to see when and where we were to meet.  Overall, I requested 4 star to 5 star accommodations, but the venues in Bangkok and Phuket seemed to be quite aged and closer to 3 star accommodations.  The planning of activities by the agency was excellent and we enjoyed the bike ride tour, elephant sanctuary, snorkel trip, and cave kayaking.   In general, I would recommend this agency however, I might make changes to the guides used in Phuket and also upgrade the accommodations suggested via Zicasso as most of the clientele of Zicasso is looking for at least 4 star accommodations if available.

We recently traveled to Thailand and Cambodia and were connected through Zicasso with this travel agency and one other travel company about 3 weeks before our intended trip (we tend to work better under pressure :0). We also reached out to 3 other travel companies on our own to request help with our partially built itinerary. TThe agent from this travel company reached out to us and within the week, had put together a 15-day itinerary based on some very specific requests. During this time, the other 4 companies also sent us itineraries. I can't stress enough, how closely this agency and her team hit the mark in regards to how we wanted the trip structured, what we wanted to see and do, and how we were going to get around, whereas the other companies ignored several of our major requests and often did not acknowledge specific questions or concerns. This agent also answered every single question we asked her, not only at the beginning of the planning, but even throughout the final stages. 

After we decided to follow through with booking the trip through this agent and her company, I have to admit, that we were a bit negligent in getting all of our travel information together (my boyfriend discovered that his passport had expired, our dates changed, we added a few things, subtracted a few others.....) but she was patient and made sure to follow up on all the details and never once became pushy or appeared frustrated with our changes or requests.

In regards to the trip itself, everything went smoothly. The itinerary was followed, but remained flexible, and our guides and drivers were all stellar. We had different guides and drivers for each leg of the trip: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Krabi, and Cambodia, and the hand-off between each city and country was seamless. Checking into the hotels and getting entrance into temples and to our other booked tours was also smooth.

Our guide in Cambodia and for Angkor Wat was particularly impressive. His communication skills were almost perfect, and he was extremely personable and informative, not only about Angkor Wat, but about Cambodia and its history. He even took us off path a bit to visit a landmine museum which we were not aware existed in Siem Reap. At Angkor Wat, he made multiple efforts to take us off the beaten tourist path so that we could enjoy the temple complexes in almost complete privacy. We also visited temples that were less known, some of which seemed more impressive to me than the Angkor complex. We also liked the way the 3 days were divided, as well, starting early in the morning and finishing around 1-2pm, so that we could relax and recoup in the afternoon (it is freaking hot, humid, and buggy).

It was also helpful to have such a detailed and thorough itinerary emailed to us before we left. It had contact and emergency information and tips on making the trip more successful. My only critique would be to have more discussion on food with each guide as two of the pre-set places weren't necessarily what we would have picked out. It would be nice to have more flexibility and also more input on options.

The part of the trip we completed was brilliant but unfortunately my husband slipped and broke his ankle in Phu Luong and we had to abandon the holiday and fly home for an operation. Cambodia was really interesting and the people so friendly. It was very interesting learning about the terrible genocide when we visited the museum in Phnom Penh and the trip to the killing fields was very humbling. Siem Reap was lovely and Ankhor Wat and the other temples incredible. We had an adventure on the back of motorbikes to venture into the rainforest to a remote spot to see some amazing statues. The resort in Siem Reap was out of this world and the concept behind the hotel very worthwhile. Hanoi was very interesting and the scenery in Phu Luong suberb. Then the accident happened....

Our guide in Siem Reap was really good and our travel specialist in Vietnam just went beyond the call of duty when my husband broke his ankle. Both our travel planner from this travel company and our travel specialist could not have done more to help us in this bad situation and I would again like to offer my sincere thanks.

This travel company refunded what they could and sent us detailed invoices so we could claim from our insurance. Our travel planner took the trouble to drive to the airport in Ho Chi Minh to meet us which was a great touch.

I would not hesitate to recommend this travel company to other travellers and I hope before too long we will be able to finish our Vietnam trip.

We have just returned from a well planned and executed tour of Cambodia. Our tour company was easy to deal with and created a programme to meet all our needs. The meet and greet, drivers and the tour guides were excellent and could not do more for us.  Siem Reap was a fascinating city with so many interesting ancient temples,  we could possibly have stayed for 4 days. Battambang was less interesting and was reached via a long but fascinating drive through the rice field. With hindsight I am not sure I would have visited this city. Phnom Penh was not as impressive as expected and the 2 days spent there were adequate, with the stay at Raffles Hotel, a highlight. We then drove to the 4 rivers floating lodge which was tranquil and luxurious. The only thing that we had not truly appreciated was the many hours we spent stuck in the van travelling from one place to another.