The Ultimate Vietnam Tour: An In Depth Cultural Journey

My wife and I just returned from a 3-week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia organized by the travel company.  We had used a company referred by Zicasso for a trip to Argentina in 2018 and were curious to see if we would be as satisfied after this trip as we had been after that one.  Suffice it to say, we were not disappointed!  This company did a terrific job in organizing our trip, securing comfortable, welcoming and well-located accommodations, setting us up with incredible guides with terrific local knowledge and very good English (we're from the US), arranging all our in-country flights and planning some extremely engaging and memorable outings and adventures.  

While I can't be sure, I think they also dialed up the weather - we only experienced 1 day of light precipitation in 19 days in the country!  They ensured we spent time in the North (Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay), Central (Hue and Hoi An), and South (Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta) parts of Vietnam and the temples (Siem Reap) in Cambodia. They also arranged an extensive array of food experiences and venues and provided many other memorable personal encounters with locals throughout Vietnam.  

Without fail, every day revealed many interesting aspects of the culture and history of Vietnam and Cambodia.  Our contact at the company was always responsive to our inquiries and requests - both before we left the US and while we were on our trip - and took time to meet with us personally in Ho Chi Minh City.  We were happy to be able to express our appreciation for his efforts in designing such a personalized adventure.  HIGHLY recommended.  

We booked a three-week trip to Vietnam with a side trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and the Angkor temple complex. We are three 60-something women who had never been to Southeast Asia before. Before we left, our travel company patiently helped us customize our trip, down to the last details, providing great advice along the way. Our trip started in Hanoi, and our guide was there at the airport to pick us up and take us to our hotel, even though it took longer than we expected to get our visas. The hotel they booked for us on the south shore of Hoan Kiem Lake, was lovely and it turned out to be a terrific location. Throughout the trip, which included stops in Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City, we felt well taken care of, with great hotels throughout. And our guides were flexible enough to change our itineraries on the fly. For example, one of my companions fell and injured her leg in a market in Hoi An. We asked if we could rearrange the itinerary to accommodate a trip to a hospital clinic, and they happily obliged. And later they modified the schedule for my friend, so she could skip some of the more strenuous activities.

The trip itself was wonderful. We experienced the markets, the organic gardens, the temples and pagodas, the waterways and the food that makes Vietnam so unique and wonderful. All of our local guides were so helpful and willing to put up with our eccentricities.

The only glitch we had on the trip was when we arrived at the Siem Reap airport for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. It turned out we did not have tickets on the flight. We called our travel company and immediately got a call back -- we would be met at the airport by a guide with tickets for the next flight out, and in the meantime he would take us to a lovely nearby hotel and buy us lunch. He also offered to get us a room if we wanted to shower or change clothes, but we just stayed in the restaurant overlooking the lovely swimming pool and sipped our mojitos, courtesy of of the company.

Also I should mention the value. Zicasso connected us with three travel agents who submitted proposals. This company was the only one that really understood our budget parameters and what we wanted to do within the budget. We felt the price was quite reasonable and were very happy with our trip.

From the start to the finish, this travel agency did a marvelous job in helping us set up our 19 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia in Feb. - March 2018. The four of us, two couples, had lots of ideas and questions about the trip. Our representative was wonderful. I told her what we were thinking of, our budget, what we wanted to see and where our focus was and she devised an itinerary that hit all the objectives of our trip. We did a bunch of tweaking and sending questions and concerns over  time and she answered all very promptly and made sure that what we wanted in the trip was fulfilled.  When I told her we wanted to up-grade our hotels, she handled all the changes  without any problems.  She phoned several times to make sure all was going well with our planning and that we were happy with what she had set up for us.

Our guides were fabulous. They did everything and more to make sure we had the experiences we wanted. If they thought that what was supposed to happen that day wasn't what they would recommend, ie., eating at certain food markets, etc., they pointed us in another direction. They took into account some of the physical limitations of several of us and made adjustments accordingly. They were friendly, helpful, caring and fun. At several points in our journey we had some requests for things that weren't in the itinerary and they made sure that those requests were fulfilled. We couldn't have asked for better service. More that once we asked where we could buy a certain thing and they went out of their way to find the store where it could be procured, even after the tour for the day was done and they were off their time with us. Wonderful service. All of our drivers were excellent, friendly and helpful. They always had bottles of cold water for us when we returned to the vans, which was much appreciated. 

Our hotels were perfect. The hotel in Hanoi, our private boat in Ha Long Bay and the staff on board, the hotel in Hue, the boutique hotel in Hoi An, where we had a wonderful 2 day rest period to enjoy the beach and relax,  the resort in Saigon, which was luxury at it's best, and the hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia were the perfect places to relax, rest and explore after our days of seeing the sights. They all had wonderful breakfasts and the staff of all of them were friendly, helpful and informative when we needed some advice. 

They also made getting our visas easy and painless, and arranged our internal flights and the flight to Cambodia with no problems. 

I highly recommend this travel company for any trip you are planning to Vietnam. Their service was outstanding and we have no complaints about anything they booked, recommended or suggested. 

We travelled to Siem Reap, Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City. At each stop our guide was there to meet us and each one was very knowledgable about the area,culture and history, able to provide very personal perspective on the areas. The hotels we stayed at were boutique style hotels all centrally located with great service and staff. The trip was effortless as our travel agency thought of everything and it all went very smoothly.

Thank you to our travel agency for a very enjoyable and interesting trip. You tailored the perfect trip for us!

Choice or Vietnam and this travel company turned out to be very good holiday decisions. 

My wife and I have just returned from 19 days in Vietnam - arriving Hanoi and then working our way down the country to HCM city. 

After considering several travel agencies we choose this company largely based on our discussions with our agent who was outstanding in pre-game planning, intra-trip execution and post game (I left my phone in van and our agent quickly found it and had it mailed to me within a few days).  Our class of service was Luxury which largely effects your choice of hotels. This said we were quite impressed with quality and breadth of selection of hotels. We staid in some very interesting and sometimes grand hotels and were never disappointed with rooms, amenities or food. 

The trip itinerary was a collaboration. Our agent and this company suggested an itinerary based on our interests (some culture, some biking, some hiking, good food, good hotels--and as many 'authentic' moments as possible interacting with locals. We elected on a three stage trip - North, Central and South. Our agent was also very good in being clear when he though we were going to take on too much. For example we thought perhaps a side trip to Laotian capital - Our agent loved the destination but made it clear we would be compressing our plans to a point of uncomfortableness - same with a trip to Saba in the north. We elected to get our trekking and biking elsewhere so we would not have our heads on a different pillow every night). 

The travel company arranged all transportation, drivers, guides, intra-country air travel, app. most of our meals, entrance fees etc. In addition our travel agent was very good about giving us pre-trip information, taking care of visas, cultural reading etc. A quick note we enjoyed street food several times and were glad we did. Street food in this context means a sit down restaurant (yes often on a busy street) that locos patronize. Each selection was great. We were generally careful about H2O and the usual cautions about how to eat and drink in Vietnam but candidly we did take a few chances (wonderful ship pancakes with three different types of greens and multiple types of mint) and did not suffer. 

I provide the basic itinerary below. I would change almost nothing but have a few recommendations that I shared with our agent. 

I would take 2 nights in Ha Long Bay. It is one of the most spectacular and beautiful places we have ever been two The boat team did a great job in making our overnight feel fun, intimate and relaxing but it you could squeeze out one more day I would do - providing budget allows (time on the bay is expensive and you do need to get the right boat as there are a myriad of choices. Even though its a tourist destination the bay is so big and so broken up with limestone karsts you don't feel your in a crowd). 

I would think about how you want to approach the Mekong Delta. You have a bit of a drive to and from HCM city and you want it to be worth it. We went on bike ride along Mekong tributary, visited the floating market and a fruit farm, and had some good food - all within 36 hours. Felt a little rushed. Mr V indicted if you had an extra day he would have you use on a bit farther into the delta and get a bit deeper into the countryside. Worth thinking about. 

We had three principal guides on our trip (North, Central, South) along with guides who would lead individual excursions (float through a nature preserve, day out in the country on bikes etc). Two of the three guides we rate an 8/10 and the other we give a 7/10. All guides spoke English, had a good sense of humor and had a good command of their local area). English is their second language so on occasion both parties need to say something another way for absolute clarity - but this was part of the fun and never posed an obstacle. The excursion guides were all very good and some were outstanding. The guides made sure all logistics we're well managed, that dining options and logistics were managed with zero stress on our part and were open to changes on the fly. Twice we called for an early day to go enjoy our wonderful hotel or we indicated we would rather do A vs B - never a problem. 

One thing not to miss is a private Cam Tru performance. This is in Hanoi. Its a traditional Vietnamese music form, almost gone, and the evening we had was quite special. A mother, daughter and mothers sister played and sang for just the two of us for over an hour. The music is quite foreign to an American ear but the experience was refreshingly authentic  - fun and quite inexpensive. 

We loved Pu Long - it was quite chilly when we were there and not heaters in the room but the eco lodges are wonderful, have great views from top of a small mountain overlooking rice fields, and the walks through the local villages a pleasure - people friendly, inquisitive...But do make sure you take a look at temps before you go - we both would have welcomed another sweater. I am told it was unusually cold this particular season. But don't skip it. 

We loved Ha Long bay. Magical and is the Vietnam postcard of beauty. 

We loved our bike rides. Took two longish ones 20-25 miles and a one shorter ones. They all bring you into contact with people out in the country. Terrain is largely flat. We had good bikes 2 of the 3 trips. Make sure to pay attention to your bike fit. We swapped out bikes once. I am 6' and the frames at one place were too small. They found me a larger one. I think some discussion with the agent on bikes if you are avid cyclist would be worth it. Lock in some good gear. Lots of outfitters so should be no problems finding what you want. 

Surprisingly we liked HCMC more than Hanoi. We were only in Hanoi a short time so got a feel for the city which I appreciated but its a big sprawling city with some road chaos. HCM city is more populated but infrastructure is much more mature and the city quite prosperous. Easy to walk around- have a beer, a coffee, do some window shopping. I think having HCM city come at the end of the trip is the right pacing. see the country and then take a day to unwind in HCM city before going home. 

We loved street food - guide recommended.

we climbed the 500 steps to late Kings tomb in Hoi An. At top you get a view and are met by a 94 year old women who lives locally and takes care of the tomb- she serenades you with confucian poems and quite open to talking about her life. We loved her and the experience. Her two friends, age 90, are a 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up - hardy stock, 

We loved the people - friendly, open, happy to talk, happy to show you what they do. We spent some time with villagers, traditional ship builders, farmers, herders, fisherman etc. All easy to talk to. 

Overall a great trip made possible by this travel company - I have no reservations recommending them for your own planning. I bombarded our agent with Q&A pre trip and all of this back and forth produced the itinerary below.  Bill & Chris G

Snapshot

Day 1

Hanoi Arrival: pickup and driven to hotel to relax

No Meals

Day 2

Experiencing Daily life in Hanoi: A full day to explore Hanoi as a local and visit some highlight sights of the capital.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3

Duong Lam Ancient Village Exploration/Tu Phu Show: visit an authentic rural village, to experience rural life and enjoy a very special show with the theme of the traditional Vietnamese practice of spirit incarnation.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 4

Hanoi/Pu Luong Discover: enjoy your sightseeing driving by car to Pu Luong – Vietnam Natural Reserve

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5

Pu Luong Hiking time : do your hiking, rafting to the natural sightseeing and get the close touch with local people

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6

Pu Luong/Ninh Binh: depart to the beautiful mountain landscape for your visit and explore the nature

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 7

Ninh Binh Discover: another day to explore this wonderful natural sightseeing

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 8

Ninh Binh/Ha Long Bay: drive to Ha Long Bay and enjoy the 2 days – one night cruise to experience yourself in the marvelous landscape

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9

Ha Long Bay/Hanoi/Danang/Hoi An: return to Hanoi for your flight to Danang. Then drive to Hoi An Ancient Town where you’ll spend your night.

Meals: Brunch

Day 10

Hoi An From Farmer to Fisherman/Ancient Town: Today you will have an experience about Vietnamese local life with lots of dynamic activities plus enjoy the walking tour to discover the Ancient Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 11

Hoi An Vespa Explore: discover the countryside on your vespa scooter

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 12

Hoi An/Danang/Hue: you will leave for Hue – the old capital where you can learn more about the history of the the last feudal dynasty of Vietnam.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 13

Hue Heritage Tour: another day in this serenity city

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 14

Cycling to the Real Local Life: A most interesting way to discover the charms of the ancient capital of Hue is to take a cycle ride around the surrounding countryside and villages.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 15

Hue/Ho Chi Minh City: take your flight to Ho Chi Minh city – center of the south

Meals: Breakfast

Day 16

Ho Chi Minh City/Cu Chi Tunnels/Orientation- Discover the Night Life: enjoy the dynamic city via your visit some of special sites including the Tunnels.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 17

Ho Chi Minh City/Mekong Delta biking/Can Tho: enjoy your biking day to the Mekong Delta to see the rural life, get in touch with local people and relax in the heart of Mekong

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 18

Can Tho- Soft Biking/Ho Chi Minh City: visit the floating market before continue your pedal and get back to the city where you’ll spend your night.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 19

Ho Chi Minh City Departure: your time will be yours until the departure flight time to get back home

Meals: Breakfast

We recently took a trip to S.E. Asia using Zicasso Travel and their local agent. Zicasso had also asked another company to bid on our vacation and based on our interaction with that company, they would have done an excellent job. Our choice of our travel agency came down to personal preference of some of the tour details.

Planning

Both agency's proposed comprehensive itineraries and modified them twice as we zeroed in on what the vacation would entail. After choosing our travel agency, our representative sorted out details based of her experience and our evolving requirements. In the end, the itinerary expanded to 24 days and came to include Cambodia and Bangkok in addition to Vietnam. We were clearly told what preparations were needed on our part for border formalities and correct attire for temples and palaces. Part way through the process, our original representative left the company but our agent took up the file and the transition was seemless. The handoff was handled by the Sales Manager at at the company which was both appropriate and professional.

Execution

Our vacation involved eleven hotels, four planes, two busses and a speedboat (not counting 4 planes and 30 hours just to get to Vietnam!). Over 24 days there were no hiccups, no glitches, no missed appointments and no lost reservations. With noted exceptions, hotels exceeded our expectations, itineraries were comprehensive and appropriate and guides, with noted exception, were professional, knowledgeable and added their experience to the execution of the itinerary.

Over the years, we have mostly travelled on our own. This was our first fully managed vacation and while it did seem a little odd being carted around like minor royalty in our private van, we were very pleased with the trip. This travel agency is a good partner with Zicasso in Vietnam and we would book with them again given the opportunity.

Some Hotel Detail

Hanoi – Excellent!

Ha Long Bay Cruise– Very Good

Sapa – Excellent!

Hoi An – Excellent!

Hue – Excellent! A lovely historical hotel.

Ho Chi Minh City – Adequate. Poor Service

Chau Doc – Unacceptable, only technically a 4 star hotel. Poor breakfast, no assistance with luggage, poor location, dated interior. This hotel was a replacement for the beautiful Victoria Resort which was booked up. There are few alternatives in Can Tho.

Chau Doc – Excellent!

Phnom Penh – Excellent!

Siem Reap – Excellent! Top service of all!

Bangkok – Nearly Excellent. Probably the nicest hotel of the lot, let down by poor breakfast service and problems at check out.

Tour Guides

All of the guides were Adequate – Quite Good with the exception of our Sapa guide who was missing on the first day (a replacement was arranged). On the second day, we discovered part way through the day that he was not complying with our itinerary but rather executing a shorter program that would allow both of us the afternoon free. When confronted with this, an ad-hoc extension to the walk was enacted but rain the next day prevented any redress of the itinerary. In addition, the restaurant chosen for picnic lunch was very poor although there were better alternatives clearly available. This was a learning experience for us and we carefully reviewed our itinerary each morning of the following days before we departed the hotel but all of the subsequent guides lived up to their obligations.

Train

This is an excellent option to the sleeper train. You get to sleep in your hotel room then enjoy the passing countryside as you climb into the mountains in a very comfortable coach with WIFI, snacks and hostess, arriving in Sapa before lunch. The problem is the bus driver. He was pulled over by the police on the way to Sapa for reasons unknown to us. This should have been a warning. On the return voyage to Hanoi, the bus was not available and, since there were only two of us on the trip, a private car was used, complete with WIFI and refreshments. A member of management undertook to accompany us most of the way to Hanoi airport. When he departed the car, 45 minutes from our destination, the driver, the same bus driver as previously, began to drive recklessly, endangering our lives and likely making enemies of all the other drivers on the highway.  We would certainly stay with them again and would recommend the Bus service to Sapa but we would not get into a vehicle with this driver again. The hotel needs to deal with this problem and Zicasso / This travel agency need to encourage them to do so.