Thailand and Vietnam Tours & Trips

Absolutely great trip! Our advisor, Thang did a great job with every part of it. The itinerary was very versatile and in all destinations. The activities reflected the cultural and authentic experiences that one can do in the cities and towns we visited. Would definitely recommend!

This was a bespoke 16 day tour of Vietnam and Cambodia. Husband (H) and I returned from a 16-day trip to Vietnam and Siem Reap in Cambodia on April 11, and 2+ months later I still can’t stop thinking about it. Through Rough Guides, we were put in touch with Ivy at Realistic Asia, and she worked with H to shape a tour that spoke to our interests - people, culture, museums, food…and the country. To be honest, I let the two them do most of planning, as H was much more interested in going than I was. That changed the movement we arrived. I fell in love and over and over during our trip, and felt so grateful to be there. It was our first “bespoke” tour, where we designed it to include all and only what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go, but in very broad strokes. Ivy was the master painter who filled in the itinerary with rich colors, layers, and textures that we would never have known or experienced without her. Our guides and drivers, different in each city, were amazing cultural arbiters. Funny, articulate, knowledgeable, but most of all, kind and really striving to make our stay in their city meaningful and memorable. Special shoutouts to Mai and Mike in Hanoi, Dat in Hue and the two Khai’s in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) (one was our guide, the other Khai took us on the food tour). Highlights in Hanoi: the not-to-be-missed Water puppet show and the world-class Ethnology Museum. A dream-like cruise on Ha Long /Lan Ha Bay. Hue: Dinner at the Ngoc Son Residency with an fascinating musicologist and a gourmet food-as-art meal prepared by her mother. I left feeling I must approach cooking in a more elevated way! Hoi An - a full moon Lantern Festival and the thrilling and soul-filling Ter Dah performance (closest comparison - Cirque de Soleil a la Vietnam), Saigon - Crazy wonderful Vespa motorcycle food tour, city tour with the skyline filled with entrancing light shows, then a visit to the Mekong Delta. Traveling through the countryside and on the Mekong river, visiting a Coconut processing factory ~ fascinating. In Cambodia we visited Angkor Wat temple complex. marveling at the beauty and complexity of the construction and stone friezes, and attended a gorgeous dinner where Aspara Dance was featured. The costumes alone were show-stopping, and the dancing was a study in slow-motion gracefulness. All the hotels that we stayed at (Ivy offered a choice of three in each city) were wonderful, but we lost our hearts to the magnificent Indochine Palace in Hue and Jaya House River Park in Siem Reap. Jaya House, especially, was out of a dream. The people, rooms, food, service, beauty of the grounds with lotus and amazing artwork around every corner, and the quirkiness of the hotel due to the vision of the owner…well, we’re convinced we’ll never stay at a better place. Food throughout the trip was as beautiful as it was fresh and delicious. We were treated to one feast after another! We felt safe and comfortable everywhere we went. Traffic was sometimes crazy, but drivers and not aggressive. There’s a definite flow. But what touched our hearts the most was the generosity and kindness of the people we met. Ivy was always responsive, and really came to our aid when H had an accident and landed in the Hue International Hospital emergency room with a cracked rib. She held our hand over WhatsApp and the phone, and our city guide, Dat, upon being messaged to cancel the day’s tour, showed up at the hospital to help, interpret, and smooth things over during a very difficult time. He definitely achieved guardian angel status along with Ivy. Our trip was an extraordinary experience in every way, and we are already plotting our return in early 2028. If it were closer, we would go back sooner! We can’t recommend Rough Guides/ Realistic Asia and Ivy highly enough. Our deepest thanks for the amazing care and support at every step of our journey. Tôi yêu Việt Nam!

21 Days Thailand Laos Vietnam Cambodia We had a great time on this tour! My husband and I had wanted to go to South East Asia for some time, and we were looking for a trip that would give us a realistic overview in the month we had available. We knew we wanted to get to Thailand (my favorite cuisine), Vietnam (lots of history and, again, the food), and Cambodia (Angor Wat), and thought, why not throw in Laos? This itinerary looked really ambitious but like it had a good balance of travel, activity, and leisure. Hoi An Adventures is a Vietnamese company, so we weren’t surprised that Vietnam got a disproportionate focus to the other countries. What we loved: Our gut instinct about the itinerary was spot on. Yes, we covered a lot of ground. I hadn’t quite realized just how many flights we’d take, but with one overnight train trip and five flights, we were able to see some amazing parts of each of the four countries. It’s hard picking highlights, as there were so many. Certainly, Halong Bay and Hoi An. The unexpected jewel of the trip was Luang Prabang, Laos, a town I’d never even heard of before this trip. Thanks for including it and for allowing us four nights there and free time just to wander its magical streets! There were, of course, lots of places we’d have liked to get that we didn’t have a chance to. But if/when we’re back, we’ll have a pretty good idea of where we want to go and how to get there. We also applaud the hotel choices. In each city except Chiang Mai, we were right in the heart of the town. The Chiang Mai hotel wasn’t bad, but quite possibly because we were further away from the activity, that was our least favorite stop. (It also made us more appreciative of all the others being actually in the towns.) The hotels themselves ranged from perfectly adequate (the Ho Chi Minh City hotel was one of only two “deluxe” hotels, and it was the least impressive) to rustically charming (the Luang Prabang guesthouse, Lao Wooden House, which we loved) to old world elegance (Siem Reap, City View). What we liked: the excursions were all pretty good. The guides English varied significantly. All were able to speak well enough to convey information, and some were able to understand it well enough to answer questions. All seemed passionate about their subject matter. Favorite guides included River in Hoi An and Top in Ho Chi Minh City, but we learned from all of them. We particularly appreciated the tour through a local market in Luang Prabang and the temples off the beaten track in Angor Wat. The tailored garment in Hoi An was a terrific souvenir. We liked the ratio of time committed to excursions and free time—though we had a travel companion who was unhappy the time wasn’t more scheduled, so opinions can vary on that. Being dropped off and picked up from all transportation hubs made traveling really easy. It’s the first time we’ve had that benefit, and it made us converts. What we liked less: Not Hoi An Tours’ fault, but my husband and I wound up traveling with one other person throughout our trip. That enforced intimacy can be a bit awkward. More people on the tour would have given each of the three of us more opportunities to find people who meshed with us and shared our interests. In some cities we paired up with other small groups, which was nice and gave us a bigger pool of new acquaintances to share the experience with. In the past we’ve been on trips with 10 or so other people, and sharing new experiences with them has been one of the benefits of travel. It’s luck of the draw, as the tour will go on with a minimum of two people. If you sign up, maybe you can get some friends or family to go with you! Communication hit some snags here and there. We made our initial reservation through Tour Radar, and all the communications that went on through that portal were fine. Unfortunately, someone in the Hoi An Tours office entered my email address incorrectly, and we had trouble getting some messages, not knowing we were missing them. They absolutely tried! They gave us a mobile phone, presumably so we could contact them easily. And any time we contacted them through the working email portal, they got back to us quickly. There were some variances between the itinerary we did finally receive and what actually occurred. For example, we were told we’d be on an upgraded boat on Halong Bay, but when we got there, we weren’t. So the stated features and activities didn’t jibe with what we actually received. Our itinerary also had some differing times and activities from the one our traveling companion had, which led to some confusion. Overall, this was a great trip and we would recommend it highly! We’ll relive the vibrant traffic of Bangkok, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City and treasure our memories of the Mekong River and Delta, the floating lanterns of Hoi An, the charming back streets of Luang Prabang, and the warmth and welcome of Siem Reap. Can’t wait to plan our next trip.