Essential Vietnam & Cambodia

5 Reviews

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• EM

  Edna
  Written on June 20, 2017

  5.0 - Excellent

  I submitted my report to G adventures already. Had a trip of a lifetime (YOLO) and everything was great. Highly recommend. Please ask g adventures for a copy of my evaluation.

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• BH

  Bill
  Written on July 19, 2016

  4.0 - Good

  This was my first trip with G adventures. I have been on about 12 international tours, about eight in which I was the organizer. Overall I think the content was excellent. I think we hit upon the major cultural landmarks. We had a wide variety of educational and cultural experiences. I very much appreciated that G adventures supports the local people by hiring local guides and also taking us to wonderful nonprofit groups that help young people from impoverished backgrounds to learn a career. I like the fact that we frequented organizations, such as restaurants, that hires these young people. although the initial cost of the tour seems very reasonable you do pay an additional amount for the extras such as meals. I thought these accommodations were adequate. It was the off-season so they hotels were probably not operating at peak efficiency or with service provisions. we did not need luxurious accommodations since on a tour you should not be spending a lot of time in the hotel. The hotels were clean and air-conditioning worked well in most of the places. For the most part the hotels were located close to cultural attractions and shopping. A breakfast and all of the hotels were very good. Most of the dinners and suppers were called optional which meant that you did not have to pay for a meal that she did not want or you could go out on your own to eat, but in reality except for few individuals we all ate together. Luckily the meals are extremely inexpensive running anywhere from $4-$6 with drinks from $.50 to $3.00. A few times since we were a large group of about 13 to 14 people service was slow. After a long day, once you sit down you want to drink even if it is just water. Water is never provided free. We learned quickly that if you order beer you will most likely get it quickly because the server can get it for you. If you order a mixed drink it'll take a while if there is only one bartender. At one point we waited 30 minutes for a mixed drink. to expect to find bloody Mary's on the menu. For some reason tomato juice is not common and if they do get one really tastes like the juice of a tomato, not the second tomato juice we are used to in the states. so bring a bottle of water with you or order a bottle of water right away so that you are not sitting there thirsty. Transportation was very good. The buses or vans were clean. Some of the rides were virtually all day with none of the buses having planets in them. Fortunately we stopped about every two hours. I strongly suggest that whenever you get a chance to use the toilet, use it. I brought for the paper with me but the only time I actually ever needed it and didn't have it with me was in the Nagara Angkor Boutique Hotel in Siem Reap where the public restroom was out of toilet paper. buses were air-conditioned. Hotel bathrooms were comical. For some reason the hotels like to have peekaboo bathrooms. This means class doors that you can actually see through or are frosted. One hotel had glass doors and walls with Venetian blinds so every time you needed to use the bathroom had to go in and close the blinds. even for roommates same-sex roommates found this uncomfortable. I did bring a washcloth with me since often the hotels did not provide them. Buy a travel washcloth that can dry in a matter of hours. all the hotels but one provided only one key so you have to leave your key with the front desk in order not to lock your room it out. All the hotels have a system where you have to put your room key into a slot in order to power up the lights and the air-conditioning. Electrical plugs were not a big problem. The first few hotels have outlets that accommodated the two round plugs. others use the UK system. One standard universal adapter should be fine. SIM card - I brought with me my Verizon iPhone 6+. it is unlocked. At the airport in Hanoi there is a well staffed booths with young ladies selling some cards. I got a Sim card for a week with unlimited data and texting. It was $10 – a steal. They even install the card for you and give you your original back take safely to a business card which I put in my wallet. When we got to Cambodia I also got a Sim card which was two dollars for the week. The Internet in Vietnam is phenomenal. Even in the middle of a lake or in the jungle I usually got five bars and I was able to do life video on Facebook and most of the places that we are at. This is not the case in Cambodia with the service is not good so you need to be in a more urban center. All of the hotels had Wi-Fi and except for one where it kept coming in and out, the service was pretty good. Safety - No concerns here. There were not a lot of panhandlers. None of the merchants were particularly aggressive. the Tuk Tuk drivers all called out to you that the best strategy is to ignore them. No need to keep saying no thank you. Interestingly my roommate, who was a guy and I both had experiences out on the talent on our own. he was asked by a Tuk Tuk drivers if they wanted to buy some weed. Another Tuk Tuk driver asked me if I wanted "lady for evening." we both declined. Our tour guide was discreetly warning us about these kinds of things. Money - I brought two different ATM cards with me. I always try to get money out at the airport. Luckily I had to card since one did not work even though I had checked with the bank before I left. I didn't register my ATM cards and credit cards with the bank before I went on to work. I did manage to get money out. some ATMs don't give out as much money as others. Most sick again at one time was $2 million dong i•n Vietnam which is about $90. I think I went back maybe three more times. ATMs are very common. Hotels will not have enough money if you try to exchange US dollars with them. Credit cards are taken at bigger places. Bring lots of one dollar bills plus fives with you. great for tipping. Clothes - We were on our tour the last week of June and the first two weeks of July. It was extremely hot and humid. Often the sweat would be running off of us in streams. I brought with the two pairs of ex officio shorts which were fantastic. I alternated them each day. They can be washed in the hotel sink using the shampoo and it dries in a matter of hours. If you have a balcony it will dry even faster but make sure you connect it to a hanger since the wind might blow them off the balcony. I also brought to parents of Trout Bum long pants ( Orvis or Amazon) which in my experience the lightest pants you can buy for tropical where. I really should only have brought one which we wore for the visit to Angkor Wat and to the Opera. I brought one pair of sleep shorts and a pair of swim trunks. I brought three Under Armour T shirts which I rotated between daywear and sleepwear. All of these washed and dried well. Laundry services can be extremely cheap in some places so I did have them last at one point. I brough pair of Merrill hiking shoes which I ended up not wearing that much except for certain events. Most of the time I wore Tevas our athletic sandals. Ignore what the travel reviews say – everybody wears shorts an every other wears sandals. I don't like the thong type sandals since if you get caught in the rain or get wet your foot tends to slip around inside. I brought a rain parka which we used only once on the last day but it is extremely uncomfortable in hot humid weather. I should have brought by small travel umbrella instead. I brought a light boonie hat which I rarely wore. Is extremely hot to wear any kind of hat. Baseball caps are horrible. I saw very few people including the locals wear hats but I would bring one because indirect hot sun you really do need one. brought three pairs of ex officio boxer shorts which again worked out perfectly since they wash and dry fast. I brought four pairs of socks but I only really needed to pairs because you were socks except with your service which you do not wear that often. Our CEO (main guide) Was the best I've ever had. He was extremely patient and supportive during the trip. We had one difficult and he handled her very well. All of our local guards were very interesting and knowledgeable. I have pictures at videos that I am working on at www.billhowe.org

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• 

  Jan
  Written on February 25, 2016

  4.0 - Good

  We had a great trip, a great tour leader and enjoyed ourselves. It was a hectic pace, but we recommend G Adventures

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• A

  Alan
  Written on November 25, 2015

  4.0 - Good

  Fabulous G tour. Great CEO guide and fellow travellers & value for money

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• 

  Noel
  Written on July 20, 2015

  5.0 - Excellent

  A great tour with a great guide. A memorable trip!

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