Vietnam on a Shoestring

5 Reviews

Excellent

40%

Good

40%

Average

20%

Rather Poor

0%

Bad

0%

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  Emma
  Written on June 6, 2018

  4.5 - Excellent

  Great short trip round Vietnam - Hoi An is beautiful, as is the boat trip in Halong Bay. Ho Chi Minh is fast paces and fun, as is Hanoi. THe accommodation is good, and the overnight trains are a fun adventure! Lots of activities to choose from and would absolutely recommend!

  

  G Adventures commented on this review

  Woo! Thank you for taking the time to review, and we are so happy you had such a great time. Vietnam is a magical place and has so much to offer. We agree....everyone add it to your bucket lists. NOW!

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• N

  Natalia
  Written on November 13, 2016

  4.0 - Good

  Overall the trip was amazing. It was nice to have the safety net of the group while traveling in Vietnam when I did not speak the language. Plus not having to worry about travel and rooming is a huge plus. I had a full group and everyone got on with each other and were always willing to help out. The tour was fast paced, so there really is never a dull moment. All the local guides were amazing with the exception of one, but I'd still consider that a win. There were a decent amount of activities, but I wish there were more options. Activities were also more expensive then listed, so that was a bit annoying. Our guide Dreamy was amazing. She integrated with the group and made efforts to try and point people in the direction they wanted regarding activities and food. She always had recommendations and kept us informed. Plus she has a great sense of humour!

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• N

  Natasha
  Written on April 27, 2016

  3.5 - Good

  Visited some fantastic places, met some wonderful people & had a wonderful your leader. Unfortunately there were early starts every morning instead of staggered starts and I joined onto another group which made it feel disjointed. Some aspects were also badly organised.

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• 

  Katie
  Written on November 7, 2014

  5.0 - Excellent

  Bun was the best tour guide we could have asked for! Originally from Cambodia, you'd swear he was from born and raised in Vietnam as he knew people everywhere! He had great recommendations through out our trip and didn't bring us to one bad restaurant in any town. I can't wait for 2016 to do Cambodia on a shoestring with Bun in his home country. Bun was a great person to get everyone in our group talking and interaction and it wouldn't have been the same without him

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• 

  Ashleigh
  Written on February 12, 2013

  2.5 - Average

  Really disappointed when I arrived at my tour and found out that it was one leg of a bigger tour - so nearly all of the other members of the group had already had time to bond and make friendships before I got there. This made the atmosphere and environment really hard to get into socially. Also, it meant that most of the other people in the group had already travelled for a bit and so most we're kind tired by Vietnam and didn't want to do many activities, because they couldn't be bothered, they just wanted an easy day etc. I learnt that if I wanted to have a good time, I had to do things by myself quite often. It made me wonder why I paid for a group experience in the first place. I understand on an a tour, nobody may like to do the things that you want to, but it seemed that the fact that the other members had already been travelling is what stopped them from getting involved. Tour members that have already been travelling had different needs and wants to myself. Furthermore, while I was only travelling in Vietnam, the other members had just come from experiencing Cambodia. So I was often subject to 'Cambodia is so much cheaper/prettier/better'. I loved Vietnam and my experience there, but it was a downer to hear all this negativity. My arrival could have been better organised so that my tour guide was aware that I was arriving after the meet-up time, and that a message was left for me on arrival (so I don't spend 30 mins freaking out that I'm in Saigon and not knowing whether I was included in the tour or not). I did contact g adventures on facebook about this issue during the time I was concerned, and although I received the reply after the matter was resolved in person, I was really pleased by response time and the manner in which my concern was addressed. My tour guide received three stars because he was fine, however I wish he would have been more enthusiastic. Sometimes I might ask questions about certain activities/hotels etc and he would answer as if he didn't care. It really just seemed that he was apathetic about whether we had a good experience or not. The night before my last full day in Hanoi, I was trying to discuss with the tour leader which of two activities I should do as I only had time for one, and he said 'Just do what you want' and after I persisted in trying to get his advice, because I didnt want to end up doing one activity that sucked, and hear how great the other was, he said something about how the things I was saying was rude so to stop talking. This floored me, because I was just talking about the advantages and disadvantages of actvities - if I had said something offensive, I had no intention to do so - but I ended up feeling embarrassed and ashamed - oh, and this was at a dinner, so I felt ashamed in front of the group which wasn't great. Otherwise my tour leader was really knowledgeable about all the different cities and could give some fascinating information and good advice at times. He also created a fun and humourous atmosphere in the group and he organised everything very well. Lastly, there is one concern I had. In Hue, I went out with most members of the group, and our tour leader, after dinner. I decided to go home earlier than the others, and being drunk with a impaired sense of judgement, I decided to walk back to the hotel by myself. At about 1:30 AM. I'm not fantastic at reading a map sober, so I got lost for a while trying to find my way back using the tiny map on the back of the hotel card (I couldn't find any taxis at this time to take me back.) I am so relieved that I got back to the hotel safely, but concerned that this happened. Now this was a decision I made on my own, I only told one person that I was going home. I, in no way want my tour leader reprimanded for not ensuring I got back safe, because he wasn't aware I left (although he didn't ask me about it later, so it seemed he must have realised I had left by myself, but not about how I got back). This was because I was drunk and made a bad decision. However I doubt I am the first and last person to have poor judgement on one of your tours. Perhaps there needs to be some sort of plan in place for going-out situations. Or drum into group members to look out for other members (not that other members were selfish, but they might have been more aware had g adventures really emphasised the idea of looking out for one another at night etc). This was the only instance in which I felt safety was an issue, I never felt unsafe in any other part of the tour. While I'm glad that I did this trip for the experience of travelling Vietnam, I do not believe I would do a tour again. This tour was great in that I am an inexperienced traveller so everything was organised for me and I as I was on my own, I had the safety of a group environment to experience Vietnam and learn about travel. However, as strange as it sounds, I found a tour group experience to be lonely at times when not travelling with family or friends from home. I also was really unimpressed about being part of a bigger tour and the problems this created, as I mentioned earlier (and this is the reason I wouldn't recommend this tour). So in future, I would prefer to travel with somebody I know and save money by researching and organising things myself beforehand. I did get this tour on sale, so I don't mind all that much, and thought that at this price it would have been worth it. Had it been the normal price I would have been really disappointed with the value for money.

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