1 independent reviews for Vietnam tailor made holiday, North to South
Reviews for Vietnam tailor made holiday, North to South
Mark Pearson review 7 Aug 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Angkor, the boat itself for Ha Long Bay, Hoi An at night, the dark cave, the cu chin caves, S21, crossing the road2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
We probably over-organised. We perhaps should have had some time without guides to explore ourselves. And we stayed exclusively in upmarket hotels - it would have been better to have gone for some more basic accommodation in the heart of things. Otherwise, it delivered in terms of excellent food, memorably 'foreign', nothing strenuous, and a good mixture of activities3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Mixed. Surprising how little attention the guides etc gave to environmental impact; I think the only case was in cambodia, with an effort to use refillable water bottles. We were upset by the amount of plastic and other mess in some places -- Ha Long in particular. Benefiting local people is a tricky one. The 'fishing village' we visited on Cat Be island was a joke -- no fishing from there, and even the paddy fields were now dry, as they now focus on selling soft drinks to tourists. A bit the same regarding the 'fishing village' around Hoi An -- but that was still fun, despite having left authenticity long behind. Even the floating markets etc were a bit of a non-event now (the exception being the stilted fishing village we visited on Tonle Sap -- excellent). The caves were also something of a shock -- much more commercial than I imagined they would be. But I suppose the local people are much better off as a result.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We loved it. It was full of memorable moments, nearly all good (and the bad ones also make a holiday). If I were to redesign it, I would make more 'light and shade' in terms of the luxurious nature of the trip. Some (most) of the guides were perhaps a bit 'traditional' -- they told us the dates of things, rather than the quirky stories. But that seems to be the culture of the area, so is not really a negative -- and they all made a huge effort to make things as good as they possibly good, from changing the itinerary to include walking around the old town in Ha Noi, to translating when Michelle broke her toe and putting so much effort into finding boots, to making suggestions for food. We loved the all, and the girls still talk of them.Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your feedback following holiday to Vietnam and Cambodia.
As a small environmentally focused travel provider, we do our very best to ensure we work with like minded suppliers around the world, in particular those who support local communities. Our tour provider in Vietnam employs 95% of their staff locally and behind the scenes they support various community development projects and social, environmental & economic initiatives.
Plastic waste is a big issue in the world and in particular in Asia. Our partners and suppliers have an ongoing commitment to address this issue and the contributing impact tourism has and are working hard to eliminate plastic bottles and waste from their tours by 2024. Unfortunately in areas like Halong Bay the impact of plastic waste continues to be an issue. Since 2019 there has been a ban on single use plastic and the Halong Bay Management Department collect and dispose of single-use plastic following Vietnamese plastic waste regulations with strict penalties in place. The tourism industry are strong supporters of this. A lot of the waste is unfortunately washed into the bay from the wider waters.
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