Reviews

An absolutely amazing adventure with a great group of people and an amazing guide in Vietnam - Kim !
This was my first solo holiday and I would not hesitate to go on another Wendy Wu tour but this will take some beating !
We saw Vietnam essentially from top to bottom . From the bustle of Hanoi to the peace of the Panhou retreat just 30km from the Chinese border to the majesty of Halong Bay . Then onto Hoi An and Hue both so different but both equally memorable . Then Saigon - a Vespa tour is an essential for everyone - and the time to reflect on what we saw in the Cu chi tunnels and the war remnants museum . And then onto the Mekong delta for an overnight stop in Ben tre
The walking in Hoang Su Phi was not as challenging as the itinerary might have suggested and I chickened out of the cycling ! The hotels were all well situated and all of a more than acceptable standard - the most important part was the beds as certainly needed good nights sleep to keep up with the adventure .
The group was sad to leave Vietnam and Kim who as I have already said was amazing at looking after us and was full of amazing stories and shared his experiences with us .
However we still had Cambodia to visit and I guess my only criticism of the whole trip was it should have been slightly longer to give us a bit more time in Cambodia . The Angkor Wat complex was amazing as was the visit the following day to the village on stilts . Our guide Chet obviously had a hard act to follow but again he was great !
My highlights - the retreat , walking in the mountains , Halong bay , the bamboo circus in Hoi An and the mad ride on coracle boats , the Vespa tour ,eating and drinking fresh coconut in the Mekong the Angkor complex and the Phare Circus !
A truly amazing adventure

Excellent tour to Cambodia and Vietnam although very full on! All the major attractions visited. The cruise to Halong Bay on the Auca2 was amazing although could be a bit longer…one night and it felt like we didn’t get the full 2 days’ cruise! The guides were very knowledgeable and looked after us very well, cannot fault them at all.
Most of the restaurants’ set meals, sharing at times were good except a 2 restaurants where there wasn’t enough of a dish to go round and when this was pointed out we were told it’s to be shared between 4 people and made to feel like we couldn’t count! - the portion allocated was enough for 3 people! Lol!
Kimi

We were very pleased with all aspects of this trip. The booking process was straightforward and all queries were dealt with professionally.

The tour was well organised and everything went according to plan. Our local guide Dinh was exceptional and due to his willingness to answer all questions and volunteer all sorts of information - historical, sociological, geographical - we felt that we really got to know something of the culture and the people of Vietnam. The activities were great fun and the visit to the vegetable garden and cooking class in Hoi An especially stand out.
The cruise in Halong Bay - despite the chilly/wet weather - was the highlight it promised to be.

All accommodation was good and the transfers smooth and well organised. It was a bonus not having to carry our own luggage! The food was also very good with only a couple of the western meals being a bit disappointing.

This was our first experience of an organised group tour and we were more than pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it. The group of people were friendly and enthusiastic and it was good get to know each other over dinner and to compare notes on the day.

It was a wonderful way to celebrate my husband's 70th birthday. I had organised it as a surprise for him and he loved it.

Japan is now on my wish list!

Extensive tour of Vietnam, mid range hotels, comfortable clean. Well paced although a couple of days were quite extensive. Wonderful cruise in Halong Bay at end. Food offering was disappointing, repetitive. Guide was excellent and greatly enhanced the Vietnam experience with anecdotal stories of the impact of the war on himself and family member

Excellent trip, well co-ordinated, lead by a very good guide. Hotels and food very good. Halong Bay cruise very good but a little disappointed with quality of rooms on boat.

Full on travel experience. All travel arrangements and pick ups were organised superbly
The hotels were all of a good standard and the beds high quality aiding great sleep
Cambodia was beyond expectations as was our guide Buvnath. The Angor complex and the Ta Prohn temples ( Tomb Raider film) was breathtaking despite the high humidity and the rest of the itinerary was very interesting. A luxury coach transferred the 16 of us to Pnom Penn.
Next was a cruise down the Mekong river which was a welcome respite after a few days touring
The boat was lovely as were the staff and the evening entertainment was authentic.
Wendy Wu greeted us for the cruise and it was fun to hear how she had built her tour business
3 groups amalgamated on this cruise and I felt the trips out were a bit busy with all of us descendingon each location.
After 3 days on the Mekong River it was a transfer to Saigon.
This day was less successful as a packed and somewhat repetetive days activities and a late lunch meant we arrived in our hotel with little time to shower and freshen up for dinner which I decided to miss.
After that day the tour picked up again and our new guide Hoi kept the group engaged and the travel arrangements from then on were faultless including 2 internal flights from Ho Chi Min to Da Nang for the beautiful Hoi An and then onto Hanoi.
Hoi made sure each hotel had all our details in advance and arranged luggage collection /porterage so no lengthy lobby waits to get to our rooms.
The evening show in Hoi An was a spectacular display of acrobatics traditional music and dance and I am glad this was included
The seaplane flight over Halong bay was like something out of a James Bond movie and the cruise on the Junk was very pleasant
Why only 4 stars
I felt some of the food /set meals provided were bland , and unimaginative for the price point .The veg was always excellent but one restaurant gave us pork complete with hairy skin!! which nobody ate much of! The last nights meal was very average and a disappointment.
Overall a great experience which I would recommend
The food does need improved for the evening meals

I really enjoyed the tour which had many excellent qualities and some experiences which were not so good. In all fairness to Wendy Wu, when we arrived at our substandard hotel in Hanoi, they located a much better hotel for our next night after the Halong Bay Cruise.
We were given free time in most places to explore at leisure.
My dietary requirements were met. The guides would speak to the restaurant managers and they would provide ample food, often too much.
The other guests were not so happy as all their meals were preordered and they often had to eat the same meals.
Transport went smoothly although a couple of the buses used were not as good as others.
Overall it was a very interesting and educational holiday with some areas of outstanding beauty and an insight into history which I knew nothing about such as Angkor Wat. It was very varied, walking around towns, visiting museums, temples, mausoleums and places of great sadness such as Pol Pot’s prison and Vietnam remnants war museum. Boat trips, visits to farms and an overnight cruise.
Thank you very much for arranging my first visit to the Far East.

Exceptionally well organized and the guides in both Cambodia and Vietnam were knowledgeable, helpful and funny. Found the tour very tiring despite it being graded as easy. Thoroughly enjoyed the cruise in Halong Bay and would have liked longer on the boat. The group size was large at 26 and there was an issue with one of the guests who couldn't keep up. She was advised that she couldn't go on the same trips as us which I thought was harsh, but other guests were pleased.

Angkor was amazing and Cambodia very interesting. Most of the places in Vietnam were very good and Halong Bay spectacular. The tour was well organised and the guides very friendly and knowledgeable. Some of the hotels were excellant but some could have been better, but, they were all clean well looked after and in very good locations. The food was generally very good except for the odd occasion and at times a bit too much of the same quisine but to be fair we did have some different meals offered on the tour.

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This was a great tour, the guide in Cambodia was fantastic!
The sites were amazing and Halong Bay and Angkor Wat were the highlights for me.
The only thing i would change would be the amount of food at meals, in that heat you do not need to eat 6 courses for lunch...

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Excellent tour, sites were fantastic especially Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.
The cruise on Halong Bay was amazing and unforgettable.

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Itinerary was very good ,Mekong Delta a wasted day compared with Hoi An and Halong Bay and Hanoi.
40 % of Restaurant were empty seated in rooms without atmosphere just the group,Nha Trang Hotel Asian Paradise (hell) 2/10
All guides were excellent Hoang Van Toan In Hanoi 11/10 brillent.
Would have been lovely a additional day in Hanoi .
Hotel Le Nid lack facilities very poor dinning room layout more like a canteen.
No bar with alcohol drinks Le spirits .
Very good flights with Cathay and Vietnemese Airlines.

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Value for the money except the Menkong Delt

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The service on this tour was amazing. The national guides sort everything and want to ensure you have a great holiday in their countries. I found the Cambodian people to be extremely friendly. If you suffer from any allergies then the guides ensured you were given food that you could eat safely and tried to offer variety. The hotel rooms were all of excellent standard and most hotels had a swimming pool.

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The trip from Angkor to the Bay was amazing. Both of our national guides were outstanding. We had Sok in Cambodia and Zhou in Vietnam. They were both very knowledgeable and were good at telling the history of their countries in an interesting way and were fun to be around. Our favourite parts were Angkor Wat and Halong Bay. The boat trip on Halong Bay was a relaxing part of the trip and the scenery was stunning. The boat was positioned perfectly to enjoy the sunrise. In Hoi An we stayed at the silk resort which is a beautiful hotel. Most people's favourite. This is our second Wendy Wu tour and it was amazing and we would happily go with them again. The holiday includes everything so you don't need to worry about where to eat or how to travel around. The roads in Vietnam and Cambodia are chaos but all of our drivers made you feel safe and were very friendly.

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Superb service by our guide Mai Nguyen. She was amazing, anticipating all our needs while acting as a friend and always caring about how much we were enjoying the incredible experiences. She is a shining star.

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A fabulous tour, mixing ancient sites, old and new culture, historical events, cities and rural surroundings, and fun activities which gave us an insight into the way Vietnam works. We did an extension of 3 days to Cambodia before the tour started, which we would thoroughly recommend - you should not miss Ankor Wat, Ankor Thom and Ta Prohm. The group was quite big - 28, half British and half Australian/New Zealanders but the tour guide skilfully managed it, making us feel like a family throughout the visit. Excellent food and people everywhere were charming. Hotels were top rate and the junk in Halong Bay was very high quality. A great trip which we'll never forget.

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From the first until the final day the service was superb. Absolutely no complaints

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It was excellent. Both Guides were brilliant. Hotels were really great and of course both countries were beautiful. I'd recommend this trip to anyone. Only disappointment was bad weather meant we couldn't go on Halong Bay cruise due to bad weather. No one's fault and alternative activities were great.

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The guide was great, really knowledgeable and looked after us very well. Even in his free time when the day was finished he was willing to take us to places and constantly making sure we was ok and felt safe at any time.
Service in all the restaurants were great minus one in Saigon the rooftop restaurant near diamond plaza service was extremely slow and took so long for us to get a drink.

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Amazing, got to see so much a true once in a lifetime trip. Loved the cruise boat for halong bay so modern and luxury to a surprise when we researched junk boats. All hotels were spot on and the trips were out of this world. Early early starts around 5.30am was a bit of a off put as its such a long day but you understand why to try beat all the other tour groups.
Would recommend this trip so highly, gutted its all over.