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

Remember you are not on holiday you are on tour! Early mornings and long days to fit everything in.
Vietnam was very interesting for a country that seems to always be at war. It had historic history with tunnels and museums full of war memorabilia and graphic photos. No-one wins at war and the least of all is the people of Vietnam. A good education though. Saigon is a mad busy city ruled on the road by motorbikes. The countryside quite different and the towns of Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi all have vast populations with the local markets generally selling the same products to tourists.
Laos is the the most underdeveloped country and dirty with rubbish everywhere, still dependent on farming and the population concentrating on looking after themselves rather than commercial gain. It's history revolves around visiting temples, sometimes three or four a day, quite boring. It would be difficult to name a person who has made their mark on this country it only seems to have it's Buddhist religion. Being land locked neighboring country's at war just walked in and occupied.
Cambodia was the most modern of the three country's it had new airports, buildings and was very clean. A lot of money has been spent and invested from China. Angkor is the jewel in the crown of the visit, quite stunning and amazing for how the temples of Wat, Thom and The Bayon ever managed to built with so much intricate carvings and height to the structures.
The people of all three country's are pleased to see you and friendly. The street hawkers can be tiresome but they are only trying to make a living. The cost of living is very cheap, paintings and art work is desirable and plentiful, make certain you leave room in your luggage.
I don't think I need to return having had this experience.

Too many people in group. We were told 16/17! Compared to 27!
Hotels in phnom Penn and Hanoi disappointing. Why not save money on food - far too much every day and improve those hotels. Is there no possibility of a snack for lunch? Then there would be more time for an amount of personal walking round the towns. Not enough available to us!
Most breakfasts passable, but not great. Best food by far on the boat on Halong Bay. Well done to them.
Hotel in hue coped really well with food when the floods came.
Dance and kickboxing display in Cambodia, but the food was abysmal. Surely you can do better than that!
Both guides were brilliant - nothing to fault. They made the holiday special.

We totalled enjoyed the trip and all the knowledge the guides gave us.
However the coach we had in siem Reap was not up to standard as the other coaches we had in Hanoi , Hoi An, Hue and Saigon.

Not enough free time. Too many nights at Saigon. Hotel at Hue was very tired looking. Breakfast was a complete shambles and bathroom had to be recleaned. No air conditioning in the reception areas. Very uncomfortable. On a lighter note the tour guides were excellent.

Service rating :

Spoke initially with Stephen Jordan, who was very efficient and helpful. Upon deciding to book, again spoke with Stephen who was able to deal with our request for a Hong Kong add-on.

Product :

The Vietnam at a Glance Tour was superb and everything went so smoothly. Lots of early mornings but when you travel that far you do need to make the most of your time. Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were typical city hotels, but very good and near the centre, enabling us to walk around in our free time.Those in Hoi An and Hue were a little more spacious, with pools and still in good locations. A special mention must be made of our guide for the tour, Robin (Dzung Duc Ngo), who was outstanding. Also very fortunate to have a good group of fellow travellers, and it was sad to say goodbye at the end!

Well organised with and excellent tour leader. Some problems with time allocation within each day and in the allocation of times to each stopover. In particular more time needs to be allocated to Hue which is impossible to see fully in one half day!

The tour was well supported by excellent national guides in both Cambodia and Vietnam. Although local guides needed at some sights in Cambodia they never did anything except collect our tickets back! Sights and visits better than anticipated.
Unforeseen weather at Hue airport led to emergency contingency plans with an overnight sitting at Danang airport in order to get a flight that got us to Halong Bay. National guide great, but perhaps planned contingency and hotel configuration would be advisable considering this weather potential.
Full on itinery which we enjoyed, but those with some health issues found it challenging at times which meant going on the coach rather than walking on occasion.

Service rating :

Was very good

Product :

Hotel Mondale in hue dated and noise .