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Vietnam forum We are heading to Vietnam for 14 days in Oct and have decided to book a private tour so we could see what we want, the way we want.....we've been emailing with Helen from Impress Travel based in Hanoi, has anyone dealt with them, are they reputable and how was your experience? We're hesitant to book until we know who they are (found them on net) and it's only 7 weeks away. Help!
Seemed straight fwd I booked a Junk Toure w/them. Mate in Hanoi confirmed they are legit when she stopped by their office. I put a small deposit down and will pay balance when I arrive.
I booked using credit card so if it all went pear shape I would get it refunded through them anyways.
Ive booked a tour of mekong with them and have no concerns. they seem fine to me. fingers crossed!
Thanx for the info, it makes me feel alot better knowing they actually physically exist. I'm sure it's all good and I'll post when we've done our trip to give a glowing report (i hope so)
Yes, let us now how you got on with them when you return.
Okay, we just got back from a 14 day tour of Vietnam booked through Impress Travel (based in Hanoi) and it was fantastic! They were professional, friendly and super helpful. Upon arrival we went to the office to pay the balance of our tour and we can say YES, they are a legitimate travel agency and provided us with seamless transportation (main reason we chose a tour) and no hassles or stresses anywhere, not to mention NO wasted time.
We planned every detail ourselves and had them put it all together with an a/c vehicle & excellent driver as well as a tour guide. At first we didn't think it would be necessary for either but we saved alot of time & discomfort as well as getting to ask alot of questions about their way of life, religion, food, families, relationships etc.......
Our tour cost $1500 CDN plus $1100 airfare each and included all accomodation, transport, most meals, entry fees, private car, driver & guide, we called the shots as to times & itinerary. The ONLY things we had to pay for were all beverages, a few meals and shopping. Yes, we prob would've saved $300 plus each doing it ourselves but we didn't want the hard bus seats, the sloshy toilets on the trains and mostly we couldn't find any tours that had everything we wanted to do. Here's what we chose:
Day 1-arrive Hanoi, o/n train to Sapa
Day 2-Bac Ha market....Sapa
Day 3- Sapa trekking, o/ntrain back to Hanoi
Day 4-Hanoi to Halong Bay for 2 night Paloma Cruise
Day 5- junk cruise
Day 6- Junk cruise, transfer back to Hanoi
Day 7- 6am flight to Dong Hoi, transfer to Phong Nha farmstay
Day 8- Phong Nha Paradise Cave & jungle tour via jeep
Day 9- Drive to Hue via Danang
Day 10-Hue to Hoi An via Lang Co Beach, My Son Champa ruins
Day 11- Hoi An, morning walking tour & eve cooking class (fun!)
Day 12- 6 am flight to Saigon, transfer to Mekong Delta
Day 13- Mekong Delta, floating markets, rice factory.......back to Saigon
Day 14- Saigon free day, eve flight home
Careful planning is key and we built in enough relax time that we weren't rushed. Got to experience it all except the beach scene which we do in Mexico plus it was into rainy season!
Next time we would book everything ourselves including the car & driver w/o tour guide and would buy our own meals.
Happy trails,
Christa
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