'All-in' package holidays (flight,accom,tour) to Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand?

Doshwaster

Sblogz wrote: »

Danang has got a bittttt more going for it than that - fire breathing dragon bridge (one of 4 pretty nice and interesting bridges), river cruises under those bridges, the road from *THAT* episode of Top Gear, beach (better and less touristy than Hoi An), Marble Mountain, Son Tra Peninsula (motorbike riding, beaches).

You're considerably less likely to be victimised as a tourist as well.

OK, maybe I was being a little unfair on Danang but it didn't look that interesting as I was passing through it.

One of the things that I really like about Vietnam is how safe it felt (well, apart from when crossing the road). I can't remember ever feeling "victimised" as a tourist. I love Thailand and I'm a frequent visitor but you always have to be aware of the risks. Vietnam felt a lot safer.

bylromarha

Doshwaster wrote: »

One of the things that I really like about Vietnam is how safe it felt (well, apart from when crossing the road). I can't remember ever feeling "victimised" as a tourist. I love Thailand and I'm a frequent visitor but you always have to be aware of the risks. Vietnam felt a lot safer.

I agree Vietnam feels safe from a crime perspective, but I did feel there were many occasions with people trying to take advantage as I was a tourist. It could be as I was female travelling with just my kids, but from the unwanted coconut seller + taxi driver in HCMC, to the Easy Rider in Dalat and the bakery + several taxis in Hanoi there are many times I felt some Vietnamese saw me as a money machine rather than a traveller. I'd travelled enough in Asia to not let them take advantage, but many more than expected Vietnamese business people left a sour taste in the mouth.

OP - if you're a confident traveller, go for it yourself, don't use a package. If you are less confident, or are time poor and cash rich, my friend recently used Wendy Wu travel for a Cambodia/Laos/Vietnam trip and loved it. Far too much packed into it for my liking at a crazy price for Asia, but she was happy to spend extra to get the peace of mind.

slinga

Doshwaster wrote: »

It certainly has. There are lots of budget airline routes in Vietnam now. I don't think I paid over £40 for a one-way ticket. At that price it really isn't worth suffering a 12 hour bus or train ride unless you really do believe that "getting there is half the fun".

You just have to treat their published schedules with a huge pinch of salt and be prepared for delays due to weather and general SE Asian standards of timekeeping. Don't rely on an internal connection to catch your long haul flight home.

When we were transiting through Hanoi recently we had to walk from Arrivals to the Departure Lounge and we passed the check in desks.
There were horrendous queues there, as bad as Hong Kong Kai Tak in the really bad old days.
Dunno if those queues were the norm.

janiebaby29

I used this company for my recent holiday to Bali and Hong Kong , they tailor the holiday to suit you with the security of a package , i recommend them highly
http://www.freedomasia.co.uk/

overcharged

Thanks so much for all the incredible information guys. Really useful information in this thread that I hope will benefit others also. Thanks again!

kdogg_05

I used G Adventures https://www.gadventures.co.uk recently for a china trip, but I would tend to agree with DIY if you have the time. It was the first time using a tour as China was a little intimidating, although if I were to go again I would do it myself

You not only save money in comparison to tours, and have greater flexibility, but you can also travel in more comfort in comparison to what tours would generally have you in.

The main advantage of having the tour I found, was having a superb local guide. He was excellent, and it allowed us to ask so many questions about local history, culture and customs that we likely wouldn't have had the change to find out going alone.

The disadvantage, is it makes you a little lazy almost, and as he was so good, I didn't do my usual language research and attempts etc, as everything was already done and taken care of.