Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

We were a very small group ( only 4) and it was lovely to be invited into the kitchen to eat at our first homestay. I enjoyed the buzz of cycling in Hue,

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thoa was a great leader. Everything was organised to perfection and we made great use of our time. Thoughtful things like ordering a take away on the train, and his attention to detail added to the trip. He is good company and I learned so much about Vietnam from him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring earplugs! Apart from the risk of snorers in the homestays, there is also the risk of karaoke! The biking equipment is great, but padded shorts a must. Be prepared for lots of action, as well as some long journeys. Leave room in your suitcase for clothes from Hoi An.

Suggestions

Really enjoyable trip.. a great way to see and do a lot with comfortable accommodation, plenty of activities and great food.

Most Inspirational Moment

We were a very small group ( only 4) and it was lovely to be invited into the kitchen to eat at our first homestay. I enjoyed the buzz of cycling in Hue,

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thoa was a great leader. Everything was organised to perfection and we made great use of our time. Thoughtful things like ordering a take away on the train, and his attention to detail added to the trip. He is good company and I learned so much about Vietnam from him.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Bring earplugs! Apart from the risk of snorers in the homestays, there is also the risk of karaoke! The biking equipment is great, but padded shorts a must. Be prepared for lots of action, as well as some long journeys. Leave room in your suitcase for clothes from Hoi An.

Suggestions

Really enjoyable trip.. a great way to see and do a lot with comfortable accommodation, plenty of activities and great food.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting the two hilltribe settlements of Sung Village and Đá Bia village in Hoa Binh Province. and meeting the Dzau Tien and Muong people. So welcoming, uncommercial, natural and friendly.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was Phi Hoang. Very nice guy, very knowledgeable and passionate about his country and culture. A minor criticism would be that he could have provided more information on interesting buildings and points of interest during the many long and tedious bus journeys we undertook. I suppose to him they are just everyday buildings but to us tourists they are all very interesting pieces of architecture and culture. Also, as I have noticed on my previous trip to Cambodia the guides always seem to take the tourists to the more upmarket, European, trendy and very expensive restaurants (by local standards). Personally, I would prefer to try the more authentic, local cuisine and more "street food". On one occasion, our guide wanted to take us to a restaurant by taxi which we could have walked to faster. When he called taxis to take us back to our hotel after our meal, we refused and said that we wanted to walk a little after our meal. We are all grown adults and do not need to be chaperoned.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would advise potential travellers to try to add a couple of days onto the start and end of the trip if at all possible as this gives the traveler a little time to acclimatise and to get over some of the jet lag before starting a fairly intensive travell programme. On this particular trip, I would advise travelers to ensure they take something warm to wear on the overnight train journey with the Reunification Express from Hanoi down to Hue. The air conditioning is absolutely freezing and cannot be controlled from the cabins. The four people in our cabin froze and struggled to get any sleep.

Suggestions

Unfortunately, after a very good start to our trip we hit a low point on day 5 when we had travelled to Halong Bay for our overnight boat trip in the bay and Kayaking around the islands. Whilst we did board our boat and enjoyed a nice lunch sailing in the bay, we were told that the authorities had stated that "no boats would be allowed to stay on the water during the evening or night time due to an impending storm". We and all the other boats had then to return to shore and we were transferred to a very dated and tired looking hotel in Halong City for the night's stay. Many of the group were very disapointed that they did not get an opportunity for kayaking which was one of their main attractions when booking this trip. What made the situation worse was the fact that it was not wet or stormy during the night, so we could have stayed on board. The poor weather then hit the shore on the following day when we had travelled to Hue. Personally, prior to travelling I had thought Halong Bay would be the highlight of this trip but in reality, it was disapointing and overrated. The bay and islands are certainly beautiful but the area is far too commercial with too many tourists and hundreds of tourist boats all following each other around in circles in a closely controlled area of the bay.

Most Inspirational Moment

Definitely the home stays, being amongst tribal cultures and experiencing their lifestylez

Thoughts on Group Leader

Phi Gas an outstanding knowledge of his country with a great passion to share his wonderful country so that the traveller will experience the real Viestnam

Advice for Potential Travellers

This was good introduction for me as a first time solo traveller and an excellent way to experience the culture and history.

Suggestions

Looking forward to planning my next adventure...

Most Inspirational Moment

I loved hanging out with the children at the homestay, even if we couldn't communicate properly with each other! They were all so sweet. I also loved weaving through the crazy Hanoi streets and cycling in the Mekong Delta. Hoi An was also excellent!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Small bags are needed for some of the stops, so maybe pack light! Learn hello (xin chao) and thank you (cam on) in Vietnamese as it is always nice to say to the locals. Take a tote bag with you for souvenirs and a reusable plastic bottle as you can fill it up on the bus. Go with an open mind as things can sometimes change due to weather.

Suggestions

Visit Vietnam before it becomes too touristy! It is an amazing country with so much to see and so much variation.

Most Inspirational Moment

Inspirational is not quite the right word, but I loved the first hike when we reached the top of a lookout point where all around you you could see mountains and lakes. I also loved cycling through rice fields.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Phi was friendly, knowledgable and easy to talk to. He struggled to motivate the group when the overnight cruise was cancelled due to predicted poor weather, which never materialised, much to our frustration. I liked how he recommended local specialities at each restaurant, they were delicious.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack light and make the most of the washing facilities provided, as small bags are required for a number of stops. Expect wet weather in the north/centre and very humid sun in the south. Bring a poncho and be aware that the itinerary may be forced to change due to weather conditions.

Suggestions

Growing up in England, you are not taught about the Vietnam War (or the American War as they call it), so learning about it in Vietnam was truly eye opening and horrifying. This trip combines culture, history and nature in equal measure and its multi-activity style meant each day was different and exciting.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hoi An, cool city!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, attentive & great sense of humour

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Reflecting back now it was clearly the two nights we stayed with the hill-tribes. Given our small group it was easy to interact with the adults and especially the children. The music and the dancing on the second night was as enjoyable for the village as it was for us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tuyen Nguyen was everything you would want in a guide--professional, well organized, capable of dealing with multiple changes in itineraries (think TET) plus a good sense of humor. He worked his hardest to make sure we enjoyed our time in his country. Our bus rides were filled with his wisdom and wit.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Weather in the north can be really cold especially at the homestays--a sleeping sheet or a light sleeping bag if you chill easily--the bedding provided is a sheet and a blanket. Ear plugs are essential as the dogs and roosters are everywhere. Bring the slippers from the Day 1 hotel to use in the sleeping rooms. You will be backpacking on Day 3 to your new homestay. It rained on us and was very slippery and muddy. Your large bag will be stored at a hotel on Day 2, 5, 11 & 12. You can pack more stuff after the homestay but you still have to carry it between the bus and your night's stay. Day 7 is a long day and one needs to have cycle gear readily available--from the train right to cycling--gel saddle cover and gel cycle shorts really help. We didn't see the sun until Day 7 but the sunscreen came out from then on. Bugs were not a problem.

Suggestions

The trip covers a lot of ground. You will experience considerable time on the bus and periods of inactivity especially at the front end of the trip. This isn't a cultural trip nor is it an activity trip. As a group we only kayaked on Day 5. Cycling often seemed to have no purpose other than to keep us busy. What was billed as trekking was really just walking. A pleasant surprise was the overall quality of most of the hotels. The guesthouse on Day 12 was a very nice end to the trip. The trip is just an overview of Vietnam. I arrived a week before the group and booked my own trip to Siem Reap. In Hanoi I spent several days walking the city and going to the various museums. That week will always be my personal highlight.

Most Inspirational Moment

The boat trip to Halong Bay and the kayaking were great days/nights and the overnight train. Walking through the towns and taking in the history of this amazing country. Too many highlights!!!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

I think his name was Thanh Vo although we all called him ‘Ten’ We cannot put into words how brilliant this man is at his job and he made the whole experience for us so special. A true professional who really cared about the group and his enthusiasm for his country was infectious. His organisation was top class and we all felt lucky to have him as our guide.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Don’t take a saddle ( a saddle over cover or gel shorts is adequate) No need to bring your own cycle helmets as the equipment provided including the cycles themselves are of a very high quality. Along with you big suitcase bring a decent size rucksack to hold 2 days clothes and toiletries. Don’t pack to many clothes as the laundry services (they’re everywhere) are of a good quality and are usually 1USD for 1KG washed dried and ironed within 24 hours absolute BARGAIN!!! The many markets sell t shirts, shorts, sandals, trainers etc for next to nothing so leave plenty of room in your cases. You can go your own way in an evening if you wish, or stay with the group for dinner. The guide Thanh always pointed us in the right direction as he knew all the best eateries and we found our group amazingly great company. Usually the group are all of the same mindset after all we’ve all booked the same holiday! We expected the group to be younger but were pleased to see we were all within 10 years of each other around the 50 year old mark.

Suggestions

You cannot fail if you book this. It’s a great balance of activities and you really feel you know what Vietnam is about. You dont have to be a fitness freak to take part either. An amazing country with amazing people.

Most Inspirational Moment

I think the opportunity to meet with the hill-tribe families and get to know a little about their lives was a great privilege and education. We also took an optional morning's cycle tour on the island Cam Kim near Hoi An where we met local villagers in their homes doing their work such as weaving sleeping mats from reeds, making rice wine and making rice noodles. We had the privilege of being able to try our hand at reed weaving and at making rice noodles. We spent time with Mr Do, the rice wine maker and learnt about his struggles to build a new life after he had lost his leg to a landmine during the war with Cambodia. He was truly inspirational! Everywhere we went, especially in the rural areas, we were greeted with great enthusiasm and the children, particularly, would run out shouting, 'Hallo!' and waving. The warmth and friendliness of the people was a joy.

Thoughts on Group Leader

We were so lucky to have had Bac as our group leader. he worked 24/7 to make our experience very special, including recommending and organising group meals in local restaurants and also in a family home. He managed to keep us all, more or less to schedule, organised to have our laundry done by local workers etc etc. He was an extremely knowledgeable and effective tour guide both during our visits to historic sites and our treks and other pursuits. He never seemed to get tired or lose his enthusiasm for what he was doing. No request was too much trouble for him. He is a true asset to the company.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you are not already a moderately experienced cyclist, I would recommend some regular practice prior to the holiday. I was very pleased that I had spent time building up a bit of stamina before the holiday as I had not been on a bike for 12 years and would never have referred to myself as a cyclist! We found our silk sleeping bag liners extremely useful for the home-stays and overnight sleeper train. Padded cycling shorts are to be highly recommended! Even with them we couldn't avoid getting somewhat saddle-sore! Don't be put off though because the experience is really so worth-while and ample compensation for a temporally sore bottom! This is a full-on experience , not a relaxing holiday. At times you may feel you would like to spend longer in certain places, but that will have to be on another trip!

Suggestions

There were 16 of us in our group - my husband and I were probably the oldest at 70 and 65, but not by far. Most were between 50 and 65 with a 22 year old and a 30 -40 year old. Regardless of age though, Exodus recommends you should be moderately fit and I would say that is definitely so and possibly a little bit under-estimated, especially for our age group.