12days/11nights Vietnam Highlight Sonata

Itinerary: 12days/11nights Vietnam Highlight Sonata
12-day tour of Ho Chi Minh - Mekong Delta - Hue - Danang - Hoi An - Hanoi - Halong Bay
Travel Date: 24th, June - 5th, July, 2010  
Number of Travelers: 4 adults
Nationality: Australia

Hi Andrew,

Yes the family is home and settled back in. I was planning to write to you anyway to say a big thanks from all of us. We were really impressed by the job you did and also the way the itinerary was sorted and handled by the guides when we were in Vietnam. We had a couple of illnesses along the way, fortunately nothing really serious and it didn't really interfere with our travels. I'd be delighted to answer your questions below:

1. What do you think of our guide service? Who impress you the best and who impress you the poorest?
The guides were excellent. I think our favourite was Phu, we got on really well with him and when Daniella needed medical assistance he made it happen at amazing speed. We plan to keep in touch with Phu. Hao was also very good. We got on really well with Hao as well. Hao suggested during our drive from airport to hotel that we add Cu Chi tunnels to our itinerary (we had originally removed this). We decided to go with his local knowledge and had a really, really good day. We are really glad he took the time to explain why he thought we should change plans a bit. We didn't have any problems with Cuong but he wasn't as outgoing or chatty as Hao and Phu. When Hao and Phu met us at the airport they introduced themselves to us individually, making sure they got names right, etc. They chatted about Vietnam from pick up to drop off at the hotel. Cuong introduced himself but was otherwise quiet. We felt that with Cuong we had to start conversation, once we got him talking on something he was quite good. In all cases the local knowledge of the guides was outstanding and their ability to speak English was really good.

2. What do you think of our driver service?
No problems with the drivers. Clean vehicles, on time, air conditioning working. I felt safe while travelling (or at least as safe as you can feel on a Vietnamese road).

3. What do you think of the hotel service and their breakfast? Can you please name the best one and the poorest one in your trip?
We thought the hotels were all good value. Our favourite was the Hoi An Hotel. The whole set up was brilliant, we loved the pool, the service and the rooms. Is hard to nominate a least favourite as all the rooms basically lived up to expectations. Maybe the Beautiful Saigon hotels because on our first stay Christopher and Daniella were placed in a room a number of floors away from us and access to our room required use of a narrow staircase. On our return visit we were told there was no available room and transferred to Beautiful Saigon 2. The rooms were fine but the plumbing needs to be fixed as there was an unpleasant odour coming from the bath drain in both of the rooms. In all there was nothing that we couldn't cope with reasonably easily. The level of staff friendliness and service attention was great in all hotels. A special mention should go the staff at the Golden Sun 4 Hotel in Hanoi, truly excellent service.

4. Which meal makes you memorable? Please name the reason why you like or dislike it?
We pretty much enjoyed all the restaurants. The one in Hanoi (don't have the name) was by far the least favourite. The food just wasn't up to the standards of the other restaurants on the tour. The meal at Mekong Delta (Hao Ai – I think that is the name) was the most memorable. We had seen the elephant ear fish prepared on a TV show and wanted to try it. To sit in the Mekong Delta, such a beautiful location, and eat really good food that included the elephant ear fish was just magnificent. Morning Glory Restaurant at Hoi An was also very, very good. As I mentioned, apart from the Hanoi restaurant we thought all the restaurants were good value and served very tasty food. We have come back determined to learn more about Vietnamese food and cook more of it ourselves.

5. Would you mind sharing your pictures in the trip with us?
Happily, I'm happy to send more if you have a specific you are looking for.

6、Would you like to be our reference by authorizing us to give out your email address?
I'm more than happy to tell people what a wonderful job IOT do in arranging tours. This has been a quality experience from start to finish. I can't say more than we would happily use IOT again again and also recommend IOT to friends and family.

Andrew once again I cannot thank you enough for the effort you put into getting this tour up and running. We will happily recommend IOT to friends and family and we look forward to using your services again. You have been absolutely brilliant.

Regards

Paul, Maria, Christopher and Daniella

July 9th, 2010