Best of Vietnam and Cambodia Reviews

This escorted tour took us to many of the key historical locations and scenic wonders of the former French Indochina region. From the bustle of Saigon and nearby war-time tunnels at Cu Chi to Da Nang and its famed China Beach, Hoi An and Hue and on to Hanoi with its Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and the beautiful Halong bay limestone formations, fish farms ...read more and cultured pearl production. In Cambodia, the extensive Angkor temples were so impressive before experiencing life along the mighty Mekong River, aboard the beautiful R V Amalotus to the thriving capital Phnom Penh with its nearby "killing fields" memorial site. Finally we had the chance to see life in the great Mekong Delta region.

Highlights were many including Saigon; the many thousands of motor bikes in their organised chaos, the massive Ben Thanh market, the Palaces and parks. Hoi An; the ancient town, festival, and farming communities. Hanoi; visit to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison.

The one lowlight: was the dinner at the Sofitel Legend where we were served under cooked chicken at the "special dinner". Halong Bay; sadly the rain spoiled this part of the tour, however the fish farms and pearl culturing were impressive. Siem Reap; Angkor Wat at sunrise, and Khmer Cooking class. Phnom Penh; The Killing Fields, though sombre was worth the visit and the Tuk-Tuk ride was a great experience. Tan Chau; the visit to the APT supported village on Evergreen Island was magical.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour. Tana our tour guide throughout was just great and all the local guides were fabulous as well. The only meal we did not really enjoy was the dinner put on by the Sofitel Hotel in Hanoi. It was what we would call 'below average'. Also we were disappointed with the breakfast on the Singapore Airlines flight, Singapore to ...read more Auckland. The flight attendant said they had run out of omelettes so she handed us some awful Asian meal which had an awful smell. We could not eat it. Those flight attendants were not the usual most friendly people.

The hotel in Hoi An was nice but the bathroom set up was rather odd. With a curved shower tiled wall that leaked into the toilet area, a small toilet room with a glass door, the privacy was rather poor. The hotels were of a very high standard and the 2 night cruise on Halong Bay was great. The week long river cruise was fabulous too. Meals were all fabulous apart from the Hanoi Hotel one I mentioned. A great trip thank you.

Our last trip to Vietnam was in 2003, so it was interesting to see the changes and to re-look at Vietnam nearly 15 years on. The combination of Vietnam from south to the north linked with Siem Reap and a river cruise back to our starting point, was a good overall journey, starting with a small group and building numbers as others linked in along the ...read more trip.