RV AmaLotus

Great handling by Jodie and very enjoyable trip. APT tour Director Dom stands out as outstanding and professional. All went well and me and my son made some wonderful memories for life!

First impression in Cambodia is the warm and friendly people. In Siem Reap visiting the temples is a snack by tuk tuk. Angkor Wat and surrounding monuments are special highlights providing a glimpse of past civilisations. The Sofitel Siem Reap is a beautiful retreat with top class facilities and wonderful staff. The five hour coach trip from Siem Reap ...read more to the cruise ship allowed us to take in the country side and way of life. The 8 day river cruise was beyond expectations. The ship was well appointed and spacious, the staff from captain, hotel manager through to ship's crew and tour guides ensured we were well looked after. Nothing was left to chance regarding safety and comfort. A highlight was the special Luke Nguyen - a must.

Shore visits to villages, markets and temples provided a real insight into the way of life of the locals who have been subjected to a horrific history over the past 80 years but who willingly welcomed us into their homes. The Mekong River is massive, well beyond our expectations; the life blood for millions of people in four countries. APT do a great job with this cruise. It is both an educational and very relaxing way to see the region. As usual Georgie at Global Journeys did an excellent job arranging all the details. In an area where things can easily go wrong there was not one hiccup.

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.

Wonderful service and booking experience with Georgie and team at Global Journeys, Thank you!

The 8 Day Mekong River Cruise was enjoyable and relaxing. A good mix of on shore excursions and relax time to enjoy the scenery. RV Amalotus is very comfortable, the staff and crew were very friendly and nice to see that they enjoy working on the ship. ...read more The food and drinks were good quality and plentiful. Shore excursions were well organised with very knowledgeable local guides. The overall cost of cruise a little pricey as excursions were not extravagant. Overall a very enjoyable holiday.

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.

From the ease of booking through Global Journeys until our very last day in Cambodia our trip was handled professionally. Accommodation was superb wherever we were - on land, bay or river. Our tour guides were well educated in the local areas and very informative.

I had an absolutely wonderful holiday. I have booked twice before with Global Journeys and I would not hesitate to do so again. Nothing is too much trouble and everything went smoothly. We had a mixture of age groups and everyone gelled very well. I would suggest if going to Cambodia that maybe a cooler time of year would be better than the 44 degree ...read more heat we had.