Travel date: December 2015
Family of 4 adults & 1 kid (4 year old)
Tour: 14-Day Vietnam Family Travel with Kids
Dear Laura,
Yes, we are now back in Singapore! We had a very good trip, thanks!
1. The guides were all good, spoke good English and were always on time or early to meet us. We especially liked our guides Mr Quyen at Hanoi and Mr Lam at HCMC. Since we arrived early at Hanoi (about 3 pm) after Halong Bay, Mr Quyen proposed we see the Hao Lo prison, which we found very interesting and better than a long wait at the hotel. Then an early dinner at a restaurant with really nice food and good prices, before seating ourselves at Highlands Coffee to wait for the train. The wait was nearly 3 hours, but Mr Quyen stayed with us and played games with my kids, all the way until we got onto the train cabin. So he became my little girl’s favourite guide. :). Mr Lam was also very nice and fun, and spoke good Chinese as well. He adjusted the Cu Chi tunnel tour from afternoon to the morning , in case of rain. And it did rain slightly in the afternoon, so it was good that he did. We’re glad your guides have the flexibility to adjust the itinerary according to the weather.
2.The hotels were all excellent, good choice, nice rooms, good locations, thanks! Halong Bay is so beautiful!
3. Meals were all very good, probably a bit too much for our small family. We have never tried so many different Vietnamese dishes before. One member was vegetarian, and the restaurants did their best to cater to her specially. We especially enjoyed the lunch at Ms Ngam’s home in Dong Ngac Village, and of course the meals on board the Aphrodite cruise! However, we noted that many of the restaurants we had our meals catered more for tourists than locals.
4. The Jack Trans Eco Farm and Fishing tour was really fun and informative. We were blessed that day with really nice cool weather (yet without rain) for cycling so we didn’t get too hot. Cycling along the paddy fields and seeing buffalo and ducks was a real treat. The scenery was so beautiful. The buffalo ride, vegetable farm and basket boat rides were fun and educational too. The lunch on the boat was very good too and a nice way to end the tour. And Hoi An is a lovely old town.
5. The train ride to Sapa was a fun experience, even though I didn’t get any sleep because my little girl took up the whole bed and I had no room to lie down. The older kids slept quite well; cabin was clean and comfortable. Unfortunately it was raining and foggy when we were in Sapa, so we didn’t see much of the famous scenery :(. But the village walks were quite nice despite the rain. My kids enjoyed seeing the pigs and chicken running around freely – something one doesn’t see in Singapore! Except that after the village, we were all wet and cold, such that nobody wanted to see the Silver Waterfalls, just wanted to get back to the hotel to shower! The bus ride back to Hanoi was comfortable, although long and boring. zzz
6. I’m glad we could extend an extra day in Hanoi. Coming back at 10 pm from Sapa and getting up for a flight the next morning would have been too tiring! Also we had the chance to walk around the lake in the morning as well as at night, in the nice cool weather. And do some shopping at Old Quarter. We also managed to see the Museum of Ethnology (which we missed on Day 2 due to closure) and the Old Citadel (not much to see at Old Citadel).
7. Another great thing in Vietnam: there is free Wi-fi EVERYWHERE! (esp important for teenagers!).
Best regards,
Yueh Nuo
