sgl

In November we went to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia with Pacific Delight Tours. This trip was called "super value" but was quite expensive - 2 weeks for about $5000.

Although they advertised an "escorted" tour in Vietnam, that is not what we received. We had separate local guides in each area of Vietnam. PDT also made a number of itinerary changes 3 weeks before the trip - all the changes had a negative impact on our tour.

We had a 6am flight from Hanoi to Danang and had to leave our hotel at 3:30 am - there was a 10:10 flight that would have afforded us plenty of time to see all the sights on our itinerary in Danang. They also changed other flights: our flight to Saigon was changed which meant that we had less than a day and a half to enjoy Saigon. Our city tour was very rushed in the early morning so we could catch our flight to Cambodia. Our return flight from Cambodia to Bangkok was also changed to a late evening flight. This meant that we no longer had our last day in Bangkok, and we were left in Siem Reap for an afternoon and early evening with no tours and no hotel room!

Very poor planning on PDT's part. Their customer service was nonexistent. It took an inordinate amount of time for us to change our hotel our last night in Bangkok. Since PDT now had us arriving back in Bangkok at 9:30pm and we were leaving the next morning to return to the US, we wanted to stay at the airport hotel rather than 40 minutes away, in downtown Bangkok. That change took over a week for to accomplish and we had to pay more money. Since PDT was unablle to do this in a week before we left on our trip, communication may have been better had we actually had an escort as advertised who could follow up on obtaining the hotel vouchers. Instead we had to explain the problem to each local guide and they had to get their local office to contact PDT.

Most of the meals were pre-ordered with lots of the same fried food for lunch and dinner.

It has been 6 weeks since I sent a letter to PDT regarding the lack of an escort and other issues they caused by changing the trip. I have not received a reply.

I have taken a number of tours with other, more reasonable priced, companies, and have enjoyed them all. This was the exception. If you have a choice in travel, I would not go with Pacific Delight anywhere.

dogster

I get the feeling there's some missing information here.

Was that $5000 for two of you - or $5000 each? A supervalue trip, right? Private trip or with a group?
Which trip was it?
Exactly which dates in November?

I ask the dates only to ascertain if you were somehow caught up in the wake of the airport occupation and protests in November - which might explain a lot of it.

'Cos actually, apart from the flight changes and everything that flowed from them, your grievances seem to be exclusively about the lack of a FULL-TIME escort on the Vietnam leg of your tour [6 days?] and the fact that you had a hassle changing your final hotel in BKK.

Gpanda

There have been other posts asserting that PDT was a good value. Please elaborate on the exact nature of your complaints.

I do agree that pre-selected meals can be very tiresome. I also agree that interfacing with the tour company can also be difficult.

Was the $5000 for one or two?

Femi

Things like you describe are unfortunately not all that uncommon with organized tours. If the group numbers are low they might use a 'local guide' in each city rather than a single guide who is with you from start to finish.

They choose hotels more for the prices they negotiate rather than convenience of the tourist. Same goes for flights. The 1010 Danang flight may be more convenient, but also more expensive.

It's for these reasons and many more that I can think of that most people on the Asia board dislike traveling with tour groups/companies and instead make arrangements for travel on a private basis.

The benefits of tours? They do all the planning for you, so you don't have to worry about the details, and they usually pack in a lot more sightseeing than one would typically accomplish alone.

Have you been on other tours in the same price range and had different results?

Kathie

I guess this sounds to me like the disadvantages of a package tour. You don't get to choose your flights, your hotels or your restaurants. And - you get the privilege of paying for their planning, even if you don't like it.

If you read this board from time to time, you know that the regulars here recommend independent travel. You do the planning, you make the choices, you pay less.

Cilla_Tey

We paid USD$2000 for 2pax private tour for 5 nights in Saigon and the Mekong Delta and thought it was a very reasonable price. That included breakfast only, chose a better class of hotels though. There were 2 full days where we were left on our own.

rhkkmk

tours are tours and you are subject to last minute changes, etc for reasons and no reasons...

i found pacific delight to be just that---a delight for a tour experience...

your airfare, over the pacific, alone would be over $1000 probably..

tours with all foods included are a set up for disaster, imo

sorry--don't use them again and pick up the telephone and call them...get the CEO's name before you call..

Jed

Kathie <You do the planning, you make the choices, you pay less.>

That's certainly true for the seasoned traveler.

But, unfortunately, there are many people for whom the complexity of making their own travel plans for strange countries is just beyond their capability.

We've taken many tours, and have made our own plans. You win some, you lose some.

citywalks

It could have been worse. Have you read "Saving Fish from Drowning" by Amy Tan?