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Indochina -- Country Selection and Tour Group "Travel Indochina"

Indochina -- Country Selection and Tour Group "Travel Indochina"

Old Oct 14th, 2007, 07:02 AM
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Indochina -- Country Selection and Tour Group "Travel Indochina"

I am planning a trip to some combination of VietNam, Cambodia and Laos, and can commit to up to 3 weeks from mid Dec. to early Jan. I am in my early 40's, very athletic and adventurous and have traveled extensively. I generally plan my own trips and travel with a friend, but I will be doing this solo. (Traveling around by myself is not appealing and therefore I will only go with a small group.) I generally like to travel in a fairly deluxe manner but am resistant to paying almost double just because a tour operator is scheduling my trip.

Has anyone ever heard of the tour group Travel Indochina? They came up as the first 6 or 7 listings in Google. They also offer a "share" option for solo travelers, so if you are willing to share a room, there is no single supplement.

As far as country selection, I've never been to Asia and am trying to decide whether to see a a little bit of all three countries, or spend more in-depth time in fewer locations.

Travel Indochina has a 21 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia and also an 18 day trip that visits all 3 countries. They also have a 14 day trip to Cambodia and Laos. Which of these would you suggest? Which countries were you favorites, and in what order? I have heard that Laos is fascinating because it has been the least visited and closed off for so long. I should probably also note that I will be going to China in late spring.

Any thoughts on these issues?

Thanks!!!
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Old Oct 14th, 2007, 09:11 AM
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Hi SueBlue,

I'm on a Laos/Vietnam/Angkor trip from Dec. 13 to Dec 31 with Wilderness Travel out of San Francisco. We are extending the trip on our own at the end in Bangkok for a few days. It is almost identical to the Travel Indochina "deluxe" itinerary, but two days longer and includes Saigon. http://www.wildernesstravel.com/itins/indochin.html They were cited in National Geographic as an excellent company. We don't ususally travel with a group either, but I didn't have time to organize a trip, so we just signed up. Frankly it is a relief not to have to do anything except show up. The group is limited to 15.

I haven't heard of Travel Indochina (which means absolutely nothing), but I'm sure they are excellent. Most of these boutique adventure companies focus on client word-of-mouth for business, so they aim to please and usually have obsessively loyal clients. Their clients are usually in good shape and more adventurous than those that take larger groups. Another company that has been mentioned in National Geographic that is the same type of adventure company is www.boundlessjourneys.com

Travel Indochina is an Australian company. I don't know where you live--and it really doesn't matter. It could be more fun to go with a group from an area of the world different than you.

Lastly, you really don't pay double when you go through an operator. Sometimes, you end up paying less than you could do yourself because they are consolidators. Particularly at high season, you might find getting rooms close to impossible and they have already blocked out room months ahead of time. If you want to go on a trip during the 2007 Christmas season, I wuold move fast. They might be filled up by now.
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Old Oct 14th, 2007, 04:58 PM
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We took a 3-week small group tour of Vietnam with Travel Indochina and couldn't fault their professionalism and service. There were 11 people in our group and at all times we had the services of a HCMC-resident Australian tour leader, an excellent local tour guide and local bus driver, supplemented by locals on a number of excursions. Everything went off without a hitch. We're not usually tour people, but on this occasion we agreed that we couldn't possibly have seen and done as much under our own steam.

The fact that Travel Indochina is an Australian company is no disadvantage -the reverse if anything, as they've been in business in Vietnam since 1993, and Australia was building
diplomatic and commercial relations some years before the Clinton administration normalised relations.
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Old Oct 14th, 2007, 05:25 PM
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That's funny -- I thought Travel Indochina was locally based . . . I live in New York City. I have heard great things about Wilderness Travel and I think they are very high end. Any thoughts on seeing all three countries in 18 days vs. maybe the 3 week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia or the 14 day trip to Cambodia and Laos?
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Old Oct 15th, 2007, 05:34 PM
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Please help! I need more opinions! Thanks!
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Old Oct 15th, 2007, 10:00 PM
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sueblue, from where I'm sitting it is locally based

I think they do have offices in several other countries including the US, though.
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 12:04 AM
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I had the same problem when my wife opted out of travelling to Vietnam and Cambodia with me in favour of a mother-daughter shopping expedition to NYC, cooling her heels in Las Vegas, and shopping again in LA (we live in Australia).

So I thought..I'll go alone - and I'm also pretty adventurous although a tad older.

The best part of my trip was a 7 night 750 kilometre cruise along the Mekong (you get well off the normal tourist routes). I travelled with www.pandaw.com which operates fabulous cruises in old style vessels between the Mekong delta and Siem Reap. I've been to almost 40 countries, and this cruise rated in the top 3 experiences.

Great food, fascinatingly interesting passengers, and fantastic onshore excursions.

It's not cheap when you initially look at the price - but when you consider it includes accommodation in exquisitely furnished teak cabins, all meals (better than many restaurant meals I've had), free tea, coffee, bottled water, soft drinks and local beers, and the excursions, it actually starts to look amazing value.

I took one of the cheapest cabins (lower deck) and made a wise choice for they are bigger and cooler than the above deck cabins (not saying the above deck cabins are hot, mind you...they are cool also).

Travelling alone in Indo China is easy...and fun.

I have photos of the trip at http://jmprphotography.com

Feel free to email me at [email protected]

The Pandaw cruises are not tough and torrid affairs - but soft yet intriguingly fascinating journeys through parts of Vietnam and Cambodia many visitors never get to see.

They also do cruises along the Irrawaddy River in Burma.

BTW, you could then add a 10+ day group tour if you wished. The cruises operate in both directions.
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 03:18 AM
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take a look at pacific delight tours. We have traveled with them twice and think they are great as they iften include things like home visits and hospital tours featuring the combination of eastern and western medicine. very culture oriented
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 06:40 AM
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Sue, the problem with all tours is that they rush you through places and you never get a chance to experience the places you are visiting. That said, I'd recommend against any tour that say three countries in 18 days. You'd be better off with more time in fewer places, such as the 21 days for VN and Cambodia. Even the 14 days Laos and Cambodia might work.

It is easy to travel these areas on your own. So you could take a tour, then spend some time on your own before and after.

Do check on how many people are in a tour group. Some are small, say, up to 12, others are huge, 40-60 people in a group. The quality of your experience will be impacted by how many people are traveling together. Also, note that tours have shopping stops where the comany/driver/guide get commissions on what you spend.
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 03:29 PM
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Thanks Kathie! Have you been to all three places? Which were the most interesting? Again, I have never been to Asia before. Someone once mentioned that Laos was the most fascinating place he's ever been -- the most foreign. Between the Vietnam and Cambodia or the Cambodia/Laos trip, which would you do. Also, have you ever heard of TravelIndochina? They are based in Austrailia -- I thought they were based in Vietnam . . . They travel with a small group of under 12. Their prices seemed to be in the low $3,000's with land only. Also, lunch and dinner are not included.

Thanks.
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 05:09 PM
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Sorry, I don't know anything about the tour company.

Yes, I have been to all three countries you mention. All are very interesting and have lots of new experiences for you.

I have traveled to all three countries (and many other countries in Asia) independently. For land only costs of $3000 you could live like a queen in SE Asia. You might want to consider doing an independent trip. You can hire drivers and/or guides anywhere you want to and wander on your own when you want.

Of SE Asian countries, Thailand is the easiest travel and has the best infrastructure. But it is easy to arrange travel to the other countries you list as well. I'd suggest you take a look at guidebooks for the area to decide what you are most interested in.

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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 07:34 PM
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We recently did a tour of China using Travelsphere. Visiting Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Xian and Shanghai over 15 days. We don't normally go for group travel but felt that China might be too dificult on our own. We wil NEVER do it again!
All the issues that Kathie mentions were a problem. Rushed through places where we would have stayed longer, enforced shopping experiences every day, hotel standards that were less than we would select ourselves, poor quality food especially lunch which was tied in with the obligatory factory shop. In fact our best times on this trip were when we abandoned the group and did our own thing.
As you don't want to do it completely independently, I would look at something like Kuoni, who will tailor your trip for you. All your flights, transfers, hotels etc will be set up for you but you will not be tied to a group.
Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are really very tourist friendly and easilly done on your own.
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Old Oct 16th, 2007, 08:13 PM
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S pot on, LeighTravelClub. Indo China is a breeze to do solo. I did it 18 months ago, and found www.vietnamstay.com to be excellent with arrangements. I simply ducked into an internet cafe every few days, told them were I was going next and which hotel I wanted, and they looked after the rest. They were wonderful, especially with very moderately priced transfers from airports etc.
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Old Oct 17th, 2007, 01:51 AM
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Hi Sueblue,
My wife and I used Travel Indochina for a 10 day trip to Viet Nam in 2003 and found them excellent. I am also sure that they are originally an Australian business - but that is neither here no there. Hotels were uniformyly of a high standard, although service varied a bit. Our group was only 8 people - 4 couples - and that worked really well. We had an Australian guide throughout with 3 local guides (not all at the same time!) While the tour was good and we had some flexibility with such a small group, 2 weeks would have been enough for us to be in a group. We only visited Viet Nam, which we loved: stayed at Hanoi - Hue - Nha Trang - Hoi-An - Dalat - Saigon. Greg
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Old Oct 17th, 2007, 05:34 PM
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Thanks Mitch and Greg. Mitch, VietNamStay seems extremely well priced! Their 5 star packages appear less expensive than most operators moderate hotel packages. I guess they are VietNam based? Perhaps I will do this trip alone with their help . . . or maybe I can convince a friend. Mitch, did you also use them for Laos or Cambodia?

Greg, that was a great point about being with a group for 3 weeks. I have never traveled with a group, so I guess it would be pushing it to opt for 3 weeks. I am also single so it might feel strange to travel with all couples if that were the case. But in fact, that seems the case in most situations . . .
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Old Oct 17th, 2007, 10:24 PM
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Sueblue: I did my own thing and only used Vietnamstay.com for accommodation and airport transfers. I am unable to comment on their tours other than to say my dealings with them were exceptionally good.


In Cambodia I used this organbisation:

A.T.S Tours
#0040, G.1, Sivutha St. Next to CCB Bank Siem Reap.
Tel: (855) 63 965 965
Fax: (855) 63 963 081
Mobile phone: (855) 12 514 366 / 12 988 599 / 15 855
855
Email: [email protected]

I dealt with a woman called Miss Kimny who was an absolute pleasure. I hired a guide, car and driver for Angkor, and my guide was called Ree (that's the pronunciation anyway) and he was wonderful. Spoke excellent English and was highly knowledgable. I also booked air travel with it from Siem Reap to Hanoi (had no problems).

I stayed in a smallish but very romantic hotel called the Bopha Angkor: www.bopha-angkor.com

The website is very honest in terms of the photos. It was an absolute gem @ about $40 a night a single, and superbly located. Also had a good restaurant and a lovely pool area. Downside? No phone in the room, although that didn't bother me anyway. It's internet access is very expensive, but there are dozens of internet cafes within a 2-3 minute walk anyway.

It was a short walk from the Foreign Correspondents Club, which is o die for at night in terms of lighting and appearance. And the food was outstanding. It also has high quality accommodation (Google for Siem Reap Foreign Correspondents Club).

In Hanoi I used Handspan for my overnight trip to halong Bay. They are a little more expensive than some (about $130 a single) but I couldn't fault the junk, cabin or food. I tried for the Dragons Pearl junk, but it was full - so I looked through there catelogue and chose another - I wasn't disappointed, as it was smaller and more intimate.

Email me direct if you want any more info.

But I do re-iterate. After having visited some 40 or so countries over 35 years, my Pandaw trip would have to be rated in my top three experiences.
Mitch04 is offline  
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