We have been working with a travel advisor based in the US who is affiliated with Destination Asia for reservations/logistics in Vietnam. So far, it just feels funky. We would like assistance with planning (NOT overplanning), logistics, transfers, and sound advice. Absolutely willing to pay for that. Thought our US agent had more experience there but she doesn't, other than her adoration of Halong Bay ("you MUST do it"). If you've had any experience with Destination Asia, could you share or message me? If you have had experience with other great resources, it would be super, too. We need to book as soon as possible.

Don't use an agency - any agency - you don't feel comfortable with. In general, SE Asia doesn't really require an agency, though in some circumstances, a local agent may be able to get you better prices on hotels and such. And I (personally) am turned off by anyone who says I MUST do something rather than recognizing we all have our own priorities and preferences.

I have no experience with Destination Asia. I do have some experience with using local agencies, though I usually do all of my own planning and booking. How do I do the research? I start with a good guidebook (I know there are those who think guidebooks are unnecessary and old-fashioned, but a guidebook will contain info you didn't even know you needed to ask about), then add in reading trip reports and planning threads here on Fodors, I talk with others who have traveled in the area and I draw up my own plan for the trip. I may ask others to review my plan, and flag things that are impossible or unwise. I don't do the "every detail" planning, for instance, I usually just take a taxi from the airport to my hotel, but I will do enough research to know what a reasonable price is.

When is your trip? And where are you going?

Kathie is totally correct. I'd just add that you should almost never use a US travel agent for this sort of foreign travel -- because you're going to have exactly the sort of problems you're having. To be blunt, a US travel agent is most likely going to be a useless middleman who takes a handsome cut of a trip you could book directly with a local agency for a fraction the cost, has no useful insider / local knowledge of the destination, and just gets in the way.

If you don't want to DIY, write to Tonkin Travel (which is highly recommended on here). We used them to make certain arrangements in Vietnam, and they were very professional and were great with the logistics. They write back very quickly. The only issue was that one of our three guides was a dud.

You can do it yourself easily in Vietnam by searching Travelfish site to pick the places that appeal to you (Make your own plan).
Search on Booking for your accommodation.
Lan Ha Bay is a good alternative to Halong Bay (Less touristy).
Book some tour with local agent on your arrival!

Katie is certainly not "totally correct". Traveling in Vietnam can be tricky, it is not super-developed Thailand, and an agency is absolutely necessary for some key visits such as cruise in Halong Bay, a MUST (NOT Halong Bay proper, but quainter and less dirty Lan Ha Bay with junks departing from Cat Ba Island), trekking in Sapa (I recommend the excellent Nomad Trails Agency in Sapa), two-day visit Hue (Imperial City, Thien Mu Pagoda and the stunning mausoleums) and one day Historic Center of Hoi An (you hire a guide from a local agency).

THis said, no need to go though a US agency except or the air ticket ; it gives the file to a local one = double commission. Moreover, many things can be done without agency. So, the less expensive is to go on your own and hire a local agency only where necessary. If you insist on an agency all the way, then select a reputed one such as Jasmin Travel, Oriental Bridge Travel or Parfum d'Autome ; avoid large agencies, which handle mainly for groups.

It is very easy to DIY in Vietnam and there is no need to use an agency or tour operator either in Vietnam or at home unless you particularly want to. Some people do prefer to use tour operator air agencies ( otherwise they would not exist!) for a variety of reasons;
- they are cash rich and time poor
- they prefer the peace of mind of being taken from place to place by a guide
- they perceive a greater financial security/consumer protection provided by booking in their home country

All are valid reasons and there are many others, I am sure. If any or all apply to you then do use an agency but appreciate that this may cost you dearly and that you may well just end up with an off the shelf trip.

A friend here in the U.K. asked me to take a look at an itinerary provided by a well known operator. I priced that same itinerary using booking.com. kayak.com and local operator website, guides etc. The process took an hour and the cost I arrived at was less than half that quoted by the operator. Personally, I would rather use the cash saved on another trip!

Kathie’s suggestion to start with a good guide book is an excellent one. There is no substitute for doing your own research, regardless of whether you DIY or use an agent. Not only will you determine what YOU want to see, rather than what the agent thinks you want to see. You will also gain a good understanding of the country and appreciation of what to look for when you are actually there. As an aside, I would be very wary of an agent that says Halong is a must do. It wouldn’t even rank in my top ten places to visit in Vietnam!

In terms of building an itinerary I am sure you can get plenty of help here, on Tripadvisor and Travelfish. The problem may be a wide divergence of opinions on what you should and shouldn’t include in an itinerary. The websites of many overseas tour operators like Selective Asia, Audley Travel, Intrepid Etc provide their detailed itineraries online which can be a great place to start you could use as a starting point.

I only use an agent or TO in Vietnam to organise stuff that I could not do myself, mainly hiking trips to remote places, where own transport is required. Unlike LarsayI would not use Tours for Hue, Hoi An or Sapa all of which can easily be done independently. Halong Bay clearly needs a tour. If you do feel that you need a guide in any particular place then these can usually be sourced at your Hotel cheaply and at short notice.

There are plenty of agents and operators about in Vietnam some are very good, most are not. The better ones include Tonkin ( as mentioned by Exotissimo, Ann Tours, Custom Vietnam Tours, Ethnic Travel. Even these are no substitute for DIY research. Regardless of how good they are all Vietnam agents seem to work on the principal of "more is more" and will want to jam in as many destinations as possible, perhaps imagining that this somehow creates value for money. It doesn’t! Vietnam, like most of Asia is best done slowly.

If using an Vietnam agent I would never pay them any deposit etc. before arrival, other than by credit card or maybe PayPal. Bank transfers offer little protection if things go wrong.

Good luck with your planning.

Larsay, I didn't find travel to VN to be "tricky." Yes, if you want to take a cruise on one of the bays, you will need to purchase that from a travel agent, but you don't have to use an agent for everything! I last traveled in VN maybe 15 years ago, when it was even less developed, and I booked everything myself with no difficulty. It's matter of preference and what you are comfortable with.

Yep. All 17 of his/her posts on Fodors are about Vietnam, and he/she seems to have detailed knowledge of hotels and restaurants in Vietnam. It's hard to believe that an expat or local who doesn't have earn a livelihood from the tourism industry would think that self-travel in Vietnam is "tricky."

I think I suggested as much in a previous post, either here or on TA (where he posts as Jaques B). I got a bit of a rant in response saying that he was a French expat with an MBA from some Uni I had never heard of!

Perhaps he/she/they will enlighten us..

Ye, Larsay is 75 years old (76 in December) and holds an MBA from one of the best business schools in the world, Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - HEC Paris - I suggest the one who "never heard of it" to open
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HEC_Paris
He worked for 35 years in New York as VP Marketing of some big French-American Corporations such as Club Med. So, being now a travel agent in Vietnam would be really weird !

I have not written that you need a travel agency everywhere, but that it is better to visit places such as, for ex., Hoi An Historic Center, the Hue Mausoleums, and trekking in Sapa ; Maybe I should have written that GOING to those places on your own is easy, but you need a local guide to visit around, especially when you do not speak a word of Viet. (which does not mean that you have to go to an agent o reach those destinations. For ex. Sapa is a maze of trails and, without a guide, you will just follow the crowd and end up in a so-called "homestay" for groups. Being on retirement, I travel throughout Vietnam (in fact, the whole of Indochina=) constantly and I wish good luck to some the people who want to go on their own to places such as the Pu Luong Regional Park or from Sapa to Babe Lake !

hank you very much, jacketwatch. Let's say that a guide (local to save money) is better in some places such as for trekking in Sapa/Bac Ha, which are easy of access, and an agency in some others such as Halong or Pu Luong, that in any case, an agency is not needed for everything (but a good guide BOOK is !)

Thank you Larsay. I found guides in VN and Cambodia to every reasonable in terms of price.
Getting back to the subject for the OP I know a guide we used in HCMC during our cruise stop there who provided excellent service at a reasonable price so if interested I can provide contact information for him.
However you do it enjoy your time away and hopefully come back enriched.
Cheers, Larry