Tour Companies for Vietnam trip
 

I good friend asked me about this company:

www.indochinaodysseytours.com/

I know nothing about tour companies so where else would I go? Here of course!

These are Brits who live in France.

He says "cheaper pricing in US dollars. We would have to book our own international flights that's all. "

Any experience with this agency?

They are also looking at British tour companies, all are covered by ABTA the organization that cover all UK tour operators .

Any input on Odyssey or any other good companies for them would be much appreciated.

Vietnam is extremely easy to DIY, any reason they want to use a tour company?

I did use a tour company on one trip to arrange travel to/from Sapa and a hiking guide, so I can recommend Tonkin Travel, but otherwise I have traveled in Vietnam indepdendently.

If they want a tour company for VN, they want to choose one based VN. As Thursdays said, there is no need for a tour company in VN, as it can easily be done entirely independently. If they want a company, I'd suggest they use a company based in VN (the company they cite is based in China). Suggestions for VN companies: Tonkin Travel or Vietnam Stay. Sometimes local companies can get you better prices for hotel than you can get yourselves from online sources, but I always check both options.

I used Vietnam Stay. While I had a lot of ideas about where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, they were fantastic to put it all togeher plus suggest things that were not always on my radar. They also got better rates at all of my hotel choices so that was a big plus. Good luck.

I enquired of Indochina Odyssey and about three other companies, but ended up with Custom Vietnam Travel, based in Hanoi but covering all of VN. The tour planner/agent who worked with me was Susan Nguyen--she was excellent in all ways. It's a small local company of extremely hardworking people.
I'd advise your friends to check tripadvisor reviews of all these assorted companies, with the usual caveat of putting weight on feedback from people who've written lots of reviews, not just one or two. There are numerous detailed reviews from people whose planned itineraries might match what your friends want to see/do.

A clarification --

when I posted, I thought they were wanting to do a pre-arranged group tour with others [strangers] where the tour was a pre-established one with cities, hotels, tours predetermined.

I now realize they are looking for a tour agent/company that will build a custom tour for them and another couple.

Does this change anyones replies?

Any additional input/insights will be most appreciated!

No, Tonkin will do that. But I would urge them to get some guide books, figure out what they want, and then price it both ways.

They do have a plan in place of where they want to go and see and do.

She is very much like me in planning travel...likes to be well prepared - this is for a trip for April 2018!

Thanks again.

Friends recently returned from a 3 week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. They used a China based company called Odyssey.
Our friends created an itinerary; the TO arranged internal flights, provided a local guide in each location. For 4 people, including 5 star hotels, 2 meals/day, all activities, guides, flights, the cost was $3700 per person. That didn't include flights between the US and Vietnam.

HI Deb. I assumed they wanted a customized plan...so it doesnt change my reply.

All of these agencies will create an individualized trip.

Insider Journeys will arrange a custom tour for them. We had some arrangements made for us by Tonkin Travel.

We used an amazing travel agent Quynh Anh who is now a co owner of ALO Travel Asia. She used to work at Indochina Voyages. We did a 17 day trip to Vietnam that was superb. It was a custom tour for my husband and I. We skyped many times prior and her detail was amazing. Each time we had a guide she would call while we were with them and check to make sure everything was okay. The prices were very reasonable and the whole trip was seamless. 2 friends have since used her services and were both extremely pleased.
www.alotravelasia.com Quynh Anh.

Quynh Anh's email is [email protected]. I don't think you will find a better agent located in Vietnam

Tonkin for sure. I am using them this year again for the 4th time

We used Custom Vietnam Tours for our recent February 2017 trip and were extremely pleased. I had also looked into Indochina odyssey. One of our CVT guides said he has worked for IO and they are a Chinese based company. Use that information as you see fit.

I am very glad I chose a local Vietnam based company and would use CVT again for planning a private tour.

We used this fellow last yr. He is a Saigon native and used to teach English so he's quite easy to understand and he is flexible in terms of scheduling. He arranged about 9 of us from the ship and all went well. We found him to be gracious and his prices very reasonable.

http://saigonprivatetour.com/wp/?page_id=39