martina

Hi, my husband and I are thinking of going to Vietnam in March (very early stages of organising holiday). Just wondering if anyone has gone there using trailfinders.ie or puretravel.com and if so, how did you find them? We would like to go in a small group or perhaps a private tour. Which would you recommend and why? Just had a quick glance at the puretravel.com website and it looks a lot cheaper than trailfinders even taking the sterling price into account. Or maybe you can recommend an alternative website or travel company. We are hoping for a tour of between 9 and 13 days. We would be flying from Dublin, via London, I presume?

sf7307

It's very very easy to get around Vietnam on your own (i.e. without an escorted tour). Do you prefer escorted tours in general to independent travel?

We visited in March 2011 -- flew into Hanoi, flew to Hue and Saigon (drove with a driver from Hue to HoiAn). Within each city, we made our own plans and arrangements for the most part. The only place we used a tour guide per se was in Hue where we went on an all-day motorbike tour. IWe just used our feet and taxis, and a guidebook and map.

Kathie

I agree with sf that there is no need for a group tour in VN. It is easy to make arrangements on your own, or to use a local agency to book hotels and transport. You'll see that many people here give high praise to Tonkin for making hotel and transport arrangements.

martina

Thanks SF and Kathie, It's a long time since we've gone independently. The last few years we've gone with thetraveldepartment.ie in a group travel situation. We found them fantastic, but they don't have a trip to Vietnam on at the time we are taking our holidays. As we don't have an awful lot of time to organise it ourselves, I thought a guided trip might be best and I don't know of anyone else who has been there. We want to pack in as much as we can while we are there. I'll do a bit more research on this site and see what comes of it. In the meantime, if anyone else has any thoughts or helpful tips, please let me know! Thanks

Irmenmantigh

Just answered it in another topic but for Vietnam tours, why not go with a local operator for a private tour. I do not know about Pure Travel but choose a local one is cheap and safe. There are many but consider Haivenu, Asiatica, Tonkin, Aurora, Buffalo, Exotissimo, etc

martina

Thanks, We have booked through Tonkin Travel now after reading other reports on this site. They seem to be very dependable. We are taking in Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho, Hoi An, Hanoi, SaPa and Halong Bay. Can't wait now!!!