Reviews

One has to be physically sound to be able to do all the strenuous, arduous walks . However, the whole trip was efficiently organised by Wendy Wu and implemented by a very capable tour guide, Hoi. In spite having to opt out of some of the more challenging activities, we still saw and experienced the Vietnam that has far more depth of beauty than the glossy promotions and marvelled at the the resilience of its people.. And yes, return visits are on the card, but a far more gentle pace to suit our age and disability.

Superb organisation ,excellent hotels and delicious food in these beautiful and very interesting countries.The group and the tour guides made my holiday a very happy and fun time.
Travel arrangements went well ,only a bit tricky in transfer from Hanoi ,Ho Chi Minh City and Heathrow on my own after Hanoi.Vietnamese people were a great help and messages from people in my group to help me.

We have just returned from our Angkor to the Bay tour and we had a great time, it was 'full on' with very little down time, especially at the start of the tour and I wish we had arrived a couple of days before the start so that we could have acclimatised a bit.

We had a great group of people, 18 in total, and we all got on really well which obviously helped to make the holiday.
The organisation was excellent, for example when it came to checking in to the hotels the keys were all ready and waiting for us, and quite often our bags had already been deposited in our room.

The guides were both local and were very knowledgeable, the Cambodian guide could have done well to give us more time to explore on our own at some of the sites but that's being super picky! Also on the Cambodian tour I do think that missing out the Killing Fields was a shame. The visit to the Genocide Museum was hard and I imagine that the Killing Fields would have been an equally difficult experience but it did feel like an omission especially as they were referenced by the guide a number of times.

The internal flights were all efficient as was the transport in general throughout the tour. All the drivers were great.

The Vietnamese guide was lovely and he even added in a couple of things at our request, it was a privilege to be able to see how people live day to day in Vietnam.

We opted to go on the extra tour to the Golden Hand Bridge and we are so pleased that we did. I wasn't expecting it to be in a theme park but that just made the whole thing even more fun. We were there very early so it wasn't too crowded, and we all agreed that we could have stayed at the park for much longer. (NB there is an additional charge for this excursion).

The food was plentiful but almost every meal was a set menu which wasn't ideal. Often there was far too much and there was so much waste - lunch and dinner were generally 4 course set menus. As a vegetarian the menus didn't vary too much: vegetable spring rolls, soup, tofu in some form or other and then a fruit platter. I think at the start of the tour (in Cambodia) we had the pretty much the same thing for lunch and dinner on two or three consecutive days which was a bit disappointing. The restaurants were all very accommodating: we had some people with special dietary requirements (not just vegetarians) and the restaurants all managed to provide the appropriate food There were a couple of days where we had Italian food and on the boat trip there was a buffet which was very welcome. Our guide was concerned that there weren't enough vegetarian options at the buffet and he arranged for additional items to be prepared which was a lovely touch. The food throughout was lovely (with only one exception) but by the end of the holiday we all just wanted to be able to make our own selections!

We did eat out in restaurants most evenings which often meant a very quick turnaround after a full day of sightseeing.

We were lucky with the weather and missed the flooding and the typhoons so were able to visit every destination on the itinerary unlike some other tourists we spoke to.

It's so hard to pick out the highlights because there were so many. I ticked off a bucket list item with the cruise on Halong Bay. The Cu Chi tunnels were fascinating. Hoi An was one of my favourites, just so pretty and Hanoi was brilliant (crossing the road was an experience). Our guide wasn't allowed to take us to Train Street but we found it ourselves and it's another must see.

In Cambodia Angkor Wat was stunning. We were in Phnom Penh during a festival and being out on the streets was a fabulous and unexpected bonus as the coach couldn't get through the traffic to take us to our restaurant so we had to walk.

I am so pleased that we chose to do this tour. It was our first trip with Wendy Wu and we can't fault the organisation. The biggest issue was the food and I suppose having too much rather too little is the better way around!

I would recommend the tour but I do feel that you need to be quite fit in order to ensure you don't miss out on some of the sightseeing. A few members of the group had to opt out of some things either because there were too many steps or because they just needed some time out due to the fast pace and full itinerary.

Wonderful holiday. Great guides, amazing food and excellent accommodation. Kim, our guide in Vietnam went over and beyond his role in creating the perfect insight into his country. The crew on the Victoria Mekong were just delightful and helpful, particularly in helping us oldies climb up the river bank! Sokly was equally efficient and knowledgeable in Cambodia. Halong Bay trip was disappointing. The beach we went to was surrounded by litter. One night would have been sufficient. Much better to have had three nights in Hoi An.
One criticism was the bad timings on the day we disembarked the boat in Halong Bay. Our flight from Hanoi was 8.00pm. We spent several hours hanging around at the airport. And the meal we had there was the worst one of the whole trip.
Loved the variety of activities which were organised for us and the efficiency of how everything went to plan. (Which is why the above day stood out).
Thank you Wendy Wu!

This holiday really lived up to its description in Wendy Wu's brochure. Cambodia was an unknown quantity for us prior to going there and we learned so much about its culture, national treasures and its people in the space of a few days thanks to our more than excellent guide. We particularly enjoyed our visits to Angkor Wat and the floating village at Chong Kneas. Vietnam was exceptionally interesting, with boat trips on the Mekong Delta, the Perfume River and Halong Bay. Visits to Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum and his dwelling places in Hanoi were fascinating as was seeing the French Quarter there. The area round the Citadel at Hue, the Citadel and the Royal Palace and purple City makes Hue a very special place. No trip to Vietnam would be complete without checking out the Cu Chi tunnels. There is not enough space here to describe all the main features of this trip which more than fulfilled our expectations
Travel, hotels, and ticketing arrangements all worked like clockwork and the guides could not have been better.

The group of fellow travelers made the holiday, a great crowd to be with. I thought that the hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi would have benefited from being more centrally located. The meals provided were acceptable but lacked variety. Halong Bay was far too crowded with boats. This lead to pollution of both the air and sea, making not the hoped for experience. The guide, Robin, was great and nothing was ever a problem.

It was a really enjoyable holiday. It was extremely varied and well organised. The group and our guide Mr Duc made the holiday.

Food was good and we ate in lots of different places. The acrobat show in Ho An was amazing.

Weather was not quite what we expected, it was hot in Singapore (this was an add on to the tour) and Saigon, it became cooler in Ho An and then turned cold in Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay.

Halong Bay was spectacular but would have been better if it had been warm and sunny

Train Street in Hanoi was amazing

An absolutely amazing adventure with a great group of people and an amazing guide in Vietnam - Kim !
This was my first solo holiday and I would not hesitate to go on another Wendy Wu tour but this will take some beating !
We saw Vietnam essentially from top to bottom . From the bustle of Hanoi to the peace of the Panhou retreat just 30km from the Chinese border to the majesty of Halong Bay . Then onto Hoi An and Hue both so different but both equally memorable . Then Saigon - a Vespa tour is an essential for everyone - and the time to reflect on what we saw in the Cu chi tunnels and the war remnants museum . And then onto the Mekong delta for an overnight stop in Ben tre
The walking in Hoang Su Phi was not as challenging as the itinerary might have suggested and I chickened out of the cycling ! The hotels were all well situated and all of a more than acceptable standard - the most important part was the beds as certainly needed good nights sleep to keep up with the adventure .
The group was sad to leave Vietnam and Kim who as I have already said was amazing at looking after us and was full of amazing stories and shared his experiences with us .
However we still had Cambodia to visit and I guess my only criticism of the whole trip was it should have been slightly longer to give us a bit more time in Cambodia . The Angkor Wat complex was amazing as was the visit the following day to the village on stilts . Our guide Chet obviously had a hard act to follow but again he was great !
My highlights - the retreat , walking in the mountains , Halong bay , the bamboo circus in Hoi An and the mad ride on coracle boats , the Vespa tour ,eating and drinking fresh coconut in the Mekong the Angkor complex and the Phare Circus !
A truly amazing adventure

Remember you are not on holiday you are on tour! Early mornings and long days to fit everything in.
Vietnam was very interesting for a country that seems to always be at war. It had historic history with tunnels and museums full of war memorabilia and graphic photos. No-one wins at war and the least of all is the people of Vietnam. A good education though. Saigon is a mad busy city ruled on the road by motorbikes. The countryside quite different and the towns of Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi all have vast populations with the local markets generally selling the same products to tourists.
Laos is the the most underdeveloped country and dirty with rubbish everywhere, still dependent on farming and the population concentrating on looking after themselves rather than commercial gain. It's history revolves around visiting temples, sometimes three or four a day, quite boring. It would be difficult to name a person who has made their mark on this country it only seems to have it's Buddhist religion. Being land locked neighboring country's at war just walked in and occupied.
Cambodia was the most modern of the three country's it had new airports, buildings and was very clean. A lot of money has been spent and invested from China. Angkor is the jewel in the crown of the visit, quite stunning and amazing for how the temples of Wat, Thom and The Bayon ever managed to built with so much intricate carvings and height to the structures.
The people of all three country's are pleased to see you and friendly. The street hawkers can be tiresome but they are only trying to make a living. The cost of living is very cheap, paintings and art work is desirable and plentiful, make certain you leave room in your luggage.
I don't think I need to return having had this experience.

Holiday was tainted by the hotel Thien Thai in Hanoi. It was very poor quality, the entrance lobby was cramped with few chairs and not enough room if two groups of travellers were there. My room had a leaking toilet, a tap that barely worked and a plug that didn’t work. The breakfasts had a poor selection of Western products and the whole atmosphere was dowdy. I was changed to another room later which was better. The cyclo ride in Hanoi was not a good experience with so much traffic, we moved very slowly and most of the time were looking up the exhaust pipe of the motor bike in front.

Too many people in group. We were told 16/17! Compared to 27!
Hotels in phnom Penn and Hanoi disappointing. Why not save money on food - far too much every day and improve those hotels. Is there no possibility of a snack for lunch? Then there would be more time for an amount of personal walking round the towns. Not enough available to us!
Most breakfasts passable, but not great. Best food by far on the boat on Halong Bay. Well done to them.
Hotel in hue coped really well with food when the floods came.
Dance and kickboxing display in Cambodia, but the food was abysmal. Surely you can do better than that!
Both guides were brilliant - nothing to fault. They made the holiday special.

Hotels in Hanoi and Hoi An below expectation.
Hotel in Saigon was good!
Victoria Mekong vessel, food and service excellent!
Siem Reap hotel Good!
Guides were good.

A wonderful tour that was very well organised with good hotels, excellent guides, great restaurants, a good variety of things to do/ places to visit. It was lovely seeing and doing all the usual tourist attractions, but equally great doing more unusual things like the visit to a family home in Hanoi where the gentleman's grandfather had been one of the mandarins, having a go at farming and lastly the cookery school in Siem Reip where we learnt how to cook and made our own lunch. So many highlights on this trip. Thoroughly recommend it.

Our trip was fabulous up until Hanoi when our excursion to Ha long Bay was cancelled due to Covid19, and we do appreciate this was beyond Wendy Wu's control.

We totalled enjoyed the trip and all the knowledge the guides gave us.
However the coach we had in siem Reap was not up to standard as the other coaches we had in Hanoi , Hoi An, Hue and Saigon.