Dear Ms Vy.

We are now regretfully back in the UK, and very sad we are about that too, we had such an enjoyable time in Vietnam, we were very very sad to leave.

We would like to thank you and the team for organising everything so well, the planning was excellent, your recommendations 1^st class, and the guides you selected were all excellent, very different characters, but all very knowledgeable and provided great service, and superb care and attention, which was very much appreciated. The whole trip ran like clockwork, and left us more time to enjoy and appreciate what we were seeing. All of the hotels offered great service, and everyone is trying so hard to do a great job and create memorable experiences. The hotels in Hanoi and Hoi An were lovely recommendations, and very well located. The La Residence is a great hotel, but you may want to be aware that they are just about to start building a new garden / pool area between the hotel and the river, and that will involve extensive building work for several months on river facing rooms which will likely be an annoyance for people staying there, (though I guess this will coincide with the low season) but it’s a lovely colonial feel hotel with a nice bar and restaurant and great service. The hotel in Saigon was a recommendation from a friend who stayed there last year, and it was really very nice, great location, you can easily walk to many locations from there, with nice size rooms, and a suburb roof top bar / restaurant. The only slight disappointment was the trip to the Mekong, the boat operator seemed to want to finish early, and we did not have the boat until about 1630 as per the itinerary, rather it was about 1530 when we disembarked. And on reviewing we believe we did not see Binh Hoa Phuoc and An Binh islands (if we did they were not pointed out J), or visit An Binh church, unfortunately we did not have the itinerary with us that day (careless) to check we had ‘ticked’ all the must see sights, and it was only when we got back to the room and reviewed it that evening and wrote our travel journal did we realise this.

All in all though a superb 17 days, a very memorable holiday, and that was only possible with your help, advice and input, and we will have no problem recommending your services for anyone embarking on such a trip.

Kind Regards

John & Sally

Group: MORTON x 2 persons
GRAND VIETNAM 17 DAYS

Vy

We arrived back home in England yesterday and were greeted with a temperature of 2C and fog! We are missing Vietnam already!

I have filled in the questionnaire and gave it to the driver in Saigon. It was all very complimentary.

Thank you for arranging such a great tour. We are telling all of our friends what a great place Vietnam is to visit and would recommend you and Tonkin-Travel to organise their trips.

Everyone we met in Vietnam was very friendly and given the difficult times your country has gone through, the resilience of their character is amazing and a credit to your nationality. I'm sure that your country will continue to prosper economically.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Matt and Tina
Group: MATTHEW x 2 persons
VIETNAM PASSION 14 DAYS

Hi Vy

Lovely to hear from you! Sorry for the late reply, but I have had a busy time at work since coming back. Henry and I are both well, although it's much colder here than it was in Vietnam!

We had a wonderful time on the holiday and will definitely recommend Tonkin to any friends who are thinking of going to Vietnam. All the accommodation was clean and comfortable, and although the internal flights were sometimes a little unreliable (the times kept being changed), I appreciate this is not within your control, and our drivers and people at the hotels really helped us to keep track of any changes, calling the airline to check with them ahead of the flights. 

In the north, both our guide and driver were really excellent. We learned a lot about the history and landscape, and the itineraries were perfect - we saw and did lots of things, but there was time to relax as well, which is exactly what we wanted. The guide was helpful and knowledgeable. I think the highlights for us were the Mai Chau homestay - which was so beautiful, and with wonderful hospitality - and the Cuc Phuong National Park (we loved seeing the Langurs and Gibbons!). The restaurants we stopped at in the North were really great - I think the food we had at the homestay and just outside Hoa Lu was the best of the whole trip. 

Although we didn't have long in Hoi An, we were very lucky with the weather and had a great sunny day, with the flood waters all gone by the time we got there. We really enjoyed walking around and seeing the historical buildings, and found an amazing place for Banh Mi : )

Con Dao was a real change of pace from Hoi An - the roads were almost empty and it was nice to be somewhere so peaceful. It's a little less set up for tourists, but we expected this and it's such a small town that it's easy to get your bearings without speaking the language. The island's history was really interesting, although obviously very sad. We went to visit the cemetery for a midnight vigil and to the prison to find out more about Vietnam's past. We also went walking in the rainforest - the jungle was very dense and quite difficult to walk, but it was worth the trip - we saw some interesting wildlife including giant black squirrels, monitor lizards and land crabs. The island is home to lots of rare species. Finally, one of the highlights of the trip was going snorkelling with the Con Dao Dive Centre. The Centre is run by an English-speaking instructor  who has lived and worked on the island for many years and extremely knowledgeable. We went snorkelling in a small group over coral reefs to the west of the islands and saw some amazing coral, reef fish and other things - honestly, it felt like being in another world : ) I would highly recommend this to anyone visiting Con Dao. 

The Con Dao resort was comfortable, clean and had a good pool, overlooking a beautiful beach. The only problem was some misunderstandings with the hotel staff. At one point they knocked on our room door and kept asking if we had a child in the room (we didn't!). They seemed annoyed, but we still are not sure what was going on - maybe they mixed up our room with another? On the final day, the cleaner did not put fresh towels in our room after they took away the dirty ones. This was ok, but then when we checked out the hotel lobby staff wanted us to pay for new towels! I think they thought we had stolen them...we resolved the issue in the end, but it still wan't great. 

Finally - we met with some friends living in Ho Chi Minh City and had a great time there too. The hotel was lovely.

I am attaching some pictures - afraid we didn't get many with Henry and I in them though! I've included a few from Con Dao, as I know this is less familiar to you (the beach pictures, mountain with lillies, me in the jungle are all from Con Dao). Hope they are of use. 

Thanks again and all the very best!

Alex

Group: Alex x 2 persons
IN-DEPTH VIETNAM 16 DAYS

Hi Vy,

All is well with life here in Australia and my parents are also very well.  We are telling everyone about our wonderful trip to Vietnam and how lovely everything was. It is also fun sharing photos and memories between ourselves.

Our experience with Vy and Tonkin-Travel was nothing but perfect. From the time I contacted Vy via email to ask for her  help and suggestions to when we were dropped at the airport to fly back to Australia.....our experience was trouble free and seamless. The fact that i was travelling with my ageing, but fit parents and this was their first experience of Asian culture, i was a little nervous. Vy made sure we felt safe and secure. We found a phone left for us on arrival with numbers on speed dial to call in any emergency or issue and she called us via our driver and guide twice to check in with us. Our itinerary was tailored by Vy and myself before we left Australia and Vy was extremely helpful is suggesting fun, interesting and appropriate activities, excursions, places and accommodation. Our driver and guides were also very warm, generous and helpful people. Vietnam is a beautiful country with lovely generous people....... travelling with Tonkin-Travel ‘s helpful support is the only way to see it.

I have also attached some photos. Please let me know if you would prefer the photo files attached individually.

Thankyou Vy, for a fabulous trip, a memorable time spent with my parents and husband. I have also attached 2 photos to show you the 4 of us .....this was taken in Mui Ne at our last dinner where my father and i danced in the restaurant! And also a photo of beautiful Phi (our guide from the Sampan) who we felt was like a family member after 24 hours.

I will definitely keep in touch for our next trip to Vietnam. Hopefully then we can come up to Hanoi and meet you!

Thankyou again

Linda Lawson

Group: Linda x 4 persons
SOUTHERN VIETNAM 8 DAYS

Dear Vy,

Thank you for preparing a wonderful itinerary for me. From pick-up at the airports and transfers to the hotels, everything went smooth.

Laos is a delightful country. No traffic congestions and the pace of life is very relaxing.

From Vientiane to Vang Vieng and then to Luang Prabang everything went smooth.  It was fun, exciting and adventurous. The tour guide and driver were excellent. The mini van ran smooth as it was in tip top shape to ran the journey from Vientiane to Luang Prabang.

Laos would be ideal for people that are fond of geography and nature.

The hotels and the overall ambience were very delightful, though some more than others.

On this trip I had one night in Bangkok, Thailand then five nights in Laos and further three nights

Pattaya, Thailand. Pattaya was vibrant and exciting. I had a great time. I stayed at a wonderful hotel.

Overall, Tonkin-Travel did a wonderful and excellent job!

My travel agent, Nguyen Vy was always there if I had any questions and a delightful person to work with.

She did a fantastic job.

Very truly yours and best regards,

Gerard Wijnveldt
Group: Gerard x 1 person
A GLANCE OF LAOS & THAILAND 10 DAYS