Finland and Vietnam Tours and Trips

The start was rocky with the cancellation of our flight over to Finland but after that everything went well. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and knowledgeable. My most memorable experience was seeing the Northern Lights. I missed not seeing snow but it couldn't be helped.

Nancy Thomsen, our tour manager, was awesome! Loved learning about Finland, local food, and traditions. While excursions were limited due to lack of snow we still had a great time. Certainly the highlight of the trip was our good fortune to see a magical display of the Aurora our first night in Lapland. A truly once in a lifetime experience.

We had some hiccups on flights and the unusually warm temperatures eliminated any snow activities. But our tour manager made adjustments and it was a great trip. The Northern Lights alone were worth the trip. Still enjoyed learning and seeing Helsinki. Finding out about the management of the dog sleds was enlightening. Horse carriage ride was fun as well.

A full on 2week trip taking in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, HCM City (Saigon), Pnomh Penh and Siem Riep. Travel is mostly by minibus which was fine mostly. An overnight 16 hr train trip from Hanoi to Da Nang was not great-very uncomfortable bed and noisy. Very little sleep. Second train journey from Da Nang to Saigon has been replaced in the itinerary with a flight which was much better. Accommodation was very good mostly and in a couple of places, excellent. Our tour guide, Quang, was outstanding combining knowledge with humour and great attention to detail. Overall, a brilliant trip which would certainly recommend to others.

Our Guide, Quang, was amazing. He was knowledgeable, kind, with a great sense of humour. He took us to some great restaurants, often arranging for a set menu where we could taste a range of local foods, which were delicious. We were lucky with the weather, only being out in the rain once, but Hoi An was badly flooded 2 weeks before we got there, and inundated again a few days after we left. What resilient people! They just clean up and carry on. Hoi An was beautiful, and I enjoyed a lantern making class with my travel buddy. The overnight train ride was an experience. I didn't get much sleep, and the bunks are narrow and hard. Learning about the difficult history of both countries is sobering, but I felt it important to delve into this, to better appreciate how far both countries have developed. Go to visit the Hero Rats at Apopo in Siem Reap if you have time! The trip notes are pretty accurate, so read them carefully to ensure the trip is to your taste.

This trip was a good balance between cycling, transfers and sight seeing. Do Chi Hung our guide shared much about the history of the country and the sites visited on the trip gave a flavour of the different phases of Vietnam's history. Our itinerary had to be changed due to typhoon hitting the central zone. Hung and the local team managed this with the minimum of disruption to the group, keeping us well informed and adding alternative activities to compensate. The group cycling was well organised - especially with the original support crew of Quang and Tuan