Indochina Active and outdoor Trips

We loved this tour of Northern Thailand. There was lots of variety in places and things to do going from city to rural settings. Highlights included River Kwai/raft house, Elephant Nature Park, homestay, Maeklong railway market and temples in Bangkok. Our guide Wit was brilliant throughout. He made the trip really enjoyable - we learnt so much from him about Thailand including history, Buddhism, food and Royalty - and he took really good care of us, always keen to ensure we having a good time. He also adapted the tour when we couldn’t visit the royal palace taking us instead to an attraction we had talked about going to ourselves. Our driver was also really friendly and helpful throughout. The accommodation was also good value for the cost of the trip Thanks so much for such a great tour and would highly recommend.

The trip was incredible! Such a great mix of temples, local activities, food tours, and free time. The trip is so well run and takes you to some incredible places.

This is my third trip with Explore, I like the use of local guides and opportunities to visit places off the beaten track. I was a little sad that there was little flexibility when I had a problem just before the trip started, hence the 4 stars, but all's well that ends well. On the whole this tour exceeded expectations, the carefully chosen itinerary meant we avoided overcrowding in places like Halong Bay and the Mekong Delta. We were a bit disappointed that we couldn't visit My Lai, putting this down to the small size of our group. Perhaps this needs removing from the options if it can't be offered. Our local guide, Long, was excellent and took good care of us. His extensive knowledge really helped us understand the many facets of Vietnam. We particularly enjoyed opportunities to see daily life, local markets and a local coconut factory. We didn't just bring home photographs, we brought home many happy memories.

Theo, our guide, was excellent. We were the only family on the trip and Theo struck a tricky balance between being there and helpful without it feeling like it was too intense. He had really interesting things to talk to us about on each longer bus journey, helping us to understand Vietnam in much more depth, and he took account of the kids and their needs if it was too hot and they were flagging! The itinerary was excellent, we particularly enjoyed the stay in Mai Chau which was a gorgeous hotel and some beautiful cycle rides and a walk with a great guide. One of the hotels was disappointing, but overall the accomodation was decent.

I loved the trip. Got lucky with the excellent friends that I made along the way. The trip itself is super with super unique activities. Staying in River Rafts along the river Kwai, Zip Lining, Cooking, Quad Biking, Bike Tours, Slow Boats was fantastic. Food and Accommodation was excellent with some being extra fancy. Trip manager Sam was 11/10 !!

Nearly everything was generally good or very good. The time spent in the Mekong was probably the best, near fabulous in fact, but so was the time going round the Museum about the American war in Saigon/ Ho Chi Minh City, although I wish we had had a bit more time, and also the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi was good. I was disappointed we did not have time to go down through the trap door into the cellar of the house in Saigon from where the Tet Offensive was launched in 1968. But the main disappointment was that we did not get to see My Lai, because it was too far away, although it was billed as an option on the original tour notes. So that was disappointing for me, and I know that at least one other person on the tour felt the same. When I first started going with Explore, I seem to remember the trips being slightly longer - about 15 days plus air travel time. So just over two weeks. Now the actual trips seem to be 13 days, just under two weeks. Maybe that explains it. Anyway it was still a good trip, and the amount of time going round endless temples was not excessive. The accommodation was generally good as was the food. Vietnam airlines which you booked for me was also good, with I think better food than western airlines. Our guide Joseph was at nearly all times helpful and courteous and I would be happy to have him again if I ever went back to Vietnam.