Our gastronomic trip to Vietnam was excellent. We experienced a very wide range of food and in a wide range of locations. We tried street food in Hanoi and Saigon, ate the freshest fish and seafood on boat journeys and had a delightful meal home-cooked by a family. We helped prepare food in several places including spring rolls, savoury pancakes, and Vietnamese bean cake. In addition to eating (lots) there was plenty of time to experience ancient historical sites and to scratch the surface of the relatively more recent wars that the country has suffered.
Our tour guide, Hung, was excellent. He had a great sense of humour and was one of the best guides we have experienced. We were a small group - only 4 of us. We got on really well, meeting as strangers but parting as friends, including our guide. A great trip all round and would thoroughly recommend.
We had an excellent tour guide: helpful, informed, receptive and with a good sense of humour. Most of the hotels were excellent....some slightly less so (Nha Trang for example). The service on the trip was exceptional. The support team of transport, bag carriage and a cycle mechanic were also excellent. Vietnam is fascinating and being on bikes we saw all aspects of the country. We saw its beauty, we saw the industry and pride of its people who were universally very welcoming. We also saw all sorts of things normal tourists, arriving in a large group with little language ability, would not be able to see. Some of the best things were stops in markets, or by rice fields, or at very basic homes or cafes. We saw a lot and visited a lot of different places: a 'grand tour' if you can do such a thing on bikes! The country certainly has issues, in my opinion, with rapid over-development (in the south particularly) with endless giant resorts half finished, being built or built and empty. It also needs to address the issue of litter. It is not alone in facing these issues! I am also certain it has the ability and determination to address them.