Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Inspirational ....all of it !! We managed to get an private showing of a whale shark after most of the other boats had gone :) Utterly mind blowing and blissful also the delight of watching the manta rays gliding around so elegantly. I have dived in the red sea and THIS knocks spots of it !! Some of the snorkels were like swimming through an aquarium and overall what we didn't see isn't worth mentioning quite a lot of it due to the leader Kamay and Shafy (Captain) and also Oubi pointing things out to us that we could of easily missed The two presentations were interesting and great to hear such work is being done to preserve the wildlife and the corals

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fabulous !! I thought he was warm, professional, informative and funny. He clearly is passionate about what he does but with a relaxed attitude I'm envious of his office :) Overall everyone were friendly attentive and a total pleasure to be around Let's put it this way I didn't want to come home !!

Advice for Potential Travellers

It will help to be a reasonable swimmer and wearing a rash vest or UV suit is helpful to prevent from getting burnt also giving you a bit of warmth. Don't get me wrong the sea is warm but if your doing a drift snorkel you can still get chilly

Most Inspirational Moment

There wasn’t one single outstanding moment for me. The highlights were all of the wildlife viewings.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Pedro was a great leader, full of fun and there to help out in any way.

Most Inspirational Moment

Managing traffic in some busy spots through towns!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Positive: Good. Very friendly. Very frank and sensible about describing the country. Areas for improvement: Good give more choice about eating out in some places. For example, Dalat was fabulous but the hotel was a 10 min taxi ride. He said eat in the hotel or go out to eat with group. Tour around Hoi An should be less shopping and more history. Fine to show the shops but not dwell to allow people to buy.

Advice for Potential Travellers

No

Most Inspirational Moment

Doing things you wouldn't normally do - e.g. meeting a woman who had worked in the rice paddy fields for over 45 years, and her showing me how to plant rice - getting shoes off and wading out feeling my feet sinking into the mud!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader "LD" was the most wonderful person, we all agreed he made the holiday for all of us - he was constantly smiling, so enthusiastic and his love of his country came across as he fed us bits of information about Vietnam, the people, customs, language and history. He was very knowledgable, and got the balance right re: amount of information. Nothing was too much trouble, he really looked after us and had a great sense of humour. He kept us safe, translated for us and took us on walking tours of the cities to show us around

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a padded seat cover for bike, some travel wash and be prepared for lots of packing and un-packing. There is lots of moving around, it is not a relaxing holiday but an amazing experience

Most Inspirational Moment

Enjoyed the 10k climb up to the Hai Vann pass summit despite getting drenched on the way up and down. Also the Cu Chi tunnels, Whale Island and Halong Bay Cruise.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tung was an excellent host and looked after the group well. He worked exceptionally hard and was usually successful in resolving any minor difficulties. Particular mention is necessary for his efforts when our overnight train broke down shortly after leaving Ho Chi Min City. Alternative arrangements had to be made quickly and he successfully guided the group to Hanoi so we were on time for our Halong Bay visit.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Didn’t need my travel kettle as every hotel had a kettle in the room but if you like real tea take some teabags. Lipton tea normally available at breakfast occasionally hot but always very weak but not always in the rooms. It was usually possible to request a jug of fresh milk from reception. In Hoian 9 of the group visited the Hioanian Wine Bar and Restaurant in the top 20 restaurants on Trip-advisor. Ambience, staff and food all excellent. We were offered a complimentary glass of Prosecco and a small appetiser. Great menu of local dishes but I chose an Australian rib-eye steak which was divine. Cost for the main course including a beer and tip was less than £15. Generally cycled on quieter country roads but occasionally in heavy traffic. I would describe the driving as predictably chaotic. Traffic manoeuvres around other cars, motor cycles and scooters and pedestrians regardless of which direction they are going in. Motor cycles and scooters sometimes ignore the rules of the road and frequently go through red lights. Fascinating to watch.

Most Inspirational Moment

Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and the estate where he lived and worked. A great feeling of serenity and peace in this place; the respect which is afforded to this towering figure of the twentieth century

Thoughts on Group Leader

Fantastic, and key to making this trip so good. Great empathy with the group. Clearly loved her country and culture. Gave us great insights into life in modern day Vietnam

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go for it!!

Most Inspirational Moment

Sigiriya was magnificent, beautiful, and unique in my experience. Well worth the well-protected stairs up the rock face to the top. The Adam's Peak pilgrimage to see the Buddha's footprint and sunrise from the summit was a great experience, being a fierce stairway climb shared with grannies who could scarcely move from one step to another, and younger aduklts carrying their babes in arms. Not your usual climb to a summit.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Neelaka, our group leader was excellent, as were his team. Neelaka had a great knowledge, particularly re wildlife. H ekpetr us well informed always with great charm and humour.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Look carefully at the details. But I'm glad we didn't. Coach tours are not usually our thing - but this one was excellent.

Most Inspirational Moment

The day spent walking through beautifully green tea plantations in the Kannan Devan Hills from our base in Munnar, and then up up up!! The views were stunning, and actually attaining a summit that at first appeared to be way too high provided a fantastic sense of personal achievement.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader, Philip Rojan, was excellent. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the region, its culture, its people, architecture, geography and food! He did a great job, which made for a wonderful holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

A highly recommendable and thoroughly enjoyable tour. You will not be disappointed. However, you should be prepared for rather poor English by some hotel employees, and the occasional lack of hot water in some accommodation.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing around 150 different bird species.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our tour was led by a knowledgeable and inspiring tour leader, Andres. He went out of his way to be helpful and provided additional opportunities to enhance our tour by visiting private gardens which were attractive to birds, and also by providing 4WD transport at the second Savegre lodge to save us what would have been a strenuous uphill walk , so that we could enjoy and spend more time on the descent through the cloud forest. He also gave up a couple of hours of his time to go through in detail the 170 or so species of birds we had seen on the tour. I don't think we would have spotted half of the birds we saw without his keen eyes and ears! He were well informed about each step of our tour and our guide was also very clear about options. Andres has great people skills as well and was responsive to the needs of different people in the group, including the organisation of an impromptu birthday celebration for one of our group members.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Good binoculars and a decent camera are a must.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were so many magical moments. Quetzel hunting with dozens of other crazy people at 5 30 am. We had almost given up hope when Glenda made the first sighting and we all captured the flash of green tail.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader was called Glenda and she was a marvel, transmitting her love of Costa Rica to all of us through her constant stream of information. As we travelled we learnt about the history, culture and wildlife of this wonderful place. We were amazed at her ability to spot the smallest bird or animal hidden in the undergrowth. Nothing was too much trouble for her and she was brilliantly organised. We felt we were in very capable hands with Glenda and our driver Carlos.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. A warm jumper and trousers were needed in two mountain locations whilst thin clothes were needed in low lying areas. Be prepared to get up early to see wildlife!