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Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers  

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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98 Reviews

4.6 out of 5

Reviews

Fantastic trip in Vietnam!

This was a really incredible trip! From North to South you get to see the ins-and-outs of this beautiful country, the beautiful sights, the friendly people and the tasty food! I feel that it was the perfect duration for the locations visited – I didn’t feel rushed on any days but also don’t feel that we were roaming around aimlessly at any point! Just an action packed trip from start to finish and one that I would definitely recommend to anyone who is thinking about going for it… you won’t regret it!

Most Inspirational Moment

The most inspiring moment for me was the home-stay visit at Xom Chien village. It's a very tranquil stay, you are right in the beautiful country side and rice fields, and are welcomed and hosted by the very friendly community in this village. The locals are very generous and friendly and are excited to welcome you to their home. This homestay being right near the start of the trip is a very good bit of trip planning as it allows you to slow down, take in the scenery and the culture and really unwind and start your holiday in a refreshed mind state.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Toan was an amazing guide! He was fun, friendly, funny and knew just about everything there was to know about his country! He provided such a deep knowledge on the history and culture of the areas we passed through and also helped us to learn some of the local language to help us communicate with the locals better. Just a really great guide to spend your 2 weeks with!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Depending on what time of the year you travel, bring fewer/lighter clothes than you're planning, it's hotter than I expected! Also bring some thin but warm layers for the overnight train. I personally didn't get very cold, but some of my fellow travelers were quite cold through the night.

Active Vietnam: Hill Villages & Mekong

In interesting trip, many unique experiences, a well informed history of all the activities and of the country. Our tour leader was exceptional in organising every aspect of the trip and keeping us both informed and interested. Thank you Tuyet!

Most Inspirational Moment

Many! Every moment from hiking, biking, and overnight sleeper experience, Ha Long Bay, the many religious and cultural sites we visited.. the trip well exceeded my expectations.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tuyet was a star! Funny, engaging, very knowledgeable and was able to swap around some activities working within time constraints. Added to this, Tuyet was a lovely person to be around.

Active Vietnam: Hill Villages & Mekong

Trip exceeded our expectations. The agenda was great , the size of group was great. The price was fair.

Most Inspirational Moment

The first homestay. The suggestions offered by our tour guide ( bike trip and cooking class) on our off time. The knowledge of our guide. And the amazing food and people of Vietnam

Thoughts on Group Leader

Quang was extremely knowledgeable and organized. He had in-depth knowledge and many good stories of every area we visited. Every time we got in the bus he told us what we would be doing. What we would see, etc. Timelines of travel time, etc were always given and accurate. He always was making sure it was arranged for us all to have our three meals a day . He did many different things to maximize our time on our stops, such as ordering food in advance. He also went out of his way to guide us and select options for any off time we had, which included making reservations and arranging transport as necessary. He showed a great amount of pride in his country and his family that was so nice to see. We could go on and on about how fantastic he was. Leave it to say that this was our first Exodus trip and we cannot imagine ever having a guide as wonderful as Quang was.

Fabulous guide; wonderful country and people. Just do it!

One of the best group trips (and I have been on quite a few) I have done simply due to the wonderful country, lovely warm locals, excellent guide and fun fellow travellers! We travelled on many modes of transport – bus, boat (motor, kayak, paddle), train, plane, bike, foot – saw a wide variety of landscapes – countryside, small villlages, big cities – learned (more) about the old and new history of this incredible country and experienced a wide variety of foods. We did visit some homes and centres where the locals showed us how they made items such as clay pots, toffee brittle, embroidery paintings etc; never was there pressure to purchase anything which made the experience that more enjoyable. This trip has everying – just do it!

Most Inspirational Moment

It was all inspiring and exciting for me.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thanh Vo was excellent, full of energy and so enthusiastic about his own country; one of the best guides I have met. Thanh always shared information about where we were, what we were passing or what we were looking at as well as ensuring we were well prepared for the next day along with constant reminders throughout the day. He took personal care to ensure that us few pescatarians and vegetarians did not accidentally end up with with 'wrong' food and selected a good variety of restaurants for group meals. He gave us space to do our own things at the different sites and accommodations but was always in the background when needed or to help us from getting lost! This trip took a lot of organisation - scheduling of optional tours, buses, boat, bikes and trains etc - which he did behind the scenes and everything worked like clockwork. All this along with Thanh's great sense of humour made for a really relaxed and enjoyable trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

The optional bike tour of Hoi An was great fun (and the bike seats were wide!); it was more than a bike tour. I brought my own gel cycle seat for the Day 11 & 12 which helped with the narrow seats on the mountain bikes. Try the iced coffee and passion fruit juice - both delicious. All the accommodation (homestay, boat & hotels) provided good and warm bedding (we were in the north in March and it was chilly) and towels. However, I still found my sheet sleeping bag useful for the homestay visits.

Fab trip

What a fantastic two weeks we had in Vietnam made all the more special by our lovely group and excellent guide. We had a great mix of activities from trekking to kayaking, temples to palaces. Buses, boats , trains aeroplanes and not forgetting bicycles. So many highlights to create some lasting memories. We sampled lots of authentic food and had a good mix of traditional to fancier restaurants. So good to stay at the homesteads and support the local people as well as some lovely hotels esp Hoi An.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting the homesteads and eating some amazing food cooked simply and served with love

Thoughts on Group Leader

THANH was brilliant, nothing was too much for him, a truly great chap.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Keep your packing simple..lots of one night stays so you are always moving your bag. Most important don't miss out on this trip!

Trails of Vietnam

Excellent, very well organised and thoroughly enjoyable.

Most Inspirational Moment

The Home Stays

Thoughts on Group Leader

The guide was extremely helpful & personable making the trip very enjoyable

Nice way to visit Vietnam

Really enjoyed the variety of activities and being able to see so much of Vietnam in two weeks. I felt the tour was both enjoyable and interesting. The trip was quite fast paced and provided a look at a lot of different aspects of Vietnam. The activities such as the hiking, visiting caves, kayaking and biking meant there were plenty of opportunities for movement and exercise.

Most Inspirational Moment

Many, but kayaking in Ha Long Bay is something I really enjoyed.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader Thang was great. Very informative and easy to approach.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I found the pollution in the cities a bit difficult for my throat, so face masks and throat lozenges were helpful. I brought padded bike shorts and was glad I wore them.

Disappointing trip

Overview of this trip is misleading, I soon realised I was on the wrong trip for me. This is NOT an active trip, in two weeks there is a three hour stroll (trainers are fine) and the included kayaking is not a tour but one hour circling around in a very small enclosed area of Ha long bay. Lots of additional bus time to that in the itinerary with several hours on most days travelling through urban areas and far too much time spent in cities or busy places.

Most Inspirational Moment

The sleeper train as I hadn’t experienced that before. Cycling was enjoyable, finally off the bus, but very flat so perfect for non-cyclists.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Duy was very cheerful, reliable, organised and patient. He was very knowledgeable about the history of the places we visited.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This is the tour for you if you enjoy bus tours and visiting busy cities. The activity is very limited and easy, so suitable for anybody who’s not a walker or cyclist. There are many nights when you can’t take your full luggage with you, in addition to that detailed in the itinerary, so be prepared for a lot of packing and unpacking. Note for wildlife lovers that there was a distinct lack of any wildlife or birds seen on this trip.

Review Centre
Reply from Exodus

We’re grateful for Sally for taking the time to review her experience in Vietnam, although we’re very sorry to read that the trip didn’t match up to the expectations she had prior to departure.

 

We would note that the itinerary for Sally’s group ran according to the breakdown we give in our trip notes, which details the amount of walking, kayaking, and cycling our groups can expect. Although we understand that Sally disagrees, we feel that, as a Culture trip, an activity level of 3 (Moderate) is appropriate for Trails of Vietnam, as the activities do require a higher baseline level of fitness than our level 1 (Leisurely) Culture trips.

 

Our product team are very confident that this grading is appropriate based on the overall feedback we receive for Trails of Vietnam; we would share that, for departures which ran in 2023 and so far in 2024, the majority of our clients rated the accuracy of the trip notes as either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ I their post-holiday feedback forms. That said, we would not be closed off to making amendments in this regard should future general feedback more reflect Sally’s comments.

 

We are, however, concerned at Sally’s comments about there being no natural light in her rooms on three nights, and are following this up with our local team in Vietnam.

– Kelly Reid, Exodus Product Manager

Not quite as expected

A good trip overall but NOT if you are expecting to see the ‘beauty of Vietnam’. Far too much time based in major cities with long bus trips in and out of them to try to get to some more rural areas. Lots of air pollution in cities and plastic rubbish in waterways even in Ha Long Bay.

Most Inspirational Moment

Kayaking on Da Bac reservoir ( an optional extra)

Thoughts on Group Leader

Duy was excellent. Felt very safe and cared for and he remained positive and keen despite having had no time off since his last trip and some early starts.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do NOT book this trip if you are keen to do trekking, cycling or kayaking as there is very little of this and lots of sitting on buses in traffic. If you do book the trip take padded cycling shorts and gel seat covers for the bikes- we did and they were very helpful.

A Cultural Adventure starting from North to South

2 weeks filled with various activities from hiking through the rural forest and rice paddies to kayaking in the reservoir and Halong Bay to Cycling in the Mekong Delta. I couldn’t have imagined a better way to see Vietnam than this trip as it covered the countryside to the cities! I particularly loved Hoi An despite the monsoon season starting earlier in October, it was so pretty to see it come alive during the night when all the lanterns were lit up and the boats went down the river.

Most Inspirational Moment

So many moments, it's hard to pinpoint one! Kayaking through emerald water of Ha long bay and seeing the caves. We were lucky as it was just our group in the area so it was very peaceful. We also visited Ti Top island afterwards when all the day trippers were leaving so we were the last people on the island which was amazing without the crowds!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Trung was very helpful and was very knowledgeable of Vietnam's history. We all learnt so much from him and came back home wanting to learn more. He had the best suggestions on where to go to eat and the best dishes to try out!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Maybe bring something warm to wear for the overnight train especially if you're sleeping on the top bunkbed as it can get chilly with the aircon