- Michael
- Dec 12, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: May 27, 2020
Great albeit one mistake
3*
We used Vietnam Adventure Tours to book both a half day (morning) Cu Chi Tunnels trip and a Mekong Delta Tour, primarily because they appeared to be one of the most legitimate of companies operating in the area, and suffice to say they lived up to this. I will detail both tours individually, but first; the three star rating we have allocated may seem a bit misleading based on our overall experience, sadly we had to allocate three stars based on one crucial mistake made before our second tour (Mekong Delta) - we arrived at the tour office as we didn't want hotel pick up, the operator gave us a badge with our tour guides name as they did for the Cu Chi Tunnels trip, this is so that the guides can find you (there are many people going on many different trips at the same time). However, the operator had allocated us a guide that wasn't even working that day! If I hadn't of spotted my name on another (our actual guides notepad) he probably would've left without us and we would've been standing there waiting for a non existent guide to turn up... This should not be a mistake that even occurs sparingly; it should not occur at all!
As for the actual tours:
The Cu Chi Tunnels Tour (direct review also posted) and tour guide, Khao, deserve 5 stars. The pick up was prompt and the bus to the Cu Chi Tunnels was nice; free water, air conditioning. Khao made the trip 5 stars, he was both interesting and funny at the same time, and what I liked most of all was his honesty. He talked about how he could skew facts, make Vietnam look perfect etc. but was one of the few individuals that recognised that tourists simply don't buy it all, so he spoke about some of the less favourable aspects of the country that you otherwise would probably not hear about (he still promoted the country also by the way, and overall his view was positive, but I'm just explaining how he didn't avoid the negatives). The bus stopped at a factory which acted as a break but was also there to keep people involved in the days activities.
We then arrived at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the overall length of time spent there was ideal; not too long, not too short. Again, Khao is to praise for making the experience great, he was amusing, but also explained everything in depth and gave fantastic demonstrations of the traps etc. He got everyone involved with going in the tunnels and so forth. We were probably there for about two hours before leaving and heading back, it is a long day, mostly of travelling, and we picked the morning as we thought it might be more relaxing knowing we had ample time at the attraction. On the way back, again Khao's personality shone through, he didn't pressure people for TripAdvisor reviews as 99% of tour guides, hotels, attractions seem to do in Vietnam, and this capped off a great experience and a deserving 5 stars of the trip and certainly the guide! In addition, the price was amazing, I think it was only $18USD each for us, and that includes transport, a guide, entrance to the attraction; basically everything I've mentioned.
Trip 2; we did the Mekong Delta large group tour two days later. We picked the larger group as it was significantly cheaper (I think about $20USD per person) and it honestly didn't seem like a lot of people at all anyway (roughly 16) and it did not ruin the trip in any way. Again, insane value for money, including transport, a guide, loads of food, multiple boat rides, a bike tour among other little things. We had Alex as our tour guide on this day and he was a very intriguing character. He involved everybody again and was very funny, although he was probably slightly less informative than Khao, he still made the day enjoyable.
We arrived at the boat terminal to get a boat across the Mekong to a island where we visited a coconut candy factory which was okay, but myself and my girlfriend were there more for visiting the actual Mekong river. After some time here sampling items we went on the bicycle tour. Alex went quite fast but I liked this as guides that take too long get boring. We also visited a local house along the way that wasn't part of the trip but gave us an insight into local living conditions. We then had lunch which was sort of buffet style, not amazing food but for the trip price it was worth it and it fills you up. You have to pay for the beer though which is understandable, however we didn't know this until they had all given us one...
After, we got a boat to Unicorn Island and visited tea places and had performances though this was when it did seem to slightly drag and get a bit uninteresting. After a long hot day we were ready to go at this point, we got a boat back across and then the bus took us to a last stop which was a Pagoda; some may enjoy this but I think it's unnecessary as I was just eager to get back to the hotel by then as I'd seen what I'd came for; the Mekong. On the way back Alex did offer everyone free wifi but basically on the terms of leaving him a 5 star review, something I do not like as aforementioned and therefore I can't say it was five stars overall because of this, and as the trip seemed a bit prolonged; also to mention, the bikes owned by Vietnam Adventure Tours weren't entirely safe, my handlebars were in now way aligned with the wheel!
In conclusion, the tour was certainly worth it, and to summarise Vietnam Adventure Tours as a whole I would recommend them as a safe, cheap, and reliable company to anybody visiting HCMC / Saigon.
