Asia Pacific Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 34

5

The boat ride on Tonle Sap and the bike ride in the Hoi An area is very memorable. The small farm plots and rice paddies were beautiful. We made numerous stops to learn how plants and trees were used by the population. I very much enjoyed tasting the locally produced rice and Palm tree alcohol.

Our Vietnamese guides Hoang and Nam were terrific! Ha Long Bay by boat, Hoi An at night, Hue imperial city visit, Saigon motorscooter dodging were all memorable, but being in Cambodia during the Khmer New Year was an unexpected delight! Seeing the King in Angkor Wat, getting sprayed with Bazooka Soakers and powdered (while biking!), meeting and holding the HeroRats were all wonderful cultural opportunities.

Really enjoyed the entire trip! Our guides Hong and Nam were excellent and made the trip unforgettable. The accommodations were superb. Food was presented well with a nice selection of entrees at lunch and dinner. Our only criticism is the food lacked flavor and all the food tasted the same for lunch and dinner. My wife who is a pickier eater struggled with the food and wished there different more recognizable food options. Perhaps more opportunity to go out on our own and order from the menu rather than have all the meals preselected. Breakfast was always our favorite meal of the day. Trip overall was wonderful. Can’t say enough positive things about our guides.

The guides, Bay and Hoang were amazing tour guides. What whirlwind trip we were given of Vietnam. We got to see and experience so many things throughout the trip. The biking was fun and amazing wish there was more of it. The hotels were all beautiful and well located. There was so many logistic aspects to the trip and the guides carried them out so well. Listing of the memorable parts;
The first day biking coming upon the water buffalo family playing in the mud a few feet from the road, with the mountains in the background. Ha Long Bay’s beauty, the kayaking. Hoi An’s beautiful property and watching the boats go by in the river. The cooking class was very fun. The education we received of this wonderful country, its people and their cultures.
Recommendations: bring dry wick clothes, wear keen hiking sandals, plan on washing your clothes with Mrs. Van in HoiAn, and smiling lady outside The Grand Saigon Hotel.

The guides Hoang and Nam REALLY MADE OUR VIETNAM EXPERIENCE A SUCCESS. The first vessel to Halong Bay may have had bad bad water served as so many were sick.

Not enough biking. I wanted 3 times the biking and no 5 course meal at noon.

Loved Hau Ann

Cambodia 21 years old guide Rath Pat was AMAZING. I was not impressed with Cambodia lead guide as his lack of problem solving left one of our couples behind for dinner one evening.

My wife and I particularly enjoyed the natural beauty of northern Vietnam - Ninh Binh, Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island. The imperial city of Hue was also very good. We least enjoyed the markets in the south. I appreciate that they reflect the local culture and support the local economies, but I quickly bored of repeatedly seeing sellers hoc the same selection of frogs, fruit and fabric. No special tips for other travellers. The travel notes provided by Tripsite already cover what is required well.

This tour is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. The rides offer expansive views, a good number of rolling hills, and the paths up to the bridges seemed to always be set at 3% gradient, they curved and whined up the hill, and the roads are impeccable. Not a single pot hole or crack, smooth and wide and often very little traffic. Service is impeccable! One thing Japan does not lack is the attention to detail. I love Japan.... the culture, the people, the cuisine I would HIGHLY recommend this tour.

This tour is a.m.a.z.i.n.g. The rides offer expansive views, a good number of rolling hills, and the paths up to the bridges seemed to always be set at 3% gradient, they curved and whined up the hill, and the roads are impeccable. Not a single pot hole or crack, smooth and wide and often very little traffic. Service is impeccable! One thing Japan does not lack is the attention to detail. I love Japan.... the culture, the people, the cuisine I would HIGHLY recommend this tour.

The time on the boat was the most memorable. Biking was good but a couple of times ended up walking up hills. It was in the 90's for our January trip so that was challenging as well a couple of times. Would suggest an e bike for those who aren't very strong cyclist. However the island portion also had two steep hills and e bike was not an option.

Our local guide, Hoang, was simply excellent. He gave us a good deal of the history of Vietnam, and provided many learning opportunities while on our rides. My husband had some special needs, and he checked in with him often, to make sure he was comfortable. We appreciated his kindness and friendship. The bike rides themselves were always interesting, only occasionally challenging, and always fun. The tours in between the biking were great - very balanced, not too long, and interesting. It was so much more than a bike tour! Kayaking, picnic lunch on the beach, cooking lessons, walking tours!! They were all great! Getting caught in the flood in Hue and evacuated by dug-out canoe was pretty memorable, but handled so well!! If this was to happen again, there was certainly more than enough room in the passenger section of the bus for all our luggage; this would have prevented our luggage from getting water-logged.
I loved Hoi An the best; so glad we had 3 nights there. The accommodations were outstanding.

Just a couple notes. Some of the information in the written packages we received needs to be updated. For example, were told to have Euro for expenses on the boat, and this was not the case. The meals were great, but got to be too much....too many courses, too late, just too long, and generally, just too much food at lunch and dinner. I think fewer dinners as a group, and more dinners on our own would help this issue, and overall, smaller lunches.

I want to comment on the tour of Hanoi the day before the actual tour began. It ran really long...at 4:30 had 2 more stops, and we had a group meeting and dinner at 5 PM! We had to tell him to take us back to the hotel! The guide's English was so poor, we were often looking at each other asking, "what did he say?" He spoke at great length about some things, and most of were not getting even 1/2 of what he was saying. This city tour needs to be tightened up. Too much standing listening to long explanations. It was an exhausting day before out actual tour began.

Hoang our guide really made the trip special. His insights and wonderful personality were delightful. The hike in Ha Long Bay area was a bad idea and should be eliminated. We had to crawl through low hanging electric cable at least 25 times. Also the trail was simply dangerous and there is no way to evacuate anyone who twist an ankle or breaks a leg.

The trip enabled us to see places we would never have found ourselves. An ebike is absolutely not necessary. It is very flat. Our group was large -15 people. Unfortunately, that was a disappointment.

We are saddened that tripsite is nit providing a Covid cancellation policy. We had scheduled a barge/bike trip for a month from now. In light of president Macron’s announcement this week we decided to not travel. We are fully vaccinated but there is still a risk of the delta variant and being older we can not afford the risk. We hope tripsite will reconsider their policies.

Will everyone on board be double vaccinated?

I think the Tam Coc rowboat excursion was the most memorable part of the trip, but honestly that entire day was spectacular and the entire trip was like unwrapping a new gift every day. We went two by two in Tam Coc on rowboats paddled by local farmers. Every time we turned a corner we were greeted with a new vision that if I told you what it was, it might ruin the surprise factor. That same day, right before dusk, we went to a bird sanctuary and got to see flocks of pelicans and other waterfowl returning to their roosts against a beautiful backdrop of the sun setting in a hidden valley.

I am still in Cambodia.
I can tell you that it was an extraordinary experience for me all around.
I have one suggestion, and that is, the hiking and or mountain climbing need to be more explained to the travelers.
Thank you.

Our trip was great, especially our guides. They worked very hard to make sure everyone’s needs were met. The ride itself was easy - very flat. Heat and humidity, cleanliness were challenges.
My biggest complaint would be the size of the group. 15 people was too large.

This is fabulous!

In spite of the area having recently suffered a disastrous flood and resulting landslides, the resilient locals went out of their way to be helpful and friendly. The driver and guide made us feel safe and supported at all times. The cycling was challenging but the guide was so encouraging! And the scenery was beautiful and so exotic

The friendly people of Kerala, the heat, the hills, our wonderful guide and driver, the beautiful colourful saris, so many wonderful memories in a glorious part of India.

This trip to Rural Kerala despite the recent problems with the massive flood exceeded our expectations in terms of scenery, things to see and do, the
varied accommodation, our outstanding guide and very competent driver and the way the whole trip was managed. Great memories for us was contact with the local people, families, children, men, women, all very welcoming despite some difficult circumstances for many of them. Great and varied cycling, and loved our visits to the national parks and Tea plantations.

Jordan should be on everyone's biking radar. The combination of on and off road with challenging climbs and spectacular descents is as good as it gets. Our guide on this trip, Anas, could not have been better; at times cheerleader, bike mechanic, teacher and first aid provider, he was always friendly and willing to share his culture and his perspective on his wonderful country. The opportunity to spend a day and a half at Petra and the jeep tour through Wadi Rum gave us the a greater understanding of history and appreciation for the beauty of Jordan.

We have just returned from this tour in Kerala, (September 2018) it was customised for the two of us to include 3 nights in Munnar. The tour exceeded our expectations, was extremely well organised by Kalypso Adventures, we had an outstanding guide and competent driver, learnt much about the area, culture, the people and how they live what is grown in the area and so much more. The cycling was great, amended slightly in distance and route because of the recent devastating floods but this in no way detracted from the experience. Accommodation was varied and always excellent, food delicious. We would certainly recommend this tour. We are an older couple from New Zealand.

Everything about this trip far exceeded our expectations. Our tour guides, Mr. Binh and Chris, were excellent. The logistics involved in putting this trip together were extremely complicated, but it all came together seamlessly. We can't imagine another trip to Vietnam being more comprehensive and informative. The scenery was phenomenal, and we truly got a better understanding and appreciation of the warm people of Vietnam. The biking, kayaking and hiking were actually secondary to all the other amazing things we experienced.

The guides were amazing, knowledgeable, kind and funny. Hong from Vietnam and Kristopher from [Island Hopping](https://www.tripsite.com/about/our-partners/). The biking in Vietnam was a highlight. Food, accommodations and group were exceptional. The Vietnam history was told from the heart. The Vietnam and Cambodian people were beautiful and so gracious and
always happy to see us. Will definitely do another bike and barge with Island Hopping. Loved going to the school to see the kids. Loved the organic farm and cooking lesson.

Most Memorable Part: The warmth and friendliness of the people of Vietnam and Cambodia.

I just finish the Spice Trails in Sri Lanka organized by Spiceroads. Excellent trip, good organization, fantastic service. Very pleased to have chosen Tripsite. Thanks Hennie!!

Great mix of biking and other activities...safari, white water rafting, beach time, etc. Beautiful scenery, mostly quiet roads, and Spice Roads does a great job with the logistics and guiding. Highly recommended!

We enjoyed everything as it was a well rounded experience in two fascinating countries.