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Jim & Bev FisherThank you
My wife and I have visited Vietnam twice now 1st time in 2007 then again in 2008. We have nothing but praise for tnk travel. They sorted out our itenerary and booked the hotels for us. It was an excellent experience.So much so that we are returning in 2009. You can be sure that we will be using tnk travel again, keep up the good work and see you again soon.
Karen VermeyHello
Hello
I would like to thank you for the excellent service we received from your company on our trip to Vietnam. I also wish to thank Mr Huy for his service, local knowledge, willingness to please and for going out of his way to show us the beauty of Vietnam. We have enjoyed our time in Vietnam so much we are already looking into coming back. We credit the wonderful experience in Vietnam to Mr Huy because without him we would not have seen, understood or enjoyed our time in Ho Chi minh any where near as much. Again Thank you and we will be using your company whenever we travel to Vietnam.
Regards Karen Vermey
Troy RobinsonFeedback - Cambodia
Hello TNK Travel - I was a little dubious about sending paymnet and booking over the internet, however, I can only say how impressed I was with the professionalism and service I received from TNK Travel.. I would thoroughly recommend this travel company to everyone - and although I only did Cambodia - I would encourage people to do Vietnam and Laos as well.. My experience with TNK was overwhelmingly impressed and the accom was fantastic.. If you are thinking of booking with this company - do not hesitate, the guides and drivers are informative, passionate, helpful and pleasant in every way.. Thanks Troy (Syd-Australia)
Kurt Ulrich2 weeks Mekong delta tour and Phu Quoc island
Dear TNK Team, dear Luu vo
I visit in the last 2 years alone or with group tours many times Vietnam. Last trip in 2007 I fund for the Mekong delta tour a tour operator in Phnom Penh and partner office in Chau Doc, Vietnam. This tour was very cheap but!!! also very simple in service, accommodations, food and organization! This year in February I had a group of 10 Swiss guests and I was happy to here from TNK travel agency in Saigon. The secretary Luu vo was a great organizer and she send me quickly a package of a tour around the Mekong Delta during 2 weeks. We had our private guide Mr. Ky, a friendly Vietnamese. He had doing for us the best job and he show us beautiful famous places away from the big tourist groups. Two destinations was not so good standard and could be better for next time! We would enjoy in Can Tho one night in homestay leaving but the bungalows was not only very old, there was not clean and during the night we had no water! A similar situation we fund on the island Phu Quoc in the Tropical Resort. One of the nicest place so close to the beach under a lot of palm trees, but the quality of the bungalows was less then medium.
Anyway all of my guests enjoy this Vietnam trip and we can recommend TNK one of the best tour operator in Vietnam.
Thanks so much. Kutschi
Mrs Isabella Hanssonvietnam highlights tourI would like to thank you for organising our wonderful trip to Vietnam in July 2006. Your guides and drivers were superb and the service you provided was excellent. We feel so lucky to have spent time in your country and have seen so many marvelous sights that will stay in our hearts for ever. Your company offers excellent service and I recommend anyone thinking of travelling to Vietnam to travel with you. A special thanks to Do our guide in Hanoi for the wonderful experience of Halong Bay.
Terry LeachRe: Mekong Delta and Cu Chi tunnel tour
Dear Luu Vo
we are now back in Australia with many wonderful memories of our exciting trip to Vietnam.We wish to thank you personally for assisting us and organizing 2 tours whilst we were in Siagon. The trip to Mekong delta was an absolute highlight,a wonderful,skillful driver,Mr Hung and a most informative and capable guide Huy enabled us to have many great experiences.
Also the lady at the front desk who assisted me in printing out our boarding passes for the next day flights to KL and Melbourne was wonderful and most cooperative. It all added up to a memorable experience which we have no hesitation in recommending to other travellers. Many thanks and Kind regards to all at TNK Travel Terry and Deirdre Leach
Hermann FreyCao Dai and Cu Chi Tunnel Day Tour
We were booking the Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnel tour for 26th of December 2011 on the Internet. I had some correspondence with the sales executive (Ms. Hang Vo) before to get the booking right. So we were eventually picked up at our hotel a bit outside but on the way. The pick up was sharp on time and the bus with reasonable comfort, although full. Our friendly guide (unfortunately I'm not so sure about the name any more) could speak quite good English. He did a lot of efforts to explain backgrounds and history during the day. Lunch was in a simple countryside restaurant but with good Vietnamese food. The temple is a bit far but getting known to this tradition and attending lunchtime prayers gives the right contrast to the martial afternoon visit of Cu Chi. At Cu Chi it is very interesting to learn what smart ideas the Vietcong implemented in order to cope with a technological superpower. Of course, the Americans have done a lot of wrong things and therefore are still being perceived as the bad guys but in my opinion Vietnamese should learn more to differentiate the facts of the cold war. Overall an enjoyable and good organized tour!
Teresa HardingDear Dzung,
My husband and I are now at Phnom Penh airport awaiting our flight to BKK and wanted to take the opportunity to thank-you for all of the organisation to make our short trip so enjoyable. Absolutely everything was as arranged and even the 3 hour delay of the first flight did not cause a problem. We wanted to compliment you on the team you have there as all were wonderful, capable people. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful throughout and the tour guide & driver for the Mekong trip were fantastic. Thanks again. We will certainly recommend you to our friends and be in contact again for our next trips. Kind regards, Teresa & Ron Harding
The Kane familyA wonderful experience with TNK travel (January 2009)
Our family of 4 just came back from first ever trip to Vietnam (18 days). We chose TNK Travel and it was a great trip. I wanted to thank TNK and to share our experience with future prospective travelers.
We started the planning almost a year ago. I must say we were hesitant at first and concerned about choosing a reliable travel agency. I read a lot on the internet (e.g. tripadvisor .com) before identifying a few prospective travel agencies. I then asked for an initial quote from my top 3 choices. TNK was the middle quote but what I liked about them was the level of detail in their initial proposal. I then looked at their guestbook and selected 17 people worldwide who recently travelled with them and emailed each of them to ask about their experience. Every single one of them responded and all were very positive about TNK. This made me comfortable with the idea of having to send money upfront to book a trip in an unknown country where I would have no recourse if dealing with an unethical company. With TNK, everyone assured me that once an itinerary is finalized, the company will do whatever is needed to deliver on its promises and to make it a pleasant experience, and they sure did in our case.
Over the following month, I exchanged several emails with Mr. Dsung Trinh, the Managing Director, to modify the original proposal based on my research about the sites we wanted to see. For example, we removed Sapa from the itinerary because the Northwest is quite cold in January, but added Phu Quoc Island instead. In the end, we agreed on a price for the revised itinerary, and I paid the customary 30% deposit by credit card (with a 3% fee). From that point-on, I dealt with Mr. Dac Dahn in their operations department who always promptly answered my numerous enquiries via email, and sent me hotel vouchers and e-tickets confirmation from air travel within Vietnam, as well as the invitation letter for the Visa. Fast forwarding to the end of the year when our trip began:
We landed roughly on schedule in Hochiminh on Dec. 31st in the evening and had to wait an hour or so (not ideal after a long flight from the U.S.) to get our visa on arrival ($25 per person in cash). Once we exited immigration and customs, our guide (J.J.) and driver were there to greet us with a sign bearing our name. They took us to our hotel. Because of the traffic, we ended up being in the center of the city near the cathedral at midnight, surrounded by thousands of motorcycles ringing their horns when the near year arrived (quite a cultural experience). From there on, the entire trip was very pleasant (I will post details on the hotels on tripadvisor.com). We visited Saigon (and stopped by the TNK office to pay the balance of the trip), the Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc, PanThiet/Mui Ne, Da Lat and Nha Trang by private van and boats with J.J. (who was excellent, paying attention all the time to what we liked and making sure we would always have it). We almost missed the speedboat from Rach Gia to Phu Quoc, because the itinerary was 30 minutes off. As a result, we couldn’t have a scheduled lunch, but TNK compensated us with an excellent previously unplanned dinner in Hue. J.J. ordered a van with more legroom when we returned from Phu Quoc to HCMC (we flew back), arranged for a small canoe to pick-us up and take us to our hotel in Cantho where we were stuck in traffic on the way to the ferry, etc…Then we flew to Danang and were greeted by our new guide Tui (Mr. Dac Dahn had kindly arranged for French speaking guides at the other locations at our request), and from there visited Hoi An, My Son and Hue, Tui was excellent as well, very knowledgeable and helped us solve an issue we had with a tailor-made suit. In Hoi An, the reservation was not a river view room, but after contacting Mr. Dac Dahn generously agreed to pay the difference and we were upgraded accordingly (we had insisted on 2 deluxe rooms with sea/river/lake views everywhere) and I had not noticed it was not the case at that location. We then flew to Hanoi which we visited with our last guide (Mr. Lan, who was OK but not as good as the first 2), and went from there to Halong Bay for a memorable 2-day cruise, then flew back to HCMC, stayed overnight near the airport and had an early morning flight back to the U.S. On returning to HCMC, no driver was there to greet us, we were told after we called the agency that he was stuck in traffic due to an accident. We took a taxi to the nearby hotel, and the driver who picked-us up in the morning for our return flight to the US. reimbursed us more than we had actually paid for the taxi. We didn’t have to pay a departure tax, it was apparently already included in our plane tickets.
Overall, a great trip thanks to the logistics, efficiency and professionalism of the TNK staff and agents. Food was excellent (though too copious for us, we always have festive lunch menus booked by TNK with 6 or 7 courses in nice restaurants (included in the price), nice buffet breakfasts in most hotels. The only problem (which is beyond TNK’s control) was insufficient hot water in many hotels for two people to take showers one after the other), a really bad road with big holes when exiting MuiNe to go to Da Lat and a third guide in the north who took us to a number of expensive stores along the road when we saw much cheaper prices elsewhere (we suspect he had a kick-back from these stores (but to his credit, he advised us to see the anthropology museum in Hanoi instead of a couple of extra pagodas, which we really enjoyed). Other than these minor opportunities for improvement, we had great hotel rooms with very nice views (important to us), good weather, good food, good guides and drivers (who seemed satisfied with the tips we gave them), and we were taken to all the places agreed-to on the itinerary. For those who do not feel adventurous enough to be on their own in Vietnam, we do strongly recommend TNK travel as an ideal, reasonably-priced solution. You can count on them for a memorable and pleasant trip. One final comment, although you can pay everything in Vietnam in US dollars or Euros, prices are cheaper if you pay in Dongs (local currency, FX at 17.3 VND/USD on the average during our trip, calculated at 15 by the stores if you pay in USD). Also a word of caution, Vietnam Airlines only allows 20 kg for a checked suitcase and 7 kg for a carry-on so travel light……
If you are thinking of going and have any question about our experience, don’t hesitate to contact me at dkane@mmm.com.
Our sincere thanks to MM. Trinh, Danh and the entire TNK staff for a wonderful trip. The Kane family (Austin, TX, USA)
Evelyn Ng and Wendy KohThank you for the wonderful tour !
Hello TNK I would like to express my thanks to TNK for the nice tours on 28 and 29 March, for my friend and I. The tour guide Mr Thong was very good in explaining the history and entertaining in his humorous way for the Cu Chi tunnel and Cao Dai Temple . My friend and I enjoyed ourselves very much. Good job! Also, in our tour group on the 28 March to Cu Chi and Cao Dai, with Thong as our guide, there was an American Chinese, who happens to be working in Singapore. We would like to enquire for this friend's contact or email, so that we can keep in touch in Singapore. Hope you can help us! Thank you! Regards Evelyn Ng and Wendy Koh Singapore
Area: 8,057 sq. km. Population: 639,300 habitants (2003) Regional code: 0510 Capital: Lao Cai Town. Districts: Muong Khuong, Bat Xat, Bac Ha, Bao Thang, Sapa, Bao Yen, Van Ban, Si Ma Cai. Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), H'Mong, Tay, Dao, Thai...
Lao Cai is one of several provinces situated on the Sino-Vietnamese border in the northwestern part of the country. Apart from the Kinh people, the province has several ethnic minority groups, including the H'mong, Tay, Dao, and Thai. The average temperature is between 18 and 28 degrees C in the high mountainous area, and between 20 and 22 degrees C in the lowlands. The main industries in the region are fruit growing and cattle breeding.
In winter, European people visiting Lao Cai may feel nostalgic at the site of the picturesque snowcapped mountain peaks. Then when spring comes, white peach flowers burst into bloom everywhere inducing a sense of lightheartedness
Transport: Lao Cai - 340km from Hanoi - can be reached by bus, car or train.
Train: Two trains depart from Hanoi daily. The first leaves at 6.05am and arrives in Lao Cai at 3.30pm; the second departs from Hanoi at 10pm and arrives in Lao Cai at 7.10 the next morning. The first train from Lao Cai to Hanoi departs at 10.20am and arrives in Hanoi at 7.20pm. The second train departs from Lao Cai at 6.45pm and arrives in Hanoi at four the next morning.
Bus: Minibuses leave Sapa for Lao Cai (38 km, 2 hours) and the fare is about US$2 per person. Buses depart from Lao Cai for Bac Ha daily (63km) and the fare is about US$5. The journey from Sapa to Bac Ha (110km) costs US$12. (The Sunday minibus tour includes transportation, guide and trekking to the village of the Flower H'mong). On the way back to Sapa, it is possible to stop in Lao Cai and catch the night train back to Hanoi.
Sapa & the Far North
Sapa, nestling in a beautiful valley on the border with China, is northwest Vietnam's most colorful destination. Vivid green rice terraces are sculpted into the mountain sides while in the fields H'mong and Dao women work dressed in traditional colorful clothes. At the end of the week, the H'mong, Dao and other ethnic minorities trek down from their villages to trade goods at the weekend markets in Sapa, Bac Ha and other small towns. Here they sell silver jewelry, embroidered fabrics and authentic articles of hill tribe clothing.
Sapa and its environs have some of the best trekking in Vietnam and there are many ethnic minority villages that can be reached in day treks from Sapa. For a real hill tribe experience, it is possible to stay overnight in local villages along the way. The scenery is spectacular, especially in spring and autumn when the skies are clear and blue, and the people are welcoming.
Dominating the Sapa skyline is the peak of Vietnam's highest mountain, Mount Fansipan, rising to 3,143m above sea level. To the southwest of Sapa, close to the border with Laos, is Dien Bien Phu, the site of the battle that ended French colonial rule in Vietnam in 1954. The area around Dien Bien Phu is also home to many ethnic minorities. Another interesting area with some good trekking, great scenery and authentic minority villages is Mai Chau, just 135km west from Hanoi. Most of the inhabitants of the villages and hamlets that make up Mai Chau belong to the White Thai minority and one of the highlights of Mai Chau is staying overnight in a wooden stilt house with a local family.
Cao Bang, to the northeast of Hanoi, is surrounded by some breathtaking mountain scenery and the nearby Ban Doc Waterfall is Vietnam's largest. Not far from Cao Bang is another area of outstanding natural beauty, Ba Be Lakes, located within the national park of the same name. Lakes, waterfalls, rivers, caves, lush tropical rainforest and ethnic minority villages are all to be found in Ba Be National Park.
Travel to Sapa
The best time to witness the scenic beauty of Sapa is in April and May. Before that period, the weather might be cold and foggy; after that period is the rainy season. In April and May, Sapa is blooming with flowers and green pastures.
The clouds that settle in the valley in early morning quickly vanish. Located at 1,500m above sea level, Sapa lies on the side of the Hoang Lien Son Mountains, 333 km northwest of Hanoi. Sapa's flora is diverse, ranging from flowers to tropical fruits; among the most popular fruits produced in Sapa are apples, pears, peaches, and plums. Sapa has many natural sites such as Thac Bac, Thuy Cung Grotto, Gio Cave, Troi Gate, and Truc Forest .
Sapa is also the starting point for many climbers and scientists who want to reach the top of Fansipan Mountain, the highest peak not only in Vietnam but also in the Indochina Peninsula. The pyramid-shaped mountain is covered with clouds all year round and temperatures often drop below zero, especially at high elevations. To reach Sapa, one can take a train to Lao Cai and then a bus to Sapa from Lao Cai. On Sundays, Nung, Dao, Tay, Cao Lan, Paxi, and Xa Phong minorities ride down the mountain in their colorful clothes to take part in the Sunday market at the foot of Fansipan Mountain.
Sapa daily tour by train - Join the Sapa hill tribes tour now !