We are safely back to Singapore and we want to thank-you for making our trip to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay so special. For my wife it was her first return after so many years and we are glad we decided to visit. Your tour guide, Cong, was very capable and friendly and I will recommend Lotussia Travel to our friends.
Thank you so much for a wonderful adventure. Our only suggestion would be better maintenance of the bikes (gears, chain oil etc). But overall, a wonderful trip!
We are Philip and Paul from England and we took a 6 day tour with Knock in October 2010. We are currently taking a year to travel around the world and we decided that the best way to see Vietnam was on a motorbike, and as we only had a limited time in Vietnam before moving on we only gave ourselves a few days to organize a tour. We were so lucky that Knock was available a couple of days after we made our initial request as he turned out to be a really great guide. He speaks really good English (and French), he has the perfect temperament for a guide and he is also a very good rider. Within the two days Knock had everything arranged and we got underway. We took the North West loop from Hanoi to Sapa and back which included 2 nights home-stay and 3 nights hotel all of which were clean and comfortable. As to the food, we let Knock do the ordering and we were never disappointed, although I’m still not too keen on fried crickets! A point to mention is that Paul had never ridden a motorbike before so was naturally apprehensive about the tour. However, we met with Knock a couple of days before the tour and he did a great job to alleviate the apprehension and he let Paul have a motorbike the following day to get used to it before we started. By the end of the experience Paul was even confidently able to ride through Hanoi! Although we weren’t always lucky with the weather over the 6 days it didn’t take anything away from the overall experience as it really was about the journey. We did see some beautiful scenery and we rode on some really nice mountain roads and saw places that so many tourists just wouldn’t normally get to see. We also had a mechanic with us at all times so any issues with bikes were dealt with immediate and we didn’t lose any time. In summary; this was a terrific journey, well organized and we believe the best way to see Vietnam. We can’t thank Knock enough for making this such a great experience.
Sinh was a perfect tour guide – enthusiast, informative and flexible. Our personal tour felt personal! I would be happy to recommend your services to friends.
Our trip to Hanoi was, overall very enjoyable. Kien is very knowledgeable and kind. We have had a great and interesting time. If it wasn’t so rushed it would have been perfect.
We made it home safe and sound. Thank you for putting up with us once again. We are kind of a crazy bunch, and “old” Uncle Dan can be a handful at times. You have a very nice wife and child, it was great to meet them and have dinner. I could see us coming back and ride down to Cambodia and around for our next one. Let me know when the best time of year for that area would be. We like it “hot” as you know. Maybe we could help you out with some bikes at that time. Thanks, and take care of your cute Daughter.
This is my recent ride down to the Ho Chi Minh trail, an 11 days ride with a group of 4 American friends,a dream trip. I hope you’ve read the daily summaries and looked at some of the amazing pictures. I also shot a lot of video, and will hopefully boil that down into a coherent video in the next several months. But several weeks after the trip here are some impressions and thoughts about the experience. Vietnam has unlimited tourist potential. The landscape is infinitely varied, from jagged limestone mountains to rolling hills to the flatness of endless rice paddies. The coastline consists of white sandy beaches, warm waters and great mountaintop views. The food was also wonderful — filling, tasty, and without the greasiness common in a lot of countries. And most of all, the people are warm and friendly. Every American goes to Vietnam with a certain wariness in the back of his mind, but the smiles are genuine and the hearts are welcoming. They were just fun to be with. Service was good too. If you are considering a getaway, Vietnam should definitely be on the list.
Thank you so much for your wonderful efforts for our holiday in Vietnam. Seriously we have been delighted with all the arrangements you made The eco tour in Hoi an was great – very professional, great fun, interesting and a delicious lunch. Our pick up from the train at Lao Cai was prompt and well organised. The hotel in sapa was lovely, as was the breakfast on arrival. The 3 day bike trip from heavens gate in sapa was truly amazing. Thau, our guide, spoke fantastic english and was incredibly helpful and accomodating. The bikes and helmet were a great quality,and the support vehicle was there whenever we needed a rest. It was fantastic to be in an area off the tourist track, and to go and visit the local hill tribe people – they were so friendly and welcoming. We also really enjoyed the local restaurants that we ate at on all days – again Thau looked after us very well, ordering a feast of interesting and delicious local foods at every meal. The local guest house accommodation was more than we expected – our own simple bathroom and mosquito nets provided. We will certainly recommend you to others and use your services again if we are in Vietnam with warmest regards, Vikki
Driver and tour guide were brilliant. Very friendly. We had lots of fun. Really enjoyed eating at local restaurants, guide chose them very well. I was unwell for one day and was looked after well. Hotel in Lao Cai was not very clean and not very nice for showering. Hotels were either really nice (Meo Vac, Bac Ha) or not very clean (Yen Minh).
We have had a wonderful holiday in Vietnam. We have been shown many interesting sights and now thanks to Sinh’s knowledge and love for his country we feel privileged to have been here. Sinh is a truly knowledgeable tour guide; We have enjoyed our days with him. He is now much more than our guide. He is our new friend. I must also mention that Quang is the safest driver I have ever had on my travels. Thank you Quang for taking such good care of us.
I had a wonderful time during my short trip. thank you very much for the nice itinerary. My best regards to Sinh and everyone else at Lotussia. Looking forward to travelling with you once again.
Dear Sinh, We arrived home yesterday morning to an absolute heatwave. We want to thank you once again for your wonderful time. You were such a fabulous guide- in fact, you were our best! Giora is going to email some photos of us during the week. We have looked at the photos and we remembered practically all the information that you have imparted. We hope that you will keep in touch and good luck for the future. I am going to send you a small gift this week so you will remember us. Best wishes and thank you for your hospitality.
I wanted to take a moment and thank you for arranging such a marvelous trip for me. Your patience was remarkable but even more extraordinary were the staff you offered. Both guides were outstanding and provided the depth of information and detail that moves a vacation from the ordinary to the extraordinary. They had a very good command of English, a solid knowledge of the history and culture of the region, and – most importantly, a sense of humor. I have three friends who are contemplating visiting you country within the next year and will solidly recommend your firm to them. My only hope is that I’ll be able to return in the near future. Thank you again for your help.
Just to let you know we arrived safely back home and want to let you know we thoroughly enjoyed our trip to your country. It is a wonderful place and I hope to return soon. I was especially impressed with the guide in Ho Chi Minh who took us on the Delta tour overnight. He was a lovely young man and very helpful. His name was Son. So I think its good to let you know these things.
We arrived home last Sunday, uneventfully, and have now had time to reflect on our trip. We found Vietnam a fascinating country, we are pleased that we took just a little longer than most tourists in each of our three destinations. I was most impressed by how industrious the Vietnamese people are. Tourism is certainly taking off, we have noticed that more Australians are considering Vietnam as destination in Asia. Thank you your good advice in planning our holiday, then the seamless way in which you organised our tour, everything went like clockwork, the accommodation was excellent and the drivers and guides you selected were very good at their jobs. Thank you again for a most memorable holiday. Kind regards,
Andrew and I want to thank you for organizing a wonderful trip for us. We are very happy about the process. All our tour guides (and especially the two guides at Siem Reap) were responsible, conscientious, and punctual. We will definitely recommend your service to our friends who have an interest in visiting South-East Asia.
Salut Ngoc, on tenait tous à te remercier une nouvelle fois. Nous avons fait un magnifique voyage et en grand partie grâce à toi. Fini les anguilles, on s’est remis à la nourriture française, et on prends le métro, fini la moto! Tout ça pour te dire que la vie au Vietnam nous manque. On te commande pas un nouveau voyage mais ça ne va pas tarder. Maud et Maman seront bientôt prêtes à faire de la moto-cross dans le Nord! Seul petit bémol, le guide à Saigon,bien que très gentil, ne parlait vraiment pas bien français. On ne comprenait quasiment rien de ce qu’il disait. On a donc moins profité de Saigon et du delta du Mekong. On a pu ainsi expérimenter le tour classique, et c’est définitivement moins bien que de bourlinguer sur une moto. Je te souhaite, au nom de toute la famille, une bonne continuation, A bientôt, pourquoi pas à Paris?
Ngoc, Je m’assoie a ma ferme et a mes 2 garcons pour te remercier du fond de mon coeur. Plus qu’un guide, tu as ete un ”eclaireur pendant ce voyage. A ta facon tu nous as eclaire sur l’histoire, les peuples, la culture, la religions de ton beau pays, ton etat d’esprit positif et ton professsionalisme sont remarquables. Si le Dieu le veut un jour nous roulerons peut-etre ensemble en moto! Moi ca me plait. Bonne chance et bonne route.
We enjoyed our trip very much. Chung was a very knowledgeable, considerate and efficient guide. We also felt very safe with the driver. Ba Be has much to offer and it seems like there are many special experiences waiting for new tourists. I suggest that you keep looking for those and find some that not many go to. The small waterfall we went to was one of those experiences as well as the visit to the limestone cave and the little village in the rice field. Another suggestion is to offer tourists the possibility of fishing (with fishing rod) and the possibility of watching wildlife at chosen location (birds, monkey). Less noisy boat might make that easier. The The Sang guesthouse was very pleasant. If I had the choice again I would choose to stay two nights there and skip the night at the park headquarters. Thank you for a nice trip!
Thoroughly enjoyed this vacation, well planned and well executed. People were extremely friendly and helpful. We would happily recommend your tour company to others. Vietnam is a wonderful vacation destination!
Hi Ngoc it’s Pete!! I am in La now waiting for next flight. I had a blast and my life has been changed by this trip. You are one great guy dude and I will be back for the North trip. Give your daughter a big hug for me and tell your wife and family hello. I am an American “worker” and am proud of it. Where Vietnam is going can only be good because the vibration is about love, respect, and cooperation. I am glad you met me. There are nice Americans and there are those a little to comfortable and not respectful of workers and people in general. I read a book on Ho Chi Mein and it was interesting. I feel your country may be a real symbol of the future for the world. America has some cool stuff too but it is struggling with many things and I really want peace in the world so much where we can all be diplomatic and solve problems without war. The Vietnamese people are truly a symbol of peace, love and forgiveness and you demonstrate these qualities in your life. I don’t want to put you on a pedestal I know you are human and have your faults but man you got a great thing going on man!! I think Nick is the man who will help you the best with website. I think his heart is in the same place. I was a bit disappointed in my other friends attitudes at times but I didn’t let it get to me. You put up with a lot of BS from fat and happy Americans and other countries. Anyway I am going to continue to write to Na and maybe help her a little to better her life. No strings attached a friendship that maybe can go somewhere in time. Pete
Manh, I’d just like to take this time to extend my thanks and gratitude for all of the hard work you put into organising such a memorable, enjoyable trip. The variety of locations and activities my partner and I saw on this holiday, combined with the exceptional service, have made Vietnam one of our favourite holiday destinations. In particular, the way in which each of the daily activities flowed into one another – from location to location and person to person – was exceptional, and made the entire experience extremely easy and stress-free. Since returning home, I have been showing many of my friends and family the photos from our trip, and I have highly recommended yourself and Lotussia, so I hope you will be able to show them a great time also. One of my working colleagues, Theresa Pham, is looking to visit Vietnam in the coming months, and I have passed her your contact details, as well as a copy of our travel itinerary. Thank you once again for your help in organizing the perfect holiday. When I return to Vietnam in the future, I’ll be sure to organise my travels through you again.
I really enjoyed the tour, we did everything I had hoped. I loved eating in local restaurants and doing real Vietnamese things! The tour guide and driver were very friendly. They made the tour really good fun. We laughed a lot and were made very welcome. Thank you,
We have had a very nice tour in North-West Vietnam. We especially liked the homestays and trekking and cooking classes. We appreciated the guide Mr. Giap with his extra skills like playing the flutes, singing openness and his humor. We felt very safe with the driver as well! We appreciated the flexibility of the staff and Lotussia Travel. Regards,
Hi Ngoc, Thanks for your message. Patrick and I both enjoyed our few extra days in Saigon. We were both pleased with the bike trip and as I said to you when we were at the Hotel…”you are the right person for the job”. When I returned home, my daughter immediately asked me when would it be her turn to go to Vietnam. Maybe I’ll take her in a couple years. It was a pleasure to ride with you and I will certainly recommend you to my friends when they are interested in doing a bike trip. I’d like to join them when they are ready. I have attached a few photos for you… All the best and safe travels. John
I want to make a very strong recommendation about the guide, Chung. He is an exceptional guide, one of the best guides I’ve ever had, around all world. I am sure that he is part responsible for me enjoying and loving so much Vietnam. He is great! I also want to recommend Mr. Michael. It was because of his professional way of answering all my mails that I decided to book Lotussia and come to Vietnam. He is very serious and made me feel very safe.
Hi, Sinh. This is Kattie Loftis. You may not remember my name, so I included a picture of our family to help you remember who we are. You took us on a tour of Tam Coc and Hoa Lu about 2 months ago. It was Mike, me (Kattie), and our four kids: Daniel, Annalise, Mary Kate, and Elijah. We SO much enjoyed the tour you gave us, and often think of all the things we saw and learned that day, like the grandmas who have black teeth, and chew (and spit) the bitternut stuff! And the flying coffins (buses)! Honestly, I still see pictures in my mind of all the workers in the beautiful rice patties, the misty air, beautiful mountains with caves, banana trees, the small simple homes, hard working people, and more. Everything in Vietnam is so different than where we live, and I love to think about our time there. But the BEST thing in Vietnam, the very BEST part about the whole country was the wonderful people. You all are just the sweetest, most amazing people ever! There were a few people we got to spend some time with that I wanted to keep in touch with, and you are one of them! We just loved you! And I could not believe how you took care of our children as if they were yours. Truly you were a treasure to us. So, I wanted to email a couple of pictures I took that day that had you and the kids in the pictures. The pictures are below the email. They are some of my favorites. Anyway, we would love to hear from you if you have a chance to email us. I wondered if you have a computer at home, or if you email from another place? We often think of you at your evening time, which is early in the morning here. I wondered what you do in the evenings, if you go to those little eating places where the men hang out with friends, or if you went home, or were still working late! We hope you are doing well. Email anytime!” Love,
My wife and I have just arrived home today after a fantastic 3 weeks touring Vietnam and Cambodia. Our entire trip was organized directly, using the internet and the services of several different tour, transport and accommodation providers. I must say that the service you provided us was outstanding. First of all we chose you because you provided the fastest and most comprehensive response by email to our initial enquiry. Keep this up! As more and more travelers come online you will profit by paying attention to customers like us. You arranged our visas and also a top quality boat trip in Halong Bay. Our guide, Than, provided excellent service and without any fuss was able to arrange a small change to our itinerary at the last minute to suit our needs. I would most certainly not hesitate to recommend your company to our friends and colleagues. With warmest regards
Thank you very much for arranging my trip to Sapa. The trip was wonderful and I enjoyed it so much. The Sapa train was luxurious and comfortable. The bike trip to Binh Lu was so fun! The hotel was beautiful and restful. Sapa and outlying villages were magical. And, our drive back to Hanoi smooth. We would especially like to commend Mr Ton. He is an excellent driver, guide and a perfect gentleman. Thank you. I will come again!
The whole tour was impressive! Above all, Mr Lee’s great communication english capacity, as well as his Vietnam knowledge patience and disposition brought a very pleasant experience. He was always receptive and willing to to help. We would be happy to recommend him and the tour company to all of our friends and family in Mexico. Thank you very very much.