Testimonials

I don’t normally interact with the operators Helen introduces me to other than during the face to face during the site and trip.  However, I just had to write you about my experience in Vietnam.  Thank you for indulging me for the next few minutes.

First, despite a semi-reluctant agreement to do it—your recommendation for Vietnam and Siem Reap ended up being fantastic.  You were right on many points including the food, the hotels and the people.

Second, your Vietnam team is incredible.  I genuinely love the people you have there.  Cindy is a solid leader and very hospitable.  Linda was so attentive to all of our needs and thoughts.  I made significant change requests at 8:30 pm at dinner and by 9:00 am the next morning…done!  As for Hanna…my wife and I adore her.  She is sweet, kind and has a heart to help others like nobody I have met. 

Having forgotten to gather some dolls Hanna had provided—we were on our way to the airport.  Hanna called to find out where we were.  There was no time to turn around—so she decide to scooter it out to us.  I don’t have to tell you about traffic—but somehow she made up the 10-15 minute lead we had, got off her scooter and ran the dolls to our van.  Her smile was so beautiful.  She walked to the side of the road and waved to us until we were out of sight.  At that moment, Jen and I decided to make her our Honorary Daughter.  I don’t know exactly what that means now—but she has two brothers that want to meet her!!

In addition to the doll driving spectacular, Hanna’s English is near perfect and her ability to translate what we wanted to others seemed to be spot on.  And when I say “translate” I don’t just mean English to Vietnamese—I mean  from “what does this blabbering—can’t make up his mind—crazy guy saying” to “yes, sir—here you go!” 

In addition to the team, we had super guides—each with their unique strengths and capabilities:

Quyen’s English is very good -but still has an excellent accent which I believe is part of the experience.  His knowledge of military, family and religious matters is impeccable.  We really enjoyed Quyen and our time with him.  He has a good sense of humor and understood my sarcasm (a staple of my personality) perfectly.  I think Quyen’s biggest opportunity to improve is learning to read people.  With his incredible knowledge came some long-winded monologues on various subjects.  I mentioned this to him. Sometimes it is hard to read groups because some may be interested.  However, my experience leads me to believe two things about leading group tours.  1. Once you get to 10% of the group looking less interested…move on—those interested will ask questions.  2. Always leave people wanting for more. Think about a meal—sure I could eat a 16 oz steak—but how would I feel afterward.  10 oz—is perfect—I’m not hungry, but I am looking forward to another sooner than later.  If Quyen can master these ideas he becomes one of the best guides in the World—not just Vietnam.  Again, still one of the best I have worked with and on a personal one-on-one note—I love this guy and related really well to each other.  I’d like him to lead in Ha Noi and be on the guide team in Hoi An as well.

Tra. His knowledge was deeper than imagined and it only took a bit of time to hear him clearly.  More, he, like Hanna, has a big heart.  He shared his story as a child in Vietnam and it blows be away.  The resiliency of this guy is incredible. Despite such  turmoil in his life he has built a happy life and has helped his children build a great future--I truly admire this.  Not a minute went by that he didn’t do whatever it took for us to be happy—including taking us to see fireworks well after the originally stated end time for the day—and at a time he would have much rather have been watching World Cup action.  He is a class guy and our guests will enjoy him as much as I did.  In fact, I can say we bonded as friends in the short time we were there and I intend to stay in touch with him.  I’m sorry I can’t recall the drivers name—and I should—he was very gracious, drove safely and had an excellent demeanor.  I want him with our group too.

Thank you for a great trip.  In fact, I have told many people that I intend to return on my own in the not too distant future.  I’ve been all over the world and to some of the most sought after destinations and hotels, etc,  I’ve never felt that way before. It’s never been a MUST.

Our guides were very customer oriented, except Johnny in Saigon, who really was so self interested and not focused on giving us the best tour. The last hotel was very poor compared to others and left us with a bad taste. Especially with Anantara only a few doors away. In addition, we asked for boutique hotels like Anantara and were put in a large corporate hotel in Saigon. The fact that the tour arranger did not pick up that we had no flights from Siem Reap to Hanoi was very disturbing and created much upset on the trip. We only did very touristy things. We were hoping, as with other tours, you would offer opportunities off the beaten track that were more original and different, this was disappointing.

I don’t normally interact with the operators Helen introduces me to other than during the face to face during the site and trip.  However, I just had to write you about my experience in Vietnam. Thank you for indulging me for the next few minutes.

First, despite a semi-reluctant agreement to do it—your recommendation for Vietnam and Siem Reap ended up being fantastic.  You were right on many points including the food, the hotels and the people.

Second, your Vietnam team is incredible.  I genuinely love the people you have there.  Cindy is a solid leader and very hospitable.  Linda was so attentive to all of our needs and thoughts.  I made significant change requests at 8:30 pm at dinner and by 9:00 am the next morning…done!  As for Hanna…my wife and I adore her.  She is sweet, kind and has a heart to help others like nobody I have met. 

Having forgotten to gather some dolls Hanna had provided—we were on our way to the airport.  Hanna called to find out where we were.  There was no time to turn around—so she decide to scooter it out to us.  I don’t have to tell you about traffic—but somehow she made up the 10-15 minute lead we had, got off her scooter and ran the dolls to our van.  Her smile was so beautiful.  She walked to the side of the road and waved to us until we were out of sight.  At that moment, Jen and I decided to make her our Honorary Daughter.  I don’t know exactly what that means now—but she has two brothers that want to meet her!!

In addition to the doll driving spectacular, Hanna’s English is near perfect and her ability to translate what we wanted to others seemed to be spot on.  And when I say “translate” I don’t just mean English to Vietnamese—I mean from “what does this blabbering—can’t make up his mind—crazy guy saying” to “yes, sir—here you go!” 

I can’t say enough about the organization, communication and pure happiness to serve of your team.  I’ve met many teams in the world in this business and the Vietnam team is OUTSTANDING!

Thank you for a great trip.  In fact, I have told many people that I intend to return on my own in the not too distant future.  I’ve been all over the world and to some of the most sought after destinations and hotels, etc, I’ve never felt that way before. It’s never been a MUST.  Thank you for “selling” me on this trip.

Congratulations to you for developing such a great team!

We enjoyed the entire trip. The guide in Hanoi was satisfactory. The guide in Hue and the rest of Vietnam Suooang was terrific. She went out of her way. We loved her. The guide Chia in Bangkok was also superior. He also went out of his way to add to our trip. The guide in Siem Repp was not terrific. I wore a sleeveless dress in the morning. We went back to the hotel after lunch before Angkor Wat. Of course they didn't want to let me go up to the top. He should have told me to change. He knew they wouldn't let me up.

We are 2 women of certain age and are seasoned travelers but do not understand Vietnamese language so, we thought it would be good idea to engage local travel agent. And glad we did!! We started Hanoi, and visited Haron Bay, Hue, Danang, Hoi An and finally Ho Chi Min in total of 2 weeks. Daisy of 365 Travel helped us to shape our itinerary and booked all our hotels, local tours, and arranged all the logistics. She understood and responded to our requests and questions very quickly. All the hotels were safe, clean, good service, convenient location, with good daily breakfast. And within our budget that we indicated to her. Our guides in each locations are all nice, knowledgeable, eager to show us around. They came to pick us up at the hotel with fairly new, clean car with water bottles everyday. They were right on time. Traffic in Vietnam is as such, we were glad we had a comfortable car with reliable driver everywhere we go!
All in all, 365 Travel provided us excellent service to us and the worth money spent. We highly recommend!

I could not be happier with your service and the planning of this wonderful trip. Everything was first class. Although I was traveling alone, I felt safe and secure at all times. In particular my travel consultant Danny P. should be highly praised for all his knowledge and work to put this together. Thank you Danny

365 Travel was recommended to me by friends who have previously written an excellent review. When they returned from Vietnam, I was ready to go! Thanks to the professional assistance from Daisy and Cindy at 365, I was able to put together a 16 day trip of Vietnam, from North to South, in about 5 days. Cindy and Daisy asked my preferences, and I left it to them, as my knowledge then about Vietnam was severely limited. They asked my preferences, and I told them that some cycling, trekking, sightseeing and special experiences were what I was after. They did not disappoint! From the moment we-a dear friend accompanied me-were met at the airport, every detail was taken care of. We experienced three guides, Mr. Phung In Hanoi, Thuy in Hue and surroundings, and Thung in Saigon. Also, each vehicle had a driver, who led us all around Vietnam safely. They are to be commended. The hotels were wonderful, and the pricing for this trip was beyond affordable. I am looking forward to booking with 365 next year to include Cambodia and Thailand. Thank you, Daisy and Cindy, and everyone at 365, for an unforgettable trip to an amazing country. The people are kind, and cannot do enough for you. Service is priority, whether in the city or country, and I would return in a heartbeat, working with 365!

Hello Alice,

Thank you for your email - I was going to be writing to you today in any event to thank you and all at 365 for making our trip so memorable and indeed perfect! I will try to give you as much feedback here as possible and will try to be as logical as possible but forgive me if I miss anything out.

Organisation: This was perfect throughout the trip in every respect with timekeeping perfect and the guides and drivers appearing as if by magic at exactly the right time.

Guides: All 3 guides were very good being both friendly and very knowledgeable and really brought our trip alive, although I have to make a special mention of Thang who I think was exceptional.

Hotels: All hotels were good but we felt that the Angkor Regency was the best hotel and also loved the Victoria as it was not only very good but also had special charm. The Green Palace was probably the least favourite.

Vietnam Trips: We did so much in such a short space of time I will not try to mention all as we felt the itinerary was very very good for the whole trip. But worthy of mention was the Birthday Boat trip was very good despite the last minute change and it was very much appreciated by all of us - thank you once again! The Tunnels were also very good and we all loved all the trips on the Mekong.

Cambodia Trips: The Killing Fields and S21 were very moving and should be seen by all and all the Temples at Angkor Wat were fantastic.

I took over 1500 photos and will put some of these on the Westminster website.

Please pass on my sincere thanks to Cindy and all those involved in making this a truly exceptional experience and I now have no hesitation at all in trying to encourage our clients from Westminster Tours to use 365. I will meet with Cindy when she is in London in November (please ask her to email me with exactly what dates she will be here) to see how best to develop things.

Thank you all once again,

Kevin