Arara
Wrote a review 8 - 2023
Great adventure trip to Northern Vietnam
Review of: Remote far North Vietnam 9 days 8 nights
Our family had our entire Vietnam vacation (12 nights/ 13 days) organized by Mr. Linh’s Adventures, after indicating them our preferences. We chose them because we wanted to see less visited areas of Northern Vietnam, and they seemed to be specialists in this area. The organization proved to be professional, and it was very reassuring to receive prompt answers to our e-mails or whatsapps. Our contact person in the office was Cathy, who always tried to accommodate our preferences. B...Read Moreoth our driver and guide were called Mr. Long. Our driver drove very carefully and skillfully, which made us feel safe. Our guide was very knowledgeable especially of local customs and people.
Communication was in English at a conversational level (do not expect native speaker level; only the youngest generation in Vietnam is studying the language more thoroughly).
Punctuality was also the norm when picking us up from the airport or the hotels or doing any of the activities.
Our trip started and ended in Hanoi. According to our schedule, the places we visited besides Hanoi were: south of Hanoi: Hoa Lu;Tam Coc, Mua Cave; in northern Vietnam: Hoang Su Phi, Phin Ho, Hoang Su Phi, Ha Giang, Yen Minh, Lung Cu flag, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Cao Bang, Ban Gioc Waterfall, Babe Lake, Nguom Ngao Cave, Tham Phay Cave, Bac Son Valley; Halong Bay.
The northern part of the country is very rural, and the average speed of a car is an estimated 40-50 km/h. Therefore if doing this trip covering many different locations you have keep in mind that you will inevitably spend many hours in a car. However, ours was quite comfortable: we had a Ford Transit minibus with three seat rows for the five of us and functioning air conditioning. We were also given bottles of mineral water every day. There was enough space for our luggage in the back part of the car (we had one suitcase each).
The accommodations we had chosen were a colourful mixture of both basic and luxury, depending on the place we were: basic in the countryside (there usually is no luxury accommodation there) and more luxurious for example in Hanoi, Halong Bay and on our one-day-cruise there.
Homestays are generally very basic; some even had shared bathrooms. But in the countryside there simply is no other choice. It was interesting for us to see different kinds of accommodations though, as we do not travel primarily for comfort but for the experience. Vietnam is still a (quickly) developing country after all and you cannot expect European standards.
The same is true for the food: while in the bigger cities (Hanoi) you can also find international choices, in the countryside you have to stick to local specialties.
We liked the Vietnamese food, with contains generally speaking lots of fresh vegetables, with some meat (pork, beef, chicken, and others) and rice. Soups are also very common, even for breakfast. We also could taste some tropical fruits.
It was very interesting to get to know the local customs too; we visited different ethnic minorities in the northern part of the country. As Mr. Long, our guide, knew a few families because he had been in the area before, they let us visit some of their houses. The time we visited coincided with a festivity in honor of the ancestors, which is why we were invited to have a liqueur in many houses. We saw people burning incense in front of their home altars, preparing duck meat and offering food to the ancestors as part of their ancient religion.
As for physical activity, we also went cycling, kayaking, hiking and visited caves. As it was very hot and humid during August, our bodies did not demand for more sports.
A highlight was exploring a cave near Mr. Linh’s homestay at Babe Lake that had not yet been officially opened to the public. We were guided there by a local man; helmets and flashlights were given to us. As the cave’s floor is covered by a stream we had to walk through water all the time (actually, this tour can only be done if water levels are not too high). Bats could also be found on the ceilings.
During our trip we also were lucky to meet Mr. Linh himself when we were at Mr. Linh’s homestay at Babe Lake. He is a young Vietnamese entrepreneur who is very eager to run his business in the best, most customer friendly way and is willing to learn to keep improving. He did not shy away from asking us what we liked and what could be done better, and you can talk openly to him!
All in all we think this is a serious company you can trust and can highly recommend them if you are looking for an adventurous, off the beaten path trip to Vietnam.
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Date of experience: 8 2022