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Accommodation
The hotels on this trip are well-located (where possible we choose quieter locations to avoid the noise of the Vietnamese traffic). Hotels will also feature rooms with en-suite facilities. Hotels usually have a restaurant or buffet service too. The Mekong Delta homestay is run by a welcoming family and, while conditions will be more basic, it is typical of the surrounding area, has good, shared washing and toilet facilities and the food is excellent. The Halong Bay boats feature twin-share cabins with en-suite bathrooms.
Adventure Level
Anyone in good health should be able to take part. There is no real physical difficulty, though a few travelling days are quite long, modes of transport are a little antiquated and heat / humidity can be high. Minimum age: 5 years
Climate
The climate varies from north to south, so there’s good weather somewhere at most times of year.
The North: The seasons fall at the same time as the UK. Winter nights can be as cold as 5 or 6?C but the days reach a warm 20 or 21?C. It’s often misty but dry at this time. Spring is beautifully warm, but can be humid. There’s very little rain and daytime temperatures are around 28?C. Summer is hot at 33?C and has the start of the rains. Autumn is cooler but the weather can be a little erratic - sometimes very wet, but late autumn also has some beautiful clear days.
The South: Temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year in this tropical climate, 25-30?C, and the seasons are determined by the rains. The dry season is from December to April, and the wet season May to November. Hottest season is March/April before the rains break.
Year round destination
Countries Visited
Vietnam
Essentials
Minimum age: 5 years
An easy-going and well-paced journey though humidity can be
high, which can be tiring. There is plenty of free time to relax or
participate in optional activities.
Flight Information
Indirect flights with Thai Airways from London Heathrow.
Flight schedules and preferred airlines can change.
GroupSize Notes
3-5 families
Customer Comment
The itinerary was perfectly designed for a family with kids the age of ours, 8 and 12. It’s obvious that a great deal of thought and planning has gone into which guides, hotels, modes of transport you use and the itinerary allowed us the perfect balance amount of history, culture and rest. Mr T Bourke.
Responsible Travel
We support the Binh Luc Children’s Centre near Hanoi. Established in 1990, it provides a home for orphans aged between 6 and 15 years old. You will have the opportunity to visit the centre during your stay in Hanoi. If you would like to offer your assistance by taking a gift they would be delighted to receive the following: clothes (remember Vietnamese children are smaller than those in the UK), writing paper, pens, pencils, crayons and sports equipment. Although you can take things out with you, goods are available cheaply locally and your Group Leader will be able to advise on where to buy things. Continued donations from our ground agent in Vietnam have already improved nutrition at the centre and other improvements include a better dining room and kitchen, and separate toilet building.
For every person travelling on this trip, The Adventure Company will donate £2 to a carbon offset programme. More details can be found on our website.
Since the increase in popularity of bottled water, many countries are experiencing a problem of litter especially where adequate recycling is not available. Please could you try, where possible, to use purification tablets or filters for water or buy bigger bottles of water between group members and decant into your individual water bottles.
We support the Binh Luc Orphanage near Hanoi with $5 per person travelling. We are also supporting the Thai Nguyen Children's Centre with $5,000 raised from our customers to provide much needed bunk beds.
Transport & Accommodation
Transport- Boats, domestic flight, sleeper train, cyclo (cycle rickshaw), minibus, taxi.
Distinctive Accommodation- Hotels (9nts), homestay (1nt), sleeper train (1nt), boat (1nt)
Your hotels are well located with en suite rooms; the homestay accommodation is typical of the surrounding area with good washing and toilet facilities. You will stay in 4 or 6 berth cabins on the sleeper train and use twin-share cabins with en suite.
bathrooms on the boat.
Meals included-
10 breakfasts, 2 lunches & 2 dinners.
Swimming opportunities-
In swimming pools at most hotels and in the sea in Halong Bay.
Trip Comment 2
The trip was extremely well organised, well run and planned. It had an excellent mixture of culture, trips and exciting adventures that managed to thrill all the ages. We particularly loved Ha Long bay, it was so beautiful and restful, and Hoi An was another highlight with its picturesque old town and the intoxicating sights and sounds as well as the smells! (the cooking and food!). Our special highlight was a trip to the Orphanage you help. We had collected games and toys plus my children’s schools and our local art & toy shop had given donations also. We were able to spend time playing and interacting with the children as well as talking to Nguyen Thi Hoa the director, who told us you were helping to put in new toilets. We shall definitely be travelling with the Adventure Company again. Thanks for a magical time. Mrs J Misick - July 2005