When planning a holiday you often think there are two choices: do it all yourself or use your neighbourhood travel agent and go on a package tour. The Internet and social media have created a third option. The in-country travel agent.
We first discovered this in Europe when we switched from an Australian-based cycle touring company to Rad and Reisen, based out of Vienna. They appear to offer identical trips to the Australian companies but at a 30% discount. Our family has now had over 5 trips with them.
We recently had the opportunity of a five-day visit to Vietnam thanks to the Cathay Pacific mistake fare. Having visited Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh for work, we knew the world heritage site Halong Bay was a must do. We then had to find our way to Da Nang to claim our first class flight to New York.
Having done a few Google searches and ending up with Chinese tourism companies, I turned to YouTube to learn more about Halong Bay. That’s when I found a video from Halong Hub, a company that specialises in Halong Bay tours.
I was so impressed with my early interactions that I gave them the opportunity to organise the rest of the trip. We decided to partially copy an Abercrombie and Kent itinerary that would have cost around AUD$10k for two. We removed the Ho Chi Minh bits, getting it for USD$1k for two, albeit at 3-star hotels. However, these were all in great locations and are hotels that I would return to.
As part of the package, Halong Hub organised:
- All four Airport pick ups and drop offs
- Flights from Hanoi to Da Nang on Vietnam Airlines
- A fabulous two Day Halong Bay cruise on Azalea
- A Hanoi street food tour
- A Hue private tour with driver
- Accomodation in Hanoi old district at the Palmy
- Three nights in Hoi An at the Royal Riverside
My contact at Halong, Bobby Doan, met us at the airport and took us to our first hotel. We were then able to contact him by Whatsapp over the rest of the trip if we needed further assistance.
Summary: With just a little bit of research you can have the trip of a lifetime at a reasonable price.
