I contacted several companies in the UK and abroad as I wished to arrange a bespoke trip for me to Indochina. Some could be hardly bothered to reply, others were very expensive and did not listen to what I wanted, whereas Kata at Asia Pioneers kept in constant contact with me, listened to my requests, changed things, suggested ideas and we finally came up with my amazing trip of 6 weeks.
I started off in Bangkok, up to Chiang Mai (my day with the elephants will stay with me always), Chiang Rai and into Laos where I spent a wonderful 9 days travelling with Sipone and 2 days trekking with BoSand. My homestay was amazing as I was the only western person there!!

In Hanoi Kata called at my hotel to meet me which was a lovely surprise – what a lovely lady.

I then travelled through Vietnam (Sapa homestay and a cruise on Halong bay plus more) and into Cambodia, ending up in Thailand to spend a much needed 4 days on Koh Chang.

My guides and transport arrangements were wonderful, always on time to collect me from airports, train stations, hotels, etc. The drivers drove safely, had cold water in their vehicles and wet wipes to freshen up. Nothing was too much trouble.

Travelling alone meant I could adjust my itinerary if I wanted, which I rarely did. My guides became friends and I was always sorry when I had to say goodbye. As they were always local, they had inside knowledge about their own areas.

I requested 3* hotels as I felt I would be out all day and did not need to spend more money than I needed. Almost all were of a very high standard, some more like 4*.

I also had a 24 hour emergency number to contact if there were any problems – IP thought of everything.

Thank you, thank you all, Kata and my super guides, for making this trip so wonderful.

If anyone is contemplating a trip to Indochina that they must contact you to arrange. You are first class….

We are now back in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia having greatly enjoyed 3 weeks in Indochina, primarily in Vietnam though with a short side trip into Cambodia. It’s fair to say that all arrangements made by Asia Pioneer including domestic flights, meet/greet at various airports, transfers to/from hotels, accommodations and staff, sightseeing tours, drivers and guides were without exception extremely good and in several cases exceeded our expectations. As fairly experienced travellers, we regard this as a great outcome and extend our sincere thanks for ensuring that our trip was a great success.

In 2014 my wife and I planned our trip to Myanmar using Asia Pioneering. We really appreciated their efficiency, their superb knowledge of the sites to visit and the polite customer service of all the guides/drivers we had.

Earlier this year we decided to repeat the experience, visiting Cambodia and Vietnam with a group of 6 friends. Our trip planner was Mrs. Kata Tran who expertly assisted and advised us in all preparations.
Our journey has been a surprising combination of spiritual, traditional and cultural experiences.
In Cambodia, the monumental temple of Angkor Wat has been worth the trip.
The marvellous temples of Roluos, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom and Bayonand, surrounded by silent paddy fields and sugar palm trees, will stay in our hearts forever. Among our best memories are the friendly Cambodian people, the romantic atmosphere the Asian nights and the simply delicious local cuisine.
In Vietnam, we fell in love with Hanoi – walking through the old city, the exciting masses of motorbikes, the street food, the French quartier and the spontaneous cheerfulness of the locals, from the elderly who survived the war to the new booming generation.
Spending the night on a confortable vessel at the Halong Bay, with its 1969 islands, has been magical. After an animated evening, we fell asleep surrounded by starts and woke up surrounded by boats of fishermen starting their day.
Unmissable is the city of Hoi An with its market stalls everywhere, followed by a cycling tour around the Traque village, a cooking lesson at Kumquat held by Ho Xuan Thonk (Mr. Victor), and a visit to a lantern handcraft site and local dances.
Then we went to Ho Chi Min, and we visited the tunnels of Cu Chi, which are the network of tunnels used during the Indochina war.
We also visited the old and new Saigon palaces, the Ho Thy Ky Flower market and the funeral home, and the Qui Top market, which is one of the largest in Asia. After this we went to see the War Remnant museum with the Reunification palace, the cathedral and the general post office.
To end our trip we went to Three Towers, “the rice bowl”, at the center of the delta of Mekong, on a motorboat to look at the rice and vegetable fields.
This journey would not have been as memorable without the expertise and kindness of our guides Keo, Sunny, Nam and Lee. Very much appreciated has been the well-organized support of the lovely Kata, whom we definitely recommend.

We are looking forward to the next adventure together!

We really enjoyed our trip to Cambodia. Asia Pioneer was flexible in responding to our needs and produced a terrific trip for us. The entire experience is exactly what we hoped for.

Guides adapted to meet our needs, not a cookie cutter tour. If you are looking for a custom tour of Indochina do not hesitate to contact Lam at Asia Pioneer. They are a local tour company comp that will ensure that you make all connections, are prompt, caring,kind and make you feel very welcome. No worries when you deal with Lam.

What a fantastic place to visit & what a fantastic tour company. Right from the start Ruby was excellent to deal with. She sent us suggestions & ideas so that we were able to tailor our tour to reflect what we wanted to do without missing out on essential sights & activities. The guides were all of an excellent standard, not only were they very professional & knowledgeable, they engaged at a personal level which made it feel like you were sightseeing with a local friend rather than a tour guide. Vietnam was a wonderful place to visit, rich in history, culture & beauty as well as very friendly people. We will definitely be coming back to see more of your wonderful country & we will definitely be using Asia Pioneer again as they made everything so easy, nothing was too much trouble.

We worked with Kata of Asia Pioneer for several months. We had many requests and many questions and Kata helped us 100%. Kata designed a perfect itinerary for our 10 day visit to Vietnam and Laos. She arranged amazing guides and hotels and adventures in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Mai Chau and Luang Prabang in Laos. There were NO problems only great stories and memories to share for years.