Testimonials

Asia Pioneer Travel turned our Vietnam trip into an absolute dream! Huge shoutout to Stella, the ultimate tour coordinator—she’s like a travel wizard with lightning-fast responses and a knack for making every detail perfect. Seriously, her itinerary was next level (probably the most detailed proposal we’ve ever seen!), and she sprinkled in some jaw-dropping surprises in every city: Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, and Sapa—each stop more magical than the last!

And let’s talk about our incredible tour leaders: Mr. Phong, Vinh, Thi, and Bob—these guys were the real MVPs! Not only were they walking encyclopedias of Vietnam’s history and culture, but they also made sure we were comfortable, happy, and laughing the whole way.

This trip wasn’t just about seeing beautiful places—it was about creating unforgettable memories and bringing us even closer as a family.

We went to Thailand; Bangkok, Ayutthaya, and northern Thailand, specifically. We were in a group of 4, three seniors and a niece in her 20s, also one of us was wheelchair bound.

Ms. Elly Do worked hard and imaginatively to help us design the perfect vacation. We would highly recommend Asia Pioneer Travels. Our itinerary met all our needs and our guides were totally reliable. Our group of 4 was able to split up to meet our different interests and abilities and reunite seamlessly. This, again, was due to the diligence of Ms. Elly Do.

We would especially like to reach out and thank Mr. Bigz who helped us out (twice!) in circumstances beyond Asia Pioneer’s control. It was wonderful to have backup in a faraway place!

Pros: We wanted to see the temples (wats), learn about Thai culture and history (particularly the hillside village tribes), and scenic views. We worked with Ms. Do – she was very responsive to our many emails to tailor our itinerary until it was just right! Our guides and drivers were always on time. Asia Pioneer used local guides who spoke English and were knowledgeable. Ms. Kanoon guided us every day while we were in Bangkok and also visited Ayutthaya. We also went out with her every night for dinner. She took us to the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai, which was perfectly smooth and without stress for us.

Mr. Poly was our local guide in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. He also met us at the airport and from there, we were in good hands. Mr. Poly spoke good English, was very personable. He related the history of the different hillside villages we visited. He was always on time. All our drivers were very competent and our rides were in beautiful vans with ample room, AC (wonderful!) and coolers of cold water.

To sum up: Asia Pioneer Travels worked with us, so to speak, from appetizers to entrees to dessert! We always had friendly and reliable guides, drivers, and transportation. The price we were quoted was the price we paid. There were no hidden fees. We had flexibility on our tours.

Cons: Asia Pioneer told us there were no handicapped rooms left in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. We found them online and booked our hotels ourselves. Often in Bangkok, we had dinners that were quite disappointing. Our guide will no doubt in the future know better dining options – it is a learning curve and she tried hard.

Tips: Research options if you are planning to use a guide service. We recommend Zicasso, who evaluated our expressed objectives and recommended two different services who would meet our needs. There are scammers out there, of course, but we felt very comfortable using Zicasso as our starting point.

Next, the more details we shared with Ms. Do, the better Asia Pioneer Travels could customize our trip and recommend options.

Handicapped accessibility: It is difficult to find any information concerning wheelchair accessibility online in Thailand. The information we read was often incorrect or conflicting in nature. The following is what we found in person…

Wheelchairs are not allowed inside many of the temples. Many boutiques or smaller hotels do not have accessible rooms. We did find wonderful rooms at the TK Palace and Bonovoy Marriott Hotel in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai. Although they were extremely nice, none had grab bars by the toilets or in the showers. Sidewalks are often rough or absent outside the main tourist areas. It was challenging or impossible to participate in some activities…the hillside villages and the elephant sanctuary were extremely hard on both myself and the wheelchair! It must be mentioned, however, that the guides wanted to be helpful but probably didn’t have experience with travelers with disabilities. This was just my personal opinion.

Finally: We drank bottled water and reused the bottles at safe refilling stops. Only use ice cubes with holes as they indicate manufactured with purified water. Always be polite, never loud or upset, be respectful. The Thai people we interacted with were kind and helpful. We will review our hotels separately elsewhere.

We worked with Gina K and got a personalized private tour for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Every step along the way we had a guide with us. The guide greeted us at the airport with our name on a sign. This made everything so easy and no stress. Gina had recommended several spots for us to see and tour and we decided on the places we wanted to see. One of the recommendations was to see Angor Wat under the sun rise. It was beautiful and so memorable. I am really happy we did this. Our guide even took us to the markets and was able to get me some really great prices. The restaurants were all amazing, some I am sure I would never have found. We also went to many non-tourist places and got to see many places that most people don’t. We also did an overnight river cruise that was spectacular! Again, great food on this ship as well. The hotels she choose were also all perfect, great locations and with friendly staff. I cannot say enough about this tour company. Gina also checked in with us almost daily to see how things were going and if we enjoyed the tours. She was amazing. I would highly recommend Gina and Asia Pioneer Travel to anyone. All English speaking guides and very professional. The prices was beyond reasonable, I am sure I would have paid more if I tried to do this on my own! Great job Gina!!

The service we received was excellent free m pick up ftom the airport and daily pick up and drop off to the hotel. The guides were knowledgeable about the history of the sites, temples, markets and had a great sense of humor. They were both seeet and kind and provided us with a wonderful experience. I would join this tour again either my family. Great experience overall.

Chloe did an amazing job planning our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for my husband and I. We started with a phone call to go over what we wanted to see/do, and then she sent us an itinerary via e-mail. I was able to make changes to the itinerary, it was completely customized to what we wanted to do and see. She was always very prompt in responding to my e-mails! I am a very detail oriented person and she was very patient with me answering all of my questions. The trip was amazing – the hotels, guides and drivers, the tours and activities were great. Everything went very smoothly. She even gave me excellent restaurant recommendations for the nights we were on our own. We definitely could not have seen or done as much as we did if we planned the trip on our own. It was truly a trip of a lifetime. I would highly recommend using their services, it it well worth the money!

We had a fantastic trip organized by Cherry. We told her what we liked to do and what our budget was, and she sent us several drafts until everything was perfect. She was super helpful, messaged us during our trip to check on how we were doing, and even followed up once we returned home. We had a chance to meet her in person in Hanoi. She was great, and we look forward to organizing future trips with her and Asia Pioneer Travel!