Testimonials

We travelled to Vietnam originally to be a part of a choir contest but our group of 30 then did extra travelling beyond the festival. As you could imagine there were 30 people each with their own arrival and return dates, requested itinerary and special needs. Lam was brilliant, sending us not just timely quotes but different costed options. My family were travelling for 4 weeks in total in Vietnam and we would ring Lam with a few days notice and say, we want to go see this waterfall, can you organise a car and driver and the quote would be on my email by the end of the day. Lam even met us when we arrived in Hanoi and took us out to lunch. Experienced travellers might want to skip the guide and just stick with the driver. The guides were all great but I prefer the extra engagement that comes from doing it yourself. If you like being looked after at every step then go with the guide.

From the moment we were met at the airport by Cong, our 8 days in northern Vietnam flowed seamlessly from one attraction to the next. Cong was so knowledgeable about his hometown and the surrounding area, and was so patient with our many questions. And by the end of our trip, it was sad to say goodbye to him. This company not only organized a fabulous itinerary, but they know how to hire good people. (Not to mention that booking numerous excursions through the company cost less than if we had booked all these side trips on our own – an added bonus 🙂

If all the reviews for Asia Pioneer sound too good to be true, they are not in the least exaggerated. Lam was absolutely amazing through months of planning travel through Vietnam for a numerically changing group. The number of changes that people made as they fine-tuned their plans got hair-raising at times but Lam was the soul of expedition, patience and pleasantry. And the service on the ground once in Vietnam was at the same impeccable standard. The drivers were excellent and we felt safe at all times. The guides were the best I’ve experienced. Nothing was too much trouble for them and they took their duties of care very seriously. When I left Vietnam I felt like I was saying goodbye to family. The guides we were with the longest had tears in their eyes when we said goodbye, as did I.

I’ve worked in and around the tourism and hospitality industry for 20 years as both an hotelier and journalist, and have had some amazing – and abysmal – experiences in terms of tour companies, but Asia Pioneer raised the industry bar to an entirely new level. From my initial email enquiry back in January, through to farewells at Hanoi airport in May, the service, attention to detail and personalisation was exceptional. Quyen created a bespoke itinerary that took us on a whistle-stop 10-day journey to Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, Hanoi and Halong Bay, which pressed all the right buttons in terms of my holy grail of travel experiences – local culture, people interaction and exquisitely authentic food. I could wax lyrical about the trip for far longer than the allowed word count, but the highlight – apart from the scenery, history, people, cuisine – and meeting Quyen for lunch on our last day in Hanoi – was his passion for what he does and desire to showcase Indochina in the best possible light. Other tour operators would do well to take a leaf out of Asia Pioneer’s book. Outstanding in every respect – thank you Quyen; Laos and Myanmar next for sure!

In May my wife,myself and another couple took a trip to Vietnam that was organized by Ms. Kata Trans of Asia Pioneer travel of Hanoi. Our trip took us from the Mekong Delta to Hanoi with stops and side tours in NhaTrang, Dalat, Danang, Hoian, Hue, and Halong Bay. The trip lasted 17 days, with accommodation, tour guides, private car transport, train, and airplane travel involved.
Pioneer Travel did an exceptional job coordinating the entire trip. To ensure everything was satisfactory, Pioneer Travel provided us with a Mobile phone, and kept in constant contact with us.
The Tour Guides were English Speaking, very knowledgable of their areas. Nothing was to much trouble for the Guides. My wife had an unfortunate accident in the hotel, the 1st day we were in country, which necessitated a hospital visit in Ho Chi Minh City, and subsequent follow up visits to a hospital in Danang, and Hanoi. Kata at Pioneer Travel, organized those visits, provided transportation and an interpreter at no additional cost to us. We can not speak highly enough of this Companies attentions to detail, professionalism, and obsession with ensuring our satisfaction. The itinerary they organised for us, gave us the maximum exposure for the time we had, and feel it was excellent “value for money”. The four of us would have no hesitation in recommending Asia Pioneer to anyone J Montague Surfers Paradise Queensland Australia

We were pleasantly surprised by Mr. Duong Dai Lam (“LAM”)’s attentiveness to our needs via email for months before the trip. He was very professional, flexible, and accommodated all of our needs for our 4 day, 3 night (homestays) trekking tour of Sapa Valley.

We were picked up at our hotel in Hanoi by one of the Asia Pioneer people. He escorted us to the train station and then made sure we got on the train in the exact cabin. (We splurged to buy out the whole 4-berth cabin for 2 of us…it was WORTH IT! No one to bother you and you can lock the door while you are sleeping, only $144 per person total).

Mr. Lam had booked us with a local Sapa tour company called “Trails of Mountains.” Our guide picked us up with a driver at 5am in the morning to drive 1 hour through the mountains to a hotel where we could take a shower and rest before our first day of trekking. It was surprising easy.

Mr. Nga was one of the most knowledgeable, fun, athletic, and kindest tour guides I have ever met. He absolutely made our trip. We had a private tour with Mr. Nga, which meant we did a lot of hiking (some strenuous parts, but worth it)….we went off the beaten path and really experienced Sapa. He seemed to know all of Sapa Valley like the back of his hand. It was amazing!

Mr. Nga was a great translator during the homestays as well. The homestays were fascinating! I would caution that they are provincial in that there is no air conditioning, little running water, and/or plumbing in some places. However, that is what we expected and didnt mind at all.

Hands down, the food in the Homestays were probably some of the best meals I have EVER eaten. Everything in the meal was fresh from the garden or farm (I mean everything, meat, fruits/vegetables, grains, herbs). DELICIOUS!

All in all, the tour was amazing. I would highly recommend to everyone. Mr. Lam and Mr. Nga were absolutely fantastic. Ask for them 🙂

The only thing I would caution about the booking with Asia Pioneer: it is better to pay everything before you start the tour, we paid 50% before we arrived in Vietnam and had to pay the rest while waiting at the Hanoi station for the train to Sapa (it was sort of a hassle).

Overall, a fantastic experience, we would definitely book with them again! Thanks Lam and Nga!