eklecticist
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#1 Posted: 7/6/2007 - 08:19


Hi all,

I'll be arriving in Hanoi with 5 other friends on 24th June and we will be staying for a week.

1) We are planning to take a 3 days 2 nights Halong Bay tour (kayaking!) with Handspan and instead of making an online booking with them via the website, we have decided to book directly with them or through our guesthouse in case the tour is cheaper. (When I was in Phuket, the island hopping tours were much cheaper and negotiable when we booked it directly with the agencies at Patong beach instead of booking online!) Anyone has got an experience with this? An recommended tours too?

2) Regarding accomodation in Hanoi, we have decided to stay at either Hello Vietnam Hotel or Good Morning Vietnam Hotel though I'm actually more inclined towards the former, after having read excellent reveiws at hostelworld.com. Hello Vietnam Hotel is about USD6 a night per person and located at 28 Thanh ha lane, Hoan kiem district. Is this a good/central district near the shopping/ markets/sights? Anyone got an experience with this ?

Also, am i likely to get a better rate with them face-to-face at the guesthouse? Because i was thinking of booking only 1 night via hostelworld.com and the rest of the nights at the hotel itself as we have not decided if we want to stay in Hanoi for 3 days first before going Halong Bay or vice versa...

3) Any recommendations for good shopping (the girls and I are looking forward to nice, cheap imported US brands that are made in Vietnam! )/ Vietnamese cuisine/ seafood (this will prob be at halong bay) ? Anyone knows any major shopping centres or factory outlet stores?

4) With about 3 days left after the Halong bay tour, what other places that do not require much travelling can we visit? A Vietnamese friend of mine recommended me a one-day Perfume Pagoda tour... Anywhere else?

Sorry for the overwhelming nature of the questions... I'm at work and absolutely cannot wait for the 24th! MANY THANKS in advance for any help/comments :)

CatBa
adventurer
Posts: 346

#2 Posted: 7/6/2007 - 17:33


Handspan is a reseller of Ha Long Bay Tours, it doesn't own a boat. THEY ALSO OVERCHARGE.

However, Emeraude and < http://Tropical-Sails.com > DO own their boats - therefore they can give you a better choice of cabins, boats and sailing dates.

You should avoid Ha Noi travel agents like the plague - they have so many tricks to separate you from your money.

Some travel agents have 'white' people who come on with the 'I'm like you, I will give you a deal'. Don't believe it!

You said: "in case the tour is cheaper" - dream on and then get real.

One agency, with an Australian front guy, books hotel rooms through an on-line res system (which you can use just as well) and the he sells them to his customers at 10% above rack rate (published rates) and he walks away with a big smile!

Another trick is to book rail travel in a cheap class and charge you for a higher class relying on the fact you won't have time to complain.

I live in VietNam and have taken the time to recover money stolen from visitors - it takes time but in the end the fraud artists see the easiest way out. (Ask Camel!)

On the Perfume Pagoda tour there is another little challenge. When you board the small boat, often a Vietnamese female, complete with her wares, gets on and you are subjected to a hard sell. Then, when you return from the tour, the damn tour the boat operator demands a chunky tip!

As for hotels you are on your own. Just make sure you get the Vietnamese name, address and telephone number and don't be surprised if your reservation is vapourware - if another Traveller rolls up earlier with hard cash and gets your room!

Bottom line is deal with travel vendors directly before using an intermediary.

somtam2000
admin
mahout
Posts: 2418
Located in:
Indonesia

#3 Posted: 8/6/2007 - 09:12


Hi eklecticist,

Good questions and some pretty good info there from catBa.

Handspan do tend to get a lot of good feedback, though you may want to give our stories about the Ha Long Bay tours a read before settling on them -- it really depends on the type of experience you're after, and while Emeraude may well be very good, they are also very expensive...

Regarding accommodation in Hanoi. I'm not familiar with Hello Vietnam nor Good Morning Vietnam, but for US$6 a night in Hanoi rest assured you won't be getting very much! Even if you skip Hostel world and get a room on arrival -- how much could you hope to save -- perhaps a dollar a night -- hardly worth it...

Nettiv
newbie
Posts: 1

#4 Posted: 9/6/2007 - 20:46


Hostelworld can be great - but my experience has been that hotel desks will argue with the rate that you've paid the deposit for, even if you have a print out! The most common excuse I've heard (both in Europe and SE Asia) is that "Hostelworld doesn't include taxes".

ernieh
noodle lady
Posts: 46

#5 Posted: 11/6/2007 - 08:47


Hi eklecticist,

I shopped around for Sapa and Halong Bay tours and I agree with I agree with CatBa Handspan as they one of the most expensive tour operators in Hanoi. A number of tour operators in Hanoi are known to be very dodgy so watch out. Sinh Cafe is one of the oldest and most reliable tour operators in Vietnam. Their is about 30+ store fronts that advertise Sinh Cafe tour operators.

A tour operator I would recommend is Ocean Tours (www.oceantoursvietnam.com). They received positive feedback from a number of travellers on Travelfish.

The Old Quarter area (north of Hoan Kiem Lake) is full of clothing shops. The best thing to do is walk around.

With 3 days left you could go to Sapa and do some trekking to hillside tribe villages. I decided to this trip on own.

Overnight train with soft sleeper cost VND 240,000 O/W ($15). Book your train ticket from the train station as travel agents in Hanoi will charge you almost $20.

Transfer from Loa Cai tarin stn. to Sapa is VND 25,000.

2 day of trekking cost $12 per day. It included an english speaking guide, food and homestay at one of the villages. I booked at CatCat Hotel when I arrived.

All together I paid $57 for the train, transfer and trek. The two other travellers that I trekked with booked the same from a tour operator in Hanoi for $99.

I stayed at Rising Dragon Hotel (www.risingdragonhotel.com) on 61 Huang Be Street (Old Quarter) area. I paid $13 for a twin room which included TV, fridge, AC and free breakfest and internet. It's a newer hotel and close to the where all the good shops are located (Old Quarter area). The normal rate was $15. Always ask for a better price as their is so many good inexpensive hotels in Hanoi.

Ernie

illummax
newbie
Posts: 2

#6 Posted: 17/6/2007 - 20:13


I agree with eklecticist on the Shih Cafe. The rates and service they offer were reasonable.

carmen75
longtail driver
Posts: 8

#7 Posted: 18/6/2007 - 12:37


I'm with CatBa on this one, there are many dodgy tricks turned by agents. One that I've heard good reports on though is South Pacific Travel (www.southpacifichp.com), who also do Ha Long Bay trips with their own, and contracted boats. Emeraude of course is beautiful, but quite a bit more expensive.

HomerJSimpson
longtail driver
Posts: 6

#8 Posted: 18/6/2007 - 22:40


Hi,
to be honest, I have just returned from the Fansipan/Vega tour of Halong Bay. This is what I got:

1) One night on the boat with 12 others, single accomodation with air con

2) All meals, apart from Day 1 breakfast, Day 2 dinner and Day 3 Dinner - all 5 course + meals.

3) 3 star hotel tay in Cat Ba Town.

4) Trek, kayaking, swimming.

Only thing not included was drinks.

I paid 85USD (with a 15USD single supplement)

The guide was excellent, and the service superb.

You can get cheaper if you forgo air con, but going real cheap means you share with 45 others, rather than a small group.

Handspan quoted 160USD for the same trip.

Hope this helps..

Steve.

gohmalaysia
longtail driver
Posts: 5

#9 Posted: 19/6/2007 - 11:08


Hello,

Just back to Malaysia from Hanoi & Halong Bay on 16/6/2007.
We got the same deals as that of HomerJSimpson but each us paid USD72 (USD 154 for both) for a twin bed air-con room from Vega Travel, No. 24A Hang Bac Street Hanoi, situated in the Old Quarters. Easy to find.
Better get an air-con room for your night stay in the boat as the humidity can be torturous at this time of the year even for Malaysia humid standard.
Verbal feedback from others at the end of trip was that they had a great time. Our guide, whose name is Bar, speaks good English and such jovial fellow.
Good luck. Have a great time. Don't forget your swim trunks/atire before your trip.

rakhee2108
tourist
Posts: 55

#10 Posted: 26/7/2007 - 19:02


Hi. I did a 3day/2night tour of Halong Bay last month. We booked at Et Pumpkin travel agent and the tour company's name was Trekking Travel. Max. group size = 16. The tour was excellent, the guide was nice and spoke good English and the company stuck to their itinerary so we got everything that we paid for.

Day 1: pick up from guesthouse. Drive to Halong Bay (3-4hrs). Board boat - seafood lunch. Afternoon - visit Surprising Cave (beautiful). Then swimming and kayaking around the islands. Dinner. Sleep on boat (fan room - NB: no electricity between midnight-6am).

Day 2: sail to Cat Ba Island. Option of cycling or trekking up island. Arrive at hotel. (3* with A/C). Lunch at hotel. Afternoon - visit Monkey Island. More swimming and kayaking. Dinner at hotel.

Day 3: Breakfast at hotel. Board boat - sail back to Halong Bay. Stop for swimming. Lunch at restaurant on drive back to Hanoi.

We thought the tour operator Trekking Travel was very good. The food was western-Vietnamese so was fairly simple. The seafood dishes were good. We paid $55 per person for this trip. However, we found others had paid much less for this trip. Kangaroo Cafe offered this 3day/2night trip for about $45.

timtom76
newbie
Posts: 1

#11 Posted: 11/1/2008 - 10:49


i want to do a tour of halong bay but all these comments do nothing but put me off!! i have already had lots of people trying to rip me off!!!! is their any where down the coast i can go which is peaceful,hassle free and have no fear of being ripped off!! many thanks tim

beaune
newbie
Posts: 2

#12 Posted: 22/1/2008 - 13:47


wish i had found this site before my trip. Booked with Tonkin travel after reading good reviews. Found out from other travelers that we were overcharged -$30/pp for the Lagoon Explorer and $25/pp to have the train tickets delivered to hotel. There were 4 of us, such a steep commission I would rather do it myself to save a total of $220.