This trip seemed to have the right balance. A good amount of cycling with also a good portion of sightseeing. A good balance of hill and flat roads and city and rural roads.
Highly Suggest The Tour Company Visiting Vietnam was easy with the help of our tour company and our personal planner. The communication between the two was wonderful, detailed, and easy! The personal planner not only assisted us in planning for Vietnam, but also organized guides for Cambodia and Thailand. From drivers, hotels, and personal guides, the company handled it all! Our guide to Hanoi was personable, kind, and knowledgeable! He knew exactly where, when and how to get around to the various sights we wanted to see! Without him, we would have ended up in long lines or missing some of what we wanted to see! We learned a lot about Vietnamese culture and history. Thong was an excellent guide and took us right to the check in desk at the airport to depart to the next country of our travels! I would highly suggest this tour company for your travel planning needs.
I booked this trip after doing the Vietnam cycling trip in February. I had really enjoyed that one and suddenly found myself with time off before Christmas, and with the threat of a cold Canadian winter looming, I decided to get some sun while I could.
For a Canadian the logistics of this trip required getting the Vietnam visa ahead of time (Thailand didn't need one and Cambodia offered the ability to get one ahead or at the border). Luckily, having been there recently, my Visa came back quickly. The cost was prohibitive for the few days I would be there, but I enjoyed the country so much last time that I couldn't resist.
Our guide was professional and knowledgeable. We also had local guides for Cambodia and Vietnam to augment his knowledge. The organization was top notch and things went smoothly, despite having to cross two land borders and meet up with bus drivers and local mechanics, trucks, and bikes. Everything was waiting and prepared for us. I needed pedals installed, but that was taken care of very quickly (three times) and efficiently.
Three countries provided lots of different scenery, different food, and slightly different riding conditions. I saw rolling countryside, lots of livestock, rivers, rice paddies, lakes, vegetation....I am biased, but I liked Vietnam the most.
The sights built into the tour were awesome and important. I am glad I went and I do not regret it for an instant.
The accommodations on the Vietnam only trip were better than the ones on this trip, but there is nothing to complain about on this trip. Rooms were clean and air conditioned.
Our group was small so that allowed for a bit more customization to meet our needs that might not have been possible with a bigger group. I appreciated that our guide worked with us.
If you want to read more about my trip, I blogged about it almost every day (December 2 onward). Here is a link to the blog. If you have trouble finding it through the dates, look under the My Travels heading.
https://todaysperfectmoment.wordpress.com/
I will definitely do another cycling holiday (when finances allow) though I am not sure where. When I got home, the new catalogue was waiting in my mailbox.