Northern Vietnam: Mai Chau to Ninh Binh - 8 Days

I've taken AUSWALK self guided trips for a number years and this is my first guided walk. I always find AUSWALK excellent in their office support, choice of accommodation, route planning. Now I can add to the list - guides. Thank you Bin for all your care, support, information and smiles. A particular thank you to Cat Cat Hotel Sapa - Cat Cat is a family hotel and they were so welcoming and made us feel part of the family. Even baked my favorite banana cake to take with us on the journey back to Hanoi!!

Accomodation in Hanoi and Sapa were amazing. Our guide went out of his way to look after us. A very genuine caring person. They made the trip feel like family. It’s always do structured & organised. No need to plan anything.

Son Nguyen was a very engaging guide who brought the group together as a “family”. He was very informative and went out of his way to assist each group member. He had a great sense of humour which put everyone at ease and made the whole trip fun. Having Song as a local guide for our Sapa walks was fantastic as we felt much more engaged with the community and provided opportunities for locals. We thoroughly enjoyed her leading us even though she was quiet in nature. The assistance in booking an extra night’s accommodation was appreciated. Sapa was the highlight of the trip as we wanted a hiking holiday so the 5 days of walking stood out. That said, the food tour in Hanoi and the overnight trip to Halong Bay were also very enjoyable. Walk was well organised and as described. Our guides were fantastic in bringing a group of disparate strangers together to make the experience fun. We felt that the walk represented good value and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bin is a keeper. He was on to everything we needed, and I was impressed as to his knowledge and grasp of the English language. We also had Rowan from Auswalks join our trip - he is also a keeper. He fully engaged with us and was good value. Communication from the first enquiry stage to the final booking stage and all the bits before the trip was seamless with the Auswalks crew. Value for money is right up there and that is an important consideration when i plan to do many walking/adventure holidays. This is my second Auswalk trip. The first was The Nakasendo way self-guided. This guided walk in Northern Vietnam was 10/10. A great balance of walking, sightseeing, experiencing the Vietnamese food as well as the night cruising at Halong Bay.

Every day was new and the timed delivery of ‘what next’ information ensured a really peaceful journey rather than a list of things to do ! The fact our group was mainly solo travellers was a BIG plus! Having data about group guided bookings (solo/couples) mix at prebooking stage would be helpful. Reliable and consistent delivery with deep support and care for all details of travel. Selection of guides an absolute critical step towards success of the overall trip.