We had a great experience with the funny tuk-tuk and professional tour guide. Enjoying local food and learning about the fantastic local culture from Mr. Sion. Sam and Daisy supported us well in designing a tour suitable for our family. From airport pick-up to all the tours in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, and Vang Vieng were experiences we've never had before. They picked us up on time. You just need to be ready before the pick-up time
What anyone would be interested in is the food tour: it was ok. I’ve been to many food tours around the world with Viator, but this was my least favorite. Honestly, it’s a shame considering how delicious Laos food is. The guide that ended up being with us was delightful, but late and distracted. The food was good, but not worth the money we spent.
We were supposed to be greeted at our hotel at 5:30pm. The team in charge of us reached out roughly two weeks prior to our tour, therefore I had their contact. However, the tour guide did not show up and zero people from the group chat contacted us regarding the delay. We waited in our lobby, worried about a scam. I reached out via WhatsApp, but they were not proactive in reaching us. It was 6:05 before we heard anything. Finally, the group said the driver was there and looking for us at the front door, but could not find us. I’d like to believe there was a miscommunication, but there was one door. This makes me believe the driver was late and in fact, not there. Then, we find out our tour guide was involved in an accident. Living in Asia, this wouldn’t be a shock normally. But, the fact that they were so practice in reaching out prior to the event, it makes me think the staff member was “unwilling/unable to come.” We don’t want to wish anyone harm, but magically the next day he was fine. We ended up getting a lovely man named Mr. Sivone, but he was late due to the last minute request. Our food tour did not begin until slightly before 7:00pm, 1.5 hours later. It was a brief tour through the market with no revelations. I was hoping for culture, reasons for ingredients, history… anything. That wasn’t the case. It was maybe 10 minutes spent in the market and then to an outdoor cafe. The man did order us delicious food, but the best was the pork soup in which we advocated for. Our tour guide was enthusiastic and apologetic on the company’s behalf, but he obviously wanted to get home as he lived far from where we were.
Overall, my recommendation would be to do a YouTube dive into the culture and food, save yourself the money, and go on your own. It’s safe, cheap, and well worth the adventure.
My sincere apologies to Mr. Sivone as he was great, but could not make up for the company’s lack of communication or disorganization. Our experience is that this is not common in Laos, but unique to the company itself. This was the first tour in 10 years from Viator that I have been disappointed in.
I hope others have better luck.