Getaway236467
16 Jun 2023
We did the Mekong delta tour .. the tour itself was okay .., what made it 5 stars was our tour guide Jasmine.. she was awesome, very informative and also a great singer .. she made sure everyone was having a great time
We are a family of four traveling with 2 young kids, 6 and 8. We booked a "VIP" tour by "Limousine" but it didn't feel like either.
After being picked up, there was no introduction by the guide and just an akward 5-10minute silence. Eventually, Huong, our guide, asked everyones names and told us the plan for the day, about a 5 minute spiel. Aside from this brief intro, she had no other dialogue nor commentary, unless we asked something or to announce we're arriving at our next stop.
The tour promised WiFi, but supposedly in our lucky vehicle it had broken that very morning. The USB chargers in the seats didn't work. Unfortunately, the recliner in one of our seats was broken. It didn't really give the luxury limo vibe we booked which probably wouldn't of mattered if our guide was more engaging, but with nothing but silence in the 6+ hours of driving time, those luxuries were missed and we felt cheated.
The cu chi tunnels were fantastic and are definitely worth a visit, hence the 2 star rating instead of 0. Here our guide actually provided some commentary and insight into what we were seeing and experiencing. The downside though was she rushed through it, like a marathon, keeping us on the chase. I wish we could've spent more time here, and was frankly jealous of the other tour groups who seemed to be getting more attention from their guides and better story telling.
The Mekong delta and the other stops seemed forced and mostly tourist traps designed to earn kickbacks for the tour company. At one point, on unicorn island, a group of locals started singing and playing music in the most unenthusiastic way we've ever seen while we were served fresh fruit. One "lucky" person in our group took a bite and it was full of grub worms, eww. When we raised it to the attention of our guide and servers, they claimed it was good luck... Disgusting.
My wife was really looking forward to the Mekong delta tour on canoe. Turns out it purely a tourist circuit, no market, no locals, just tourists being ferried around in a loop to earn tips. We asked our guide to take a few photos of us in the canoe, which she did using her phone. But I asked her to share them with us, and we still haven't gotten them...
There were a few dicey moments where had to do a river crossing and hop across a few lined up water taxis to get to our ride. You'd think in a vip tour, the guide or boat captain would lend a hand to your children, but no. My wife and I had to help them get aboard safely instead.
The last straw, when dropping us off, we felt rushed out of the van. I unfortunately left my phone in the backseat, noticedly immediately, and called both the tour company and our guide within 5 minutes of my drop-off. Instead of getting my phone to me that day, the guide said I'd have to pick it up tomorrow from their office, and "reminded" me it was my fault since she said to check my belongings when getting to our stop. Probably rhe worst example of hospitality or "vip" service I've ever experienced.
Save yourself time and money, go with someone else, and frankly, just do the cu chi tunnels.