clients' reviews

Hi Lien,

We are having an amazing time. Seeing and doing so much. Mr Tung is an excellent guide so knowledgeable and we really enjoy his company. He is looking after us so well.  Thank you for forwarding the pictures.
Jane

Just to let you know that our meal with the Van family was an exceptional experience. We were made so welcome by Perfume, her sister and Mr Van. Perfume explained all the dishes we ate - which were delicious.  Whilst we wereHaving tea in their living room a big surprise was when they bought in a birthday cake for Dominic and Julie - thank you so much for arranging this it was so thoughtful. Mr Van played some of his musical instruments and sang songs which Perfume translated. A wonderful evening
Our tour with Tony in the jeep we also thoroughly enjoyed - such a knowledgeable guide and such an enthusiastic young  man and he showed us so many interesting places with relevant stories.
Now at Ba Be - what a cycle ride!! & magnificent cave.
We are having such a wonderful time.
Back tomorrow.

----------------

Hi Lien
After an amazing trip in and around Hanoi dung Van and the dragon cruise - which we all so enjoyed we are now loving Hue after our great train journey. Ms Lilly is such a lovely young lady. We’ e made flowers, block printing  in villages which we visited on scooters as it is so hot - great idea rather than cycling.
Now relaxing at the very nice Spatel Hotel. Off again tomorrow to Hoi An.

We are having an amazing time, now relaxing in La Siesta on the terrace another fabulous room.

Hi Authentik travel :
Liz and I first want to tell you how much we enjoyed our trip. We explored and learned so much! We tried lots of new foods, most of which we liked, and had lots of memorable experiences. In answer to your questions below, let us tell you about some more of the specifics. First, among the many things we liked:
1. The coordination of all of the parts of the trip, both in Vietnam and Laos, was excellent. The trip had so many pick ups, drop offs, and need for good timing and all went without a problem.
2. The guides and drivers were excellent. Although as we mentioned, it sometimes took us some attention to understand, they had good command of English and had tons of information. They were also willing to adjust the program when appropriate. Also, all of the people we met in both countries were welcoming and smiling!
3. The hotels, with one exception (see below) were really excellent and very comfortable. We used the pool in 4 different places, so that was welcome after a hot day of sight seeing.
4. We really liked that we were on our own for dinner (and lunch too in Laos). This allowed us to explore lots of restaurants. For us, staying away from fixed lunch menus worked best, since we usually don't have a big mid day meal.
5. The train we took in Laos that the Chinese built (and seem to run) was excellent! Much better than trains in the US.
Some suggestions for future trip planning:
1. For some reason, the War Remnants Museum was not on our original itinerary in HCM City. Our guide suggested that we substitute that for a visit inside the Independence Palace (which we visited later as a short stop).EVERYONE, especially Americans, should visit that Museum. We found it very moving!
2. We enjoyed the homestay a lot, but as I think I mentioned to you, the bed there in the first floor apartment was a platform with a rock hard mattress. We slept very poorly that night.
3. The Cao Dai temple visit was probably not worth the time to get to. It was a pretty long trip.
4. The overnight train trip from Hue to Hanoi was OK. The private compartment was small but worked for us, and we did sleep part of the night. But as we told you, the toilet was the worst we have ever experienced anywhere! It is not something we would repeat.
5. We liked our time in Laos, particularly Luang Prabang. Van Vieng seemed to be a backpacker center, which was very different than all of the other places we visited. The hotel we stayed in had a beautiful view, and the balloons and ultra light aircraft at sunrise and sunset were wonderful. We also visited during the annual long boat race, which made the place kind of crazy but interesting. However, the hotel was by far the worst of those we stayed at. It was old and looked it. The bathroom wall tiles were all cracked, the furniture and hallways were worn.

The other thought, which applies to Vietnam and Laos, is that there are around 50 minorities in each. We had a chance to experience Hmong culture, but wonder if there might have been a chance to visit other parts of the countries, particularly Laos, to see what life is like outside of the cities and perhaps in the mountains. We hope this helps you. We will certainly post on Trip Advisor with a very favorable review. We just want to tell you once again how much we enjoyed the trip, and how much value we think there was for the price.
Thanks again, Len & Liz

Dear Lien,

Hope you're doing well!!

We wanted to have written to you earlier, but when we returned to Spain we started working and we haven't found the time until today.

Once again we would like to thank you for your help with the organization of our trip to Vietnam. Everything was very well organized and we enjoyed it very much!!

Although we already told you during the trip, we would like to emphasize again the professional level of Triet, our guide in the south. Perfect Spanish level, lots of knowledge, experience and was very helpful at all times. The rest of the guides were also good but not at the same level.

We would also like to thank you for your efforts to ensure that all the guides were Spanish speaking, specially to get Anh to accompany us in Ha Noi and Sa Pa, it's true she doesn't have the experience of other guides but she's very willing to work in a helpful way and always with a smile ????

The schedules, content and overall professionalism of the staff involved have been very positive.

We would like to higligh only two "negative" aspects:

Pelican Cruise Ha Long: the ship was more than correct, we understand that thanks to your initiative we were given the best room and we thank you very much!! But, as already mentionned to you and for your consideration for future bookings, we think you should know that the level of catering was rather low, it lacked a lot of quality.

Transfer Sa Pa - Ha Noi: we knew from the beginning that it was a shared transfer, but we still expected it to be up to par with the rest of the contracted services. In this case it arrived 40 minutes late, with the driver assuring Anh that we were going to be the first to be picked up and he arrived late with the van already loaded with passengers. The maintenance of the van was lousy: our seats were permanently reclined, water was falling from the ceiling in our area, the air conditioning vents were broken, everything was noisy, and the driver was by far the worst we had on the whole trip.

The next day, to travel to Ha Long and back from the cruise the transfer was done with a van completely the same, but in good condition and with a punctual driver and driving as it should be.

It is not a complaint, we simply inform you because, as colleagues in the sector, we understand that it is good to transmit what does not work in order to improve for the future.

We insist in thanking you for your help and predisposition so that everything went well, we enjoyed the trip so much!!!

As promised we have rated Authentik Vietnam both on Google and Tripadvisor positively, we are very happy with the treatment received ??

Looking forward to next year, there is still time and we have to finish evaluating other options, but we are seriously considering traveling to Cambodia and Laos, obviously we will count on you to help us manage it ????

Thank you very much for everything!!!!!!!

See you soon!!!!

Xavi&Esti

Dear Lien, 

Once at home and a little bit recovered from our jetlag, Manel and I wanted to send you this email is to thank you about everything you have done for us in our trip to Vietnam.

It has been more than wonderful! Your country is amazing, be proud of it, and also your people that has treated us in the best way.

Your job has been excellent Lien, congratulations! We are more than happy!

And also wanted to underline Mr Tung that has been our best guide ever, give him our regards!!!

So, if once you come to Spain, write us, it will be our turn to give you some advises and help you on what you might need! It would be a pleasure!

Receive an enormous hug from us two. Take care and carry on like this, your job is excellent.

Thank you!

Elisabet DIAZ

We found this agency through the good reviews on the internet and were not disappointed.

From the start, we were impressed by their professionalism. We chose a 7 night stay to visit Northern Vietnam. We were impressed with the details provided on our future stay. Everything was clear and precise.

When arriving on site, we were taken care of by an excellent driver. We appreciated his caution. The French-speaking guide took care of us as well.

And then the welcome during our visit to the agency; we really felt how important each customer were to them. As for the hotels, they meet our 4-star criteria; they were perfect.

In short, we're fully satisfied and will do business with this agency next year to visit another part of Vietnam.

This was our second time traveling with Authentik Travel and we feel them already very close to our family because every time, every second step from our trip was just perfectly organized! We would like to strongly recommend them and to wish them to keep this spirit of being among the best!

Wonderful trip with Authentik Vietnam.

Very great professionalism on their part, perfect organization, very competent and punctual French-speaking guides, careful drivers, super comfortable cars, very good choice of hotels, restaurants, homestay meals and judicious tours, in line with our expectations.

I want to thank Stéphanie for her responsiveness, her skills and her kindness for the organization of this personalized couple tour that met all the criteria we wanted.

It's a perfect tailor-made service with prices adapted to customer choices.

Do not hesitate, they're really a very serious agency which knows how to adapt to all your requests. Perfect!!

My family of 7 pax, including 2 elderly 70 and above, 2 children 9 and 15, had a wonderful experience with Authentik last week.

Our first stop was at Authentik's office where we were given a warm welcome and got to meet the various staff who helped us arrange our trip. Hoang Dinh helped us plan a 7 nights IT that covered Halong Bay, Cao Bang (Ban Gioc Waterfalls) and Ba Be Lake. Heanswered all our concerns prior to the trip, including sending pictures of accommodation and the sights we would be seeing.

The driver Diep assigned to us was careful on the snaking mountain roads, and our guide Tien was most informative, attentive and accommodating to our needs. We enjoyed staying at homestays and boutique hotels and eating authentic Vietnamese food at local restaurants. Other than the sights of waterfalls, caves and lakes, we enjoyed Tien's guided walk through a local village.

More than anything, we felt we had a taste of authentic Vietnam with Authentik, and enjoyed every moment of it. Thanks to all the staff for helping us arrange this fantastic trip!

Mr. Hoang Dinh from Authentik Travel helped me get a tourist visa for Vietnam and it was an excellent service!

He was quick with his responses via email and got me the visa in two days. Thank you so much Hoang Dinh!

It was a very enriching first family trip to Northern Vietnam thru' Authentic Vietnam Travel.

We gotten recommendations from friends to contact Mr Hoang and started our Itinerary discussion. Mr Hoang was very responsible, fast response and making changes to my suggestion too.

Everything was settle fast! The trip started with a very pleasant Birthday celebration planned together for my gal on the first day and the rest of the trip was smooth and enjoying. Everyone was so friendly and warm.

Hotel at Ninh Binh and Sapa were fantastic and we love it!

Overall it was a very worthy trip and not mention making a lot of new friends! I will definitely recommend Authentic Vietnam Travel to my friends who plans to visit Vietnam for their excellent service