Southeast Asia Testimonials
Thank you SOOOO much for all your help and patience when planning our honeymoon adventure through Vietnam. We had an amazing time and loved each day and place we visited.
I’ve already had a few friends, one who is already planning a trip, and another who really wants to go, that I’ve recommended AWR to. We were very grateful to have everything planned out ahead of time and feel we got to see everything we wanted to and were interested in.
Our favorite parts of the trip:
1) We did the optional tour of Hanoi, and we had Dat as our tour guide. He was amazing! He gave us a lot of historical information but also gave us 3-4 options for both breakfast and lunch and showed us things to eat that we probably would never had tired on our own. He made us fall in love with Hanoi and we would love to go back.
2) Kayaking in ha long bay was also memorable. We felt very comfortable kayaking and not capsizing. It was just long enough and had great views.
3) The grasshopper tour through Hoi An and just Hoi An in general we loved. It was so nice seeing a different way of life and feel from the busy city of Hanoi. It has so much history we didn’t know about and we truly enjoyed it.
Working with the AWR Team was great, easy to communicate ideas. We feel when I first emailed you and asked for plans to combine the north and south and have actives and relaxation, we got just that. It was a great balance with plenty of unique activities. At the time when we were planning, we needed to make sure we could afford it at the time. We liked how we could add optional tours when in Vietnam, when we had more money to afford it.
Our advice for other travelers: Book ahead of time! So that you don’t have the stress of planning when you are there and can just enjoy. This is the best way to ensure you don’t miss anything. Do at least one day in the life food street tour and do it within the first few days. You’ll be able to experience walking around and the foods as a professional and will have an idea what to expect with the foods throughout the rest of your trip. If time allows give each location an extra day to explore on your own. We wish he had time or an extra day in each spot, but will just have to go back!
Thank you SO MUCH for everything! We met a couple on our last day who were stopping in the same places we were but going south to north. They didn’t have anything planned and were asking us. It seemed stressful that they might miss something. We were so grateful that we had everything planned out and only had to pay tips and come up with a few things on our own. We will forever remember this trip and could not thank you enough!
Elise D., USA
Custom Vietnam, April 2019
Our trip to Thailand with AWR was our most exciting travel yet! We loved playing cards half the night with the kids in the Palong village. They were so welcoming and adorable. We spent about six hours hiking through the jungle of Northern Thailand, and, though it was hot, the views were spectacular. It was so amazing to walk amongst so many mango and banana trees.
Chiang Mai was a lot of fun with great food. Ukrit was a wonderful guide. He showed us some great shopping, and shared so much Thai culture with us. We truly appreciated how personable he is.
We also loved spending half a day with the retired elephants at the Thai Elephant Care Center. Each elephant had unique personalities that made the feeding and bathing lots of hands-on fun. We learned so much and truly treasure our experience there.
Oh, and we were so happy to have had a chance to see Erawan Falls. All seven falls are that perfect shade of blue/green that you can never forget. And, you won’t forget the fish nibbles either!
AWR took the stress out of planning our trip to Thailand. They paid close attention to detail so that every transition of our travel went remarkably smooth. This was our second trip with AWR (our first was to the Amazon rainforest in Peru) and we will surely book a future adventure with them.”
Thank you! It is a pleasure to work with all of you at AWR.
Chrissy P., NC, USA
10-Day Thailand and Cambodia Adventure, March 2019
Wanted to let you know- our trip was flawless. The entire trip was really great and our guides were really wonderful. Thanks Dan for putting it together for us!
Carole S., USA
10-Day Thailand and Cambodia Adventure, January 2019
Great trip, everything was taken care of, hotels/homestays were great overall; the itinerary was perfect for the 14 days we had! Luang Prabang was incredible! Had never heard of it before, but fell in love with that special little town! I LOVED the Elephant Sanctuary, getting up early to see the monks receive alms; being part of the Baci ceremony. Sooo many things to do there. And most esp. I really, really loved our tourguide Vong!!! He contsantly stopped the car to show us rice paddies, animals along the road, etc. He was insanely kind; generous, so passionate to show us his country. All of our tourguides were great, bit Vong is the absolute BEST! I cried when we left him at the airport. That’s how good he was to us!
Cara Angela A., CA, USA
16-Day Custom Southeast Asia Explorer: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, July 2017
[My] grandson and I had a great time. Food was outstanding and the hotels were very good. It was a very rewarding trip.
Bill P., PA, USA
13-Day Luxury Myanmar Adventure in-Depth, March 2017
The trip exceeded expectations in terms of organisation, vehicles, guides, selection of hotels, and activities off beat. The elephant camp and the trek were superb!
Sumeet D., CE, Brazil
8-Day Myanmar, Laos, & Cambodia Adventure, February 2017
We will absolutely recommend Adventures Within in Reach to friends and family! As a family we came up with a top 3 list in no particular order:
- Ha Long Bay – The boat was fantastic, great service, could not have been better…well, maybe if the sun was shining;
- Motor Bike Food Tour – The drivers were great. Especially with the kids. Great way to spend our last night of vacation.
- Cu Chi Tunnels-The kids loved this. The history was phenomenal.
All of the accommodations were great but we REALLY LOVED the hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. Beautiful hotel, great pool, and delish breakfast. The list could go on. The cooking class in Hoi An was such a great experience also. The kids stayed engaged for the entire time. Definitely an experience of a lifetime!
Shayna M., Virginia, U.S.
8-Day Custom Vietnam Discovery Tour, February 2017
You guys have always done a great job with our trips and really made us feel like we’re getting the best adventure for our time. I like that you give us a few options so that we can go rugged, luxury, or somewhere in between. The travel guides are well matched and the activities are exciting- they give us a mix of physical activity and drinking downtime which both help us immerse ourselves into the country and its culture.
I enjoyed Myanmar the most because it is a land unmoved by the western influence which has changed so much of SE Asia. I give it 3 years before it has also changed drastically. But this trip showed us a part of the world that is distinctly comfortable with its own culture and traditions. I could rant for a long while on this topic alone. I also very much enjoyed Saigon with the bike tour, the sights, and the people. Quite simply we needed much more time.
Destry H., Wisconsin, U.S.
10-Day Custom Southeast Asia Tour: Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia, February 2017
Anyway the trip was AWESOME!! In fact I recommended you guys and a trip like this to some of the folks we met on our cruise on Ha Long Bay because Myanmar was just that amazing and cool. I always highly recommend you guys and the trips you do because they are some of the most fun and unique things to do. Nothing too fancy or basic either, the just right category for me.
I have multiple favorite parts of the trip for various reasons. I loved Myanmar because it was so unique and untouched. The food was some of the most amazing I have ever had. . . . There was also the right mix of downtime in there to make it a true vacation which is what I liked; some adventure and some relaxation time. The history of Bagan and the temples were great.
Hanoi – the tour guide was phenomenal! We loved the walking tour and the beer stop, just about perfect. The hotel here was a lot of fun too! The boat cruise was great and we met a ton of fun people as well.
Cambodia – my favorite part was the bike ride, it was a lot more intimate and really a lot of fun. Again all of it having the perfect mix of down time and exploring.
Michael P., Wisconsin, U.S.
10-Day Custom Southeast Asia Tour: Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia, February 2017
The trip was everything that we expected and more.
Guides —Our guides were very good. They not only handled our logistics well (meeting us, getting us around, and handling our departures effortlessly), they were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and flexible. We learned a lot from them about the people and sights of Myanmar. A special shout out to both Tun Yi in Yangon and May at Inle Lake who went above and beyond.
Itinerary – Really enjoyed the way that the country was unfolded to us. Starting with the hustle and bustle of Yangon, lowering it a bit for Mandalay, then the open space of Bagan, finishing with Inle Lake. Perfect. (Yangon seemed so exotic on Day 1 and so comfortable and familiar on Day 8). If we were to do it again knowing what we know now, we would schedule an extra day each in Bagan and Inle—see the same things, just do it a little slower (and rest our bodies a bit).
We loved our trip and have already recommended others to do the same thing. And certainly through AWR. Let us know if we can be of help to you in any way. (And next time Africa?)
Brian H., California, U.S.
9-Day Custom Myanmar Discovery, January 2016
Pictures from guest and photographer David Noyes >>
Dan, you did a great job helping us in planning the trip and making the reservations. Thanks again for a great job!
Frank T., Michigan, U.S.
14-Day Custom Thailand and Myanmar Explorer, November 2015
We had (I know I did), a great time in Vietnam. I really appreciated the personalization of all of our tour activities. The people were very nice throughout the country. If I had to pick a favorite part of the trip, I think it might be the Vespa scooter/foodie tour in Saigon. That was a blast and definitely recommended. The food was amazing at all the places that were included in our tour. The Vespa tour company/guide was excellent. We walked everywhere whenever we had free time. I really liked the location of our hotels. I would highly recommend this tour and the other places I was lucky enough to visit.
Aimee R., Minnesota, USA
8-Day Custom Vietnam Discovery, January 2015
There was no way to be prepared for the wonders of Sri Lanka. The country is spectacular–easy to travel, good infrastructure, exceptional tourist facilities, though few Americans were there. The country is unspoiled by tourism–people are open, trusting, and the environment is safe.
Our guide, PadmaSiri was terrific. He was knowledgeable about wildlife (a great bird spotter), culture, history, archaeology, religion –Buddhism, in particular–and just about everything. He was truly encyclopedic in his knowledge and told good stories. He was sensitive to our needs, and rearranged some of the itinerary to improve what had been planned.
Barbara R., Texas, U.S.
7-Day Custom Journey to Sri Lanka, March 2014