DESTINATIONS VIETNAM ESCORTED TOURS RIGHT:
Hue’s Imperial City
FAR RIGHT:
Lee’s daughter Millie
BELOW: Halong Bay
3
OF THE BEST
SELLING POINTS
Convenience
Target families who want a busy, multi-
centre itinerary but lack the
time, knowledge or confidence to plan it themselves.
Value
Break it down to a cost per day and most family tours work out cheaper than trying to organise the same journey independently.
Camaraderie Kids can make friends while parents enjoy other adult
company – a great selling point for single parents.
few miles of each other in the outer suburbs of west London. But the group cohesion came in no small part in the form of our constant companion – Intrepid tour guide Bien Tran, or simply Bien as we referred to him. It took a little while for our ears to get the hang of his Vietnamese accent, but his English was excellent and he immediately became our fixer, tour guide, in-house historian, and political and cultural commentator, not to mention our translator. My wife and I were keen to revisit
Vietnam because we’d been once before, en route to New Zealand, on our pre-children round-the-world backpacking trip in 2001 and remembered being impressed by a country that was good value, hospitable and fiercely proud of its past. At the time, our itinerary allowed us
to experience only the southern third of Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, so we missed out on the Communist north and the country’s capital Hanoi, which retains that chaotic feel of a city in a developing country. Having mastered the art of navigating Hanoi’s cluttered
Bien became our fixer, tour guide, historian, and political and cultural commentator, not to mention our translator
pavements and crossing its roads without being run over by one of the millions of mopeds that buzz around its streets, the city and its authentic Old Quarter is a great place to acclimatise to Vietnam’s dynamic vibe.
w SMOOTH SAILING About a four-hour drive from Hanoi is one of Vietnam’s tourist hotspots, the beautiful Halong Bay. Here, hundreds of boats, some on day trips, some on overnight trips, set off daily for the towering limestone islands that emerge from the bay’s pristine green waters. Our boat was not one of the more luxurious on offer, but was perfectly suited to our requirements and even
the rainy season weather couldn’t dampen our spirits. At the end of the holiday, our kids rated kayaking in the rain on the morning of the second day as the best thing they did. Due to its soaring popularity, the
Vietnamese authorities strictly limit the number of boats that can operate in the bay. Even so, there are signs here of the booming tourism industry that becomes increasingly apparent the further south you travel. Departing Halong Bay, we returned
to Hanoi to pick up our main bags from storage at the Hong Ngoc Hotel, and to prepare for our overnight train to Vietnam’s ancient capital Hue. When we backpacked, we were
talked out of taking the train, ostensibly on safety grounds although probably more to convince us to buy a ticket for a tourist bus, so it was with some trepidation that we settled into our sleeper carriage with our three children. Once the train had crept slowly down
tracks squeezed impossibly between homes in the outskirts of Hanoi, it clattered its way the 435 miles to Hue. This wasn’t a journey for those who value their sleep or creature
66
travelweekly.co.uk 14 June 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
