TESTIMONIALS 2018

Good choice of places to visit. Thuan is very knowledgeable with great English. Comfortable and clean van with good driver, Hieu.

Would recommend Vietnam and this tour comapny to anyone who is interested.

Good value!

Simon & Sorrel Hart - UK - Dec 2018

Max was very attentive to our needs, very knowledgeable of tour content and willing to share about life in Vietnam.

We enjoyed the time we spent with him in HCMC and beyond.

Jacinta Archer - Australia - Dec 2018

It was a great experience and our guide explained every question we had to ask. The food we got recommended was absolutely delicious. And the people we met were very kind and helpful.

Miguel A Perez - Mexico - Dec 2018

Well spoken guide, friendly and knowledgeable.

Pace of itinerary was good too - variety of activities.

Made special provision for Halal food - Thanks very much.

Transport was comfortable and prompt.

Aslindah - Singapore - Dec 2018

Mr. Viet knows a lot of the country and sightseeing. My compliments.

We had a very good lunch at Morning Glory.

The driver is a relaxed driver.

Good program. Good service. You made true what was promised.

Keep this hospitality. So we have no comments. It was perfect.

Nico Vreeswyjk - Holland - Dec 2018

Cannot fault this tour. Our guide was lovely: passionate, patient and knowledgeable.

Thanks for a fabulous day. Trishaw ride was a definite highlight.

Samantha Smith - USA - Dec 2018.

Mr. Thuan was excellent. Huy was amazing safe driver.

Great communication. Itinerary was perfect.

outstanding tour company. Highly recommended.

Stephanie Bidlaka - USA - Dec 2018.

Hai has been our best guide so far. His English was very fluent and well-practiced/ natural. He was extremely approachable for any questions we wanted to ask and was very knowledgeable as well.

Really excellent guide. He was by far the best we had in Vietnam and maybe anywhere.

His English is very good and he is helpful and very friendly.

Very highly recommended.

Linda Jarmusz - USA - Dec 2018.

Dear Ms. Thi,

I have wanted to write and thank you for the wonderful experiences you and Smile Tours provided my wife (Abby) and me during our time in HCMC and the Mekong Delta on November 11 & 12.  As I believe you know, I have already recommended you highly to a Viking cruise passenger who will be visiting HCMC a year from now.  I also realize that you provided me a satisfaction survey that I intended to fill out when I arrived home, but unfortunately have lost.  So, please accept this email as both a personal thanks for everything you did as well as a “critique” of our experience.  Firstly, I want to say that dealing with you and Smile Tours was a complete pleasure, beginning to end.  Your immediate responsiveness to all of my questions, your flexibility, and your warmth and enthusiasm (which came through in the emails and in person) made the entire process comfortable, easy and a pleasure.  I felt the tour prices were more than fair and we all appreciated being picked up directly at the dock on both mornings and delivered there after the tours.  I also thought that the itineraries, particularly for the Food Tour and the tour of the Mekong Delta were truly outstanding!  I could not believe the generosity with which you ordered food for us at all of the restaurants.  I still think longingly of all the uneaten food offerings and regret that I did not have enough appetite to eat more!  On the Mekong Delta, I had anticipated that some of the stops would be overtly “commercial” with the obvious aim of selling us tourists some merchandise.  (This was our experience with many of the tours elsewhere during our cruise.)  However, we found your tours completely free of such an unwanted, commercial element.  All of the places we visited truly highlighted some aspect of life on the Delta and at no point did we ever feel that we were visiting a site primarily to encourage us to purchase some item or souvenir.  The nighttime food tour and the Mekong Delta tour were two of the best tour experiences I have had in my life (and my wife and I travel extensively).  I think that there was less room for “creativity” in the HCMC Tour since most of the notable sites are “standard” and we were working in a limited time frame.  Nevertheless, I thought that it was comprehensive and appropriately paced.  The only constructive criticism we have is that the male guide for HCMC and the Mekong Delta (whose name I have forgotten), while very kind and accommodating, did not provide us with as much background and contextual information as we would have liked.  In our experience, the best guides will narrate continuously throughout the tour providing a lot of context, historical, and even personal information (which helps us understand what it is like living in Vietnam now).  Our guide largely just provided us with the basic information and was otherwise relatively quiet.  His English was also a bit difficult to understand.  I want to make it very clear that on a personal level he was very nice, kind and was trying.  I hope that this observation will help him (and you) improve what is already a wonderful service.  During the Food Tour, it is clear why you have been so successful.  You are simply as warm, as open, as accommodating, and as informative as could be!  Although I fully understand your situation, I wish that you could have been with us for the entire two days!  At least one other couple in our group told us that their experiences with Smile Tours were the best tour experiences of the entire cruise.  (That is certainly how Abby and I felt.)  I hope that it is clear, with the minor caveat above, we were more than completely satisfied with our experiences with Smile Tours.  I also feel and hope that I have made a new “friend" in Vietnam and wish you even more happiness and success than you have already achieved.  My best wishes during this happy holiday and New Year’s season.  I hope that you will stay in touch from time to time and please don’t hesitate to use me as a reference.

Warm regards,

Eric and Abby Mazur - Australia - Nov 2018

Mr. Lam was excellent. His English was very good. He was very knowledgeable about Vietnamese country and people. He explained every place we visited and talked the whole time and gave very good explanations. He smiled all the time and was very courteous and had good suggestions for what to eat Vietnamese lunch.

We have been travelling for 30 days and had many tour guides. Mr. Lam is the best so far with his English and he was full of information.

Marry Mulyk - USA - Nov 2018

Both fantastic tours - very personal and warm.

Got to learn a lot about Vietnam history, people and culture during these tours.

Very good food and comfortable transportation.

Guides did a fabulous jobof teaching us about the foods and cultures. Guides took very good care of us, kept us safe.

Reasonable priced.

Cindy and Alan Sackrin - USA - Nov 2018.

Mr. Tam was outstanding, very patient with our group and made us feel welcome. He explained everything very knowledgeable. Pho 2000 was good.

This was very well organized and easy to book.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Lewis - USA - Nov 2018.

The entire tour exceeded my expectations. I have never experienced anything but the best with all my tours with STS over the years.

Keep up the great job and we will be back again.

Pauline Hall - USA - Nov 2018.

Very well organized. The boat trip was especially calm and relaxing.

Perfect day - sun was out, no clouds, no big groups, and cold beer!

Great guide!

Bill Yocum - USA - Nov 2018

Lam was very impressive!! He provided a lot of great information. and was very attentive to the needs of the group. The group wanted to see the Presidential Palace and Lam made it happen with smile on his face.

The itinerary was perfect! It was a nice balance between culture and tourism.

Lam went above and beyond. He was a great tour guide who took us to an amazing pho restaurant! I will never forget this experience.

Larry Sialabba - USA - Nov 2018

Thanks again for amazing authentic experiences. We will never forget our adventures in Vietnam. 

My friend Jane will be travelling in February & will be contacting you. 

Cindy - USA - Nov 2019

Dear Thi.

We are just a few hours back after a wonderful tour of Saigon with Tom & Jerry. You were speaking to my wife on the return trip and I too just wanted to convey my appreciation to you and your team for such a professionally run business.

We have been really impressed at how all our expectations were exceeded. Tom endured we were looked after every minute of the day. It is the little things that mean a lot, for example, in my experience many tour companies will bring you to a restaurant for lunch and then the tour guide then disappears. In contrast to today, Tom was with us to guide us through the choices and explain the dining traditions. I also have to mention Jerry for his excellent driving skills in the challenging Saigon traffic.

Likewise, we had a fantastic tour of The Marble mountains & Hoi An with Mr. Veit.  He was excellent, very professional and had impeccable manners.

I plan to do a full write up on Trip Advisor when we return home. We really enjoyed our trip to Veitnam, and hope to visit one day again in the future.

Thanks again.

Best regards,

Diarmuid - USA - Nov 2018

Anh is an excellent guide - very friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, courteous and kind.

We wish to recommend him for future tours and would happily enjoy having him as a guide again.

Our driver was also excellent, happy, friendly, safe, helpful.

Excellent tour - highest marks!

Thank you very much.

Russell Medwyk - Oct 2018.

Excellent knowledge of tunnels + Saigon.

pace of tour good - not rushed but no waiting about.

Choice of where we wanted to see.

Very comfortable transportation.

Loved the Bob Dylan sang from our driver!

Excellent communication via tour operator via email.

Excellent personalized service.

Great value for money & will highly recommend.

Julie Mc.Quire - Australia - Oct 2018.

We have seen a lot of beautiful places. The guide as well as chauffer have been very kind and helpful. They have done everything to solve the problems relating to the disability of my husband.

Maria Schreudei - Klasblom - Belgium - Oct 2018

Hotel was carefully chosen. Guests were very happy with the standards, location and service of the staff.

Tour guides Thuan and Anh were more than helpful.

We loved the variety of foods and also the short itinerary arranged so it wold be full and satisfying.

Eva Marie Dano - the Philippines - Oct 2018

Thi,

Thank you once again for a great tour.  Fabio and our driver were terrific and we loved the Chateau for lunch.

Smile Tours brings smiles to our faces!

Sandy & Bruce - USA - Oct 2018

Our recent tour in Vietnam with Smile Tours was wonderful.  Our tour guide, Anh, was very knowledgeable, informative and accommodating.  We can highly recommend Smile Tours.

Arlene and Robert - USA - Sep 2018

Good value for money.

Quang knows and explains very much.

Adjusted program based on our information.

Demmers - Netherland - Sep 2018

We had a nice and relaxed time in Hue and surroundings. We are very satisfied.

We recommend Ms. Phuong as a guide to other tourists.

Tihske Bulthius - Netherland - Sep 2018

Ms. Phuong gave good information. She knows a lot, very friendly and helped with buying things.

Thanks for the water too.

Thuan was a very good inland guide.

Nice students and the motorbike rides were great!

Mekong delta was enjoyable!

Thank you for my daughter's birthday cake!!

Van der Putten - Netherland - Sep 2018

Dear Thi,

We are back in Belgium and we have really enjoyed our trip! We were very happy about the accommodation and the guides, who were very knowledgeable and proficient in English.

Even though all guides were good, Sokha in Battambang was the best. He could tell us a lot about the local lifestyle and history and let us taste a lot of typical Cambodian food, which we really appreciated.

Thank you for your professionalism, everything happened smoothly and we were carefree during the whole trip. If we ever go back to Asia, we will certainly consider your services again.

Kind regards,

Emma & Philip - Belgium - Aug 2018

I have multiple sclerogig which makes it hard for me to walk. Mr. Quang was aware of helping me, making it easy to get around.

Everything was so nice and friendly. Perfect itinerary for our short trip. Good was wonderful, well worth the price.

My daughter found it on the internet when she was planning her trip here last month. Her boyfriend was in a wheelchair and your tour was able to accommodate him.

Ellen Mc.Philips - USA - July 2018.

Very impressed with Phuong! very knowledgeable, good sense of humor, very ncie company.

We will miss her!

Luus Volh - Netherland - July 2018.

Our guide gave details of all places visited.

Our driver was very skilled at getting through the traffic.

Lynn Tocher - UK - July 2018.

Mr. Hoang was an amazing tour guide, very knowledgeable and very friendly. Even the driver was great, always smiling and always opened the doors for us.

Andrew - Australia - July 2018.

Ms. Phuong was really nice, spoke very good English and told us a lot about Hue city and the people.

Go On!

Geven - Netherland - June 2018.

Everything was fantastic!

Mr. Anh has a good knowledge of the region and is very professional.

The group is very satisfied.

The trip was fantastic! Worth visiting!

Emilia - Poland - June 2018

Have had the best 2 days exploring Vietnam and learning all about the culture.

Mrs. julie Bloom - Australia - May 2018

I have travelled a lot and your tour and guide are the best I have ever had.

Awesome - Excellent - Satisfaction plus!

Loved everything.

Loved the experience.

Caroline Landymore - Australia - May 2018.

We had an amazing time. Mr. Thuan went above and beyond to meet our expectations.

Thank you!

Josh Varley - Australia - May 2018

Tam was wonderful and very knowledgeable young man. Tam made the tour very enjoyable.

Continue running a great tour. Keep up the service.

See you next time!!

Gino & Dianna Dirienzo - Australia - May 2018

Tam and driver were absolutely amazing. Tam was so knowledgeable with everything he told us.

When we come back to Vietnam, we will definately be looking for Tam and company again. Thank you.

Graham & Di Sandilands - Australia - May 2018.

We had the most amazing day in Hue with Smile Tours.  I highly recommend this tour company - the day exceeded our expectations!  Our guide did an incredible job - we learned so much and enjoyed every aspect of the tour.  Our guide was waiting to meet us when we disembarked from the cruise ship, and the tour van was very comfortable.  Our guide was very knowledgeable, answered all of our questions and spoke very good English.  She tailored the tour to our requests, and even made an unplanned stop so that I could buy some artwork!  Thank you again Smile Tours - the day that we spent with you was a highlight of our trip to Vietnam!

Tracy Steffan - Australia - April 2018

Hi Thi,

I just want to say thank you to you and your team for a great day on Ho chi minh city tour.

The driver and Mr Khoa did a great job. Mr khoa  explain history about city and Cu Chi tunnels. We easily got around city with no problems. At the Markets Mr Khoa help with fair price for different things mr Khoa and was very flexible and helped with anything I needed.

I was delayed at the airport beceause my visa ended the day I arrived however I got another visa letter approved and was allowed into Vietnam after three hours. It was great that the driver and Mr khoa waited for me!

I appreciate your teams work and will tell others about how good the tour was. Hope you get more Deaf people to your tour from Australia.

Thanks again your guides did a Great job

Kind regards

Mat Mulley - Australia - Feb 2018

Dear Thi,
We have arrived home from our holiday in Vietnam and Cambodia - what a wonderful time we had!
Thank you so much for organising the first part of our trip. We were very very happy with the hotels, the guides and drivers and the cruise that you booked for us.
Our pickups were on time and all the arrangements went very smoothly.
 I will be happy to recommend your services.
Thank you again
 

Debra Ison - UK - Feb 2018

Saigon Highlights Tour - AMAZING Day!

We had an absolutely AMAZING day on this tour – one of the highlights of our 3 week vacation in Southeast Asia! We started at the Sea Goddess Temple in Chinatown, and were so fortunate to see children performing a dragon dance while we were there. It is a beautiful Temple and so interesting to learn the history as well as be part of the great energy of people there at worship during our visit. 

From there we did a Trishaw ride for about 40 minutes through the city – my husband and I have travelled extensively, and this rates as one of the top 5 things we’ve ever done – it was fantastic to see the sights, and hear the sounds of the city around you while you take it all in in the open air. It was fascinating to see all the different pockets of the city (ie. there seem to have a ‘block’ for every type of market you can imagine, clothing, electronics, flowers, etc.). The drivers were very safe and reliable. 

On to the War Museum, which I have to admit felt like a quick crash back to reality after the high of the Trishaw ride. Being a Canadian who was not born when the “Vietnam” war started, I really did not have a lot of knowledge about what the Vietnamese refer to as the “American” war. This museum is NOT for the faint of heart, but incredibly interesting, albeit heartbreaking to visit. At the end of the day, this is not a place I would have chosen to visit on my own, but I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to visit and learn more. 

Our next stops were to the city centre for a photo opportunity (City Hall, Opera House) and a quick visit the Notre Dam Cathedral, and then a drink at the bar at the top of the Rex Hotel, which is rated one of the top “Rooftop” bars to visit. It was decorated for Christmas and it was a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy a glass of wine. 

After that on we went to the Jade Pagoda – and I learned the difference between a Pagoda and a Temple in Vietnam (so interesting!) 

Somewhere during all of this we stopped for lunch at Pho2000 – which was DELICIOUS and a great opportunity to sample authentic Vietnamese cuisine. We also had some free time to shop at the Ben Thanh market across the street. I absolutely love shopping at local markets in foreign countries when I get the chance. The sellers were very friendly (and enthusiastic) in assisting you in your purchases. I was able to find some great cooking spices, cooking bowls, and jewelry – a successful shopping day – and the prices were very reasonable – anyone looking for souvenirs would be able to find almost anything they are looking for here. The vendors had no problem with speaking English. 

We did this tour with a group of fellow Cruise Critic members while we were on a cruise and I can advise that there were no issues at all with the timing of getting picked up and dropped off back to the ship on time. 

We were also very fortunate to have the owner of the company, Thi, as our tour guide for the day – she is simply the best! A wonderful tour guide, and a wealth of information – I learned so much about Vietnam and the beautiful people who live there. I know that Thi offers multi-day tours and after doing this tour, I would love to return and spend 10 days with her touring the rest of this beautiful country. Thank you Thi for a wonderful tour and a wonderful day!

Ann - Canada - Feb 2019

Dear Thi

I had planned to write to you soon. Our whole trip went very well! The itinerary overall was excellent and a good mix of walking and touring. 

We enjoyed all of Cambodia and especially our guide Tim and driver Mr Siret made everything easy and provided excellent company. They deserve a special thanks. It was wonderful to get out of the main tourist places, although Angkor Wat is a once-in-a-lifetime and surely one of the wonders of the world.  

We loved Mondulkiri - such a different perspective from the main cities. Unfortunately I developed a terrible cold, so we did not complete the third day's activity (although it looked as though it was quite similar to the first day in any case). It would have been a huge day -doing a half day's activity then driving back to Phnom Penh- something to think about for future tourists. 

We very much enjoyed Koh Rong, and the White Beach Bungalows were a perfect venue - away from the town, and no parties!! We were about 30 years older than anyone else on the island! This was not a problem at all, but worth you knowing. 

Our stays in Vietnam and Laos were also excellent- in Vietnam our guide for three days Mr Su also deserves a special mention, and the Ecolodges was perfect - much better than staying in Sapa town.  Also the city tour of Hanoi was excellent (also a great guide), and the Women's Museum is outstanding.  Our guide also introduced us to some wonderful street food! 

In Laos the highlight was the two day trek to the homestay village - fantastic, and a great way to interact with local villagers. We also lived the town of Luang Prabang.  I would like to go back to Laos and spend a couple of weeks there! The only thing I would say about Laos is the elephant park was not really "Eco" - basket rides are not really recommended, and the mahouts used pointed hooks to urge the elephants. You might investigate whether there is another option near Luang Prabang for this activity (however the elephant bareback ride and bath was excellent). 

Thank you again - you helped us to really enjoy these three beautiful countries, and we really appreciated your contact during our trip to ensure all went well. 

Best and warm regards, and wishing you a wonderful 2018

Jeanette Cotterill - Australia - Jan 2019

Dear Thi

The tours you organized for us was amazing.

We truly enjoyed the two day with and the opportunity to get to know each other.

We have had two tours here in Bangkok they do not come close to the service and placed you provided.

Many thanks Thi,

Jan-Evert & Annemari - Canada - Jan 2018