They run trips for Atlas Obscura… They run trips for Atlas Obscura culinary tours in Asia and we've just returned from their fantastic Vietnam culinary trip. The trip was far beyond expectations: the accommodations, activities, places visited, and our lovely guides who became best friends our our ten days spent with them. And the food! They know every local place and the cooking classes we took were the best we've taken anywhere.

Our family had a great trip though… Our family had a great trip though Indochina with this tour operator. Professional planning, attention to detail, and our guests, private experiences, dining and hotels were all outstanding.

Unfortunately Unprofessional I realize we are an outlier in our review about our recent trip with IT and I should point out that the majority of our trip was pretty much what we anticipated. We are in our late 70's and this was our one and only trip to Asia. The hotels were for the most part very nice and the guides helpful and knowledgeable. We had just done Japan on our own and began our Vietnam/Cambodia portion with IT. Unfortunately the end of our trip was a disaster and not at all what we anticipated after having paid over $9000 to IT. We realized something may not have been right when we arrived in Cambodia after Vietnam and were told that the scheduled guide was not going to be with us and "a friend" would substitute. The substitute was informative enough but really not of the same quality as the guides we had before in Vietnam. We also knew that the flight home from Cambodia eventually to Boise was our responsibility. We had furnished the information to IT and had a printout from United of a receipt for those flights. Unfortunately we asked our guide several times the day before if he had checked on the flight from Siem Reap to Singapore to make sure the person we were meeting at the airport had all the necessary documents and boarding passes we would need for the trip home. He assured us he had checked; they had them; and that it was not necessary for us to get to the airport too early. He simply took us to the airport and drove away. That was the first time we learned that for whatever reason we were not on the list of passengers for that flight. We panicked and the guide after a time returned. We are still inquiring of United why we were not on the passenger list. But here was our problem: that airport does not sell tickets; they do not take credit cards; and we needed to be in Singapore at a certain time that day in order to make our flight home to the United States. Unfortunately by relying on our guide about checking on and his confirming everything was in order and not arriving early to the airport, by the time we could get cash to buy a ticket on that flight we were too late and the only way we might possibly make our connection was to buy a ticket from Siem Reap to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Singapore which we did at a total cost of $1660 which fortunately we were able to do. You can only imagine what our emotions were like not knowing when, and even if, we were going to make it home. We did make our connections and we did get home but I think what bothered us most was that although IT knew what happened we have heard nothing from them, total radio silence, even to the effect of how we were doing or that maybe it could have been handled differently. I don't fault the company for the problems with the reservation, that's on us, but the seeming indifference and lack of interest after that fiasco was to our way of thinking, uncaring and totally unprofessional.

Vietnam is a feast for the senses! This trip gave us a wonderful array of sights, sounds and tastes. Our guides were knowledgeable, personable and just delightful! From Pho to Banh Mi, making our own spring and summer rolls to street food in every form, this culinary tour was spot-on perfect. Add to that the gorgeous scenery from north to south Vietnam and it was a wonderful trip. Can't thank you guys enough!

Unprofessional and No Accountability My friend and I booked a Vietnam & Thailand trip with the Indochina Travel from April 28 – May 8, 2023, for ~$13,000. During our time in Vietnam, my friend seriously injured herself and had to go home early for additional medical diagnosis/treatment. I chose to continue on the trip. This was clearly communicated and understood since I was still in Vietnam when my friend departed. The end of the trip was a disaster. Everything went wrong when I arrived in Thailand. There was no one there to pick me up, as planned. I called the contact numbers that were provided on our travel documents. I called the Thailand tour manager (3x) – no answer; I left messages. I called our 2 contacts at Indochina Travel – no answer. I left messages and also sent emails. I also called the tour guide. She picked up the call but she asked who I was and how I got her number. She also said she wasn’t working that day, even though I had a whole afternoon and evening (until 10pm) of sight-seeing activities on my itinerary. At this point, I decided to call the resort and have them come to the airport to pick me up. I figured I would chill out on the beach and wait for someone to call me back. When I called the resort, they said my reservation had been canceled. That’s when I found out that Indochina Travel CANCELED my entire Thailand trip, in error). I have no clue how that happened and Indochina Travel has never provided an explanation as to how this serious error in communication occurred. After waiting at the airport for hours and not hearing back from anyone, I made the decision to go home. As a traveler in a foreign country without a place to stay and no driver/guide, I didn’t have any other choice. I live in Shanghai and there was only 1 non-stop flight from Phuket to Shanghai. So, I changed my ticket from Monday night to Saturday night. Several hours later (a few hours before my flight was scheduled to leave), I finally get a call from the Thailand tour manager apologizing and saying could they come pick me up from the airport, etc. Too late…my flight had already been booked to go home and a whole day had been wasted. A return call within the first few hours would have been the right thing to do. Once I returned home, I sent an email to Indochina Travel asking for a full refund for the Thailand portion on my trip (since it never happened) and to be reimbursed for the change fee to go home 2 days early since they canceled my trip. Indochina Travel did not provide any details or break-out of the Thailand costs and said as a “gesture”, they would refund me $814 . What?! I am sure a private guide, driver, resort, activity fees, etc. was much more that given the price tag of this trip. Also, they refused to reimburse the change fee because they said I “elected” to change my ticket and go home. Again, what?! No accountability whatsoever for their mistake which was the sole cause of this debacle. I am now working with my credit card company to rectify this issue. I usually do not use full-service travel/tour companies. I tend to book my own hotels/flights and only work w/companies to provide private tours (drivers/guides). Lesson learned – this experience has reinforced why I will stick to my status quo in the future.