Vietnam tours
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
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The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Responsible tourism
Vietnam tours
Carbon reduction
Your holiday will help support local people and conservation. We must also reduce CO2. Learn about the CO2 emissions of this holiday and how to reduce them.
Environment
On this trip we visit several UNESCO World Heritage sites: Halong Bay, Hoi An and My Son Cham Towers. The entrance fees that we pay contribute to the upkeep of these special places.
We use two overnights trains to travel the length of the country, both to experience the joys of rail travel in Vietnam and because train travel is far more environmentally friendly than air travel. We use an entirely local crew, i.e tour leader, drivers and guides.
On our journey to Halong Bay we visit the Huong Ngoc Humanities Centre, a project where disabled people are trained in various crafts such as embroidery and painting. Their works are on sale with profits going to support the centre.
By far the most rewarding experiences come from the independent experiences and encounters our travellers have during their free time on tour. We do not believe in shepherding our groups and our tour leaders actively encourage independent exploration during the unstructured periods we have built in for personal exploration.
In addition to the above, we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key and so all staff, Explore leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At the Explore Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage. As well as this, we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of UK travel industry bodies Tourism Concern and AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.
As a company we support Cool Earth. Protecting rainforest is one of the most effective actions to tackle climate breakdown. CoolEarth work with indigenous communities empowering them to conserve their forest; keeping CO2 locked in.
Community
The hotels we use are locally owned. We only include breakfast on this tour so that passengers eat out at a variety of small restaurants and street stalls, thus spreading their spending wealth and also getting to sample the best of the fantastic local cuisine.
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