Vietnam tours

Planet

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.

People

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.