Witness Tai Chi in the park, visit busy morning markets and slup pho with the locals

Designed to show travelers the ‘real’ Ho Chi Minh City, this morning tour makes the perfect introduction to Vietnamese life. Setting off at 7AM, the tour first goes to the park where the locals gather to exercise. Take a short stroll around to see Tai Chi, aerobics, badminton and other activities. Continue to a morning market to visit the vendors and stalls. This market is busiest in the early morning hours with fresh produce, seafood, flowers and a variety of other items arrive from the countryside to be sold and traded. Then continue to Pho 24 restaurant, a local institution, for a bowl of pho noodle soup- one of Vietnam’s best known dishes. Before returning to the hotel, a stop will be made at a streetside café for traditional Vietnamese coffee and people watching.

An added touch, the program uses a unique form of local transportation. Suitable for FITs or Groups, we recommend this as an introductory tour or for travelers with limited time in the city.

The full details can be found here: http://traveltrade.exotissimo.com/product/good-morning-saigon-ho-chi-minh-city-day-trip/
For booking or inquiries, please contact vietnam@exotissimo.com

Exo’s popular join-in tour extended until April 2011

Our popular 9-day Join In Tour of Vietnam (‘Seat in Coach’) has been extended until 16 April 2011. Starting in Hanoi and traveling south to Ho Chi Minh City, the itinerary showcases the highlights of Vietnam including a city tour of Hanoi and an overnight boat trip on Halong Bay in the north, touring of Hoi An and Hue’s main sites in the central region and a full day tour of Ho Chi Minh City as well as an excursion to the Mekong Delta.

The trip departs every 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month (see dates below). For departures from now to 16 April 2010, the price is 599 USD per person in First Class hotels and 834 USD per person in Superior Class hotels. Departures from October 2010 to April 2011 are 650 USD per person in First Class or 840 USD in Superior Class. These rates include all domestic flights, entrance fees and accommodation in a shared twin or double room.

Departure Dates 2010: 20 Feb, 06 and 20 Mar, 03 and 17 April, 01 and 15 May, 05 and 19 June. 02 and16 Oct, 06 and 20 Nov and 04 and 18 Dec

Departure Dates 2011: 03 and 15 Jan, 12 and 26 Feb, 05 and 19 Mar & 02 and16 Apr

For full details, itinerary and pricing, click here. To make a booking, please email vietnam@exotissimo.com.

During the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), Exotissimo’s Vietnam offices will be closing at noon on 12 February (Friday). The offices will fully re-open at 9AM on 18 February (Thursday). During this time, our operations staff will be working as usual and our 24-hour emergency phone numbers will be in effect to handle any urgent issues. Sales staff will be present, but replying only to urgent matters. Emergency numbers are as follows: Hanoi/North (Mrs Thuy +84 9 1323 7135) Hue/Hoi An/Central (Mr Quang +84 9 0544 3009) and Ho Chi Minh City/South (Mr Long +84 9 1380 1350)

The 10-day Tribes of Tonkin: Trekking Ba Be and the Northeast is our latest adventuring offering in Northern Vietnam. Providing a refreshing alternative from Sapa and other trek routes, the program goes deep into Vietnam’s northeastern Tonkin region of Ba Be and Cao Bang.

The first day in Hanoi is free for guests to spend at their leisure. Heading into the Tonkin region on the second day, the program goes to Ba Be National Park with hikes and boat trips to the immense Phuong Cave and picturesque Ba Be Lake. Continuing to the Cao Bang and Lang Son areas, the program spotlights scenic treks through highland forests and limestone mountains. Along the way, village homestays offer unique opportunities for guests to meet and interact with local ethnic groups such as the Dzao and Tay. This adventure program is finally capped with a relaxing cruise on Halong Bay. For more program details, click here.

One of our most popular multi-country programs, the 12 Days / 11 Nights Essential Cambodia and Vietnam Tour, is currently featuring discounts of more than 20% on first class hotel stays. This promotion now makes a great way for travelers to learn about these two neighboring countries at an incredible price!

A day is first spent in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, before flying to Siem Reap to spend the next two days exploring the Angkor temples and Tonle Sap Lake. On the fourth day, a short flight takes guests across borders into Vietnam. A couple of days will be spent discovering the colonial architecture and bustling markets of Ho Chi Minh City, and includes a cruise in the fertile Mekong Delta. Next heading to the central provinces, guests will visit the heritage port town of Hoi An, the Cham museums of Danang and the imperial history and architecture of Hue. The program’s final leg heads to Hanoi where guests can enjoy cultural excursions to lakefront pagodas and the Old Quarter in the Vietnamese capital before ending with a cruise on Halong Bay. For more program details, click here.

We have teamed up with a renowned professor of Vietnamese history, Mr Douglas Jardin, to create several half day excursions in Hanoi. Each tour is focused on a certain aspect of local culture or a particular period of Hanoi’s history, including the French Colonial era, the communist uprising or the ancient Chinese-influenced architecture. Travelers can choose to be led by Mr Jardin himself or opt for a local university student who has received special guide training for these tours.

For a more immersive tour, we have combined these excursions into a four-day Celebrate 1000 Years of Hanoi package. The tour covers the past millennium, from the mighty Ly dynasty of 1010 to present-day events, and how this diverse era is reflected in the city’s architecture and culture. The first day is free for guests to spend at their leisure. The second day is spent on a walking tour of the city’s French colonial architecture, such as the Long Bien Bridge, the Opera House, the Chinese-influenced Van Mieu and Ngoc Son Temple. On the third day, the tour focuses on recent Vietnamese history with visits to iconic sites affiliated with the August Revolution, including the hideouts of the Communist leaders and Hoa Lu Prison, followed by a tour of the ‘new’ Hanoi to explore recent architectural styles. The last day is free at guests’ disposal. Click here to view the detailed itinerary or contact us at vietnam@exotissimo.com. The tours will be offered throughout 2010.

Opened last December, Medallion Hanoi Hotel is recommended for mid-budget FITs. Centrally located in the heart of Hanoi’s Old Quarter, the Medallion boasts easy accessibility to other attractions in the city. The 64 rooms and suites feature an intimate, cozy atmosphere with darkwood furnishings, parquet flooring and white linens. All guestrooms are equipped with multi-channel satellite LCD televisions, DVDs, shower/bathtub combinations and free Wi-Fi internet access. Click here to view the hotel details.

Exotissimo Vietnam Lends a Helping Hand to Local Communities

In keeping with our responsible travel ethos, Exotissimo gives back to local charities and the disadvantaged in Vietnam in a number of ways:

Aid assistance in typhoon-struck province- A week after the devastating Typhoon Mirinae hit South-central Vietnam, the Exotissimo team arrived in Phu Yen Province to render aid to four affected villages. Altogether three tons of rice, instant noodles, cookers, blankets, personal hygiene kits were given out, totaling more than 2.000 USD in aid given.

Sponsor for a kids’ day out- Over 40 impoverished children from Mekong Delta villages in Ben Tre Province were sponsored by Exo Vietnam on a fun day out at the Water Park and the Botanical Gardens in Ho Chi Minh City. For most of the children this was their first time to the city and they were overjoyed at the opportunity. In addition, one child was given a year of scholarship sponsored by Exo Vietnam.

Sponsor for KOTO Charity Bike Ride- Proudly sponsored by Exotissimo Vietnam, the annual KOTO Charity Bike Ride was successfully held in Hanoi on 21 November 2009. Over 150 riders turned up for this event. KOTO is a not-for-profit restaurant and vocational training program for the disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.

Click here to view other causes your clients can support while on holiday in Vietnam. For more information, please contact Le Hong Lan, Project Manager for CSR and Special Projects, at honglan@exotissimo.com.

Exotissimo Cambodia Teams Up with Local Charity

Exotissimo continues to play a part in the development of sustainable tourism in Cambodia by teaming up with American aid organization Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) in their inaugural Hidden Treasures Cambodia contest. This initiative seeks to identify and promote lesser known attractions in order to increase awareness amongst potential visitors and encourage tourist spending outside established areas. The winning destinations were offered consultation with Exotissimo Cambodia and media promotion. This year’s winners are:

o Peam Krassop – Mangrove forest in Koh Kong Province
o Chi Phat Ecotourism village in the Cardamom Mountains
o Chambok Community Based Waterfall – an ecotourism site in the Cardamom Mountains
o Ta Tai Waterfall – an ecotourism site in the Cardamom Mountains
o Phare Ponleu Selpak – an arts school and circus center in Battambang
o Banteay Chhmar – a cultural tourism site
o Kampong Luong Floating Village – an ecotourism site in Pursat Province

Click here to view other causes your clients can support while on holiday in Cambodia.

New Luxury Option for Hue Dinner Cruises
La Residence Hotel and Spa in Hue is now offering dinner cruises along the Perfume River. Seating up to 25 passengers, the 2-hour cruise offers a Vietnamese set dinner and live traditional Vietnamese music and can be privatized for groups. Available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, these cruises provide a stylish way to sightsee Hue’s iconic river. Click here to view details of La Residence or contact vietnam@exotissimo.com to book the dinner cruise.

New Deluxe Cruise Option for Tonle Sap and Mekong River
The Jayavarman is the latest boat addition on the popular route between Siem Reap, Phnom Penh and Saigon. It is a 60-m deluxe riverboat with 27 cabins and suites as well as 800m² of public space across its 4 decks. Operated by Heritage Line Cruise Company, the Jayavarman has various river itineraries ranging from one to seven nights. The company does not operate the Phnom Penh – Siem Reap route during the low water season from April to June.

Vietnam Airlines has increased the number of flights on several international routes. The airline added an extra flight per week to Paris and Frankfurt and launched direct flights to Copenhagen for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi. For Asian routes, the flight frequency from HCMC to Bangkok has doubled to a total of 14 flights per week. From this November, AirAsia is introducing direct daily flights from Phuket to HCMC.