Over the course of 12 days, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos stole my heart. Charming cities, stunning ruins, amazing food, ancient cultural ceremonies and some of the nicest locals you will ever meet will surely make any traveler say they just HAVE to go back.
Over the past several years, the majority of my travel has been in Central America. Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Belize have all topped the list the past few years, but I was ready for something totally new: Southeast Asia.
My colleagues have raved; my friends have sung the praises; family members have drooled over the photos and memories of their own trips. It became clear to me that there is something special about SE Asia - something you can't quite get from photos and specials on the travel channel. Of course, I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about, and now I can say, "I'm a believer."
I think SE Asia can seem challenging for many travelers - it certainly did to me! Not many of us learned Vietnamese in high school language classes. Not many of us are familiar with the tastes and smells and customs of Asia. Plus, flying that far is a bit daunting. I am here to tell you that Asia is for everyone! Interested in architecture? Check out the mingling French and Vietnamese influences in Hanoi. Want to get a true cultural immersion? Visit some of the hill tribes outside of Luang Prabang in Laos. Seen Machu Picchu and want to be wowed again? Look no further than Angkor Wat. Incredible landscapes? Check. Mouthwatering food? Double check
Mekong River (Jessica Liles)
And if you still feel overwhelmed, traveling with a company like Adventure Life will make your life so much easier. I can honestly say once I arrived I never looked at my itinerary once. Our guides were so on top of it that I never needed to. Specific times for things like walking tours were decided as we went and adjustments on the fly for more downtime or more adventure were always welcome. Our guides were not only super knowledgeable and entertaining but also incredibly professional and organized, so we never had to worry about a thing.
Travel to Southeast Asia may be a totally new experience, but I promise you won't be disappointed.
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 day ago
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
Nicola Maxwell
1 day ago
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
2 days ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
3 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
4 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
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