Other Options...

[Calfan]

Hi Everyone, the final posts are now up on the blog. Let me know if you'd be interested in a post on my thoughts/observations on the trip in general, although much of that is found throughout the blog itself.

Just finished reading your latest blog entries. Thanks so much for posting. The trip looks fantastic, and I loved your pictures from Angkor! Definitely on my list for a future trip.

 

[BluesTraveler]

@Cinderellaslipper - Fascinating pictures and posts. I know you weren't crazy about your traveling companions, but I'd be interested in your general thoughts about NatGeo.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Fascinating pictures and posts. I know you weren't crazy about your traveling companions, but I'd be interested in your general thoughts about NatGeo.

NatGeo was amazing. Our guides were fantastic. Jessica was our main/primary guide and she stayed with us the entire time. She didn't try to dominate the tour, she let the local guides lead in the various countries but was knowledgeable enough of the different countries that if we had questions we could ask her while the local guides continued giving the discussions. Before the trip started we had a trip coordinator that handled all of our questions so we always had the same person to deal with, not like ABD where you deal with whoever answers the phone. One of the big pluses was that we booked our trip a year in advance and they told us outright not to book any airfare until THEY told us to. They wait until the trip is guaranteed to go before they give the go ahead for everyone to book their airfare. The minimum number for our trip was 8 but we got the go ahead to book at 10 people. We also like the fact that we were doing something every day so we really got our money's worth.

The guides also did a good job of reading the group and knowing when it was time to move the group on or moving the conversation on. NatGeo doesn't use two of their own guides (American lead guide supplemented by another so called local guide) supplemented by other local guides. For our trip, Jessica is from Malaysian Borneo but who spent years living in Ha Noi and then we had 3 local guides, one from Vietnam, one for Lao and one from Cambodia, each from their tourism boards, each licensed to lead in their respective countries.

Jessica spoke Vietnamese, some Lao and some Cambodian, which came in handy when it came time to shop or go to dinner because she could write down the street address for the taxis in the local language. Also she gave amazing dinner recommendations, unlike on our ABD in Central Europe where the dinner recommendations consisted of the local McDonalds or the local supermarket. Jessica actually recommended local places based on your preference, so for us, she recommended the Know One, Teach One called Pots and Pans. She even made us the reservation.

Before we left Cambodia, Jessica let us know that we could contact her at any time after we got home for information on South East Asia because the area "was her playground" (those are her words, not mine). She has given us in-country tour operators that will custom make us a trip to Vietnam as we plan to return to the country in 2019.

Any issues we had on the trip were more issues with our tour companions and not with NatGeo so we will definitely travel with NatGeo again. We found that NatGeo has the customer service that we would expect a company like ABD to have but is sadly lacking there these days. We'll be doing a private expedition with NatGeo next year so will see how that goes. I'll do a blog for that trip next year so you can follow along on that one too.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Just finished reading your latest blog entries. Thanks so much for posting. The trip looks fantastic, and I loved your pictures from Angkor! Definitely on my list for a future trip.

It's all your fault. You did the England Coast to Coast and introduced us to Nat Geo and their trips. Now we're off to Zambia next year on a Nat Geo Private Expedition.

 

[Calfan]

It's all your fault. You did the England Coast to Coast and introduced us to Nat Geo and their trips. Now we're off to Zambia next year on a Nat Geo Private Expedition.

Hah! Glad the introduction was successful My family will be doing a NatGeo trip in 2018. Now we just need to decide where... I'm leaning toward Tanzania. By the way, my DH and I took a trip to Zambia in 2001 (along with Zimbabwe) and absolutely loved it, so I'm sure your private experience with NatGeo will be amazing.

 

[BluesTraveler]

NatGeo was amazing. Our guides were fantastic. Jessica was our main/primary guide and she stayed with us the entire time. She didn't try to dominate the tour, she let the local guides lead in the various countries but was knowledgeable enough of the different countries that if we had questions we could ask her while the local guides continued giving the discussions. Before the trip started we had a trip coordinator that handled all of our questions so we always had the same person to deal with, not like ABD where you deal with whoever answers the phone. One of the big pluses was that we booked our trip a year in advance and they told us outright not to book any airfare until THEY told us to. They wait until the trip is guaranteed to go before they give the go ahead for everyone to book their airfare. The minimum number for our trip was 8 but we got the go ahead to book at 10 people. We also like the fact that we were doing something every day so we really got our money's worth.

The guides also did a good job of reading the group and knowing when it was time to move the group on or moving the conversation on. NatGeo doesn't use two of their own guides (American lead guide supplemented by another so called local guide) supplemented by other local guides. For our trip, Jessica is from Malaysian Borneo but who spent years living in Ha Noi and then we had 3 local guides, one from Vietnam, one for Lao and one from Cambodia, each from their tourism boards, each licensed to lead in their respective countries.

Jessica spoke Vietnamese, some Lao and some Cambodian, which came in handy when it came time to shop or go to dinner because she could write down the street address for the taxis in the local language. Also she gave amazing dinner recommendations, unlike on our ABD in Central Europe where the dinner recommendations consisted of the local McDonalds or the local supermarket. Jessica actually recommended local places based on your preference, so for us, she recommended the Know One, Teach One called Pots and Pans. She even made us the reservation.

Before we left Cambodia, Jessica let us know that we could contact her at any time after we got home for information on South East Asia because the area "was her playground" (those are her words, not mine). She has given us in-country tour operators that will custom make us a trip to Vietnam as we plan to return to the country in 2019.

Any issues we had on the trip were more issues with our tour companions and not with NatGeo so we will definitely travel with NatGeo again. We found that NatGeo has the customer service that we would expect a company like ABD to have but is sadly lacking there these days. We'll be doing a private expedition with NatGeo next year so will see how that goes. I'll do a blog for that trip next year so you can follow along on that one too.

Great to know, thank you. My husband and I are dying to do one of their hiking trips. Hard to fit it all in!

 

[YodasMom]

I'm really enjoying your report, Cinderella's Slipper 2015! I'm not done, yet, with your latest installments but the trip is just so fascinating!!!

To anyone who has done the National Geo. tours, which category do you recommend for a single middle aged adult? And, are there tours that are more modestly priced than ABD? Traveling single, they've now exceeded my budget, plus some of the family type activities aren't a big interest.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I'm really enjoying your report, Cinderella's Slipper 2015! I'm not done, yet, with your latest installments but the trip is just so fascinating!!!

To anyone who has done the National Geo. tours, which category do you recommend for a single middle aged adult? And, are there tours that are more modestly priced than ABD? Traveling single, they've now exceeded my budget, plus some of the family type activities aren't a big interest.

Try looking at G Adventures. They are open to single travelers and they run a number of Nat Geo's Journeys trips. They are also quite a bit cheaper but still offer the quality, otherwise Nat Geo wouldn't partner with them. We're actually considering one of their train trips through Europe.

Also, with Nat Geo, as a single traveler, if you're willing to share with another single of the same sex, they wave the single supplement. And as for being a single traveler with Nat Geo and what category you should take, it's completely up to you. We had 2 on our trip. 1 was a younger lady in her mid-twenties and one was an older gentleman in his mid fifties. They did a lot of touring together, except in Ha Noi, when she came with us to go shopping.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Hah! Glad the introduction was successful My family will be doing a NatGeo trip in 2018. Now we just need to decide where... I'm leaning toward Tanzania. By the way, my DH and I took a trip to Zambia in 2001 (along with Zimbabwe) and absolutely loved it, so I'm sure your private experience with NatGeo will be amazing.

Africa is a bucket list location for my mom and Zambia does walking safaris as well as goes to Victoria Falls so that was a great trip, plus they had a discount on that they let us apply to next year. It's a private expedition so will be an interesting experience.

 

[Calfan]

To anyone who has done the National Geo. tours, which category do you recommend for a single middle aged adult? And, are there tours that are more modestly priced than ABD? Traveling single, they've now exceeded my budget, plus some of the family type activities aren't a big interest.

Try looking at G Adventures. They are open to single travelers and they run a number of Nat Geo's Journeys trips. They are also quite a bit cheaper but still offer the quality, otherwise Nat Geo wouldn't partner with them. We're actually considering one of their train trips through Europe.

Also, with Nat Geo, as a single traveler, if you're willing to share with another single of the same sex, they wave the single supplement. And as for being a single traveler with Nat Geo and what category you should take, it's completely up to you. We had 2 on our trip. 1 was a younger lady in her mid-twenties and one was an older gentleman in his mid fifties. They did a lot of touring together, except in Ha Noi, when she came with us to go shopping.

YodasMom, if you are active, you might also look at the hiking trips offered by National Geographic Adventures. On England Coast to Coast, there were several single travelers in our group, and there were two on Hiking the Emerald Isle. England Coast to Coast had a slightly older demographic (at least on our departure). CaliforniaGirl09 and I were the youngest by a significant margin in our late 40s. But we thoroughly enjoyed the group and are super excited that one couple (in their early 60s) will be joining us on our Patagonia Hiking Adventure later this year. In Ireland, there were a couple of women celebrating their 50th birthdays and also a younger professional who was probably in her late 30s or early 40s.

 

[DCPhotoGal]

NatGeo was amazing. ...
Any issues we had on the trip were more issues with our tour companions and not with NatGeo so we will definitely travel with NatGeo again. We found that NatGeo has the customer service that we would expect a company like ABD to have but is sadly lacking there these days. We'll be doing a private expedition with NatGeo next year so will see how that goes. I'll do a blog for that trip next year so you can follow along on that one too.

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write up and share your trip report. I finally got a few moments to look through it now. My husband really wants to head to that region (he's thinking the ABD) and it good to get inspired. I especially like how you shared the souvenirs that you picked up, and some of the books that you mention reading that relate to the locations you visit.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to write up and share your trip report. I finally got a few moments to look through it now. My husband really wants to head to that region (he's thinking the ABD) and it good to get inspired. I especially like how you shared the souvenirs that you picked up, and some of the books that you mention reading that relate to the locations you visit.

I don't want to discourage you from taking the ABD trip because everyone needs to make up their own minds about which tour operator to travel with but I know for us, because we seriously looked at the ABD trip, one of the deciding factors against ABD was the amount of on your own time that came with the trip and the fact that we would be paying for that, not just with the cost of the trip but the fact that we would be expected to pay our guides for that time. Plus any activities we wanted to do outside of the resort in Hoi An, we'd have to pay for separately. This didn't really appeal to us and while Nat Geo was more expensive at the outset, when we broke it down on a daily basis as to what we felt we were getting out of the trip, we found Nat Geo was actually the lower cost per day. Plus, it depends on where you want to go. The major selling point for my mom was the 2 days out on Ha Long Bay on a wooden junk (boat). For me it was the extensive temple touring in Cambodia even though I fell in love with Vietnam.

As for sharing the souvenirs, I wanted to show that it was possible to purchase quality souvenirs even with limited luggage. Unlike with ABD, who lets you bring as much luggage as you want on the trips, Nat Geo was quite strict about our luggage requirements. We were allowed to bring one large suitcase and one backpack to be used as your carry on, the combined weight of both could be no more than 44 pounds. The most difficult thing for me to get home was the wall fan. It only just fit in my checked suitcase with no extra room to spare on the length of it in its box and I had to bring that from Ha Noi through Ha Long Bay to Lao and finally Cambodia.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

Try looking at G Adventures. They are open to single travelers and they run a number of Nat Geo's Journeys trips. They are also quite a bit cheaper but still offer the quality, otherwise Nat Geo wouldn't partner with them. We're actually considering one of their train trips through Europe.

We did Costa Rica with G Adventures/National Geographic earlier this year. I am still raving about that tour. It was incredible, and it is one of the top three tours for quality and adventure that I have ever done.

 

[AquamarineSteph]

As for sharing the souvenirs, I wanted to show that it was possible to purchase quality souvenirs even with limited luggage. Unlike with ABD, who lets you bring as much luggage as you want on the trips, Nat Geo was quite strict about our luggage requirements.

Adding that our trip in Costa Rica also had strict luggage requirements. You have to haul your own luggage as opposed to ABD which moves it for you (outside of your own daypack, of course). Our luggage was strapped to the top of the bus or jammed into the rear if we had use of a larger bus that day. At one point as we were moving to a boat to get from point A to point B that meant going down and up extremely steep slopes while hauling this yourself.

I'm not saying this as a pro or con. I'm throwing it out there for information. I found this trip to be an incredible adventure, but everyone has a different travel style and comfort level as well as different expectations about what you want to get out of a travel holiday.

 

[Cinderella's Slipper 2015]

Adding that our trip in Costa Rica also had strict luggage requirements. You have to haul your own luggage as opposed to ABD which moves it for you (outside of your own daypack, of course). Our luggage was strapped to the top of the bus or jammed into the rear if we had use of a larger bus that day. At one point as we were moving to a boat to get from point A to point B that meant going down and up extremely steep slopes while hauling this yourself.

I'm not saying this as a pro or con. I'm throwing it out there for information. I found this trip to be an incredible adventure, but everyone has a different travel style and comfort level as well as different expectations about what you want to get out of a travel holiday.

Other than having our luggage picked up by Bell Services and loaded into our buses, we were the ones hauling it through the airports. And given the fact that in S.E. Asia, you are loading and unloading the planes from the tarmac (and some of those planes are 3 storeys tall), having a backpack for a carry on was a blessing and a life saver. Especially when we first arrived in Sai Gon since it was late at night and those A330s are FAR off the ground and we had to walk down the stairs.

 

[Ava]

We did Costa Rica with G Adventures/National Geographic earlier this year. I am still raving about that tour. It was incredible, and it is one of the top three tours for quality and adventure that I have ever done.

I have spent... a lot... of time reading through G Adventures website and they have some tours that sound absolutely incredible, especially the rail & marine tours. I traveled through Europe for 6 weeks by train right after I finished college; it was an amazing experience that I know I can never replicate but I'd love to do shorter rail trips with my family. (The one thing that turns me off from group tours is that many of them transport you from place to place by bus, which is probably my least favorite mode of transportation.)

I wish they had a wider variety of family tours, but understand that it's probably difficult to provide the level of service needed for families at their price points in the US & Europe. The ones they do have sound wonderful though. When we're ready to venture to South America or Asia, I'll definitely consider them.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I don't want to discourage you from taking the ABD trip because everyone needs to make up their own minds about which tour operator to travel with but I know for us, because we seriously looked at the ABD trip, one of the deciding factors against ABD was the amount of on your own time that came with the trip and the fact that we would be paying for that, not just with the cost of the trip but the fact that we would be expected to pay our guides for that time. Plus any activities we wanted to do outside of the resort in Hoi An, we'd have to pay for separately. This didn't really appeal to us and while Nat Geo was more expensive at the outset, when we broke it down on a daily basis as to what we felt we were getting out of the trip, we found Nat Geo was actually the lower cost per day. Plus, it depends on where you want to go. The major selling point for my mom was the 2 days out on Ha Long Bay on a wooden junk (boat). For me it was the extensive temple touring in Cambodia even though I fell in love with Vietnam.

As for sharing the souvenirs, I wanted to show that it was possible to purchase quality souvenirs even with limited luggage. Unlike with ABD, who lets you bring as much luggage as you want on the trips, Nat Geo was quite strict about our luggage requirements. We were allowed to bring one large suitcase and one backpack to be used as your carry on, the combined weight of both could be no more than 44 pounds. The most difficult thing for me to get home was the wall fan. It only just fit in my checked suitcase with no extra room to spare on the length of it in its box and I had to bring that from Ha Noi through Ha Long Bay to Lao and finally Cambodia.

I was reading the ABD itinerary in more detail last night and almost half of the dinners are on your own. This puzzled me a bit because it seems like a lot of on your own time. I like a bit of OYO time, but also enjoy spending the evening meal sharing travel stores and recounting the day with our fellow travelers.

However we can only do this trip over Christmas and ABD has the trip that fits our schedule and visits all 3 countries, so we have it booked. It will be interesting to see how this much OYO time pans out for us. Hopefully we will be able to share most of the 'alone' dinners with others in our group (this is what we have done in the past).

I wanted to add that I LOVE the elephant puzzle. Do you recall where you bought it? It will be a must have item for me to get for my nephews (and maybe one for myself!).

 

[sayhello]

The most difficult thing for me to get home was the wall fan. It only just fit in my checked suitcase with no extra room to spare on the length of it in its box and I had to bring that from Ha Noi through Ha Long Bay to Lao and finally Cambodia.

You bought a *wall fan* as a souvenir??

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

I was reading the ABD itinerary in more detail last night and almost half of the dinners are on your own. This puzzled me a bit because it seems like a lot of on your own time. I like a bit of OYO time, but also enjoy spending the evening meal sharing travel stores and recounting the day with our fellow travelers.

However we can only do this trip over Christmas and ABD has the trip that fits our schedule and visits all 3 countries, so we have it booked. It will be interesting to see how this much OYO time pans out for us. Hopefully we will be able to share most of the 'alone' dinners with others in our group (this is what we have done in the past).

I wanted to add that I LOVE the elephant puzzle. Do you recall where you bought it? It will be a must have item for me to get for my nephews (and maybe one for myself!).

This is still my favorite ABD itinerary, although there are a number of OYO nights. We did eat at some awesome restaurants on our own. The best of which was in Siem Reap - a restaurant called Cuisine Wat Damnak. It's run by a French chef cooking up Khmer food. Incredible. Michelin star quality.

 

[acndis]

I was reading the ABD itinerary in more detail last night and almost half of the dinners are on your own. This puzzled me a bit because it seems like a lot of on your own time. I like a bit of OYO time, but also enjoy spending the evening meal sharing travel stores and recounting the day with our fellow travelers.

However we can only do this trip over Christmas and ABD has the trip that fits our schedule and visits all 3 countries, so we have it booked. It will be interesting to see how this much OYO time pans out for us. Hopefully we will be able to share most of the 'alone' dinners with others in our group (this is what we have done in the past).

I wanted to add that I LOVE the elephant puzzle. Do you recall where you bought it? It will be a must have item for me to get for my nephews (and maybe one for myself!).

The SE Asia trip is VERY food heavy. My family are big eaters but we were on overload by the end of the trip and were actually thankful for no dinners on the OYO nights. We usually just skipped the meal. I gained at least 7 pounds and loved every minute of it. Most meals are multi course and are served family style. The food is absolutely incredible and I could not control myself!

Also, there ends up to be very little OYO time in this itinerary as there are many optional activities that will fill that up. It is a very active trip. We did everything and we were pretty worn out on the last day so that day we enjoyed the spa and hotel. Most of our group did, too, but you could go back to Angkor Wat as you have a two day ticket.

You will love being there at Christmas. We were in Saigon and they were celebrating everywhere. Apparently, the Vietnamese love Christmas and celebrate accordingly!

Cinderella's trip also sounded amazing! Ha Long Bay is someplace I would have loved to see.

This ABD itinerary was my favorite (Peru has become a close second)