Incredible Tour. Incredible Guide. One Incredible Owner.

My fiance and I booked a fairly last minute tour with Roadstour Vietnam about 2 days prior to our arrival to Saigon. We opted for the tour "PRT Mangrove - Can Gio Ecological Area Excursion Full Day. The owner, Cap Van Phung was able to quickly reply regarding the availability of the tour and kindly informed us the agenda for the tour would be slightly tweaked as the tide and waterways we would be using to travel by speedboat were quite low in the morning.

Our tour was scheduled for pickup from our hotel @ 8:30 AM. We were promptly greeted by our dynamic tour duo, Michael & "Mr. Minh" our driver for the day. The two together served as an incredible team throughout our excursion. Michael speaks impeccable English and is a walking encyclopedia of not only Vietnam, but the world. He has traveled extensively for both Roadstour and privately around the world as a tour guide or "Leader" as he likes to put it sometimes.

Mr. Minh is what I would clearly define as a professional as a driver. Watching him, as he smoothly maneuvered our Toyota Fortuner ( a very comfortable SUV used to chauffeur us around all day) through the hectic traffic and streets of Saigon was like watching an artisan complete his craft. His attention to detail and amazing driving ability was the perfect compliment to us talking and learning from Michael about our tour.

The tour itself was incredible and further details can be found on the website listed above. The jist being, a beautiful drive through to the coast, understanding the rich history of the mangrove Forests at Park Fauna, attempting to not attract the attention of the "Terrorist Monkey's" as Michael so put it, feeding salt water crocodiles, a TEN COURSE LUNCH, a thrilling boat ride through the "Vietnam Amazon", and finally a history filled finale at Rung Sac Guerrilla base.

At the end of the day we had opted to pay for our tour via Credit Card. You'll find this very different from other tour companies in that we payed at the END of the day. Not up front. This is just one detail of an amazing company and owner. As I mentioned before Phung, the owner is an incredible guy. We had planned to be back around 6 PM and Phung would meet us at our hotel so we could finally pay. Mr. Minh being the driver he is and Michael's extensive knowledge of Saigon put us back at our hotel 30 minutes early. Not knowing what to tip, we gave Michael what we though was more than fair and he seemed to think that we had given him too much and so he insisted he buy us a beer at a local place around the corner while we wait for Phung.

Let's just say that 1 beer turned into several beers and appetizers as the great conversation continued with us and even more when Phung showed up! Phung was eager to inquire of our experience, our thoughts on the tour and showed real genuine interest in our experience. Did I mention, we were in the middle of Saigon, drinking local beer, eating local food, with the OWNER of the tour company??

Phung was insistent he pay for our beers and we were astonished at his hospitality. I really can't say enough great things about him and would really consider him to be on of our friends in Saigon. His stories of dedication and devotion to making the company what it is, along with his personal struggles to be an entrepreneur while raising a family showed a guy who really cared about his customers. This wasn't a checkbox tour with a checkbox tour company. Phung and his team provide a unique and personable experience for his clients and he will go the extra mile to ensure you as the customer are happy.

How many times can you say you've had drinks on the tour company owner's tab in the city you were visiting with your tour guide?

For us, it may be just this once in our lives with Michael & Phung at Roadstour Vietnam.

Cabell wrote a review

Virginia

Date of experience: December 2015

Trip type: Traveled as a couple