Day trips and short excursions from the cities of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
Excursions · Booking
How to book an excursion
Booking is done by form and email. You send the date, where you are staying and the time you must be back; we reply with a timed plan and a quote. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
Four steps
- 01
Send the form
Starting city, date, hotel area or ship, party size, and any time you must be back.
- 02
Read the plan
We reply by email with the pickup window, each leg with its duration, the stops, the fees and the quote.
- 03
Confirm and pay
Reply to confirm. Payment follows the method on the payment page.
- 04
Travel
The evening before, we confirm the exact pickup time inside the window.
There is no phone booking on this site. Everything is in writing so that the plan you agree is the plan the guide carries.
What to put in the form
- The starting city and your hotel or its area. Pickup windows depend on it.
- The date, and a back-up date for weather-dependent trips such as Ha Long Bay.
- The fixed point at the end of the day: a dinner booking, a night train, a flight, or your ship's all-aboard time.
- Who is travelling: ages of children, anyone who cannot manage stairs or long drives.
- Which excursion, or the free day you have and the city you are in, if you want us to suggest one.
Cruise passengers: add the ship name, port, and the arrival and all-aboard times. The shore excursions page explains what we do with them.
What you get back
A written plan in the same format as the excursion pages: the pickup window, each leg with its time in the vehicle or boat, the time on site, the latest realistic return, and the cut list — what we drop first if the day runs late. With it comes one price for your party, the fees it includes, and how long the quote stays valid.
If we think the day does not work — too much road for too little time, or a cruise port too far from the city for your port hours — we say so and suggest what does.
Confirming and paying
Payment methods, and what happens if you cancel or we have to, are written into your quote. Read them before you confirm. Weather-dependent excursions carry a specific rule in the quote about what happens if the boats are stopped.
We only ever ask for payment through the methods on the payment page. If you receive a request to pay to a different account, do not pay; reply to our original email and check first.
On the day
- The pickup is inside the window on your plan; the exact time is confirmed the evening before.
- Your guide carries the same written plan you received.
- If the morning starts late, the guide applies the cut list rather than rushing the drive.
- Weather calls on boat trips are made by the harbour or site authority, not by us.
Before you send the form
Compare the excursions in the excursions table, check the travel times in the day-trip planner, and read the pricing page to see what moves the quote.
Plan your trip
Ready?
The form is at the bottom of this page.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
How far ahead should I book?
A week is usually enough outside the holiday periods. Around the Lunar New Year, boats and vehicles sell out earlier, so book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Can I book for the next day?
Sometimes. Send the form and we tell you whether a vehicle, guide and boat are available.
Do you take bookings by phone or messaging apps?
No. Bookings are made by form and email so that the plan is in writing.
What if my ship arrives late?
We plan from the confirmed arrival and all-aboard times and shorten the day from the cut list. The shore excursions page explains how.
Related
Read next
Excursions · Prices
Prices
How excursion quotes are built: party size, boat type, pickup time and the entrance fees inside them.
View this journey
Excursions
Excursions
All excursions in one table: length, pickup window, travel each way, return time.
View this journey
Plan
Day-trip planner
The planner table: one-way travel times, pickup and return windows and seasons to avoid, with sources.
View this journey
Plan · Cruise passengers
Shore excursions
Cruise ports Ha Long, Chan May, Tien Sa and Phu My: distances, drive times and what fits in a port day.
View this journey
Contact
Contact
The contact form, and what to put in it so the first reply is a real plan.
View this journey
Start planning
Tell us about the trip you have in mind
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.