marty's mom Posted February 5, 2017 #1 Share Posted February 5, 2017 I contacted 3 companies mentioned here for HCMC. 1 (Dung) got back to me. Smile and the other did not. For Nha Trang, Pham got back to me. Love to hear more comments. At a loss for Malaysis and Cambodia as to what to do or see. We are a group of 6 50 somethings. For Bangkok we would like to go into the city, knowing it's a long trip. Any suggestions for private tour companies? thanks, I've gotten such great help from cruise critic in the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyaheel Posted February 6, 2017 #2 Share Posted February 6, 2017 We were in Bangkok with Azamara in late November (early December? I can't remember which days) We had a small private tour organized by others on our Roll Call with BKK Tours. There were 6 of us who did a full day Bangkok tour the first day we were in port. A couple of those same people did a second half day tour to wet markets the following day. Because we were on a small ship, we were in town - and it STILL took a long time to get to the center of things. We were also in port overnight, which was great. The tour we did was really great, not very expensive but somewhat tiring. Must love temples :D But we also took a ride through the canals in a long tail boat and went to the flower market. https://bkk.tours/ Our tour guide was Ms. Air and she was wonderful!! I think our tour was probably "Bangkok Highlights by Minivan". The price varies depending on how many people are going.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice621 Posted February 6, 2017 #3 Share Posted February 6, 2017 We were on the Celebrity Millenium in November and docked in Laem Chabang., about 2-1/2 hours outside of Bangkok. We also used BKK tours and had Ms. Air as our guide. She and her husband own the company. We had two days in Bangkok. She picked us up at the terminal and gave us an excellent tour with lunch. The company recommended some hotels in Bangkok that would be easy for them to drop us off and pick us up the next day. Ms. Air arrived at 6:30AM the next day and took us to Ayutthaya. We returned to the ship in plenty of time for sailing. Both days were excellent despite the hot and very humid weather. Price for the tours was quite reasonable as we were 8 people. The hotel which was on our own was excellent. I would definitely recommend BKK tours. Janice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 7, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted February 7, 2017 thank you. unfortunately they don't do day trips into the city from our port. looking for more ideas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raison Posted February 7, 2017 #5 Share Posted February 7, 2017 What ports are you going to in Malaysia and Cambodia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ine Posted February 7, 2017 #6 Share Posted February 7, 2017 Recently we had a great tour organised by Sasa, a nice female guide in Bangkok. Very friendly, spoke good english. She was recommanded by another CCér to us. Her friend had a nice comfortable van. They picked us up in Laem Chabang. She can arrange the tour exaxctly the way you want. Why not send her an email with your request: natadeee@windowslive.com Say Hi to her from us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyaheel Posted February 7, 2017 #7 Share Posted February 7, 2017 thank you. unfortunately they don't do day trips into the city from our port. For cruise travellers arriving in Laem Chabang who would like to do a tour for one day only' date=' we kindly ask you to book the shuttle bus with the cruise company into central Bangkok. We will organise a nice tour for you which starts and finishes at the bus stop. You can book the tours under the tour category "Private tours" which shows a list of all tours that we organize with start and finish in central Bangkok.[/quote']https://bkk.tours/product-category/shore-excursions-thailand/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 8, 2017 Author #8 Share Posted February 8, 2017 i saw that, we aren't interested in the cuise shuttle bus Ine, thank you, I sent her an email our other ports ae Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Ko Samui in Thailand i really appreciate the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyaheel Posted February 8, 2017 #9 Share Posted February 8, 2017 thank you. unfortunately they don't do day trips into the city from our port. i saw that' date=' we aren't interested in the cuise shuttle bus[/quote'] OK, that's fine - but "not interested in the shuttle" is different from they "don't do day trips".....For future readers of this forum:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raison Posted February 8, 2017 #10 Share Posted February 8, 2017 i saw that' date=' we aren't interested in the cuise shuttle bus Ine, thank you, I sent her an email our other ports ae Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia, Sihanoukville in Cambodia and Ko Samui in Thailand i really appreciate the advice[/quote'] We are visiting these ports on our cruise in March. I can't recommend anybody yet as I haven't used them, but this is what we have planned so far: Kota Kinabula - either a shore ex from the ship or do our own thing Sihanoukville - we are doing a day tour with the Don Bosco Hotel school Ko Samui - no plans yet Debra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyaheel Posted February 9, 2017 #11 Share Posted February 9, 2017 We didn't book a tour in Ko Samui - our time there was short (and ended up being even shorter due to significant issues with tendering) We walked around town (the port) and got foot massages. Fabulous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 9, 2017 Author #12 Share Posted February 9, 2017 a friend told me about orangutans in the port in cambodia and seeing them. need to research there's also otres beach next up is visas. since there's 6 of us need to see if we can do ahead vs the ship which is picey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TooManyBags Posted February 9, 2017 #13 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Hi A great tour guide in Bangkok we have used is Wandee, she lives in Bangkok is a licensed guide and offers tours from the ports. You could always ask her for a quote. We have had some truly memorable tours with her Her e mail is wandee@wandeetours.com All the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raison Posted February 9, 2017 #14 Share Posted February 9, 2017 We didn't book a tour in Ko Samui - our time there was short (and ended up being even shorter due to significant issues with tendering) We walked around town (the port) and got foot massages. Fabulous. Thanks for this info! We were considering doing something like that as we are not really beach goers. Being a tender port always makes things interesting. Do you remember if there were lots of taxis around near where the tenders disembark? Maybe that would be an option to have a drive around the island a bit and then explore Nathon a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyaheel Posted February 10, 2017 #15 Share Posted February 10, 2017 The pier is absolutely lined with people hawking their taxi/tours at Ko Samui ;-) Since we walked off the pier, we had a lot of smiling, "no thank you" etc.....No idea what the price would be, though, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 12, 2017 Author #16 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I heard back from both Sasa and Wandee. Has anyone else used them? Not sure how I can find reviews. They don't have websites which Iknow anyone can have but I'd feel more comfortable being able ti find out more about them. This is for Bangkok Wasn't suessful in finding out anything about oregangutans in Camboadia. Looks like that will be a beach day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandmaHofmann Posted February 13, 2017 #17 Share Posted February 13, 2017 We just returned from Asia. Khuber Tours in Siem Reap did a great job for us during the four days we were there after the cruise. We used Aya in Silhanoukville or someone who worked for her. The tour was good although she dumped us off on another guide even though we'd booked many months ahead with her. In Penang we had a great guide, Lyndy, from penangtourguides@gmail.com. She was very solicitous of our questions, desires, and convenience. We had a great day with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ine Posted February 14, 2017 #18 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I heard back from both Sasa and Wandee. Has anyone else used them? Not sure how I can find reviews. They don't have websites which Iknow anyone can have but I'd feel more comfortable being able ti find out more about them. This is for Bangkok Wasn't suessful in finding out anything about oregangutans in Camboadia. Looks like that will be a beach day I got Sasa through Hein Bloed, another CC-er who used her during his cruise. Unfortunately he isnot that often on this board. Sasa is a certified guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare HeinBloed Posted February 14, 2017 #19 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I got Sasa through Hein Bloed, another CC-er who used her during his cruise. Unfortunately he isnot that often on this board. Sasa is a certified guide. Few impressions from our tour with Sasa in Bangkok. https://heinbloed-hal.blogspot.ch/2012/03/tagday-43-auf-deron-zaandam-in-laem.html Taylor made. Great tour to make most of the time in Bangkok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 14, 2017 Author #20 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Grandma Hofman, do you have a contact email or website for aya to contact for Sihanoukville? thanks re Sasa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie MeMe Posted February 15, 2017 #21 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I heard back from both Sasa and Wandee. Has anyone else used them? Not sure how I can find reviews. They don't have websites which Iknow anyone can have but I'd feel more comfortable being able ti find out more about them. This is for Bangkok Wasn't suessful in finding out anything about oregangutans in Camboadia. Looks like that will be a beach day Hi I used Wandee a few years back for a week in Thailand for 3 adults before a cruise Bangkok to Beijing. Wandee was great. She met us at airport and then we had Phan for the other 4 days before a driver for transfer to dock which is 2 hours away from Bangkok in heavy traffic. Very well pleased. Really if at all possible the experience in Asia with a private guide is so much better than the bus tour shore excursion. In Asia everything is so crowded -- having to deal with hundreds off the boat is really difficult -- hard to even walk around . Private guides have a multitude of ways to make your visit efficient and fun and educational. With 6 add probably cost effective also. We had the large van because for 3 American adults (read that normal man normal woman plus sized (me) plus small driver and small guide you are more than crowded in an Asian car/taxi/etc mode of transportation. they don't do Big Old Lincoln Navigators there. Make sure you get a car big enough to see out for each person -- the sights along the way of pigs on motorbikes and folks hanging off the little bus and a whole tea stand (including 2 stools) on a bike is really the essence of the area for me. Prepare to be amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinSinceAge5 Posted February 26, 2017 #22 Share Posted February 26, 2017 We just returned from a 16 day Singapore to Hong Kong cruise on Oceania. I organized private tours for almost every port except a day trip to Hanoi. We took some of the tours with 2-3 couples we met on cruise critic and had a blast. EVERY single tour was perfect which is a rare occurrence. We visited Singapore, Koh Samui, Bangkok, Cambodia, multiple ports in Vietnam and HK. I’m happy to share details. I just posted details about our tour in Koh Samui and will be posting about each tour this week. Singapore - hop on, hop off bus; plus visit to Long Bar for a Singapore Sling at Raffles, lunch in the courtyard at Raffles. Bangkok - Tours with Tong - she takes a while to respond but 2 days of great tours; one in the city and one to train and floating markets which was a great experience. Sihanoukville - tuktuk tour by AYA; not a lot to see but it was worth the price Saigon - book early as he’s a one man show - Zoom - excellent 2 day tour - city tour and amazing Mekong Delta tour - fantastic lunches included Hue/Da Nang - loved the tour guide - My Son Land and walked around Hoi An - a perfect day - Tommy Tours Ha Long Bay - private junk boat tour to Sung Sot caves - a not to miss experience - one of the 7 natural wonders of the world - a great day Hanoi - ship’s tour; it’s too far to go on your own; our bus arrived over an hour late because of traffic but ship had to wait since it was a ship tour Hong Kong - hop on hop off bus; stayed at Island Shangri La Hotel - a perfect ending to a perfect cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty's mom Posted February 26, 2017 Author #23 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hi ruisin great info do you have contact info? I think we're good for HCMC, Nha Trang and Bangkok but the others appreciate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raison Posted February 26, 2017 #24 Share Posted February 26, 2017 Hi ruisingreat info do you have contact info? I think we're good for HCMC' date=' Nha Trang and Bangkok but the others appreciate it[/quote'] This is the link for the Don Bosco Hotel school we are using for a day trip in a few weeks. I hope this is what you are after. Just send them and email via the contact page. http://www.donboscohotelschool.com/ Regards Debra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinSinceAge5 Posted February 27, 2017 #25 Share Posted February 27, 2017 Hi ruisingreat info do you have contact info? I think we're good for HCMC' date=' Nha Trang and Bangkok but the others appreciate it[/quote'] For Cambodia: www.sihanoukvilleguideservice.com and the email is walberermanfred@gmail.com For Ha Long Bay: for junk - thanh@indochina-junk.com Saigon 2 days - dungzoom@gmail.com Koh Samui - tks@tourskohsamui.com Hue/Da Nang - Tommys Tours - tommyxuanha@gmail.com Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now