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| - G Adventures should not have such a low rating. People should not book group tours without knowing exactly what the tour is (for example, don't book a YOLO tour if you're not into drinking and partying, or if you want to stay at nicer hotels) -- RESEARCH what you're getting into. And of course the trip will be cheaper if you plan everything yourself. The benefit of a group tour is that every detail is planned for you so you save yourself hours of research and the trip is completely worry-free.
I did the Thailand, Laos & Vietnam Adventure for 22 days. It was my first time traveling "alone" (though of course I met the other group members once I arrived), and I could not have asked for a better experience. I would recommend this trip to everyone. We got to experience a little bit of everything, and because of G Adventures we were able to do things we would have never thought of ourselves! For example, we had a homecooked meal with a local family while in Luang Prabang, Laos, and received blessings from the elders in a traditional baci ceremony. We also had an overnight homestay in a Laos village, which including dancing and playing games with the village children. Another highlight for us was the street food tour in Hanoi, Vietnam during which I tried snail and eel, and a variety of local food that I wouldn't have thought safe to eat unless with a guide. Of course, in addition to this, there were the typical tourist attractions and highlights including the Halong Bay cruise.
The accommodations were all fine. Most nights we stayed in a pretty nice hotel with air conditioning. Only 2 nights there was no air conditioning -- at a hotel in a riverside village in Laos and at the Laos homestay. Every hotel we stayed at was in the city center and close to all the attractions we wanted to see.
Our tour leader Charin was great. He made sure we got to do all the optional activities we wanted to, that we had great food everyday (at every restaurant he made suggestions for us), and that we were all generally taken care of. If we needed anything he would arrange it for us. He even got up at 4 am on my departure day to make sure I got safely on the cab to the airport.
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