My husband and I just returned from Celebrity's Sinapore to Hong Kong. One of our cruise ports was 2 day stop in Ho Chi Minh City. After scouring the internet for legitimate private tour guides we contacted Bao Loc to arrange a private 2 day tour. We had read some of the Trip Advisor forum posts, most of them very favorable, and took a leap of faith and arranged a tour with him.
I am not a big contributor in Trip Advisor or Cruise Critic because we are usually “do it yourselfers” and like to venture out on our own. Unless you speak the language, know where you are going, and understand the culture it is not recommended you do it on your own in Vietnam. The cruise port is 2-3 hours from Saigon(HCMC) and transportation options are very limited and unpredictable. If this review is questioned because of my limited contributions it is because we rarely use tour guides in our cruise travels and I felt Loc deserved to be recognized for the exceptional experience we had.
We asked Loc to arrange a day visiting Ho Chi Minh City and a day on the Mekong Delta that would take us away from the crowded touristy area. There were 7 of us in our group from the ship. Loc and his driver would pick us up at the port, drive us to the Mekong Delta for a day tour there, then drive us to HCMC to our hotel for the evening, pick us up the following morning for a city tour, and bring us back to the port prior to the ship’s departure that evening. The cost for this was a real bargain compared to the ship excursions.
When our ship arrived at the port we learned that they did not dock at Phu My, where we were originally scheduled to dock, but at another port 20 minutes away. No worries, Loc had already determined, prior to our arrival, which port our ship would be at. He was there waiting for us. What a relief! Off we went in a very comfortable van to visit Mekong. It was a long ride but we saw how the Vietnamese live outside the big city. It was very interesting. Loc gave us so much information about their history, current situation and what the future holds for South Vietnam. We arrived a Cai Be in the Mekong Delta and boarded a river boat that was small enough to explore the secluded canals and big enough to hold us all comfortably. Loc knows the area very well as his grandparents lived here and he spent his summers here as a small boy. This was an amazing day full of special stops and a wonderful lunch at a small outdoor café where we rolled our own spring rolls from vegetables and seafood from the Delta.
The tour of HCMC the next day was packed with so many stops. He wanted us to see the old and new city so we could appreciate the heritage as well as the hope for the future. He definitely succeeded in showing and teaching about his city. He introduced us to Vietnamese style coffee and took us to the best Pho place in HCMC. Another plus about this tour is there were no stops at artisan shops with high pressure sales, which is very typical in that region.
Loc has such a warm friendly personality that it was so easy to be with him. He is so eager to improve on his English, which was pretty good. It was hard to say good bye to him when he brought us back to our ship. Loc is very proud of the city and country he lives in and wants to show visitors everything good about it. I highly recommend him as a guide, he is the real deal. His website is http://privatevietnamtourguide.com
Anyone used Bao Loc as your tour guide
in Asia
Posted
My husband and I just returned from Celebrity's Sinapore to Hong Kong. One of our cruise ports was 2 day stop in Ho Chi Minh City. After scouring the internet for legitimate private tour guides we contacted Bao Loc to arrange a private 2 day tour. We had read some of the Trip Advisor forum posts, most of them very favorable, and took a leap of faith and arranged a tour with him.
I am not a big contributor in Trip Advisor or Cruise Critic because we are usually “do it yourselfers” and like to venture out on our own. Unless you speak the language, know where you are going, and understand the culture it is not recommended you do it on your own in Vietnam. The cruise port is 2-3 hours from Saigon(HCMC) and transportation options are very limited and unpredictable. If this review is questioned because of my limited contributions it is because we rarely use tour guides in our cruise travels and I felt Loc deserved to be recognized for the exceptional experience we had.
We asked Loc to arrange a day visiting Ho Chi Minh City and a day on the Mekong Delta that would take us away from the crowded touristy area. There were 7 of us in our group from the ship. Loc and his driver would pick us up at the port, drive us to the Mekong Delta for a day tour there, then drive us to HCMC to our hotel for the evening, pick us up the following morning for a city tour, and bring us back to the port prior to the ship’s departure that evening. The cost for this was a real bargain compared to the ship excursions.
When our ship arrived at the port we learned that they did not dock at Phu My, where we were originally scheduled to dock, but at another port 20 minutes away. No worries, Loc had already determined, prior to our arrival, which port our ship would be at. He was there waiting for us. What a relief! Off we went in a very comfortable van to visit Mekong. It was a long ride but we saw how the Vietnamese live outside the big city. It was very interesting. Loc gave us so much information about their history, current situation and what the future holds for South Vietnam. We arrived a Cai Be in the Mekong Delta and boarded a river boat that was small enough to explore the secluded canals and big enough to hold us all comfortably. Loc knows the area very well as his grandparents lived here and he spent his summers here as a small boy. This was an amazing day full of special stops and a wonderful lunch at a small outdoor café where we rolled our own spring rolls from vegetables and seafood from the Delta.
The tour of HCMC the next day was packed with so many stops. He wanted us to see the old and new city so we could appreciate the heritage as well as the hope for the future. He definitely succeeded in showing and teaching about his city. He introduced us to Vietnamese style coffee and took us to the best Pho place in HCMC. Another plus about this tour is there were no stops at artisan shops with high pressure sales, which is very typical in that region.
Loc has such a warm friendly personality that it was so easy to be with him. He is so eager to improve on his English, which was pretty good. It was hard to say good bye to him when he brought us back to our ship. Loc is very proud of the city and country he lives in and wants to show visitors everything good about it. I highly recommend him as a guide, he is the real deal. His website is http://privatevietnamtourguide.com