Experiences with Tuan Linh Travel?

[AWorldCruise4Me]

Were looking at using Tuan Linh Travel for an Angkar Wat overland from our ship. Has anyone used this agency before and can you relate your experience?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

[greatam]

Were looking at using Tuan Linh Travel for an Angkar Wat overland from our ship. Has anyone used this agency before and can you relate your experience?

 

Thanks!

Michelle

 

Overland to Angkor from WHERE??? It's about 4 hours by road from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, then a short plane flight or another 4 hour bus ride or a 4 hour boat ride to Siem Reap.

 

You can EASILY book this yourself. Car/bus to PP, Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap (although if you have time, the boat ride really shows you the country and is truly a good experience), then there are NUMEROUS travel agencies to give you a "tour" of the temples. You really don't need a temple tour. There are all kinds of taxi's and tuk-tuk drivers that will take you out there and give you some info about the temples.

 

BE VERY CAREFUL booking with unknown agencies in Vietnam/Cambodia. Those countries are just realizing what capitalism is. And there are a LOT of rip offs. The local people have no real idea how to price things. They try to sell solely on price. Then they realize they didn't charge enough money and ask for more money half way through the tour or just want to dump you off when you don't want to pay. They are also very unreliable in their service. I am in the process of opening a hotel in Phnom Penh. It has been a long, three year process. I have been ripped off every way possible and I have a Cambodian attorney that is supposedly looking after my interests. The Cambodian people really don't understand how business is supposed to work, although they are trying hard. But they underbid almost everything, then think they can always go back and ask for more money. Sometimes the results are truly ugly.

 

I always recommend IndoChina Travel. They have offices in Vietnam, Cambodia and SAN FRANCISCO. They most likely can provide a premium trip to Siem Reap. While definitely not the cheapest agency in the area, they truly provide a premium experience. If they can't directly help you, I am sure they can point you in the right direction. Enjoy!!!

 

http://www.indochinatravel.com/

[AWorldCruise4Me]

Thanks for the helpful tips! I looked up Indochina Travel but they had the following on their web site:

Please note we do not provide tour or travel services under $2,500 per person. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required for comprehensive itinerary development, credited to your booking.

 

I think our trip is likely too small for them but I will give them a call. Also I didn't see payment methods on their web site. The agency were dealing with wants photo copies of the credit cards. I've seen that on other Vietnamese travel agency web sites. Do you know if this is normal or if this is a rip-off waiting too happen?

 

To answer your question, we are docking in Ho Chi Minh and flying to Siem Reap. We are touring for the remainder of that day and the following day. On the 3rd day we are flying to Phnom Penh, touring there and driving to Sihanoukville to meet back up with the ship. Any warnings/suggestions? Our hotel in Siem Reap is the Angkor Palace Resort and Spa.

Thanks again for your insight!

 

Michelle

[greatam]

PS

 

I just looked at the website for Tuan Linh Travel. While it is a nicely laid out website, it has NO info, which would be common at most SE Asia reputable websites. NO About us with any details, who we are, when we started, any info like that. The business licenses are VERY recent (2007-2008). I don't read and speak Vietnamese very well (kind of/sort of only because I do business there) but if I am not mistaken, this is ANOTHER offshoot agency of a master agency. There are many, many, many of them in Vietnam.

 

There are more Sinh cafes in Vietnam than you can count. But there is only ONE Sinh cafe of any repute and that is run (or was run) by Le Van Sinh, one of the earliest proponents of Vietnam travel for Westerners. Your agency is also in Hanoi. I have had the WORST experiences booking things in Hanoi, rather than Southern Vietnam. The South is much more used to dealing with Westerners (especially Americans) and so understand much more what we want and how to give us the best service. In the North, it is take it or leave it. You WILL DO WHAT WE SAY.

 

And one other thing-the Vietnamese and the Cambodians do not particularly like each other. In fact, quite a few Cambodians absolutely detest the Vietnamese. If it was not for the Vietnamese, there would have been no Khmer Rouge and no mass killing fields.

 

So look for a Cambodian agency for travel in Cambodia (or someone like IndoChina Travel, with offices in the USA staffed by Americans). You may want to contact the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) which is a VERY, VERY special hotel in Siem Reap. They have a tour desk and may be able to help you. I would certainly contact them.

 

http://www.fcccambodia.com/

[AWorldCruise4Me]

Thanks again for your help. Do you know if the photocopying of credit cards is standard in booking travel in Vietnam?

 

I'm going to check out the FCC also.

 

Best,

Michelle

[greatam]

Thanks for the helpful tips! I looked up Indochina Travel but they had the following on their web site:

Please note we do not provide tour or travel services under $2,500 per person. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is required for comprehensive itinerary development, credited to your booking.

 

I think our trip is likely too small for them but I will give them a call. Also I didn't see payment methods on their web site. The agency were dealing with wants photo copies of the credit cards. I've seen that on other Vietnamese travel agency web sites. Do you know if this is normal or if this is a rip-off waiting too happen?

 

To answer your question, we are docking in Ho Chi Minh and flying to Siem Reap. We are touring for the remainder of that day and the following day. On the 3rd day we are flying to Phnom Penh, touring there and driving to Sihanoukville to meet back up with the ship. Any warnings/suggestions? Our hotel in Siem Reap is the Angkor Palace Resort and Spa.

Thanks again for your insight!

 

Michelle

 

I knew that IndoChina was going to put a minimum on their trips, as they REALLY do not do day trips nor do they want to. So I guess they did. Bummer

 

If you are flying to Siem Reap, you don't need a tour guide pre arranged. Make arrangements with your hotel for airport pickup and any tours. ALL hotels have guides, drivers, etc either on staff, hanging out in the parking lot (they know them well) or on call. You can easily book tickets from Saigon to Siem Reap and PP on the Bangkok Airways website. Very easy, very good service, VERY good airline all the way around. And you save considerably over having an American TA or some tour company book the flights.

 

The Angkor Palace and Resort is very nice, but too "Americanized" and large for my liking. Looks like the Ritz Carlton in Hawaii-just to "resorty" for me. I LOVE the FCC-intimate, fantastic service. The black pool is truly special and the masseuse is very good. The pool side rooms are the best and the only ones I have ever stayed in. I have tried most of the hotels in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. I keep going back to the FCC's. There is definitely a reason.

 

There are very nice transport busses from PP to Sihanoukville. About 5 busses a day, less than $10.00pp. There are also private taxis for about $50.00. They leave from the SW corner of the Central market in PP.

 

Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your trip. I am so obsessed with Vietnam/Cambodia, there are times I wish I could live there year round. My two favorite places in the world-Phnom Penh Cambodia and Homer Alaska. Such disparity. My help is freely offered if you need further help.

 

To answer your question about credit cards, yes they often ask. And yes, I often tell them NO. ONLY to places I KNOW my info will be safe. I WILL give fax credit card info to hotels. But NOT generally to tour operators (other than government overseen in China) And if you are dealing with a US TA, why would you be booking a trip directly with someone in Vietnam/Cambodia??? I read your reply on the China thread. Seems like you need to either deal with your CA TA or deal with individual booking companies in China/Vietnam/Cambodia, not both. Unless your TA is getting REALLY spectacular deals, you are paying double commission, IMHO.

[AWorldCruise4Me]

Thanks again for all the great info! This is really helpful.

 

To answer your last question first, we started looking for the Beijing tour after teaming up with other cc members for the Angkor Wat trip. They are the main organizer for the Angkor Wat trip.

 

I found the Beijing related TA through Tripology on Trip Advisor. We are the only people going on this overland.

 

In trying to book excursions/overlands for the World Cruise I found too many places wanted money Western Unioned to them. I've never WU money before so in reading their website found they recommended I never do this for people I don't personally know. Of course I know none of these tour operators. So I started looking at alternative ways to find tours.

 

Then we get to the issue of credit cards. I think (rightly or wrongly) there is some protection in booking with a credit card. Also there is some level of establishment an operator has to have to take them.

 

I also decided with 40 ports to book tours in that I was not capable to handling all the small details of researching transportation offerings, booking tickets, hotels etc on my own. So my strategy has been to try and find a good travel agent for each of the overlands and let them sweat the small stuff. I think if we were doing just a trip to Asia with a few stops I would be more likely to tackle the ticket booking, car booking, guide booking, hotel booking myself.

 

Thanks again for your offer of help. I really appreciate getting some insight from someone who has been in the area. I'm sure once I've been there I will have more confidence regarding booking on my own if I am so fortunate as to return. It also would have helped if I had booked the WC a year in advance but since I only have had about 6 weeks to work on this (along with getting visas, shots, everything org at home, etc) I'm a bit stretched in terms of researching all the options. Take a look at my blog in my signature. I put a map of the world cruise in there and you can see all the great places we get to go.

 

Cheers!

Michelle

 

P.S. I love the Ritz Carlton in Maui (although their section of beach isn't as nice as some others) so this is good new on the Angkor Palace Resort and Spa. Were hoping to squeeze in a spa treatment on the first day.

[rf413]

Overland to Angkor from WHERE??? It's about 4 hours by road from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh, then a short plane flight or another 4 hour bus ride or a 4 hour boat ride to Siem Reap.

 

You can EASILY book this yourself. Car/bus to PP, Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap (although if you have time, the boat ride really shows you the country and is truly a good experience), then there are NUMEROUS travel agencies to give you a "tour" of the temples. You really don't need a temple tour. There are all kinds of taxi's and tuk-tuk drivers that will take you out there and give you some info about the temples.

 

BE VERY CAREFUL booking with unknown agencies in Vietnam/Cambodia. Those countries are just realizing what capitalism is. And there are a LOT of rip offs. The local people have no real idea how to price things. They try to sell solely on price. Then they realize they didn't charge enough money and ask for more money half way through the tour or just want to dump you off when you don't want to pay. They are also very unreliable in their service. I am in the process of opening a hotel in Phnom Penh. It has been a long, three year process. I have been ripped off every way possible and I have a Cambodian attorney that is supposedly looking after my interests. The Cambodian people really don't understand how business is supposed to work, although they are trying hard. But they underbid almost everything, then think they can always go back and ask for more money. Sometimes the results are truly ugly.

 

I always recommend IndoChina Travel. They have offices in Vietnam, Cambodia and SAN FRANCISCO. They most likely can provide a premium trip to Siem Reap. While definitely not the cheapest agency in the area, they truly provide a premium experience. If they can't directly help you, I am sure they can point you in the right direction. Enjoy!!!

 

http://www.indochinatravel.com/

 

Hi Greatam,

 

I see you are quite knowledgeable with Cambodia, we would like to get some help from you. We are arriving Sihanoukville in March and we would like to leave the cruiseship to visit Angkok Wat. I understand that we can take a taxi to Phnom Penh, then fly to Siem Reap. I am wondering if there is any safety concern to take a taxi to Phnom Penh? Or is it better to take a bus there? Bare in mind, this is our second last port before we disembark in Bangkok, so we would not be returning back to the ship. As a result, we will be carrying all our luggages with us. Do you have any suggestion in regards to the best way to get to Siem Reap?

 

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[greatam]

Hi Greatam,

 

I see you are quite knowledgeable with Cambodia, we would like to get some help from you. We are arriving Sihanoukville in March and we would like to leave the cruiseship to visit Angkok Wat. I understand that we can take a taxi to Phnom Penh, then fly to Siem Reap. I am wondering if there is any safety concern to take a taxi to Phnom Penh? Or is it better to take a bus there? Bare in mind, this is our second last port before we disembark in Bangkok, so we would not be returning back to the ship. As a result, we will be carrying all our luggages with us. Do you have any suggestion in regards to the best way to get to Siem Reap?

 

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

 

1st problem-how much luggage???? Luggage restrictions on Bangkok Airways-44 pounds, 1 suitcase, 5KG carry on. Anything over this amount is 1.5% of the normal adult one way fare PER KILO. 2nd 50 pound suitcase-about $1.10 per kilo, so your second suitcase will cost almost as much as your one way air ticket and the first 44 pound suitcase..

 

So IF you have a lot of luggage, it may be wise to spend the night in Phnom Penh, leave your luggage at a hotel, and fly to Siem Reap RT with bare minimum luggage. And if this is necessary, my best suggestion is to get your hotel to send a car for you. My favorite hotels in PP and Siem Reap are the three owned by the FCC company. http://www.fcccambodia.com/

 

If you want to wing it and don't have too much luggage, I would contact the Capital Guest House in PP for a car. This is strictly a backpacker place, but they provide good tour services and are used to email requests. They run buses, boats, cars and tuk tuks. So I am sure with a little contact, they can send a car for you. capitol@online.com.kh

 

If you can't or don't want to make advance reservations, the private taxis leave Sihanoukville for PP at the downtown taxi and bus station. It is on Street 108, which is also where all buses depart. Taxis become a negotiation process-use your best judgment. I look for taxi and tuk tuk drivers that speak fairly good English and seem to know their way around tourists.

 

You could also make your way to the Sokha Beach resort (Sihanoukville fanciest resort) and get transport from there. Lots of decent taxis hang around-most of their clientele come from the PP airport.

 

Otherwise, take the bus.

 

Enjoy!!!!