Travcoa Escorted Tour: Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos
Dear All-Travel,
We returned last month from a wonderful trip to Singapore, Vietnam, and Laos. On our way to join a Travcoa tour in Vietnam, we travelled in business class on Singapore Airlines, so we decided to take a day off there and adjust to the sudden reversal of day and night. The Four Seasons was very comfortable and well located just off the major shopping street. We also toured the city on a hop-on, hop-off bus just for tourists that stopped at all the major tourist areas. It's a great city tour.
Singapore Airlines offers wonderful service. On our outbound overseas flight, we were in an Airbus which had lay flat seats in business class, and impeccable service. On the return flight, we sat upstairs on a 747. Being upstairs is always nice because there are only a couple of dozen people up there, so it's always quieter, and no long lines for the lavatory. The older 747, however, had 'almost' lay flat seats, which were much less comfortable the the Airbus.
Travcoa does an incredible job, with a full time tour director, and local, English speaking guides in every city. Our group was only nine people, but they always provided a full sized bus, so we were very comfortable. The clientele is mostly older and retired, but active people. The Travcoa tour director does absolutely everything for you, so we were able to relax and enjoy ourselves. All tipping and all meals are included, the latter being great because we were always provided with wonderful meals. And if you want to eat somewhere else, you can simply bring your receipt back for reimbursement. The tour director and local guide will make recommendations and reservations. Travcoa used the best hotels, and got us the best seats for shows and restaurants. In one Pho restaurant in Saigon, we sat at the table where Bill and Chelsea Clinton had dined in 2000, evidenced by several photos in the room. 
Vietnam is a fascinating country, and crowded with very friendly people. The food includes lots of fresh produce, and great baguettes, a delicious remnant of the colonial days. The cities are very crowded, with lots of traffic - mostly scooters, sometimes carrying Mom, Dad, AND the baby. The people are very friendly, and everyone seems to be an entrepreneur. Every house has a business on the ground floor, and the streets are crowded with vendors of just about anything you can imagine. The Vietnamese view of their recent history is very interesting, but the people seem to be focused on the future, and we sensed no animosity about what is called the American War. We also stayed at a wonderful beach resort in Danang, and cruised on a private junk among the Karst islands in Ha Long Bay. The days were often early, which got us to the sites before the mobs of tourists, but there was also plenty of down time.
We made one stop in Laos, in Luang Prabang. It's a small city that's very pious - full of temples and monks. Less touristy than Vietnam, it was very peaceful and relaxed. A UNESCO Heritage Site, so the city is well preserved with low rise, colonial buildings, temples, and Buddhist monks everywhere. We were on the street at 6:00 one morning to watch hundreds of monks line up on the sidewalk, some as young as eight years old, to get alms from the residents, who got up even earlier to make the sticky rice, that must be fresh when they kneel on the sidewalk and put a spoonful into each monk's pot, which is slung around his shoulder over his saffron robe. 
On the way home, we had a nine hour layover in Singapore, landing at midnight. The transit hotel was booked, which worked out fine. We ended up in the Executive Lounge just in time to grab a bite before they packed up the dinner buffet before napping on sofas in the back, where there were a couple of other travelers sleeping. The employees even turned off the lights in that section for us. In the morning, there was full breakfast, news on TV, and many newspapers. Singapore airport is a giant mall, with a free movie theatre, and even a butterfly garden. They even offer half day city tours for free for people on layovers. Not the worse place to be stuck for a few hours.
It was a great trip, and we had no complaints. Everything Travcoa didn't do, Vicki did, and did a wonderful job. This included working with the Travcoa office, which, uncharacteristically, seemed a little less organized than their tour directors. Other than getting through airports, we never had any logistics to deal with. Our biggest decisions were what to eat, and what to buy. Overall, a wonderful trip!
-Ben
For more information on Escorted Tours call 800-300-4567 or click HERE.
Add a commentClub Med Ixtapa
Dear Lila,
We had a good time as usual at Club Med, this time at Ixtapa. The weather was mixed with two days of rain and one grey, but hot when the sun shone. This Club is oriented towards families with young (some very young) kids and the G.Os. do a fantastic job with them.
The setting is beautiful, good beach with hills and mountains behind, our room up to date but not super. There is the requisite flat screen TV etc. There are more fancy rooms and attractive well-maintained gardens. The food was good and wide-ranging, though some clubs go to more lengths with presentation. The Reservations only restaurant was attractive with a menu that sounded impressive but the results good rather than stellar. We only went to one show which was a lip-sync spin through the last 40 years of music which was excellent, quick and lively.
This time we did no organized trips- the area lacks major architectural or archeological sites. But on the morning “power” walk we would visit a pool filled with crocodiles and take a path into the rain forest in the hills behind the Club. There is a delightful small island nearby reached by inexpensive water taxi with simple restaurants on the beach and a pretty almost circular bay ringed by hills, which was good for snorkeling. This island and especialy that bay, is a must.
There were guests of all ages, from Mexico City, US and Canada . We had a lot of fun and met interesting people. Finally once again we were impressed by the helpfulness and friendliness of the G.Os . Best regards and thanks for fixing it all!
-Kevin
Contact your Club Med Vacations Experts at 800-300-4567 or click HERE.
Add a commentExcellent Job By Laura!
Dear All-Travel, 
Laura did an excellent job, even though we had to make some changes. She was always more than willing to see that our stay at Club Med was a success and as economical as possible. She was not only knowledgeable but friendly as well!
-John
Contact your All-Travel agent today at 1-800-300-4567 or click HERE.
Add a commentCoconut Court Resort, Barbados With Apple Vacations
Hi Lila,
Our trip was great. Breakfast was included in our rate at Coconut Court, and while it wasn’t anything to write home about, it definitely made our stay easier (and cheaper). We had one issue with our hotel room (the AC went on the fritz), but they moved us to another room for the remainder of our stay. The rooms are pretty basic, but more than adequate if you aren’t planning on spending much time in it.
I went diving through Barbados Blue, which is located in the Hilton’s parking lot. Saw two different types of sea turtles, barracuda, and a lot of other fish. Went into a shipwreck, which was interesting, although definitely not for anyone who is claustrophobic. 
Other than diving, we mostly just laid out in the sun and enjoyed the water.
All of our meals were excellent. We went to a place just across the street the first night, went into St Lawrence Gap a few nights and found some other cute (and good!) restaurants in between the other nights. Pisces, in the St Lawrence Gap, was especially good, and the staff was amazing.
We used mini-buses to get around and never had a problem. We’d get on and tell the driver where we needed to go, and he’d tell us when to get off. I never felt unsafe at all. Everyone was incredibly friendly!
-Katie
Contact your Apple Vacations Experts at 800-300-4567 or click HERE.
Add a comment"Best of Egypt" Tour with Brendan Vacations
Hi Alice, 
I have returned from my Egypt tour, and I will say it was probably the best vacation I have been on! It was an amazing place and the tour director was wonderful, you could not have asked for a more nicer person and he was very knowledgeable about everything. His name was Ahmed and he made the trip very memorable.
-DeAnn
Contact your Brenden Vacations Experts at 800-300-4567 or click HERE.
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