We recently spent 5 days in Da Nang and were fortunate to find Xuan Tu (Soong To) via her website. We are 2 Aussie couples in our 50’s wanting to explore the local area and experience the local culture and cuisine. We made 3 bookings, on day one was a half day tour of Da Nang. Xuan Tu was not personally available that day and arranged for one of her guides Anthony to escort us. We visited Marble Mountain, Lady Buddha and temples, great places to visit but the weather was not kind to us and we cut the tour short. Day two and Xuan Tu greeted us in our hotel lobby as arranged, and we embarked on a 12 hour tour of Hoi An. We quickly realised what a gem we had found in Xuan Tu ! She is a charming young lady with a vast knowledge of her countries history both modern and ancient. She speaks excellent english and has a great sense of humour which made us feel instantly comfortable. Based on info she sought from us in advance, she planned a great day for us.We arrived in Hoi An and boarded a small boat booked just for us, we ventured to Cam Kim Island. We visited a boat building business and a wood carving place. We then visited 2 local families. The first where the villages oldest lady, 95 years old and her family make rice paper and noodles. We felt most welcome and had morning tea with them consisting of a hot brewed local tea and freshly baked bread. The second family were mat makers. Both families were happy to welcome us and gave us an excellent insight into family life in Viet Nam.We ventured back to the mainland an spent the rest of the day doing a walking tour at our own pace of the fascinating Hoi An. Xuan Tu took us to Mr Son’s for a tasty lunch which was really cheap, about $15 AUD for 4 of us.We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring then had dinner at a famous baguette resturant which is a must. On the third day we booked the seafood night. Some of the food was rather adventurous for us but an excellent night. In short Xuan Tu delivered the perfect experience for us, made us laugh, and we thoroughly enjoyed her company and now consider her a friend. We highly recommend her as a local tour guide.
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Traveller: keith m from Tripadvisor 