Wonderful day spent with Quan in Hoi An and Da Nang
It was very easy to arrange this tour via email, and Quan was waiting for us at the port at the promised time, holding up a sign with our names on. The driver was excellent and the car was clean, comfortable and safe. Quan started off our tour in Da Nang, and we visited the Lady Buddha up on the hill and the Buddhist temple there. Quan was very friendly and knowledgeable about all the sights we saw and filled us in on the history of the area. Next, we went to the Marble Mountains, and he expertly guided us through all the caves on the “earth” mountain and to the Buddhist shrines, pagodas and stupas. After that we visited the ancient city of Hoi An. It started to rain and Quan had the driver stop and he jumped out to buy us some rain ponchos so we could keep dry. He took us to the local market (and helped us barter for souvenirs to bring back home) and through the lovely streets of the city strung with lanterns. We went to an old merchant house, the Chinese Assembly Hall, the riverfront area, some shops selling local crafts and the Japanese Bridge. He recommended a wonderful place for lunch and helped us order – the Vietnamese spring rolls with shrimp were excellent. On the way home we asked to stop along the beachfront to see the basket boats and take photos and Quan and the driver were happy to oblige. I have already recommended Quan to friends that are planning a trip to Vietnam and we hope to take another tour with him ourselves one day. Susanna M. — Traveller: 323susanna from Tripadvisor
A Must Do Tour While Visiting Da Nang
Da Nang is a beautiful city and we wanted to experience all of the beauty it has to offer with a city tour. We contacted Xuân Tú and set up our private tour on short notice. Her communication via email was quick, thorough, and informative. Our host and guide for the day was Hai who picked us up from the hotel promptly at 9:30am as promised. Hai is a fantastic tour guide with a passion for a city he loves and represents perfectly. His personality was spot on for being a city tour guide with information exceeding expectations. We visited many of the big stops in Da Nang…Marble Mountains, Lady Buddha, Monkey Mountain, the Han Market, Dragon Bridge and stopped for Vietnamese coffee. We had an awesome lunch of authentic Vietnamese pancakes. We covered more ground on the tour than we ever could have done on our own. It was wonderful hanging out with Hai and learning more about a country and its culture that we have fallen in love with. We have also booked a tour with Xuân for Hoi An for the next day. We are excited to have Hai also as our guide for this trip too. We highly recommend you using this five star tour operation during your time in Da Nang. — Traveller: rkenley1 from Tripadvisor
Fabulous service, splendid choice of tour
We travelled with a child and elderly folks. Hai who established a very good rapport instantaneously, made it so easy for us all, young and old. Both Hai and the driver are always ready to transfer my Father who is on a wheelchair. My parents and aunt enjoyed the unique sights and views of Danang with good information provided. We will definitely sign up with Hai and his private tour again and again And again! You should too! — Traveller: ChiaFongW1 from Tripadvisor
Fabulous tour with anthony
Anthony met us outside the port. We had written directions and photos showing the port so we knew where to met him. We spent the morning viewing DaNang including the shore with basket boats, marrble mountain, lady Buddha, dragon bridge and other sights. We like coffee and he suggested taking us to a coffee shop. It was a unique and fun experience. We had coffee there Vietnamese style while sitting on low chairs. It was so good that we bought coffee (cheap) there and some individual drip coffee makers at the market. After a delicious lunch we walked around Hoi An which is a darling UNESCO city. Anthony was very professional, attentive, spoke excellent English and lots of fun. We requested him for a second say in DaNang. — Traveller: Maureen1973 from Tripadvisor
We Fell in Love with Viet Nam and with our guide “Soong To” / Xuan Tu
Just returned last week from a Crystal Cruise where likely our best highlight was the day we spent In Da Nang and Hoi An. Through much pre-cruise research for each of our stops we booked several independent tours so that our group of four could have our experiences tailored to just what we wanted to see in each city. Looking at all of Soong To’s Trip Advisor reviews and having had several emails back and forth we knew we had to book with Soong To! The promptness of her communications in addition to her skilled English and thorough details throughout our planning process gave us the confidence that we were in store for a great day. Soong Tu picked us up with her driver promptly at our port holding a sign with our name at the planned meeting spot. She arrived well before our boat had even docked as she mentioned traffic is always unpredictable. We could see that as the owner of her own company she takes great care and responsibility for any one of her bookings whether she leads the tour or whether one of her associates do. We followed the script of our pre-determined tour by heading to Da Nang. Her passion for guiding us in her native country was palpable. When Soong To saw a gathering of fisherman and their wives at a beach along the way she had the driver stop and we got out to see their wives collecting and selling their catch. What an great unplanned experience to see locals pulling over on the highway getting off their motor bikes to shop fresh fish. Our second stop was the town of Hoi An. She showed such enthusiasm teaching us the history of “her city” and showing us the streets and sites where she grew up and continues to live. This stop allowed us some desired shopping (with Soong To’s bargaining skills) but also was full of historical information she shared as we walked. As an important aside, not only does Soong To have an excellent command of English but she has such a wonderful sense of humor and intelligence. Soong To is very culture savy (we are from the US ) and it was immensely enjoyable discussing cultural issues through the day. She knows all of the popular American songs and television shows so we had lots of fun singing in the car as well! Lunch was as locals do and Soong To brought us to a wonderful street side restaurant for an unbelievably delicious lunch. She even arranged for delivery of a Vietnamese type sandwich we had talked about wanting to try earlier. She had those brought from another specialty location just to make sure we tried the best! Our last stop was at Marble Mountain and the Lady Buddha which I will spare details about but will say that Soong To took us through every nook and cranny of the caves while detailing the war history behind the site. On the way back to the ship we pulled over to receive iced Vietnamese coffee she had her cousin purchase and deliver to us roadside. By the end of the day we felt we were leaving a very dear friend and we sincerely offered up mutual future visits to each others homes. Do not skip the opportunity to get to know Xuan Tu’s home with her as your guide. We can’t wait to go back and visit our new friend. — Traveller: lucky1sue from Tripadvisor