organised tour or not

We are a family of four ( 12 and 9 year olds) who are considering a holiday to vietnam in july- have prev travelled to phuket(twice),bali and sabah . Want to see as much of vietnam in say 14 days but unure if want to be rushing on an organised tour or just travel to the different places and do day tours once there. Any advice appreciated

organised tour or not

If you do your research, DIY is easy and much cheaper and obviously more customised to your preferences.

organised tour or not

i would recommend an organised private tour for just your family. i came back last week, and i did a private tour of northern vietnam for 8 days. having just us on the tour gave us flexibility and they put together an itinery to cover off what we wanted to see. i really recommend it. whilst we could have done it on our own, when you have a short time frame you really want to get the most out of your holiday without the added stresses of doing it yourself. i%26#39;ve heard lots of horror stories about being ripped off in taxi%26#39;s, being taken to places where they put the hard sell on you, and being pressured to give local guides tips etc (we did give our guide a tip, but that was because he was fantastic - not because he pressured us to do so). the company we used was aurora travel / vietnam stay and I thought they were fantastic. i went with my two children (ages 3 and 5, my sister 38, and my parents aged 65 and 70) and it was one of the best things i%26#39;ve done. let me know if you want any more info.....

Thanks for your advice everyone, i will do some more research and decide from there

If you have the time and the patience, all can be done over the Internet. My friend and I were returning veterans after 40 years, and our 12 day trip went off without a hitch. Our international flight to HCMC, and our domestic fights up country, including 4 different hotels or resorts, were done and achieved by listening to reviews on this site and others. We even made arrangements for car, driver and interpreter with no problem. Just be sure all is verified now, and again 30 days, and then 10 days before you make your trip. Shop different sites for different prices and many times you will find a better deal. Have fun, the people are wonderful, and all can be done at your own pace.

Vietnam is a very easy country arrange on your own via the internet. Reconfirming a week prior is good advice. I travel with my sisters and 9 year old neice at times (the last being Peru and China) but my Vietnam planning for my husband %26amp; I ranks right up there for the easiest to plan. You will be astounded at how quickly you will get responses!

I personally enjoyed northern Vietnam and at the time, was thinking how many things that my neice would have enjoyed there. Not so much is Southern Vietnam. But you should probably let the weather dictate as to what area you visit Vietnam.

Have fun, Vietnam was one of my best trips!