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Ho Chi Minh City With Xuan


benjihill
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We are a group of four adults on the Seven Seas Voyager in December 2017. It is our first time in South East Asia. We are arriving in Ho Chi Minh City on December 11th and departing on December 12th at 4 P.M. So, we have a free full day and a half day. Some people on this forum who visited this city before suggested Xuan Le, a private tour guide in Ho Chi Minh City. Anybody else use this person before? Also suggestions for what to do these two days? Any helpful comments are very appreciated.

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To BenjiHill: My suggestion to you if you have the 2 days would be to do the Ho Chi Minh city tour and on the half day go to parts of the city that you can do on your own like the Reunification Palace which marks the location of the end of the Vietnam War when the North Vietnamese Army conquered this South Vietnamese government complex. It is an interesting place to see. Also if you like shopping- Ho Chi Minh has wonderful shops throughout the city.

 

My husband and I also recently had a fabulous city tour with Xuan.

He picked us at the port with a great driver in a new, very comfortable large van.

We had booked the all-day Ho Chi Minh City Tour.

 

We saw all the sites including Chinatown, the Thien Hau Temple, a fabulous Rickshaw ride through the local markets, Alleyways through the city, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, City Hall, CIA Building that the Huey Uh1 helicopter was last helicopter to leave at Fall of Saigon, Ho Chi Minh Square, all the famous hotels used during the war, and new areas of the city with Villas and the contrast of poor stilt houses on water. We were also lucky to have been there for Vietnamese New Year when the city had beautiful lights.

 

Xuan is knowledgeable, passionate, enthusiastic, charming, attentive, loving, engaging, fun and a true pleasure to be with. We were fascinated by his kindness!

 

He was able to explain everything to us in a very meaningful way. His English is excellent!

We had such a great understanding of the people, culture and history because of him. We also learned about his life growing up in Vietnam. My husband and I asked many questions and he was happy to answer all of them.

 

Touring with Xuan will be one of the highlights of your travel experience! He planned a perfect itinerary and was very accommodating to special requests we wanted to do. Xuan took about 60 pictures of us during the tour and emailed them to me afterwards. He also took us to a wonderful and delicious place for lunch.

You can reach him from his website and he responds very quickly.

http://www.tourwithxuan.com/

 

We have traveled all over the world and have used private guides and Xuan is absolutely one of the best guides we have ever had.

It will be a day you will never forget!

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  • 2 weeks later...

To: BenjiHill

 

I wanted to add more detail of the Trishaw Ride we had when taking our private tour with Xuan. Each person has their own Trishaw with the driver.

 

The ride lasted about 45 minutes. We started at the famous temple and rode through many tiny streets, alleys and markets where the locals were selling their fish, birds, roosters, fabric and textiles.

 

Also we saw the tropical fruit street and the fresh markets where we saw people selling fresh meat, fish, vegetables and spices.

 

It was a fascinating way to see the daily local life in Ho Chi Minh City. We were riding among thousands of motor scooters.

 

Xuan was on a scooter in front of us taking photos and videos that he sent to us afterwards.

 

The Trishaw Ride to us was one of the highlights of the tour!

 

You can email him at tourwithxuan@gmail.com

I also had a bad link for his website in my review on this thread- It should be http://www.tourwithxuan.com

You can also go straight to his cruise tours with this link: http://www.tourwithxuan.com/shore-excursions.html

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks for the great information. I have booked a tour with Xuan Le in December 2017. He has been helpful in planning the itinerary with me. We will visit Mekong Delta for a day and do a half day city tour. We have also included the recommended trishaw ride. Can't wait to visit Vietnam end of this year!

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  • 2 months later...

I first went to Saigon in 1970 (during the war) and my favorite area was in Chinatown. We have been back twice in recent years and still love the entire Chinatown experience. Some folks will say its not for the faint of heart, it is total chaos, etc etc. But it is real (not a tourist attraction) and certainly eye opening. Just make sure to protect your valuables and keep your group together (its easy to get separated in the crowds). The browsing is really interesting and some folks actually do buy things :).

 

Hank

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  • 4 weeks later...

We spent our day with Xuan and had an excellent time. Our day was the best excursion for our Asia trip. Following is a review if our day:

 

This is the best private excursion we have done! Yesterday, we visited Ho Chi Minh City and booked a private excursion with Xuan, contact him here:

www.tourwithxuan.com. We arrived at our meeting point 10 minutes early and Xuan was eagerly awaiting for us. He had a private driver in a newer SUV for our party of 4. Our first stop was a local market. We had the opportunity of walking through the narrow alleyways. It was a great experience to see many fresh produce there. Then, we visited Thien Hau Temple before taking the trishaw ride around the city. Our next stop was to enjoy Vietnamese coffee on a floating boat called "The Coffee Ship". Then, it was time to enjoy some local cuisine for lunch. After lunch, we visited the War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, General Post Office, the former CIA headquarters, City Hall, Rex Hotel, and the Opera House. It was truly a great day to see the interesting sites in the city. We had such an amazing day. We were able to see many sights most Westerners would never get to see. Xuan is very personable, knowledgeable, and speaks excellent English. He is very passionate about his country and his love for sharing his knowledge is through his excursions"

 

 

Book with Xuan and you will not be disappointed!! :)

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Yes, US Citizens will need a Visa, which your ship SHOULD issue. You should contact your

cruiseline, and inquire with them to be sure. We were on Celebrity Millennium, and the ship did our Visa's. It was $6.00 pp, and was charged to our sea pass. I had contacted Celebrity before we sailed, to be sure.

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Yes, US Citizens will need a Visa, which your ship SHOULD issue. You should contact your

cruiseline, and inquire with them to be sure. We were on Celebrity Millennium, and the ship did our Visa's. It was $6.00 pp, and was charged to our sea pass. I had contacted Celebrity before we sailed, to be sure.

 

@debshomespun - Thank you for your advice.

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  • 2 months later...

We contacted Xuan by email after seeing the reviews on here, and are so glad that we did. He already had a couple booked with him the day we wanted who were willing to share - so there were just four of us. Xuan explained where to meet him - at the gates to the port - and he was there waiting, with our names on a board. He had a mini-bus and driver waiting. There was free Wi-fi and water supplied.

Xuan is very enthusiatic and keen to give us information and it was important to him that he gave us the best day possible.

We went to places that a large tour would never be able to go. e.g. the van dropped off, and Xuan led us through a narrow street food market, and then a flower market - and the van would appear to pick us up again.

We did the famous, not to be missed "Trishaw" ride - and Xuan would keep appearing on the back of a motorbike, taking photos and videos of us. In fact he took well over 100 photos of us during the day, and has sent us the link so that we can download them - such a bonus!

He treated us to coffee on the Coffee Ship - an experience in itself. He was able to take us up the former CIA building, which is not open to the public, as well as seeing many other magnificent buildings (Post Office, Opera House, City Hall etc), and gave us time to spend in the War Remnants Museum. Xuan took us a lovely restaurant for lunch, which we never could have found on our own.

All in all, an excellent day, with personal attention, and we would highly recommend Tour with Xuan to anyone. (He even gave us all a hug as we said goodbye). Do not hesitate to contact him on tourwithxuan@gmail.com

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We just returned from the Millennium and did a full day in HCMC with Xuan! What a treat. He was such fun, energetic and very passionate about his city and people, which I loved. We had a few special requests and he was so kind to accommodate us. We had done a rickshaw ride in Hanoi so we chose not to do it in HCMC and giving us more time at the Museum and Reunification Palace. It definitely is a fun thing to do! I would highly recommend Xuan for anyone touring HCMC. We went to a local restaurant and had him order for us and it was incredible! We will be going back and hope to spend more time touring with Xuan again.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Just returned from Singapore to Beijing on Oceania ....booked tour for 4 people, an amazing tour with Xuan....cannot say enough good things about the 2 days with Xuan, first day Mekong Delta, day 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

Xuan was waiting for us at the port with a lovely air conditioned van and driver. Xuan was very personable, right away I knew it was going to be two great days of touring. Xuan took us to areas that the rest of the tour buses did not go, which is huge, got to see locals in their daily lives.

Xuan is very knowledgeable of the history, culture, was able to answer all our questions. We all felt like we were being taken around by a friend not a tour guide. Xuan took lots of pictures for me with my iPad, took the pressure off of me, could just enjoy my time touring. Xuan made the tour so exciting using different forms of transportation, never a dull moment.

All in all they were the best 2 days of touring on our entire trip. It is so worth it to get away from the big bus tours to book with Xuan, you will not regret it, certainly was a highlight for the 4 of us. We have many great memories I will not forget.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just returned from our Azamara Journey Asia cruise. We also had a wonderful 2 day excursion with Xuan. Our ship arrived 2 hours earlier than scheduled and once we became aware of this, we emailed Xuan to ask whether he would be available to meet us 2 hours earlier, and he was. We had a great tour with him. He is very knowledgeable. We did many things that others on the ship did not do. I would highly recommend him.

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Just a question for those of you that have done the tour with Xian. I have been in touch with him for our upcoming Asia cruise and the tour sounds great. I’m just a bit worried about it not being a ship tour and making sure we make it back to the ship on time. We dock at Phu My which is a fair distance from Ho Chi Minh City. Should I be worried or has your experience been that he is very reliable? Thanks

 

 

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Just a question for those of you that have done the tour with Xian. I have been in touch with him for our upcoming Asia cruise and the tour sounds great. I’m just a bit worried about it not being a ship tour and making sure we make it back to the ship on time. We dock at Phu My which is a fair distance from Ho Chi Minh City. Should I be worried or has your experience been that he is very reliable? Thanks

 

 

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He is very reliable and very conscious of the time. His tour was the best we had while touring/cruising for 6 weeks in Asia Nov/17. I highly recommend Xuan. He is so knowledgeable, friendly and you will see areas you would never see on a ship tour. You will see the real Vietnam.

 

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Just a question for those of you that have done the tour with Xian. I have been in touch with him for our upcoming Asia cruise and the tour sounds great. I’m just a bit worried about it not being a ship tour and making sure we make it back to the ship on time. We dock at Phu My which is a fair distance from Ho Chi Minh City. Should I be worried or has your experience been that he is very reliable? Thanks

 

 

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Xuan was very conscious of the time and traffic. He is a true professional and will not take chances on not getting you back to the ship on time. We were there in plenty of time, with time to spare. He was our favorite guide of all our tours! You will have a wonderful tour with Xuan!

 

Terri

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  • 3 weeks later...

Can someone please give a price for Xuan's tour....I don't want to email him unless I think it's something I can afford. A good estimate will do....are we talking $30, $75, $100, or more per person? I'd like to know asap so I can contact him or not.

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Please contact him for his rates and if he is available .I believe it was $370US for the first 2 people and $45 after that.....we had 24 people join us so our cost ...custom with beer, water and soft drinks with lunch, tons of Asian fruits from the market and a huge tip.....about $62 per person. We did a foodie and sites tour. Say Avi suggested his services....I keep in contact with him weekly. You will enjoy everything.....he is honestly one of the best guides I,ve met. Very honest and caring. I posted on the cruise for people to join us, and we had a great bunch...enjoy your cruise!

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Can someone please give a price for Xuan's tour....I don't want to email him unless I think it's something I can afford. A good estimate will do....are we talking $30, $75, $100, or more per person? I'd like to know asap so I can contact him or not.

The reason it's hard to quote, is because he has his "normal" tours, or working via email with your preferences, he will customize. Initially the cost for full day in HCMC including the tunnels was 400.00 for 4 people. We didn't want to go to tunnels and wanted to see the Tan Sa Nhut base, so he charged us 100.00 P/P. It sounds like a lot, but keep in mind he's driving you from the dock to the city and it's about 2+ hours driving to even start the tour. But don't worry about emailing him for a quote, that's his job and he is so open and friendly. Look on his site to decide what are the highlights you want to see and ask him. I would highly recommend the Reunification Palace, the War Remnant Museum (if you're interested in the war and history). And let him take you to his favorite places to eat and order for you! Amazing and very cheap! Also, it's often cheaper with the more people you can add to your group. Ask him for pricing for 2-4-6-8 and get a group together through CC.

BTW--every tour we did in SE Asia was in that price range. Andy Tran Tours in Hoi An and Da Nang varied the price based on the number, and we had 12, which was perfect. His tour also included lunch. He's great to work with as well.

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I'm really interested in this tour for our forthcoming RC Voyager cruise, stopping at Ho Chi Minh city on 1st September 2017. I've emailed Xuan for a price, but I'm not sure if he would accommodate just 2 adults? Does anyone know if he has a minimum number?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

Yes he will. I’ve booked him for next April for just myself and DH. That way we can ask him to tailor the tour to include what we want to do. We had to pay a deposit now though to hold the spot. [emoji2]

 

 

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I'm really interested in this tour for our forthcoming RC Voyager cruise, stopping at Ho Chi Minh city on 1st September 2017. I've emailed Xuan for a price, but I'm not sure if he would accommodate just 2 adults? Does anyone know if he has a minimum number?

Thanks.

 

We did a two day tour with him in March for just the two of us, He picked us up with his driver in a wonderful mini van. You'll have a fantastic time with him,

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Another happy Xuan customer!

 

Loved our 2 day tour of the Mekong (Ben Tre) and Ho Chi Minh City. Van was really comfy, food and drinks plentiful and experience fantastic!

 

We travelled with our 2 girls (9&12) and there was no “I’m bored, when are we going back to the ship” etc

 

As to getting back to the ship on time, first thing he will ask at the port is what time do you have to be back.” You can tell he is always aware of the time but you don’t feel rushed or pressured to be quick.

 

Biggest bonus is the photos he takes of you and sends you a few days later!

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