InsideAsia Tours Avaliações 

Having done the outstanding South Korea tour with InsideAsea last year, we booked the Thailand tour this year. The travel arrangements like airport transfers, hotels and internal flights were top class. Our adviser Lily, was helpful, knowledgeable and friendly. We were disappointed with the tour guides in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. We could get lot more information by googling the sites and pictures that what the guides could provide.

Vietnam – Cambodia – Laos: Another Exceptional Journey with Grant Ekelund & Inside Asia

Grant Ekelund from Inside Asia delivered once again. As with our previous trip to Japan, Grant listened carefully to everything we hoped for and executed it flawlessly. Our 15-day journey was packed with adventure, history, and stunning scenery across three countries—Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia—with four flights, six hotels, and twelve expertly guided tours that flowed seamlessly.

Our journey began in Hanoi, Vietnam. From the moment we arrived, our guide was with us every step of the way—meeting us at the airport, settling us into our hotel, and introducing us to the beauty and energy of Hanoi. We gained deep insight into Vietnamese culture and history, including learning about what locals refer to as the American War. The Vietnamese people were warm, gracious, and eager to share their perspectives on life, art, and politics.

Traveling west to Luang Prabang, Laos, the highlight of our trip, we visited the MandaLao Elephant Conservation Center. Grant recommended Laos over Thailand for its authenticity and quieter charm, and he was absolutely right. We learned about the history of how elephants were used in farming, logging, and construction. The elephants were rescued from lives of abuse and cruel work. We made “sandwiches” which we fed to the elephants, then took a two-hour walk in the forest with them. The elephants were smart and gentle as they walked gracefully beside us among the trees. While in Laos, we also visited the Kuang Si Waterfalls and Buffalo Dairy Farm. The falls were spectacular, and we learned much about the animals on the farm.

Heading south, we next arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where we stayed at the magnificent Raffles Grand Hotel. Built by the French, it was a hub for explorers, archaeologists, and diplomats, all drawn to the ancient Khmer ruins - which was why we were here too. The temples of Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Pre Run did not disappoint, especially seeing Ta Prohm with the trees growing up, down, and around the temple. Another favorite excursion was our trip to the floating fishing village of Tonle Sap Lake, Asia’s largest freshwater lake. After the rainy season, its waters can swell up to four times their normal size. We found houses built on stilts or floating on bamboo rafts.

Our next flight took us east back to Vietnam, to Hoi An and Hue. Here, we connected with local life—biking through rice paddies along the Thu Bon River, visiting carpentry, mat-making, and ceramic villages, and even helping a fisherman haul in his net. We finished the tour with a home-hosted lunch, learning to make rice pancakes. Our family also visited the tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh in the nearby countryside as our expert guide shared the history of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Our final flight took us south to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. Our highlight here was a nighttime foodie tour. Expertly driven on the backs of Vespa scooters, our guides took us all over the city, sampling Vietnamese specialties of soup, pancakes, meat, fish, and ice cream. We were safely returned to our hotel with full, happy tummies.

If you’ve made it this far, you can see how I’ve briefly touched on what was an incredibly rich and expertly planned 15-day adventure. Once again, we were in outstanding hands with Grant Ekelund of Inside Asia. We couldn’t imagine traveling this region any other way.

I booked with InsideAsia Tours expecting a premium, stress-free experience, but the trip was overshadowed by major communication failures. I was not clearly informed about a required Vietnam visa and was denied boarding at the airport, forcing me to pay for an emergency visa and costly rebooking. Communication about guides and itinerary details was inconsistent, and some prepaid activities came with unexpected on-site fees. The overwhelming stress, disruptions, and lack of proactive support were unacceptable. For the price paid, I expected far better and proactive planning, transparency, and customer care throughout this trip. Do not use this company.

Inside Asia from start to finish was excellent from initial booking to return our needs were met and the company went beyond expectations super staff both here and in India Would highly recommended using this company again

Our travel consultant planned the perfect trip for my husband and me. The excursions and experiences planned were top notch and we felt very safe. We could not be happier! It was a truly life changing experience. The guides and drivers were professional, knowledgeable and so kind. We learned so much from them and enjoyed exploring their beautiful countries.

★★★★★ Absolutely unforgettable experience with Noom & Mr So
We’ve just spent eight incredible days travelling through Thailand, and the experience was made truly exceptional thanks to Noom, our guide, supported by Mr So, our driver.
From Bangkok to the floating markets, the train market, boat trips, and the unforgettable time on the River Kwai and floating hotels, everything was flawlessly organised. Noom was outstanding — his knowledge, warmth and genuine passion for Thailand brought every place to life. He explained the history, culture and local way of life in a way that was fascinating, easy to understand and never rushed. He was always attentive, thoughtful and made sure every day suited exactly what we wanted.
What really set Noom apart was his flexibility and dedication. He happily changed excursions to suit us and even added extra experiences that weren’t on the original itinerary at all. Nothing was ever too much trouble — whether adjusting plans, making spontaneous stops, or suggesting unique places we would never have found on our own.
Mr So was an excellent driver — calm, safe, punctual and incredibly kind. He made all the long journeys comfortable and stress-free, which allowed us to relax and fully enjoy the trip.
This never felt like a standard tour; it felt like travelling with someone who genuinely cared about creating an unforgettable experience. The balance of expert guiding, flexibility and personal attention was perfect.
If you are visiting Thailand and want a seamless, authentic and truly memorable journey, we cannot recommend Noom highly enough — supported by the wonderful Mr So. They were amazing, and we will treasure these memories forever.

Fantastic end-to-end experience. It started with brilliant planning, picking the right trip for my family. The experience in country was seamless and brilliant. Always getting beneath the surface. Our guide and tours in Bangkok were a highlight; we learnt so much from Paul. Our favourite hotel was the Lake Camp at Elephant Hills Khao Sok. It was magical.

Far from positive .

Great suggestions and recommendations for places to visit and stay in Japan. Useful tips, travel details, tickets and information provided. Being able to contact the organisers was easy and helpful when needed e.g. broken tooth and left behind items. The day guides we had in Tokyo and Kyoto were great explaining things, getting us around, checking we needed anything and making suggestions. Everything went well and we had a fabulous time.

Steph from Inside Asia planned an absolutely perfect honeymoon for us to Thailand. She really understood what we were looking for and made great recommendations. And then most importantly, everything was executed flawlessly and we had no issues while abroad. The tour guides were excellent and every experience was top notch and booked at a luxury level. Would recommend 10/10!

Well planned tour, hotels in good locations with easy transport links for sightseeing, charming small hotels in cities with gardens and pools, good value for money, internal transfers good and reliable, all staff we met very friendly and helpful

We’d travelled with Inside Asia before to Japan and were impressed, but Vietnam and Cambodia completely exceeded our expectations. The itinerary, hotels and experiences were outstanding – especially Pilgrimage Village and Sala Lodges in Siem Reap. Travelling from North to South Vietnam was an amazing way to experience the country.

Our guides were brilliant: Thong in Hue & Hoi An was incredibly knowledgeable, Som Ly in Cambodia shared fascinating stories from his time as a monk, and Trueng was wonderfully patient when we wanted extra photo stops. Transfers were seamless, any issues were were sorted efficiently and with care.

Highlights included the Sampan river trip, Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta with local industries and the beautiful Island Lodge. Huge thanks to Lucy for curating such a special trip – the Hanoi Vespa tour was something I’d never normally do and we absolutely loved it. We’d travel with Inside Asia again in a heartbeat

Inside Japan was flawless from pre-trip planning to being picked up In Tokyo to our return to Osaka's airport.

Pre-trip we were provided with wonderful informational materials on Japan and worked with a caring agent who answered our countless questions and made sure our requests were carried out.
Upon arrival to our first hotel, we were provided with all our train tickets, a portable wireless which was amazing and a translator. The translator was a comfort to have, but we did not use it during our trip and mostly relied on a phone app to translate printed text.
Not only were Inside Japan's selection of hotels clean, comfortable and accommodating, they were perfectly located in areas that enabled us to visit major sites with easy access to subways.

Inside Japan also arranged private tours for our trip. Our guide for our 8-hour tour of Tokyo was wonderful! Besides being engaging and knowledgeable of Japanese history and culture, she gave a great tutorial on how to use the subway and train system which was critical to our full enjoyment of Japan. In Kyoto we were taken to must-see sites which were the hardest to get to and that was helpful. The Geisha Tour was just a riot, our guide brought her personal history to life.

We couldn't be more pleased with Inside Japan services, and highly recommend them without reservation. It was a trip of a lifetime.

We've travelled with Inside Asia three times now, and each trip seems to be able to improve on the last - despite us thinking the previous trips were perfect! Our consultant (Alastair) was a superstar, and built the perfect itinerary for our family trip to Vietnam and Cambodia: a Vespa food tour of Saigon, Christmas Day at Angkor Wat and walking with elephants are experiences we will never forget.

We did a tour of Japan and Korea with IA - this rating relates to the Korea part of the trip . Their local agent was very poor - every day there was an issue with some part of the trip - from wrong hotel rooms, to wrong train tickets to one very poor hotel that was more like a room than a hotel

Exceptional travel company. Fantastic service. Incredible attention to detail. Amazing knowledge and insight of where we were going. Every moment of a long and complex holiday went seamlessly. Would book with them again in a heartbeat.

Amazingly organised trip for our 10th wedding anniversary to South Korea! From the moment we contacted them for a chat, we had fantastic service. Everything was well organised and planned, which took the stress out of visiting a new country. This meant we could really get the most of our 2 weeks there

Superb company . Have done 2 trips with them, one small group and one bespoke . Both were first rate with excellent service both in the uk and on the ground I am a solo traveller and you feel very well looked after . Takes all the stress out and leaves you to enjoy the trip . Strong emphasis on supporting local initiatives to improve life’s of the people . Highly recommend .

I had been wanting to go to Thailand for a while. I discovered InsideAsia in the pages of Travel + Leisure so I decided to contact them. What an experience! From the first email, I could tell this was a quality organization. Robyn, my travel consultant, took the time to really understand my desires and needs for this trip and she crafted an itinerary that exceeded my expectations (which is hard to do). She even made some suggestions I hadn't even considered, such as a stay in Khao Sok Naqtional Park and a trip to the Samui Elephant Kingdom. She stayed in touch with me over the next few months making sure I took care of all the details in preparation for this trip including TDAC. But that wasn't all. She checked in with me during the trip to make sure everything was going smoothly! Who does that?! I've taken many international trips and I've never felt so cared fror and valued as a customer. Robyn's passion, knowledge and enthusiasm are exemplary! If you're considering travel to Asia, look no further. InsideAsia is your company. You won't be disappointed. This was first trip with them and now they have a customer for life!

InsideAsia's guides are what make their offerings outstanding. In these locations, pretty much everyone is going to many or all of the same places and searching out similar experiences. So the knowledge, charisma, joy, leadership, management skills that the guides bring and the inside information they may possess about a locale are of paramount importance in making your travel experience unique and special. And IA's guides are really wonderful - I've traveled with them through Japan and Korea on some of the best trips of my life and I can't wait to join them again.