About

About Indochina Deluxe Travel

We plan private journeys through the World Heritage sites of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and we build them on two ideas: understand the place, and visit it at the right hour.

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What we do

Indochina Deluxe Travel designs and runs private heritage journeys in three countries. Every trip is for one party, on its own dates. We do not run group departures, and we do not sell beach holidays, trekking or homestay trips. What we sell is time at the region’s great sites with someone who can explain them, at the hour when they can be seen.

Our work is built from a small number of things done carefully. We keep a table of every World Heritage property in the region, with opening hours and the times we have found quietest, and we plan each itinerary from it. We choose guides by site, not by trip. We name hotels in our quotes, so you know where you will sleep before you pay. And we put the dress and conduct rules for each religious site in your travel file, because being welcome is part of seeing a place well.

Why specialist guides

A good general guide is a fine companion for transfers, markets and meals. At a site like Angkor Wat, the Hue Imperial City or My Son, the difference between a general guide and a specialist is the difference between a list of dates and an argument about why the building looks the way it does. Where a site has guides who work mainly on it, we book them for that site day, and brief them in advance on your interests and what you have read.

This costs more than one guide for the whole journey, and it means you meet several people. Most travellers find that a gain. If you would rather keep one companion throughout, we can arrange that, and we will tell you what it changes at each site.

Why the quiet hours

The sites in our table share a pattern. They are emptiest in their first hour, busiest in mid-morning when large groups arrive, and quieter again in the late afternoon. The exceptions are the famous viewpoints, which are busiest at the moment they are famous for. Planning around this costs early starts and longer working days for drivers and guides; the reward is a temple gallery or an assembly hall you can stand in without a crowd. Our heritage sites table sets out the hours site by site.

What we do not do well

Large groups. We plan for one private party, typically up to eight people. Beyond that, the quiet-hour approach stops working.
Budget travel. Our costs go into guides and timing. If price is the main criterion, another operator will serve you better.
Languages other than English. Specialist guides at many sites work in English; in other languages the choice narrows sharply, and we will tell you honestly what is available.
Adventure and beaches. We do not run trekking, cycling or beach-led trips. We can add beach nights at the end of a journey, but we are not specialists in them.

Why there are no reviews on this site

We do not publish customer testimonials on this site. Short quotations are easy to select and impossible for you to check. Ask us your own questions instead: we answer them plainly, in writing, before you commit to anything.

How to reach us

Everything starts with the form at the foot of each page. We reply by email to the address you give, with questions if we need them and a draft itinerary when we have enough to go on. The how to book page sets out the whole process, and the prices page explains how quotes are built.

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