Hotel in Laos was poorly situated. Not enough free time allocated to all of holiday. Not enough variation on menus offered always set menus

We were a little apprehensive about all the food being provided. Would it be mostly buffet style? Would it be cold? In fact the food throughout the tour was all freshly-prepared, very flavoursome, plentiful and varied. Wendy Wu had clearly put a lot of thought into the tour. The itinerary worked very well and was at just the right pace for us. We had separate tour guides in Laos and Cambodia and both were excellent. I really liked Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Siem Reap and most of all the whole Angkor Wat complex. I think Luang Prabang was my wife's favourite place.

The photo below was taken from a boat on the moat to Angkor Thom in Cambodia.

Having booked this tour on 2 other occasions only for it to be cancelled, we were very excited that this tour was now running until we saw the reviews from the previous November 2024 tour. We contacted Wendy Wu to query the issues the reviewer had raised regarding the flight changes and the poor roads to the Plain of Jars and frankly the Wendy Wu representative was completely unhelpful and was either unable or unwilling to answer any of our questions /concerns regarding this tour.
We approached the tour with some trepidation; the stay in Luang Prabang was OK but as with the majority of the hotels throughout the tour the breakfast was very basic for the Western palate and the hotel was not centrally placed. Due to the tour group being split between 2 mini buses (due to UNESCO restrictions on size of vehicles) you did not always have access to the guide.
The real issues started on the journey to Phonsavan, yes Wendy Wu had warned us that the roads were not in the same condition as Western roads but not in my wildest dreams did we imagine that the journey would be this bad. For the majority of the 11 hour trip in a mini bus there was no road surface, you were basically driving on sand and rubble with regular potholes that really tested the suspension and safety of the vehicle. We wondered if we were on an episode of the World’s Most Dangerous Roads! The journey was extremely tiring and very uncomfortable. A 4 by 4 would have made the journey more comfortable and safer. It was telling that on this road to a UNESCO site we only saw one other tourist mini bus. Unfortunately having endured this journey, 2 days later we were back on the same road again for a further 7 hours.
The last 5 days of the tour were very rushed with only one night stops. We understand that this was due to an itinerary change as Lao Airlines stopped flying from Pakse to Bangkok in 2024 but why wasn’t this adjusted on the Feb 2025 tour?
In addition there was a major issue with internal flights although fortunately we were not directly affected.On 2 occasions there were no tickets on the internal flights for 9 of fellow travellers, on the first occasion people managed to fly on a standby ticket although 4 of the tour plus the guide had to endure a 14 hour minibus journey to the hotel arriving at around 5 am next day then had to do a day of touristing. Despite the guide checking with his head office and given reassurance that all the tour had tickets on the next internal flight, the same 9 passengers again had no tickets for the flight. Yet again they had to wait for standby tickets and 1 person had to go to Thailand to catch a flight to Bangkok. The end of the holiday finished on a low and the farewell meal was not enjoyed.
Fortunately our guide Pet was extremely knowledgeable and very calm despite all the challenges of this tour.
Whilst we acknowledge that on some occasions itineraries need to be changed at short notice Wendy Wu were fully aware of the issues this tour suffered in November 2024 yet allowed our February tour to go ahead with the same itinerary. Due to Wendy Wu’s inability to address our concerns and provide information when we contacted them prior to the tour and the inefficiency of the local company used in Laos we would be very unlikely to book Wendy Wu again which is a shame as this was our third trip with them.

This was an excellent tour but don't agree with Wendy Wu stating quality hotels located centrally on website when you book only to find the last 5 nights in LAOS are not central. Either too far to walk or unsafe to walk. 3 nights in a hotel that did not provide western breakfast cold fried eggs and using a microwave to try and do toast. Last day we were free from breakfast until 18.30pm when we were being taken to airport and nothing to do and nowhere to go and out of our room by 12 noon. Guide did not give any suggestions. Waste of our time. When we arrived in LAOS was dropped at hotel at 14.00pm and told free time until 18.30pm no options of what we could do. If we wanted to travel independently would not be booking group tour. Too much free time in LAOS and wasted time that could have been spent more constructively. We don't expect to pay the money we did to Wendy Wu to find hotels costing £30 a night when hotels with facilities were centrally located for £70 abd were available. Wendy Wu has got too greedy since we went to China in 2016. Won't be using them again. Guides were saying the tipping money was too much they did not know what to spend it on. Wendy wu has lost the plot.

An excellent holiday , the group was the correct size 14, and we all got on well after a couple of days. The guides were excellent and put in the extra effort that was appreciated by everyone. The venues were good , though the first day in. Bangkok was hard work after a long flight and getting used to temperate and humidity. Thailand was amazing I saw places that were exceptional. Laos was much more 3rd would and the hotels were a bit remote. Apart from the one on the river section. A super holiday which I would like to do again but to a different part of the planet !

Mostly very positive

Thiep, the guide in Vietnam, was excellent.
The guide in Laos was good. The guide in Cambodia was very pleasant but left me behind when I gave way to a large group of children so I visited Angkor Wat, the main reason for my booking the tour, mostly on my own.

A more central location in Luang Prabang would have been appreciated - to be able to relax in the town

The Vietnam airlines booking was a big mix up with the wrong data inserted for one passenger. So early choice of seats was not possible. More info on alternative flights at the booking stage would have been helpful as we would have preferred to arrive in HCM not Hanoi.

As David pointed out in the review of his identical trip in November 2024,
the itinerary was not given enough thought in view of the road conditions.
The Park Nine hotel in Bangkok was superb. Unfortunately the trip went downhill from then on.
Hotel Anthong in Luang Prebang was geared to Koreans - very noisy and not a lot of food at breakfast for Europeans. It was also some distance from the town centre despite there being several other hotels of a similar quality much nearer.
The minibus journey described as a 'scenic road trip' to Phonsavan was anything but scenic and just a joke. There is no way 15 travellers should have been subjected to 2 x 11 hour journeys to and from the Plain of Jars. That was 2 whole days of the trip totally wasted.
The Amari Hotel in Vang Vieng was very good, especially as, if we skipped the cave, visit some of us had a chance to sit by the pool for a much needed rest.
The S2-Modern hotel in Vientiane was not ideal either. Some distance from the city centre and very little choice at breakfast for Europeans.
Somehow, and I still don't understand if it was Wendy Wu or Laos Air who made an almighty ****-up and failed to check that the whole party was booked onto the flight to Pakse. 4 of the party had to travel 13.5 hours in a minibus to the Pon Arena Hotel.
This hotel is probably fine if you get a Mekong view room but the rooms in the annex are dire and certainly not up to the required standard.
The Pakse hotel in Pakse was one of the best but as we were only there for a few hours we couldn't take full advantage of it. At least there was something we could eat for breakfast and some decent coffee.
However, once again due to someone's failing to check the flight, one of the party plus the guide had to make alternative arrangements to get back to Vientiane.
When we got back to the Park Nine hotel in Bangkok, hoping for a relaxing time before our onward flights, again we had a battle as there was no room set aside for us, as promised in the itinerary. Luckily, one of the party argued on our behalf and managed to secure rooms for all of us plus breakfast and lunch/dinner and also arranged for transfers to the airport. Why was this not supplied without argument?
The country and it's people are lovely and it's history interesting but this holiday needs serious thought. I don't think anyone on the trip would travel with Wendy Wu again, certainly I can't recommend you to anyone.
This is a shame because you had the chance to sort this after the previous comments but chose not to.

A fascinating trip though northern Thailand and Laos.
There are an awful lot of temples and buddhas involved but many of the temples are very special.
There's quite a few days when you're just traveling (2 days in a boat on the Mekong feels a bit pointless)
The people we met were lovely and if you just learn how to say hello and thank you then they are all amazing.
This is an all inclusive trip - if you like going out to find your own meals then this is not a good choice.
My favourite part of the trio was our time in Luang Prabang - a beautiful city.

We had a small group and loads of activities organised for us, a perfect basis for this superb holiday experience. The pace of the tour was just right, the weather brilliant and the food mostly superb. Our Thai guide Mr Chai had poor English when it came to understanding what we said, but that didn't detract too much. Our Laotian guide Bee was professional and lovely in all respects.
My only real complaint was our first dinner in Thailand when we had just arrived in Bangkok, which was chicken and mash - how this happened, we do not know!
This was my first experience of Wendy Wu Tours and will undoubtedly not be my last. The attention to detail was greatly appreciated.

An excellent tour taking in all the main sights of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Excellent National Guides and good travelling companions - only 5 of us from the UK and the remaining 17 mostly from Australia but some from New Zealand. We all got on very well together. All meals were included and the idea of paying the 100 US dollars at the introductory meeting was great.

In the main everything was very good and well organised. All the guides were excellent very knowledgable and spoke good English so easy to understand.
The majority of the hotels were of a good standard apart from one.
The hotel we stayed in the last night in Vientiane Laos was very poor. Terrible location in fact I would not walk out. Facilities non existent the bar was on very darkly lit street and comprised of a table on a pavement with 5 chairs. Rooms not much better I would say 2* rating.
The buses and drivers all excellent.
Restaurants all very good and excellent food.
The only criticism from our point of view we did not have any free time to explore
The places we stayed. It would have been good to have at least a full 1/2 day
Free time in the main cities such as HANOI.
Overall it was an excellent trip and we saw amazing places which we would not have done if we had tried to do this independently.

Sadly this trip did not live up to expectations as the itinerary published did not flow as it should have. The road trips took far longer than expected due to the poor road conditions and they will only get worse in this unspoiled and beautiful but poor country. Fellow travellers should have been advised of itinerary alterations months before their departure date and the company should have been honest with their customers. I have travelled with Wendy Wu tours several times but this tour let them down. The hotels should have been better. Many fellow travellers had not used the company previously and will not be tempted into travelling with them again.

A wonderful tour experience. We saw many of the main attractions in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and were able to spend time looking and not so rushed. As a group of 10 we had a national guide in each country and this benefited us as we travelled togehter and we gained the benefit of their knowledge.
Unforgetable sunrises and sunsets along with stunning natural scenery