Laos Travel Agents & Reviews

We really enjoyed working with Zicasso’s tour company to plan the trip. Our agent took into account our research and made suggestions/recommendations that enhanced the itinerary. We spent 11 days visiting Vietnam (HCMC, Hi An, Hanoi, Pù Luông, Ninh Bình, and Lan Ha Bay). It was an ambitious agenda that was executed without a hitch.

The internal flights were arranged so we did not feel rushed (our guides walked us into the airport, helped us check in our bags, and stayed until we made it to security). Our driver during the latter half of the trip was extremely professional and kept an immaculate car, making sure we had water and whatever we needed during the multi-hour drives.

Some of our guides could have been more knowledgeable, but my husband is a history buff and we tend to like a lot of in-depth information. The exception was our guide in Hanoi (and for the rest of the trip). He was fantastic and we were delighted that we had such a high-quality guide during the parts of our trip we had to rely on a guide the most. We were a bit taken aback that we had two guides for certain activities, but at the end of the day, we did not feel it was extraneous.

The hotel selection was up to our standards. It was a mix of standard rooms in five-star luxury hotels and spectacular rooms in Pù Luông and on our Ha Long Bay cruise.

We had a great trip to Japan with this Zicasso travel company. We booked pretty late, so there wasn’t great flexibility in creating the itinerary, but the locations and activities chosen were excellent. The guides were professional and organized, and the transfers and other arrangements were pretty flawless.

We could have used more downtime/fewer guided hours on a long, two-week trip. Despite the internet hype, Japan is not hard to navigate, especially once you’re in country and can ask for help from your hotels. We didn’t need as much handholding (a person at the airport, a person to take us to the train station, etc). The experiences were excellent, though perhaps pricier than necessary.

All in all, it was a great trip that required little thinking on our part.

From start to finish (and during our journey), the director of sales at Zicasso’s travel agency delivered superb service.

We are two married couples, best friends for over 40 years, with diverse interests, tastes, and requirements, who have done several journeys (at least four to give) together with Zicasso vendors. We have always felt our selected travel vendors performed at and beyond expectations, and this 15-day Southeast Asia adventure (Vietnam and Thailand) did not disappoint.

Nine months before our trip, our travel agent agreed to a phone video conference with all of us and invested at least an hour in attentively listening to our expectations while making insightful comments, including some about regions to avoid (weather-related), as well as hidden gems not to be missed. We advised him that four- to five-star accommodations were essential, as well as private drivers and guides who could be flexible in real time. It's always our experience that the time allotted at various sights can be inadequate or overkill, and improvisation, either staying longer or exiting sooner, with an alternate plan, would be essential. Our accommodations were always excellent, as were our guides and drivers.

The pacing of the trip was rigorous, but that was because we had such a long "bucket list." None of my degree of absolute satisfaction should surprise previous Zicasso clients. Their claim to carefully vet travel vendors is genuine and well-founded, and ours was such a worthy vendor.

Here are the points I want prospective clients to embrace:

You could plan your own trip (and probably save some money), but likely make a lot of missteps and suffer many inefficiencies in a region of the world where you do not speak the language. We chose not to risk that, and whatever premium we might have paid was well worth it.

Unbeknownst to us, torrential rains and flooding occurred just as we were about to visit a particular city (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Our agent tracked us down at lunch, gave us the bad news, and even brought a video on his iPad to show the destruction and chaos. He had already taken the liberty to cancel plane flights, drivers, and hotels, and had ready alternative plans. Chiang Mai is known for its elephant sanctuary, and without missing a beat, he reserved a tour in a different region of Thailand at an equally suitable elephant sanctuary, and backed it up with a visit to the town/railroad made famous by the classic 1950s film, Bridge Over the River Kwai. That was a great initiative on his part. When we pointed out to him that the rain and flood were not his fault and any financial loss he might suffer from the unexpected and sudden change in plans should go on our bill, he would have none of it, stating that was not his concern, but salvaging our trip was his only endeavor. There are lots of vendors who can accomplish a canned trip or, in our case, a highly customized one, but it's the rare travel vendor who personally steps up and exhibits great initiative when the wheels start to come off the cart. All credit to our agent and his company.

At our initial interview, we made it clear to him that one of us is severely allergic to shrimp and even a misplaced utensil in a buffet tray could be dangerous. Every guide we had, every restaurant we went to, had been put on advance notice by our agent and, without even asking, we were reassured that our request to avoid shrimp was being carefully honored.

This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Zicasso’s trip planner listened to what we wanted to do and what was important to us, and suggested several stops that were highlights of our tour. He and his team kept in contact with us throughout the trip to make sure everything was going well and to check if we needed anything. I would highly recommend this travel company to others and have already done so with some friends.

Overall, we had a great time. First, I want to thank our Zicasso travel consultant, who helped us plan an itinerary that met all of our needs. She was very prompt and incorporated our feedback.

We had an amazing trip which was pretty much faultless. Everything was easy and very well organized, and any small thing that we wanted addressing throughout the holiday was actioned immediately. Our travel specialist was great and frequently checked in throughout the holiday.

Before the holiday, our travel specialist offered many ideas of what to do but worked really closely with me on preparation as I liked many ideas but there were particular things and hotels we wanted to go to, and these were all incorporated. Our travel specialist also helped with Visa preparation, etc.

On our last day before we left for the airport, our travel specialist called the hotel for a final check-in, which was lovely. Both my husband and I have high standards, and we came away from this trip thinking it was one of our favorites, and we travel a fair bit. Thanks to the travel company and, in particular, our travel specialist.

We had a very interesting 18-day trip to Laos and Vietnam in February. We worked closely with our Zicasso tour operator to plan a customized trip that included a number of stops and different experiences.

We started in Laos, with the monasteries, waterfall/hiking, cooking classes in Luang Prabang, and outdoor activities in beautiful Vang Vieng (hiking, caving, and kayaking).

We spent the next 13 days in Vietnam – chaotic Hanoi; beautiful Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh, with the fantastic limestone karsts; historic Hue, the Imperial City; picturesque Hoi An, with the serene and spectacular resort; ending up in Saigon for a day.

We had three knowledgeable guides with different personalities and backgrounds – Laos, northern Vietnam, and central Vietnam. We had interesting and detailed discussions which enhanced our understanding of the history of the region, as well as the US impact on Laos and Vietnam. Although we liked our guides, we realized they were independent contractors and did not really have any input in our day-to-day itinerary (which did have changes from the original). Although most of the changes were fine, we would have liked better communication – letting us know about the changes and options. As a result, we spent more time managing each day's itinerary with our guides to ensure we liked the next day's itinerary.

In summary, we truly liked and enjoyed our well-planned trip.

I would give the trip and company 4.5 stars, but that is not an option. Overall, the trip was interesting, and we felt the program allowed us to get a good overview of both Vietnam and Cambodia. Ms. Ha at the travel agency was excellent to work with. She was very prompt in responding to our queries, helped us plan a great itinerary, and attended to glitches right away. The arrangements, especially in Vietnam, were very good, our guides were always punctual, knowledgeable about their cities, and keen to share that knowledge with enthusiasm. We appreciated the fact that in Hanoi, our guide went out of his way to help us with money exchange and pharmacy purchases and also allowed us to fit in an unscheduled visit to the Hanoi Hilton (at our expense, of course). It was also very nice to have dinner with Ha on our final day in Vietnam.

The cruise on Halong Bay was a bit disappointing. For people who do not want to kayak or swim, there were very few activities, and the ship spent a lot of time anchored rather than cruising. The rooms on board, however, were very good. All hotel choices were very good, and we would like to give a shout out to the hotel in Hoi An, which was a charming place to stay at.

We enjoyed Cambodia, but the 95+ degree heat detracted somewhat from our enjoyment and exploration of the temples in Siem Reap. Due to a mix-up with the operator in Cambodia, and despite our mentioning this to the guide, we went to all the temples in a single day, which was somewhat exhausting. Our guide was knowledgeable but seemed to go strictly by the book. Unfortunately parts of Angkor Wat were closed to tourists the first day because of the king's visit. The next day's excursion to Tonle Sap Lake and Banteay Srei temple was slower-paced and more enjoyable, and on our free third day, we rented a tuktuk and enjoyed a trip through the countryside to the Landmines Museum. Our guide in Phnom Penh was great and made recent history come alive.