Conquer the Himalayas with trekking tours "made in Vietnam"

A decade ago, trekking was still considered a niche sport due to its adventurous nature, involving continuous walking across unfamiliar natural terrain, sometimes facing harsh weather conditions, and potentially endangering one's life.

However, thanks to the development of experiential tourism trends in Vietnam, trekking is increasingly attracting many travel enthusiasts. But trekking the Himalayas is not an easy journey for first-time visitors, so beginners often entrust themselves to organized trekking tours.

On online communities, there are countless posts from young people asking to buy land tours, and some offers are made at much lower prices than those offered by travel companies, even though the itinerary and number of days are the same. Why is there such a difference? Does the lower cost actually benefit tourists?

Land tour or journey of chance

Ms. My, currently an office worker in Ho Chi Minh City, has just returned from a trekking trip to Everest Base Camp.

"As a woman, I prefer booking tours over traveling independently. At the time, I booked a land tour to Everest Base Camp at a pretty good price. I was lucky to get a recommendation from a travel enthusiast I've known for a long time. But if you don't have booking experience, you won't only fail to save money but will also spend a large amount on unnecessary services and essential shopping."

My advises against choosing overly cheap land tours without a recommendation from an acquaintance. The number of mandatory shopping stops and paid attractions varies depending on the tour price. High-priced land tours typically include more sightseeing and less shopping, and often include airfare, visa fees, and better quality accommodation throughout the trip. Mid-range land tours may or may not include all sightseeing, but may still include some mandatory shopping stops, airfare, and visa fees. Finally, with cheap land tours, you'll have to pay for all paid attractions yourself, airfare and visa fees won't be included, and worse, accommodation may not be guaranteed.

"To determine if the tour itinerary offered by the tour company is of good quality, I would ask those who have traveled before. Currently, there are many travel groups on community websites where you can seek assistance. Because the first meeting isn't in Vietnam, it's quite risky if you arrive there with many unanswered questions," My shared.

Based on My's experience, land tours usually have English-speaking consultants, so ask plenty of questions about accommodation and sightseeing. You can find information about these places online to assess the quality of service. Additionally, you should ask about potential problems such as weather, domestic flight delays, necessary medications, travel tips, cultural information, and the local people. Double-check this information with previous travelers.

Land tours are usually much cheaper than organized tours; however, the itinerary is based on the fitness level of those already accustomed to trekking, so you must be fully prepared to keep up with the group if you don't want to give up the trip.

After experiencing many trekking routes with different types of tours, My says that the lesson she learned is to always prioritize quality. To avoid putting yourself in the dangers and troubles of a foreign country, make sure you have enough experience and knowledge about the people and the local area to assess the quality of the trek yourself.

Domestic company - operating overseas tourism

Vietnamese travel companies have gradually grasped the demand and are offering more and more trekking tours to explore nature while remaining within safe limits. They not only commit to experienced tour operators but also guarantee the quality of the trips.

Nhat Vu, CEO of a travel company specializing in Himalayan tours, shared: "When customers book a tour, they are buying our organizational expertise and their safety. We can't chase the market by offering cheap tours only to give them an experience that compromises their health and safety. Our customers understand that trekking to the Himalayas is a challenging journey, both physically and mentally. Once we've committed, this is not the time to regret spending money."

He also shared the reason why trek tours organized by domestic companies are usually more expensive. Foreign land tours all have a common itinerary and are not very suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people, especially altitude sickness, which is always the biggest difficulty. Mr. Vu and his tripplaners redesign the tours with shorter routes, more opportunities to acclimatize to altitude, and more rest. Because of this, the number of days for trekking is usually longer than land tours, which in turn increases the cost.

"Once you choose trekking in the Himalayas, it means you're choosing a challenge, an experience, and stories along the way. Our team will always ask customers what they want and what their budget is. Each trip will have at least one Vietnamese tour leader, a Vietnamese tripplaner team providing support throughout the journey, along with experienced mountain guides and Sherpa porters. I don't want to compromise on manpower for the sake of cost, having only a few people supporting an entire group," shared Mr. Vu.

Beyond just ordinary trekking trips, he also wants customers to experience unique trekking tours. If you are a trekker who loves culture and adventurous journeys, the true and unique stories of exploring Everest with mountaineering legend Kami Rita will surely satisfy you.

To better understand the experience of a traveler participating in a trek organized by a domestic company, Travellive interviewed Ms. Thanh Hang, a trekker who had just returned from a trek to Everest Base Camp. Hang said she felt fortunate to have booked a trek with a Vietnamese company because she could request and receive assistance quickly and easily.

"Before the trip, the tour company will hold a meeting to clearly explain important points: what personal items to bring, what the tour company will prepare, what medications to bring, notes about the weather, transportation, culture, people… everything will be covered."

Thanh Hang shared that she had a 2-day trekking and 1-day rest itinerary. The trip was full of experiences while ensuring her health, and the expenses incurred during the trip were negligible. Besides the lack of language barriers, the travel company also connected with and worked with customer support services in Nepal, which made her feel secure throughout the trekking process.

Currently, many Vietnamese tour operators have successfully brought Himalayan trekking tours to Vietnamese tourists. Some travel agencies such as FIT Tour, Top1Trekking, and Everestviet are developing unique and distinctive itineraries with prices ranging from 30,000,000 VND to 80,000,000 VND to cater to the diverse travel tastes of adventurous travelers. Additionally, you can also find land tours at IntoWild Travel or MerTrip with various reasonable prices depending on the itinerary.

Yen Nhi