Conquer the Himalayas with "made in Vietnam" trekking tours

A decade ago, trekking was still considered a sport that was selective of participants due to its adventurous nature of having to walk continuously in unfamiliar natural terrain, sometimes encountering harsh weather and possibly endangering life.

However, thanks to the development of the experiential tourism trend in Vietnam, trekking is increasingly attracting many people who love to "travel". But trekking Himalaya is not an easy journey for those who set foot there for the first time, so beginners often entrust themselves to trekking tours.

On community groups, there are many posts asking to buy land tours from young people, and there are offers with much lower costs than the prices offered by travel companies, even though the itinerary and number of days are the same. Why is there this difference? Does the low cost help tourists benefit more?

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.

"I'm a girl so I prefer to book a tour rather than travel on my own. At that time, I booked a land tour to Everest Base Camp myself at a pretty good price. I was lucky to have a land tour recommendation from a travel agent I've known for a long time. But if you don't have experience booking, you will not only not save money but also spend a lot of money on unnecessary services and mandatory shopping items."

My said that you should not choose a land tour that is too cheap and without an acquaintance to introduce it. Depending on the price of the tour, there will be more or less mandatory shopping spots and paid sightseeing. If the land tour is expensive, tourists will visit more and shop less, the cost also includes airfare, visa fees,... the quality of food and accommodation throughout the trip will also be more comfortable. With a mid-range land tour price, the cost of all sightseeing spots will or will not include, there are still some mandatory shopping spots, airfare, visa fees,... And finally, with a cheap land tour, you will have to pay for the expensive sightseeing spots yourself, not including airfare, visa fees and worse, the accommodation conditions will not be guaranteed.

"To know if the tour operator's itinerary is of good quality or not, I will ask those who have gone before. Currently, there are many travel groups on community pages where you can ask for help. Because the first meeting is not in Vietnam, if you get there and still have many questions, it will be quite risky." - My shared.

In My experience, all land tours have English speaking consultants, so ask lots of questions about the places to eat, stay and visit. You can search for information online about these places so you can evaluate the quality of service at the destination. In addition, you should ask about unexpected situations such as weather, delayed domestic flights, what medicines to bring, notes about transportation, culture, people and check again with the person who went before.

Land tour prices are usually much lower than designed tours, however the land tour itinerary is based on the physical condition of those who are familiar with trekking, so you must be physically prepared to keep up with the group if you do not want to give up the journey.

After many experiences of trekking with different types of tours, My said that the lesson she received is to always put quality first. To avoid putting yourself in the uncertainties and troubles of a foreign country, make sure you have enough experience and knowledge about the people and the locality to evaluate the quality of the trekking tour yourself.

Domestic company - foreign tourism exploitation

Vietnamese travel companies have gradually grasped the demand and there are more and more trekking tours to explore nature but still within the allowed safety threshold. Not only committed to operating experience but also ensuring the quality of the journey.

Mr. Nhat Vu, CEO of a travel company specializing in Himalayan tours, shared: "When customers book a tour, it means they are buying our experience in organizing and buying their safety. We cannot follow the market to offer cheap tours and then pay them for an experience that does not guarantee their health and safety. Our customers also understand that trekking to the Himalayas is a journey that challenges both physical and mental strength. Once we have committed, this is not the time to regret spending money."

In addition, he also shared the reason why trek tours organized by domestic units are often more expensive. Foreign land tours all have a common itinerary and are not very suitable for the physical condition of Vietnamese people, especially the problem of altitude sickness is always the biggest difficulty. The tours are all redesigned by Mr. Vu and tripplaners with shorter routes, more experience of getting used to the altitude and more rest. That is also why the number of trekking days will often be longer than land tours, causing the cost to increase accordingly.

"Choosing to trek in the Himalayas means customers choose challenges, experiences and stories on the roads. Our team will always ask customers what they want, at what cost. Each journey will have at least one Vietnamese tour leader, a Vietnamese tripplaner team will always support throughout the trip, along with mountain guides and experienced Sherpa porters. I don't want to have to spread out our staff because of costs, with only a few people supporting the whole group." - Mr. Vu shared.

Not only the usual 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 the journey to explore Everest with the legendary mountaineer Kami Rita will satisfy you.

To understand the experience of a tourist when participating in a trekking tour from a domestic organization, Travellive interviewed Ms. Thanh Hang - a trekker who just returned from the Everest Base Camp trekking trip. Hang said she felt lucky to buy a trekking tour from a Vietnamese company because she could request support and get help quickly and easily.

"Before the trip, the tour side will have a group meeting and clearly present the points to note: What personal items to bring, what the tour side will prepare, what medicines to bring, notes about the weather, transportation, culture, people... everything is included."

Thanh Hang shared that she had a schedule of 2 days trekking - 1 day off. The journey was full of experiences and still ensured health and the costs incurred during the trip were also insignificant. In addition to no language barrier, the travel company also connected and worked with customer support agencies in Nepal, making 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 or Everestviet are exploiting different and unique itineraries with prices ranging from 30,000,000 VND to 80,000,000 VND to meet the diverse travel tastes of adventurous travelers. In addition, you can also search for land tours at IntoWild Travel or MerTrip with many different quite reasonable prices depending on the itinerary.

Yen Nhi