From: Göran Carlsson [mailto:Goran.Carlsson@regiondalarna.se]
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 5:37 PM
To: haunhtm
Subject: SV: how are you

Thank you Helene!

We have two good reasons why we continue to use Sinh Tourism.

First that everything works very well for our groups in Vietnam due to your service during the years but also that your company are present on all places we go to which is a security and garantee for good service.

The second, and for me as important as the first, is the direct and promt service we get from our personal contact person with the company. And you, Helene, has already proved your capacity and service mind for us and our groups.

So thank you for your good work for me as responsible for planning our tours and for our groups visiting Vietnam!

Best regards,

Göran

Ps We have already started our planning for our next seoson and I will come back to you about this.

aardvaarker

I can recommend a good tour operator which I used just 2 weeks ago for a 4-day trip from HCMC -Phnom Penh - Seam Reap and return, both ways by bus. They are TheSinhTourist, formerly known as Sinh Cafe. Their web site is www.thesinhtourist.vn. They are a budget operation, but very popular and reliable. The trip costs about 2.5 million dong which is about 92 pounds . This is an all-inclusive price , the bus is air-conditioned, the hotels are 2-star very clean and comfortable, and the food excellent. There is definitely NO karaoke on that bus , its very quiet on board and you only hear quiet conversation. Travel times are about 6 hours from HCMC to Phnom Penh and 5 hours Phnom Penh to Seam Reap. The roads are reasonable and the ride is fairly comfortable. The return visa to Vietnam can be organised by the operator, although we had multiple entry visas which made things a little easier. The Cambodian visa is organised on the bus and will cost you USD 25 each. Whilst I highly recommend that operator, when you are in HCMC in the Pham Ngu Lao area there are dozens of tour operators who do similar tours so you can shop around, but you wont get much better value. The whole system is extremely well organised and you can see all the tour buses lined up along that street every morning setting off for all destinations.

tomdestar

To: HenningWessel,

Fake or real?

There is only one TheSinhTourist in Viet Nam!!!

There are so many fake Sinhcafe in Hanoi, VietNam. That was the reason the owner of Sinhcafe has changed their name to TheSinhTourist.

Fake or Real?
Let the users answer your question.
Let you know that TheSinhTourist got many good buses so that they can run daily open bus from Sai Gon to Hanoi.
And they also got hotels in VietNam and Cambodia.
Fake or real?
Let see the service and the price of open bus.

Fake or real?
Go to VietNam first and check it...

lee57

Fake Sinh cafe?
Having heard so much about the Sinh Cafe open tours, but just worried about the fake ones. Anyone has experiences?

Thanks.

greenpark

why you do not contact to real one ?
http://www.thesinhtourist.vn/
Good luck!

stekmer

Agree with 'greenpark' - check the real Sinh Cafe and get their address.

In Hanoi I counted no less than 6 places claiming to be Sinh Cafe over a distance of about 150 metres - all displaying the Sinh Cafe logo. There are no protections for copyright, business names etc in Vietnam so any successful business will be plagued by imitators.

The real Sinh Cafe have offices all over Vietnam but they vary considerably. I had good experiences with the HCMC office but found the one in Hue very indifferent and not at all helpful.

See my review of their Mekong Delta tour for an idea of the great value they offer.

jano422

Thank you Stekmer for your interesting report (part 1 and 2) on Sinh Caf trip. We have planned to do this trip in july and your report give us precious informations. We will travel with our 2 daughters 9 and 11 years olds. I still have few questions like how large was the group travelling together? How they manage with the group for a visit? Could you explain more about the safety considerations overlooked?

stekmer

Thanks 'Jano422'

The group size varied each day and ranged from about 14 up to about 22 people. They combine tours and link them altogether - pretty well organized.

The safety considerations were mainly around the way boats were docked and the need to walk along narrow wooden planks or over other boats without anyone offering a steadying hand or shoulder. Some boats lacked flotation devices altogether. Having a good sense of balance is helpful.

I will try to write the rest of that trip report up over the weekend.

Thanks again for your comment.

lee57

Hi,

Thank you for your suggestions. I believe Sinh cafe is very reputable but also heard on tripadvisor that it is much overrated?

stekmer

I have just added the Day 2 (Part 3) of the Sinh Cafe Mekong Delta trip
HCMC to PP

troy34

I have used the genuine Sinh Cafe on many occasions and had nothing but great service and prices from them. I was even on a tour with them once and ran out of money to pay the entrance fee into a museum with no ATM in sight. The tour guide lent me the money without me even asking him for it, I assured I would pay him back and that I did. I am sure there are many tour companies that offer the same type of service. I believe it would be the many fake ones are who are responsible for the bad raps Sinh Cafe gets. There are many stories of scams and poor service that have been read about. At the end of the day find a company that you have heard nothing but good reports about and stick to them, it is often the unfamiliar tourist who are easily scammed!

lee57

Hi,

Happy to hear good things about Sinh Cafe. Email them now. Many thanks.

nicksie

hi the link provided doesn7t work any more, so can anyone send me the link for the REAL sinh cafe. i have already paid a deposit, now i ma worried i went with the fakers!! and all the sites look legit, so that is no way to tell.. am panicking.

CMBurns

Try this http://www.thesinhtourist.vn
Sinh Cafe has changed their name to, The Sinh Tourist. Maybe to avoid the rash of fakes, who knows. The link above lists the REAL Sinh hotels, and I've stayed at most of them, so if should be the REAL web site. Good luck, I'm sure there will be new fakes appearing soon.
EXCELLENT!

tomdestar

FYI:

Sinhsafe has changed their name to TheSinhTourist. As I know, one of the reasons is there are so many fake Sinhcafe in Ha Noi (Count not under 100!!!)

www.thesinhtourist.vn (Old one:www.sinhcafevn.com)

To: CMBurns,

I think there is no more Fake TheSinhTourist as this brand new name has registered.
16years ago, Sinhcafe developed as a coffee shop arranging tours for foreign tourists. At that time the name was not registered.