WHAT'S INCLUDED?

Best of Southeast Asia
27-day Private Journey
Starts in Bangkok on February 1, 2011

Visiting Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, the Golden Triangle, Pakbeng, Luang Prabang,
Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Angkor)
including four UNESCO World Heritage Sites

What's Included? (and what's not?)

Southeast Asia is a fascinating destination especially for those of us who live in North America. Every day our guests will experience things they never dreamed of.

In some locations you could be presented with a few challenges when it comes to getting things done on your own and yet, in other locations you can have a wonderful time discovering new and exciting sites and events. So, we take this into account when planning what to include in the price.

For our entire 27-day journey, we include all breakfasts and several other meals, all transportation in Southeast Asia, all hotels, all guides and drivers and driver's helpers, all group luggage-handlers' fees, all internal air flights, all site admission fees (see below), tour leader assistance and several pleasant "surprises" along the way. This approach gives our guests a more carefree experience and reduces the hassle factor considerably.

Meals

Breakfasts: At most of our hotels you will wake up to a feast including breads, rolls, croissants, pastries, yogurt, tropical fruits, cereals, omelettes, eggs, cheeses, meats, and Asian dishes including congee, roasted fish and vegetables of every kind. Add to this some of the best fruit juices anywhere and coffee that only the French could have invented! On many days, breakfast will carry you through lunchtime and up to dinnertime.

Selected Lunches and Dinners: Whenever it is more convenient to eat lunch as a group we will do so and the cost is included. Usually this happens during an especially full day of sightseeing where it would be best to have lunch together and carry on. Dinners are included if we think our guests would especially enjoy a specific restaurant, usually one of our favourites, or in locations where they may not yet be familiar with the culture and/or layout of the city or town.

We purposely do not include all meals. This would be an unwise decision in these countries since meals are relatively inexpensive anyway and the selection of excellent eating and drinking places is outstanding. Our guests continually tell us that they loved the freedom to choose where they wanted to eat on certain days rather than eating with the group at every meal. We agree and we believe we have this designed perfectly.

Those meals which are included in the price are indicated on the detailed itinerary.

Please see our handout on Extra Costs (see link below) for our assessment of the likely cost of those meals which are not included.

Transportation

We include all transportation whenever the group moves from one place to another. This includes our comfortable and private minibuses, private vans, private Mae Khong riverboat, private long tail boats, wooden pirogues, rickshaws, elephants, bamboo rafts and more.

We also include all seven international and domestic air flights within Asia on modern turbo props and jet aircraft. Our journey includes air tickets for the following segments: Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Luang Prabang-Hanoi, Hanoi-Hue, Danang-Saigon, Saigon-Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh-Siem Reap and Siem Reap-Bangkok.

Transfers

Unlike many other travel companies, we include all transfers – arrival transfers from the airport to your hotel, transfers between all other airports and hotels along the way and final departure transfers from hotel to airport on the last day of your trip.

Separate Guides and Drivers in the following locations

Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand; Houeixay, Pakbeng and Luang Prabang in Laos; Hanoi and Hue in Vietnam; Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia. Our guides are hand-selected by us personally and many have been working with us for years.

Hotel Accommodation in all locations

We include a wonderful selection of hotels, lodges and resorts along the way.
For specific hotel information click Our Hotels.

Entrance fees, park fees, pass fees, boat fees and other fees for all sites included in your tour.
This includes (but is not limited to) the following items.

Longtail boat fees in Bangkok, Temple of the Dawn, Grand Palace, Mae Taman Elephant Camp, Dton Loong village, Chiang Mai Cooking School, orchid and butterfly farm, Ban Pa Nok Kok Hmong village, Longtail boats Thaton-Chiang Rai, Tea Plantation fee, Burma crossing fees, the Thai-Lao River Crossing, Mae Khong Private Cruise boat, Mae Khong River transit fees, Police fees, Lao Lu and Khumu Villages, Pak Ou caves, Kuang Xi Falls, Wat Xieng Thong and other wats, Luang Prabang National Museum, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ho's house, Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, Ngoc Son temple, Hoa Lo (Hanoi Hilton) prison, Ethnological Museum, old quarter rickshaws, Water Puppet performance, Perfume River boat, Thien Mu Pagoda, Minh Mang tomb, family visits, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, National Museum, Phnom Penh cyclos, Tuol Sleng prison, Choeung Ek, the Angkor Park pass and entrance to all temples and monuments including Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphuon, Preah Khan, Ta Prohm, Angkor Wat, Chong Kneas boat trip, Puok Silk Farm, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, train market and many other items.

If you were to travel through this region on your own, you would be paying significant amounts for each of these items and others, separately on the spot, every day.

TrailFinders Documentation

We include a comprehensive Trip Planning Guide which is distributed about three months prior to departure as well as a substantial document detailing the relationships among cultural, historical and archaeological items of interest along our route which is distributed just after arrival in Southeast Asia. As well, we issue a daily journal and scores of local maps and recommendations which are handed out along the way. We also provide a pre-departure package containing detailed instructions for your arrival, a comprehensive packing list, contact numbers and more.

Plus we include the full support of the TrailFinders' Tour Leader and a few great surprises along the way.

Pre-Paid Extras

There are three additional items which are administered by TrailFinders staff during the journey on behalf of our guests, thereby freeing them from the hassles of finding the appropriate exact funds for specific items on demand. These amounts are collected from our guests at time of booking and while the amounts are not technically "included in the tour price" they are collected ahead of time to avoid inconveniencing our guests along the way. These items are:

• Visa fees for Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia

• Airport departure taxes for Siem Reap airport

• Group tips to guides, drivers, boat crews, assistants and other facilitators along the way.

What's not included?

We do not include the following specific items in the price of our land tour.

• International airfare between Canada and Asia. We are experts in international airfares and can help you decide which routing and airline would be best for you. A few popular options are included on our "Price" page. Please call us at 613-789-1900 or 888-765-7662 and we can discuss these and other options with you.

• Travel Insurance premiums

• Visit to a Travel Medicine clinic and any prescribed vaccines or tablets

As on any trip, you will of course be expected to pay for your own personal expenses along the way such as drinks, any extra meals, laundry and so on.

For full details on extra costs please click here to view a summary of "Extra Costs".
(You need to have Adobe acrobat reader to view this and all other "PDF" documents on this website)

If you have any questions at all concerning trip costs, please call us. We strive for absolute accuracy and honesty.

Toll-free:  (888) 765-7662        In Ottawa: (613) 789-1900

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