Asia - Experience with Saigontourist / Money Xfer?

Hi all,

Has anyone had any experience with Saigontourist Danang, and/or money transfers to Vietnam? I am traveling with my family to Danang and signed up for a tour through Saigontourist Danang (the Danang branch of Saigontourist). It is a tour to Hue, My Son, and Hoi An. Two weeks ago (June 21), we wire transferred the full amount from our US bank to Saigontourist's bank (Vietcombank), however they still say they have not received the money. Our bank in the US has the confirmation slip showing that the money has been transferred.

Has anyone had any experience with Saigontourist Danang? Or, has anyone had such an experience with money transfers? Is there a way to confirm that the money has entered the account of Saigontourist and/or get their money back?

Thanks!

I'll do half-a-reply since nobody else has bitten.

Only once did I personally do a bank transfer. It was GBP from the UK to a Vietcombank account in Hanoi. It arrived next day without a hitch.

I know others who do transfers to/from Vietcombank without any issues - usually USD from the UK.

I believe Vietcombank are pretty efficient - I'm guessing the problem is with Saigontourist. I doubt whether there is any overt dishonesty on their part - but they are not the most responsive of organisations.

If its a telex transfer, there is a way to trace the payment. My own bank charges for this - the fee is the same as for the original transfer, though I suppose they would refund if they were in error.

By the way, I'm not sure how common it is for full payment to be insisted upon prior to arrival. (I can imagine state-run Saigontourist might be the least flexible). Some VN-based private tour companies require only a deposit and the balance payable on the first day.

Thanks jimbo99, for your reply!

I think you may be right, in that Saigontourist is the one who could not find record of the transfer and not the bank. The representative at the agency said that she would ask us to pay the amount upon completion of the tour if she still could not find the transfer. We went on the tour (just got back to the US), and the guide didn't ask for more money at the end, so I guess Saigontourist found the money (never did get a confirmation!). Anyway, as you suggested, before leaving Singapore for Vietnam we initiated a trace through our bank to find out what happened.

For background and those considering traveling to Vietnam:

In December (to Saigon and Hanoi) my family used the tour company Haivenu based on some flyertalk recommendations. We found them much better at communicating with us, and of course there wasn't an issue with wiring them the money (they also requested full payment in order to confirm the hotels, etc.). However, I was really disappointed by their guides. They knew very little about the sights we visited, and one even inquired for a job at an English bookstore while we were waiting around. Maybe it was because it was peak period and there was a shortage of qualified guides, but I wasn't inclined to use them again!

In December, I was pretty impressed with the Saigontourist tour guides we came across (at times, stood close to hear their explanation of the sights because our guides weren't very useful), so decided to go with them this time (to Danang, Hue, My Son and Hue). In this experience, Saigontourst was not very good with communicating by email or even when we called them, and then there was this money mess. But the guide was so much better - excellent grasp of history, geography, local economy, etc. -, and the food was a little better too - with Haivenu we went to the same restaurant several times and had the same dishes!

If you have suggestions for other tour companies in Vietnam, I'd appreciate it (sounds like you have some experience). Next time I go to Vietnam, though, I'll try to have a less complex itinerary and try to go independently. There are, in particular, a lot of culinary explorations that are hard to get when on an organized tour!

If you have suggestions for other tour companies in Vietnam, I'd appreciate it (sounds like you have some experience).

I feel I know VN quite well, but haven't been on a tour myself since 1993. So really what I know just comes from hanging around a few touristy places and asking how people have got on or arranging stuff for visiting customers etc.

Your comment re. guides is interesting. I can well imagine that the Saigontourist guides are more reliable. The private companies are variable - the reality is that most of the guides are freelance and just move between companies as required.

In 1993, I used a UK company who hooked up with "Vidotour" in VN. I think it was meant to be the first privately run tour company in VN. It was also run by a very professional/energetic woman. Everything was perfect - very knowledgeable guides who spoke excellent English (common now, but not common in 1993 in Hanoi). It was a 3 week tour from North to South. Vidotour are still going and seem to be a big player now. I'd certainly consider using them http://www.vidotourtravel.com/ (Noticed they've got a Scottish bloke as a Chief Financial Officer - no doubt he can trace a T/T!)

Ann Tours are often recommended here. Another I've mentioned is http://www.threeland.com/. A friend had a less-than-perfect guide (a Chinese speaker, at her request) who was lazy. They immediately replaced him on getting a complaint. I think this is as much as you can hope for...

Once in country, Sinh Cafe are well known for helping backpackers - but can book posher hotels/private cars etc as required. Also Fiditourist (Nguyen Hue in Saigon). They seem to be less used by foreigners, but I've found them reliable and professional for organising trips to Mui Ne etc, hotel bookings etc.

Wow, thanks so much again for your detailed reply jimbo99! It must be exciting to have seen the country evolve or stay the same over the course of so many years.

An update: a couple days ago, we did get confirmation from Vietcombank through our bank in the US that the money was indeed deposited in the Saigontourist account. So, a bit of needless anxiety, but it's mostly supplanted by good memories from the trip!