HandspanOur long-term overseas travel partners

Meghan (www.bikehike.com)
Handspan is very professional to work with - both their office staff and the guides. We have worked with them since 2003 and always receive rave reviews from our travellers about their services. The office staff is prompt to answer e-mails, friendly and very thorough in their answers. They are a delight to work with. The guides are very knowledgeable, personable and our safety conscious. Handspan is a joy to work with. 

Sandy (www.globaladventureguide.com)
From Global Adventure Guide's point of view, we are very happy with how you operate our tours (I just checked that with Ralph too!). Your guides are awesome.

Ingo (www.chamaeleon-reisen.de)
Currently really everything is 100% to our satisfaction and our opinion about Handspan is that it stays in front of all Vietnamese tour operators in points of modern tourism that is ecotourism; personal touch, high performance, immediate response, etc.   We are very, very happy with Handspan.

 

                 Our happy campers

Jane Isdale - Wellington, NZ
Our bike guides went the extra mile to make sure we had a fantastic time - nothing was too much trouble for them. They adjusted our programme to make sure every member of the group was catered for.

Barry Prosser - UK
Great tour guide (Hua) who knew local people and introduced us to a lot of local food and places we wouldn't otherwise have known about - off the beaten track, no other tourists.

Odyssey_1977 - Tripadvisor.com member 
Handspan is definately one of the more trusted and reliable agents. You have no worries booking through them. Both I and my family have used them on different trips and had great experiences.

vietnam2011 - Hamburg, Germany Tripadvisor.com member
Took 2 trips with Handspan - very good insights into Vietnamese culture and lifestyle, great quality for the price.  We would always book Handspan again! (We took other tours in Vietnam with cheaper or even more expensive tour operators and were not nearly as satisfied.)

Harvey - Melbourne, Australia Tripadvisor.com member
We have just returned from Vietnam - a wonderful 3 week trip. We used Handspan for this tour. They are a very well-organised company and we would recommend them. We had a bit of a disaster with my son dislocating his shoulder jumping off the junk. Required an overnight stay in Halong City Hospital -very scary! The Handspan crew were wonderful - couldn't do enough for us. One girl even spent the night (sleeping in a chair!) in the hospital with my husband and son so she could translate, etc. Other than that, the cruise was very good. Food was great and kayaking is highly recommended. The resort at Cat Ba was very nice although the weather let us down. The food there was magnificent. We also did a Handspan tour to Tam Coc and Hoa Lu day trip. The cycling along back roads was one of my Vietnam highlights.

danbrew - lonleyplanet.com thorntree forum member 
I can assure you that you'll have no worries with Handspan.  I had originally booked two tours with them - the Halong Bay overnight, plus a biking tour of Tam Coc. The biking tour was scheduled for my 2nd day in Hanoi - I was a bit bushed from my travels and thought that I would rather walk around Hanoi instead of busing to Tam Coc and then biking all day. I called Handspan on Monday and said I wasn't up for the Tuesday tour - they said "no problem". I get to Handspan on Wed. for the Halong Bay tour, and they cheerfully refund the money I had previously paid. And they refunded in dollars using the exact exchange rate - no screwing around with funny exchange rates or such.

 

Media and Awards 

E - The Environmental Magazine October 2005 
Handspan Travel Indochina has a different focus, using tourism to improve quality of life as well as environmental conditions... tourist dollars are sorely needed by these remote villages and contribute to important improvements in health and environmental conditions. 

The New York Times July 2002
I used Handspan Travel Indochina because of its excellent reputation for custom eco-tours.

UNEP/Conservation International Guide to Managing Environmental & Social Impacts of Mountain Tourism p.25
Handspan Travel Indochina has worked with local families to create local accommodation options for trekkers in the mountains of northern Vietnam.  The company is also helping to raise funds to renovate and expand the school in Lao Chai village.

Top Trade Service Providers Award
2006, 2007, 2008 - Vietnam Ministry of Industry & Commerce

Top Business Award 2007 - Australian Chamber of Commerce 

The first travel company in Vietnam to receive the ISO 9001 Certification for Quality Management.  
First awarded ISO 9001:2000 in 2005, and now re-certified with ISO9001:2008

 

Our former staff members

Nguyen Thu Hien: Handspaner (2001-2004)
Currently: Sales and Marketing Manager - Asianventure Tours Hanoi
As a staff who used to work at Handspan Travel Indochina, this company is a dynamic one which is great environment for young people who wish to prove their ability, experience and enthusiasm of creative labor. As a tourist who uses the services at Handspand, you will feel like you are at home as the staffs are always fun, warm and very enthusiastic….Furthermore, they are very professional and expert in their field. Travel with Handspan Travel Indochina, you will not have to worry but enjoy your holiday in a very relaxing and interesting way.

 

Chu Thi Mai: Handspaner (2003-2005)
Currently: Sales Rep. in USA - Sisters Tours Vietnam
Handspan is strong and very professional, has a wonderful team, a great environment and very good reputation. I have no doubt that Handspand will grow bigger and stronger.   I have always cherished the time I worked there. It was a very special and enjoyable time in my life: I learned so much and had so much fun… it was a family. Thank you so much and I LOVE Handspan!