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Alova Junk Boat Cruises

We did our research on junk boat cruises before we left Australia because of the some of the bad reviews we read about on the junk cruises.
We chose this company because they seem very reliable and we can say that our experience on the junk was excellent.
One of the things in Vietnam is finding someone who speaks English and our guide Manh was fantastic. His command of English was great except for the occasional singular or plural verb. In Vietnam this guy was a scholar.
We also recognize him for his politeness and courtesy, a good guide makes a difference to a tour and this guy really knew how to give foreigners a good time and keep them informed about their tour.

The junk tour kept to schedule which is something not experienced by some friends we meet along the way and they have some horror stories. 

We were escorted to the boat, once we set sail, we were offered a 10 course Vietnamese meal which was very high quality and the guide is forwarding the recipe for the spring rolls.
Cost of drinks on board the vessel was very reasonable, the soft drinks were about $1.20 US and beer was about $1.75US.

Safety was noticeable on the junk; they were very stringent about safety and if you sat in the wrong spot or simply a place where your safety was comprised, you were asked to move. This was comforting to know that this was not just an old boat but a company responsible for your safety.

They took us to all the normal tourist attractions on what they call Route 1. We saw everything from the kissing rocks and other rock features.
We visited the floating fishing village and basically given about 40 minutes to kayak around the bay which was a wonderful experience including going through one of the major caves and saving hello to some of the locals around the village.

It was value for money, particularly because of this really good English speaking guide. 

We were on a cruise ship and some of our friends experienced not so nice experiences including not seeing the main attractions or coming back significantly early, or being over charged for drinks. Our experience is one in which recommend the company we traveled with and are very pleased to support the company.

– Reviewed by Shaun S –