How a package price is built

Two of these lines, the car and the guide, are fixed costs for the whole party. They are the reason a party of four pays much less per person than a party of two. Everything else is either per person or per room.

1. Party size. The car and guide cost almost the same for one traveller as for six; above about four a larger vehicle is needed, which raises the car line but not by as much as the extra people bring it down.
2. Hotel level. The only line that changes between Standard, Superior and Deluxe. On a one-night package it is one room-night; on the six-day package it is five, and the two Phu Quoc nights weigh most.
3. Single rooms. See the next section.
4. Shared or private boats. A shared seat is cheaper for one or two travellers. From about four people a private boat often costs little more per person and runs on your timing.
5. The month. Rooms rise in the weeks before and after Lunar New Year, when the whole country travels, and on public holidays. On Phu Quoc the dry season from December to March is also the busy season.
6. Package length. More days add more car, guide and hotel lines. They do not add a margin of their own.

A room costs the same whether one person sleeps in it or two. When two people share, each pays half. When one person has a room alone, that person pays the whole room. The single supplement is the difference: the other half of the room, for every night of the package, at the level chosen.

• On the two-day package, one night: one half-room at the chosen level.
• On the four-day package, three nights: three half-rooms, two of them in Can Tho.
• On the six-day package, five nights: five half-rooms, and the two on Phu Quoc are usually the largest.

The supplement does not cover the shared costs. A solo traveller also carries the whole car and guide line alone, which is why the row "1 traveller, own room" in every price table is quoted separately rather than as the two-person price plus a supplement. In a party of three, one traveller usually takes a single room and pays the supplement, while the car and guide are split three ways.

• International and domestic flights. Fares change daily and many travellers fly on elsewhere. If you want us to book the flight from Phu Quoc, it is a separate line at the fare of the day.
• Visas. Vietnam issues e-visas to every nationality through the Immigration Department's own portal. It is your application, in your name, and the fee is paid there.
• Travel insurance. Cover depends on your health, your country and your other travel. We cannot choose it for you, and selling it would mean choosing it for you.
• Dinners. Evenings in Can Tho, Chau Doc and Ha Tien are free, and most travellers want to choose where and when they eat. A set dinner would cost you money for a meal you might not want.
• Drinks other than water. They vary too much to price fairly in advance.
• Tips. At your discretion, given directly to the guide, driver and boat crews, never collected by us.
• Optional extras. The Sam Mountain cable car, extra boat hours, massages, early check-in and late checkout. Each is priced as its own line if you ask for it.

If you see the same route quoted for a good deal less, it is usually one of these. None of them is dishonest in itself. Each is a real difference that the price reflects.

• The Cai Rang boat is a seat on a large shared boat that leaves at 07:30 or later, after the busiest hour
• The hotel is described as "3-star or similar" with no name and no room category until after payment
• The guide stays on the bank or in the car while you take the boats
• The car is a shared minibus collecting other travellers, so the day runs to its timetable, not yours
• Lunches are dropped, or replaced with a set meal at a restaurant chosen for its commission
• On the six-day route, the fast boat becomes the car ferry of about three hours, or the island transfer is dropped

Ask any company, us included, to price each line of the standard table. A quote that cannot be broken into lines cannot be compared.

Choose a package on the packages page, read about the three hotel levels, then send the form with your month and party size. How to book describes what you receive and when you pay.