What is the Haivenu?

The Haivenu is a tiny orchid that grows only on the craggy limestone cliffs of the islands in Ha Long Bay in north-east Vietnam. Its botanical name is 'paphiopedilium concolor', but is more commonly known in Vietnam as the 'yellow slipper orchid', after the shape of its dainty blossoms. Despite its diminutive size, it's a determined survivor, clinging tightly to niches in the vertical rock faces and defying both baking sun and torrential rain.

We chose the Haivenu as our emblem partly because of its striking beauty, but mostly because it seemed to express some of the qualities that we wanted for our company.

The Haivenu is certainly special. It's rare, and uniquely Vietnamese. We are very Vietnamese too, and proud of our country. Like the Haivenu, we are special: one of a very few tour operators offering genuine tailor made holidays and vacations at affordable prices. Nothing is too much trouble for us: we apply the highest standards of quality to everything we do.

We make suggestions, provide information and encourage you to give us your ideas. We enjoy challenges - like the Haivenu, we're tenacious. When you come up with something tricky, our staff members combine to find a solution. If what you want is possible, we'll work at it until we find a way to make it happen.

We're a small team working very closely together, because we believe that's the only way to give truly personal service. If we find we're getting too big, we'll emulate the Haivenu, find another niche and expand into it rather than straggle and lose our sparkle!

Having the Haivenu as our logo also reminds us of our commitment to conserving the environment of our beautiful country. We strongly support the Vietnamese government's measures to protect our country's cultural and natural heritage, particularly the many endangered species of fauna and flora threatened with extinction from poaching and illegal exploitation. We avoid 'ecotourism' in environmentally sensitive areas and encourage our customers to travel with light footsteps. Viet Nam is a beautiful country with a rich culture: we want to keep it that way.

We are a young company, committed to providing top-quality, personalised service and fully sustainable tourism. We want to support Vietnam's development and help to protect its rich heritage whilst providing our clients with a memorable experience of our remarkable country. We believe that the best way to do this is to avoid the usual tourist routes in favour of unspoilt landscape, unusual attractions and the fascination of the daily life of ordinary people. We want you to carry the image of the Haivenu home with you to remind you of the real Vietnam - exotic, friendly and looking foward to the future.