We chose the Haivenu as our logo partly for its striking beauty, but mostly it expresses the qualities that we want for our company.

The Haivenu is rare and unique to Vietnam. We're one of a tiny number of travel companies that can offer you a genuine tailor-made luxury private tour or holiday at an affordable price.

Like the Haivenu, we're tenacious. Nothing is too much trouble for us: we apply the highest standards of quality to everything we do.

Having the Haivenu as our logo also reminds us of our commitment to conserving the environment of our beautiful country. 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 Vietnam tour operator, committed to providing top-quality, personalised service and fully sustainable tourism. Our mission is to provide you with a memorable experience of the real Vietnam by avoiding the usual tourist routes in favour of unspoilt landscapes, unusual attractions and the fascination of the daily life of ordinary people. We want you to carry home the image of the Haivenu to remind you of our remarkable country - exciting, exotic, safe and friendly.

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Our People
At present, we have twelve specialists who work as a tightly-knit team totally committed to responsible tourism. Apart from our housekeeper, all are university graduates and all speak fluent English.

Managing Director: Ha (Ms. Vo Thi Bich Ha, B.A. English, Dalat)
After several years in the tourism business, Ha founded Haivenu on Christmas Day, 2000. Since then, she has established it as a successful international tourism company and Vietnam's leading specialist personalised tour operator. Apart from running the business and training the staff, she's an excellent swimmer, a talented painter, a skilled cook, and an aficionado of rock music. She has ambitious plans for Haivenu - an office in Ho Chi Minh City and another in the UK are already in the pipeline. She runs the company as a family, but insists on the highest standards of professionalism.

General Manager: Tuan (Mr. Dong Minh Tuan, B.A. Tourism, B.A. English, Hanoi)

Tuan manages day-to-day activities and Haivenu's extensive information database. His speciality is the 'unusual' request - he's the person who others turn to when customers want something way out of the ordinary. Tuan's main interest is travelling, but enjoys reading about culture and history and listening to music - particularly the saxophone. Recently married, he's looking forward to becoming a father early in the New Year. Note the 'phone - they're seldom absent in our busy office!

Tour Operator: Luong (Mr. Nguyen Van Luong, B.A. Tourism, Hanoi)

Unlike Tuan, and despite his good looks, Luong is still footloose and fancy-free. He describes his ideal activity for relaxing as "Lying on the beach and with a couple of bottles of beer". However, he's recently acquired a girlfriend. Judging by the rapid improvement in his manners and sudden reduction of his beer intake, she must have a very large thumb! She'll be lucky if she catches him, though - apart from being an accomplished dancer, he's kind, generous and has a heart of gold!


Tour Operator: Hang (Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, B.A. English, Hanoi)

Hang has only been with us for about a year and a half, but during that time she's acquired a husband and a baby in quick succession. "He's a wonderful man, faithful, hard-working and romantic" is how she describes her spouse. As well as being a tour operator, Hang is our 'Queen of the hotels' - setting up contracts, managing our comprehensive database of Vietnam's hotels, and updating the information on our web site. She's careful, methodical and has a good memory, vital qualities for dealing with around 200 hotels and resorts.

Tour Operator: Huong (Ms. Le Diem Huong, B.A. English, B. A. Tourism Management, Hanoi)

Huong is "26 and still available", but that's a cover-up because she enjoys her freedom! With classical music, reading, singing and dancing as hobbies, boyfriends are low priority. She's patient, likes detailed work, wants everything to be perfect, and is a highly skilled tour operator. She's also an excellent example of good customer service. She starts with customers and finishes with friends - her feedback ratings are always top notch. Huong is full of fun, but treats her work very seriously. "The more I work in this industry, the more I love it" she says.

Tour Operator: Nhung (Ms Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, B.A. English, Hanoi)

Nhung joined Haivenu straight from university a year ago. Despite no previous experience, she's taken to tourism like a duck to water. At home, she loves sitting alone and listening to the classical music. She says, "Sleeping is my favourite sport". Her colleagues know different - she'd win a gold medal if chattering were to become an Olympic event! She has a clear idea about boyfriends. "My ideal partner will understand me, know what I think and help me to become a bit quieter". If ever there was a challenge ....!

Tour Operator: Ngoc (Ms Nguyen Hai Ngoc, B.A.
Tourism and Hotel Management)

Ngoc arrived at the same time as Nhung, but couldn't be more different. She's tall, calm, and softly spoken - a thinker who listens carefully before she comes to an opinion. She's obviously decided to settle down with Haivenu as she married her boyfriend not long after joining us. Ngoc has ambitions to travel to Australia and the US, but is happy with her husband, whom she describes as a best friend, a good partner and a big brother. She even remembers the precise time of her first kiss - 3pm on October 27, 2003 - now there's a true romantic.

Tour Operator: Phuong (Ms Duong Hong Phuong, B.A. Tourism and Hotel Management)

Phuong is our latest recruit - she's an experienced tour operator returning to work after her first baby. Small and softly-spoken, Phuong appears the perfect shy young lady, but there's much more to her. Her dream is to be "the boss of my small family". Watch out, husband! She's a rock fan, so Len is very happy to have someone who shares his passion. However, she hates talkative people. As Len can't keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes, it looks like sparks will fly!

Administrative Manager: Nhan (Ms Nguyen Thanh Nhan)

Nhan's main job is looking after the money and keeping the tax office happy - not an easy task in Vietnam! She became a member of the Haivenu family in March 2005, but has already overhauled our entire financial system which now hums like an oiled machine. Her tiny frame and innocent expression disguises a wicked sense of humour. She revels in her childhood misdemeanors - skipping school to steal guavas, eating a neighbour's chicken dinner when he wasn't looking, and so on. She's another who can recall her first kiss, but she made sure it was easy to remember - January 1st, 2000. The recipient became her husband!

Cashier and legal adviser: Sam (Ms Nguyen Thi Quynh Sam)

Sam another arrival straight from University in Phu Yen, a province nearly a thousand kilometres away to the south. A couple of months ago, she decided Haivenu was the only company for her and moved to Hanoi to join us. Unusually in Vietnam, she is fiercely independent. She travelled north alone and refused all offers of help from her family in finding accommodation - not bad for a young lady who hadn't been much further than her home town. Sam has already settled into city life and is making new friends. She's currently improving her English in evening classes - she's ambitious as well.

Housekeeper: Chi Be (Ms Bui Thi Ha)

Chi Be means Mrs. Small in Vietnamese. Her real name is Ha, the same as our Managing Director, so to avoid confusion she's acquired a highly accurate nickname - she's tiny (but also has the loudest voice!). Chi Be is our only staff member without a degree, but is arguably one of the most important employees - she keeps the offices spotlessly clean, provides excellent meals, supplies plants and flowers (and keeps them alive) and, using her tool box, makes running repairs as well as a host of other tasks.

Tourism Development Consultant: Len (Mr. Leonard Tooke, M.A., B.Ed. London)

Len is the retired ex-principal of a large UK secondary school. Arriving in Vietnam as a volunteer teacher in Ha Long Bay, he later worked as the Resident Consultant to UNESCO before joining Haivenu. Len is now a registered Hanoi resident and assists with training and tourism development. He's also a singer with our Vietnamese rock band, rides a bicycle and plays squash regularly. At 61, he's by far our oldest employee and proud of his status as the oldest rocker in town, and probably in Vietnam. His ambition is to grow old disgracefully - he's well on the way to achieving it!

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A few of our guides:

Mr. Phan Xuan Tinh (B.A. English, Hanoi)
Mr. Tinh has a degree in English, ten years of experience, and is our senior guide. He's a mine of information and anecdotes about every aspect of Vietnam, and seems to possess limitless energy. He loves his job - despite his maturity, he still gets excited as a child when interpreting the history of a battle or ritual. His enthusiasm is highly infectious. He is keenly interested in singing and traditional folk songs.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Quynh (B.A. English, B.A. Tourism, Hanoi)
Mr. Quynh's has degrees in both English and Tourism. His personality is the antithesis of Mr. Tinh. He's Haivenu's 'Mr. Cool' - always immaculately turned out, with the latest 'shades'. He comes from a small village near Hanoi, famous for traditional Quah Ho singing - he's always looking for an opportunity to take groups there to meet his friends and relatives. His laid back image slipped when he became a father recently, but he's now back to normal! In the little free time he has, he enjoys art, and music, and is an avid reader.

Ms Le Hong Tra My (B.A. Tourism, Hanoi)
My is the youngest of our regular guides, but has already accumulated four years of good experience under Mr. Tinh's guidance. Her personality is best described as 'exuberant' - she throws herself into the job and is always ready to expand the day into the evening. Ms. My claims her interests are "reading, writing and eating".

These are just three examples of over a hundred of Vietnam's best freelance guides. All have official contracts to work with us, are fully registered, and have been chosen for their fluency in English, their knowledge of their local culture and history, and the strength of their personality.

We keep closely in touch with each one and regularly update their profiles on our large database. Because our customers are highly individual, we want to make sure your guide 'fits' you and the places you're going to visit.

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Company Details

Haivenu's registration details, licence to operate, and company information

Haivenu is a registered Vietnamese company affiliated to the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA - Vietnam Chapter), and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA). We are a private business, one of the first travel agents to be granted an official international operating licence by the Vietnamese government. Our registration details are below.

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