Adventure Tours Vietnam - Why go with us?

Competent leadership with a sense of adventure and style...

J. Derek Larson, pictured at the right, has traveled and guided clients all over the world. He has fourteen years of teaching experience at the middle, secondary, and college levels. He has set up outdoor education programs at two different schools and safely guided hundreds of students all over the US West and Mexico. He is an expert naturalist (MS, Stanford University), and he can interpret the natural wonders wherever he goes. When not leading trips to Vietnam, he teaches biology and geology at the college level, and he also founded and directs TAO Education, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to increasing youth access to the outdoors.

Vietnam--what Thailand used to be like before it was "discovered".

Come see this fascinating country with us! We can adapt our trips to suit your desires--from high adventure to pure luxury to shopping tours to relaxing on the beach. There are few places in the world where five star accommodation is this affordable. If you want simpler accommodation, we can arrange any tour for significantly less!

Our travels in Vietnam have shown us a fine, honorable, cooperative culture, one that is eager to learn from Westerners and welcomes them openly. We are able to show you a side of the country difficult to see because the language barrier is so formidable. Hien Larson has native language skills and family contacts that ensure us the very best treatment wherever we go. Please ask for a reference list from our past clients, and they will confirm that a Vietnam trip with TAO means you will be treated like family.

Hien Larson, pictured at left, is a Vietnamese immigrant who fled Vietnam in 1980 with the "second wave" of boat people. She made it to the US after a harrowing year bouncing between refugee camps all over Indonesia. Landing in Los Angeles without knowing a word of English, she is a testament to our "land of opportunity". She holds two masters degrees in education, and she currently teaches at North Tahoe Middle School.

After marrying in 1998, Hien and Derek moved to Lake Tahoe and started Tahoe Adventure Outfitters Guide Service in 1999. After scouting Vietnam first on their own, they began leading trips there in 2002. It was an emotional experience for Hien to return after such political upheaval, but she found a country eager to put the past behind it and a people warm and welcoming to Americans and their entrepreneurial spirit.