Nine ways to eat the island, side by side

The six tours by car and boat - Squid Night, the South Island Seafood Day, the Ham Ninh Crab Supper, Sunset Town Evening Eats, the Sim and Honey Farm Morning and the Family Night Market - run private by default. The car or boat and the guide are for your group only, from two people to twelve, and the price per person falls as the group grows because the costs are shared by more people.

Each one can also be booked as a joined departure, shared with other guests at a lower single price. A joined departure runs once three guests have booked and never takes more than twelve. If your date has not reached three guests two days before, we offer you a private departure at the private rate, another date or a full refund - your choice.

Prices on these six are reference prices: we confirm your exact price in writing, for your date and group, before you pay anything.

The food tour is for covering ground. Duong Dong is spread out, the good kitchens are not on one street, and three hours on a scooter reaches places that a walking group cannot fit into the same evening. You eat tasting portions, not full meals, so the point is range: five small things rather than one large one.

It is the wrong call if you dislike traffic, if anyone in your group is under twelve, or if you want to learn to cook what you eat. It is also limited for strict vegetarians, which the diet page explains without sugar-coating.

People staying three nights or more often book two or three of these, and the order matters. Do a tasting tour first - Night Bites or Sunset Town Evening Eats - so you learn the names of the dishes. Put the seafood days later, when you know what you liked, and a class on a rainy or slow day.

Avoid putting two seafood suppers on consecutive evenings; most people enjoy the second one more after a day off.