Overseas Adventure Travel VS Odyssey Unlimited, Vietnam

I have traveled twice with OAT and RS. I have no experience with Odyssey.
Differences:
OAT handles luggage
Both have free time and lunches/dinners on your own
OAT offers air fare
Hotels are centrally located and I would say a small step up from RS
You are expected to tip the tour leader only
OAT tour groups are smaller, 16 max
OAT has optional days trips that are an extra cost
Can add on pre and post trip extensions. You can have a month long trip without having to combine 2 tours. All transportation between the extensions and the base trip are included in the extension cost.
Both have very good tour leaders based on my small sample

Check out Gate 1 Tours, the price will be so low it will surprise you.

I've traveled with a group of people who took the Odysseys tour to Vietnam. They loved it.

I've also taken few Odysseys tours. Think of the best of Rick Steves, better hotels, porter service, and lots of local guides. Like RS tours, Odysseys wants to give you free time to explore on your own. (Every Odyssey tour I've been on had a smaller group than the RS tours I've taken.)

Odysseys customer service is fantastic.

We’ve done a couple of Odysseys tours and thought they were super. Friends have done OAT. Comparing notes, it seems to me that OAT appeals to a slightly different crowd. Their hotels are less upscale; and they have a get to know the people feature, like dinner in a local’s home.
My reaction to the latter, which btw has nothing to do with my politics, is that it is artificial. I don’t really want to spend my travel time that way.
The Odysseys’ itineraries were full enough for me. i even skipped a couple of events - - - the Viet Cong tunnels and half of one of the Cambodia temple days.

I have traveled with both OAT and Gate 1 (mentioned by another post above). I have not traveled with Odysseys Unlimited, but have heard many good things about them.

My trip with OAT to Laos and Myanmar was excellent. The guides were every bit as good as RS guides. The group was much smaller than RS tours (14 in this case - they limit tours to 16). They provided some services that RS does not, such as luggage handling and airport transfers. We had many wonderful excursions, but also some free time, meals on our own, and one or two optional activities. Some of the hotels were quite amazing, but, of course, these countries are inexpensive. I also took a tour with them in Morocco. The guide was not as good (although we had a couple of excellent local guides), but the trip was still a lot of fun and worthwhile. I would not hesitate to travel again with them - as a matter of fact, I will be going to Vietnam and Cambodia with them in November!

I traveled with Gate 1 to southern India and the tour was fabulous. However, be warned that many of their tours have 40 or more people in the group - which is how they offer such inexpensive tours. They also save money by sometimes using hotels that are not centrally located, so it is more difficult to plan activities on your own. They have a lot of optional tours that add to the base cost of the trip, often excursions that other companies include in the base price. The tour I was on was one of their “Discovery” (small group) tours. These tours are more expensive (but not outrageously so). They are limited to 22 people, are more all-inclusive, use somewhat better hotels and often include more meals. I would travel again with Gate 1, but only on a Discovery tour. I can’t imagine traveling with a herd of 40 people!

Look carefully at the itinerary of each tour that you are considering, what’s included and what’s optional, where hotels are located, what dates are offered, and so on. Then choose what matches most closely what is important to you.

Have a wonderful trip!

I'm one more person who has gone on several trips with OAT but never with Odyssey, so I too can't compare. And I've never been on an RS tour.

I've done two OAT trips (both in South America), and I have three more scheduled in the next year. I think some of the previous responders have given you good info about what OAT trips are like.

I would just add one thing. There are two types of activities that take place on OAT trips that I've never had on any other tour I've done.

• A Day in the Life: According to their website, "Typical experiences include village walks, shopping at local markets, visiting children at their school, and Home-Hosted meals with local families." I can understand why this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely loved the home visits I did in Argentina and in Peru. In Peru we shopped at a local market first and brought stuff to a family home and all cooked together and ate together. In Argentina it was a big family farm, and we again helped cook, ate together, and shared stories. We also visited a school in a small Chilean village. The highlight there was them singing us songs they were using to help learn English. Then we all sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" for them. And we visited a Guarani village in the jungle near the Iguazu River in Argentina. They sang for us and shared some of their hand crafts. All of these were just extraordinary experiences, and the kinds of things you'd never get to do if you were visiting on your own.
• Controversial Topics: Each trip has an opportunity to confront issues that may be challenging or cause discomfort. In Bariloche, Argentina, we met with an historian who talked about the Nazis who came to Argentina after World War II. We also learned about the centuries-long struggles of the native Mapuche people. In Buenos Aires we met with someone from Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo and learned about the efforts they have made to reconnect with their kidnapped family members. In the Sacred Valley of Peru we met with a coca farmer who helped us learn about how coca is used medicinally and in folk rituals and how the US's war on drugs is hurting their entire way of life. The thing I love about all these controversial topics is that you don't have to take sides. It's about learning and coming to understand different perspectives.

I think doing "A Day in the Life" and "Controversial Topics" in Vietnam would be an awesome experience.

Everyone who responded to my post, thank you!

We are big fans of Odysseys Unlimited (6 trips) and their tours are flawless. I highly recommend them. We booked a month long tour with OAT precovid to Morocco and had difficulty getting our money back. Our money was eventually refunded. Another company I can suggest is Scenic USA. They are an Australian company with offices in the US. We took their Mekong River cruise and it was fabulous and a great deal for the money. Beautiful accommodations, wonderful food, one group tour in the morning and a choice of two different excursions in the afternoon. Entertainment onboard at night. The temple dinner in Siem Reap we will remember forever. The tour was all inclusive with the exception of one or two meals. The ship carries 100 people but we were broken up into groups of 25 with our own tour guide and 50 seat bus so it’s like a small group tour. They have a free laundry on board and an elevator. Our tour mainly covered Cambodia but the longer tour starts in Hanoi. The tour ends in Saigon. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat. Edited to add that we traveled to Egypt and Jordan with Scenic and took their Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and Antarctica cruise. All of these were great.