Pathfinder Travel Co Ltd: REVIEW

Let me start with WHO:

From what I observe most travel agencies in this country (Cambodia) are petty and small and most often look shady. They have the biggest office with a fancy high ceiling, with an embossed metal banner outside. I visited their office on the first day of my tour since they are right next to the National Museum and Royal Palace.

Where:
Well the best way to find them just like almost anywhere is by the good old google maps


How did I meet them?
Through endless hours of using the internet with the search engine, I found their website (pathfinder.travel) which seems to be under-construction for some time now and their facebook page.
I wanted to get it cheap enough so I can afford yet with content and off course it needs to be legit.
They are listed on multiple business directories like cambodiayp, cambodia chamber of commerce, trust pilot and even their location was recommended at wiki travel for cambodia, everything points to them which made me think they are a legit travel agency in Cambodia.

Why I used them?

• PRICE & VALUE . You may say go for Klook or Trip advisor or Kayak or Expedia or any of those travel apps but at the end of the day you end up with multiple transactions from multiple companies that you have to intricately organize.

                  Here is an example:

                                  Day 1: Arrival at Phnom Penh is 4pm via Air Asia

                                             Pick up from the Airport and by 5PM Dinner cruise 

                                   

                                  Viator Price = $25 USD only for the Airport transfer (link here)

                                  Viator Price = $79 USD only for the Dinner cruise (link here)

                                  Booking.com Price = $50 USD for High Sky Hotel (4-5star hotel link here)

                                  Pathfinder Travel Price = $110 airport transfer + dinner cruise + 4-5star hotel

                  Another good example:

                                 8days 7nights Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam vs 5days Cambodia

                                 >>> 8days itinerary

                                                   Day 1 Arrival at Thailand + City tour

                                                   Day 2 Transfer to Pattaya just walk around at walking street

                                                   Day 3 Back to Bangkok then Siem Reap Cambodia
                                                   Day 4 Free leisure (Recommend to visit Angkor Wat)

                                                   Day 5 Transfer to Ho Chi Minh

                                                   Day 6 City Tour
                                                   Day 7 Shopping & free leisure

                                                   Day 8 Departure

                               >>> What they don't say is

                                                   Temple tickets not included (Angkor Wat fee = $37)

                                                   Accommodations is a $20-30 guesthouse, 3star hotel at best

                                                   Besides the City tour and the bus transfers it is actually empty

                                                   The exact same trip is half the price booking it on your own

• STRAIGHT FORWARD. What I learned is that most popular Travel apps even airlines tend to be scammy, they lure you in with the cheapest possible price then bite you from behind because the price that attracted you is conditionally available only if a 8 people or more buys all together. And it's not just the travel activity providers it also applies with airlines. Just go check promotions from Cambodia Angkor Air a Cambodian Airline, the ticket is $7 sometimes less then when you check out all these hidden fees come up making your bill $163 USD in total. Same situation with Cebu Pacific where as they call it Piso fare 1 way = 1 peso only but the return ticket and the add ons like your luggage would have you ending up to pay atleast $80 - 150 USD per trip anyway. What I like about Pathfinder is that they make it clear what they can and can not do my expectations were set right from the start.

• EXTRA MILE. The Managers not an assistant, not a driver not a contractor waited at the airport just to to personally pick me up for my arrival, and on the second day personally took me on a trip at night with all his favorite bars and restaurants.

• SIMPLE. Everything became less complicated, I told them the dates, my hotel budget and preference and 2-3days later they came back to me with a 2 sets of itinerary, one with just flights and hotel and the other one with suggested activities. At this point I already did my research and apparently on contrary to popular belief its very convenient taking the sugested tour and I get to save some money in the process.

Lots of my friends boast, they been to this this this this and that country, but a stamp on your passport and a picture of a famous landmark seems to shallow for me. Take this for example, if someone is willing to give you a free TV which would you rather take? An 80 inch Oled curved display with 720p resolution or a 40 inch LED with 4k resolution and Wifi? My point is just like watching 4k programs its the tiny details that makes all the difference.

The biggest mistake people make when traveling is their purpose, how can you recharge, how can you unwind, when you are siting in a 3 steps wide room bored to death because you are left alone and don't know where to go. 

I have been to Vietnam booked a $160 package deal for 3days 2nights  with just hotel and a city tour. Just to realize that an uber ride from the airport was $5-7 USD and my 2 nights stay was $40 and a City tour was $10-15 USD. It was horribly disappointing, on my 2nd day I didn't know where to go, Not enough people can speak English there to make it worse my Vietnamese is zero. Walking on the side walks with all these scooters literally driving everywhere, makes crossing the street feel like a life and death adventure. 

The Cons:

• You have to book a few weeks in advance, they need prep time just like Batman I guess :)
• Not everyone in the company speaks English good enough to communicate to, get in touch specifically with the international sales team at worse you end up at the Chinese department.
• Most of the good things they have are still off line, being in a country where most people don't even know what a landline is I can't blame them, there is a lot of catching up to be done.
• They are not exactly 24 hours available (at least for the English speaking team) which I think should be important for a travel and hospitality oriented company. They were kind enough to give me their personal contacts when I arrived. I guess that's their way of making up for that.

What I realized because of Pathfinder.

1. Balut is not only found in the Philippines.
2. Cambodia is the Melting Pot of all the Southeast Asian culture, they do business like the Chinese, they take siestas like the French and Spanish, their alphabet are close to the Thais they also have pointy spiky swirlies on their ancient buildings, some dishes crosses a lot like with the Vietnamese and there are a bunch of Expats of all races found in this tiny country.
3. They have at least 20 times better cultural shows compared to the best the Philippines can offer. I am speaking about the Angkor Dynasty Show which is worth mentioning (they didn't pay me, I am just in awe with their show), I won't even know of such a thing it it weren't for their recommendation.
4. The things I can't find on google are what makes all the difference.

Conclusion:

I've been to multiple countries worked with multiple travel providers and Pathfinder Travel is one of those places that knows the value of experience. The value they create and the impression of the service they provided me was above and beyond. Don't get blinded and overwhelmed by multi-country famous places mentioned tours with crappy itineraries.