A travel guide knows the history, culture and the answers to questions tourists are likely to ask. Guides will show you the major sights and explain their historical background. They will help you navigate through the crowded cities and isolated jungle trails. They can explain the festivals, the rituals in the temples, the fashions, the menus in the restaurants and the regional specialities.
In addition to lectures of facts and dates, a guide can explain the issues facing the locals and the current events that shape their daily lives. A guide can give you a of taste of what the country is really like. This might range from explaining local courtship and wedding customs (triggered by a wedding procession that blocked our way) to taking you to their favorite cafe and ordering you a delicious cup of 'coffee with egg'.
Guides are flexible. You can engage their services for a couple of hours, to see a single temple, or a week or more to tour an entire region. You can join a guided group or hire a guide just for yourself and travel companions. Guides can also suggest iteneries and offer suggestions for attractions that you might otherwise miss.
A travel guide is a luxury that not all travellers are willing to pay for. However before you say no, you might want to reconsider, as prices in Viet Nam are quite reasonable and the guides themselves take great pride in the service that they provide. A guide adds greatly to the travel experience. Guides made our trip to Viet Nam much more enriching.
We were fortunate to have booked our trip to be accompanied by guides. The guides themselves were all first class, educated people with an excellent knowledge of their own history and culture.