Tour Details - 20 Day Vietnam, Cambodia & The Mekong In Depth 12/13

Day 1. Arrive Saigon
On arrival in Saigon, you’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. This evening, enjoy a Welcome Reception.

Day 2. Cu Chi Tunnel, Tay Ninh, Saigon
Today visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the Vietnam War. Later, drive to the town of Tay Ninh. Enjoy lunch at Thu Thao restaurant then visit the Tay Ninh Holy See, a temple of the Cao Dai faith. Observe the noon service then return to Saigon.

Day 3. Saigon, Da Nang, Hoi An
Transfer to the airport for your included flight to Da Nang on Vietnam’s South Central Coast. Here, travel by coach to the beautiful trading city of Hoi An. Check in to your hotel, then enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 4. Hoi An
Today attend a cooking tour and class with the Morning Glory Cooking School. Begin with a tour of Hoi An’s market to learn about Vietnamese ingredients. Then head to the cooking school and learn how to prepare a selection of Vietnamese dishes. Afterwards, sample the results at lunch. This afternoon is at your leisure for you to explore.

Day 5. Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue
Travel to the Marble Mountains, a cluster of five marble and limestone hills. Visit one of the many beautiful pagodas and explore a craft village before heading to Da Nang to explore the Museum of Cham Sculpture. Continue via beautiful Lang Co Beach and across the Hai Van Pass, one of the most scenic hillside roads in Vietnam, to Hue.

Day 6. Hue, Perfume River Cruise
This morning in Hue, cruise the Perfume River, which runs through the heart of Hue. Disembark and enjoy time at historic Thien Mu Pagoda, Vietnam’s tallest pagoda, then drive to the tomb of former emperor Minh Mang, a complex consisting of temples, pavilions and palaces set among tranquil gardens and lakes. After lunch visit Hue’s Imperial City. This evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 7. Hanoi
Board your included flight to Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, this morning. Check in to your hotel before dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 8. Hanoi
A tour today will take you to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, The Temple of Literature and the Buddhist temple, One Pillar Pagoda. Afterwards, take a rickshaw ride through Hanoi’s Old Quarter then head for Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre and enjoy a unique water puppet show.

Day 9. Hanoi, Ha Long Bay
After breakfast, travel to World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay and transfer to a traditional junk for your overnight cruise. Enjoy a seafood lunch as you set off cruising amid grottoes and limestone islets. Explore Sung Sot Cave then head to Titop Island and perhaps go swimming or kayaking before dinner.

Day 10. Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Siem Reap
Wake this morning in one of the world’s most beautiful places. Enjoy breakfast as you return to land. Disembark and transfer to the airport in Hanoi for your included flight to Siem Reap.

Day 11. Siem Reap, Angkor
After free time this morning, head to Angkor Archaeological Park. Visit, Angkor Thom, where you’ll see the 13th-century temple, Bayon, as well as the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Tonight, enjoy a performance of Aspara Dance.

Day 12. Siem Reap, Angkor
Experience sunrise at world-famous Angkor Wat before returning to your hotel for breakfast. Later today discover Ta Prohm, an ancient temple famous for its intertwined trees. On your return to Siem Reap, visit a ‘grass roots’ orphanage.

Day 13. Siem Reap, Embark Ship
Today a short boat ride takes you past floating villages to your river ship for the start of your Mekong River cruise. Enjoy lunch as your ship sets off over the lake of Tonle Sap. This evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner.

Day 14. Kampong Chhnang, Kampong Tralach, Oudong, Prek K’dam
A small boat excursion today takes you past fishing villages into the wetlands that form the river-mouth of the Tonle Sap. Afterwards, return to your ship and set out for Kampong Tralach. Here, you’ll enjoy an ox-cart ride past rice fields and a small village. Visit the town’s pagodas then travel by coach via a Buddhist monastery in Oudong to Prek K’dam, where you’ll re-board your ship.

Day 15. Chong Koh, Phnom Penh
Today enjoy a walk around the silk-weaving village of Chong Koh then cruise to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Here, set off on a walking tour to Wat Phnom, one of the city’s most important pagodas. Afterwards, return to the ship for dinner, followed by a Khmer folk performance on board.

Day 16. Phnom Penh
On a tour of Phnom Penh today, witness the magnificent opulence of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda both located in the same complex. After lunch back on board, head to the infamous Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, on the site of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21). After dinner, perhaps step out for an evening walk around this fascinating capital.

Day 17. Border Crossing. Tan Chau
Spend today on board as your ship cruises to the Vietnamese border. This afternoon, perhaps attend a fruit-carving demonstration while the border formalities are carried out. Later, arrive in the Vietnamese town of Tan Chau. This evening, perhaps take a leisurely stroll through this lovely town.

Day 18. Tan Chau, Sa Dec
Take a small boat ride through narrow channels to visit an evergreen island. Visit a floating fish farm and then go ashore for a rickshaw tour of Tan Chau, visiting a rattan mat and slipper-making workshop. In the afternoon, perhaps attend a lecture on Vietnam in the ship’s lounge.

Day 19. Sa Dec, Cai Be
This morning, enjoy a boat ride to Sa Dec, where the French writer Marguerite Duras met her lover, Huynh Thuy Le. A tour here takes you to Huynh Thuy Le’s old house as well as Thien Hau Pagoda and the Fujian Temple. After lunch, visit the floating markets of Cai Be then go ashore to visit the French Gothic Cathedral and the port area. Drop in on a rice paper manufacturer before returning to your ship for a Farewell Dinner.

Day 20. Disembark Ship, Depart Saigon
Disembark at My Tho Port and transfer to the airport in Saigon for onward flight.