General Information
Tour Route: SIEMREAP – ANGKORTEMPLES – TONLESAPLAKE – KAMPONGCHHNANG – KAMPONGTRALACH – KOHCHEN – PHNOMPENH – CHAUDOC – SADEC – VINHLONG – CAIBE – MYTHO – HOCHIMINHCITY (FORMERLYSAIGON) – HOCHIMINHCITY – HANOI – HALONGBAY – HANOI
Duration: 14 Days
Start/ End: Phnom Penh/ Hanoi
Highlights of Cruise Trips
- Discover historical cities: Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap
- Unique and unforgettable cruise along the Cho Gao Canal
- Tour six major temples in Angkor
- Meet local inhabitants and discover their daily life in Koh Chen and My Tho
- Hanoi, historic heart of the nation
- Cruise on Halong Bay, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Vietnamese cooking classes
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Siem Reap – Angkor Temples
Day 2: Siem Reap – Angkor Temples
Day 3: Siem Reap – Tonle Sap Lake
Day 4: Tonle Sap Lake – Kampong Chhnang
Day 5: Kampong Tralach – Koh Chen – Phmom Penh
Day 6: Phnom Penh
Day 7: Chau Doc
Day 8: Sa Dec – Vinh Long – Cai Be
Day 9: My Tho – Ho Chi Minh City (Formerly Saigon)
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi
Day 12: Hanoi
Day 13: Hanoi – Halong Bay
Day 14: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Siem Reap – Angkor Temples
Your program will begin according to your time of arrival. If your flight arrives between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., your program will be: Lunch will be served at the hotel. After, we’ll visit the mysterious Beng Mealea temple, whose ruins were once utterly consumed by jungle. The temple was built in the 12th century and used the same floor plan as Angkor Wat. We’ll have dinner in the city and spend the night at a hotel.
Day 2: Siem Reap – Angkor Temples
This morning, we’ll tour Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom. Stroll through the grounds of the former Royal Palace, and discover the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. We’ll have lunch in the city before visiting the Senteurs d’Angkor, a local business with a diverse collection of silk and carvings, as well as a superb range of traditional beauty products and spices, all made locally. We’ll end the day with Phare, the Cambodian circus, and spend the night at the hotel.
Day 3: Siem Reap – Tonle Sap Lake
We’ll visit the Angkor Wat temple: the epitome of Khmer architectural art and the most famous and imposing of all the monuments in Angkor. Lunch will be served at the hotel. After, you’ll be transferred to your ship. Our crew will welcome you and help you get comfortably settled into your cabins. We’ll have dinner and formally meet our crew. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.
Day 4: Tonle Sap Lake – Kampong Chhnang
We’ll spend the morning crossing Tonle Sap Lake. We’ll enjoy lunch on board before visiting Kampong Chhnang, one of the largest fishing ports on the Tonle Sap. Fish farming is abundant here. The region is also known for its traditional pottery combining ancient knowledge with modern techniques—Chhnang itself means “pot.” We’ll also enjoy a tasting of regional products before returning on board and beginning to cruise to Kampong Tralach. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.
Day 5: Kampong Tralach – Koh Chen – Phmom Penh
We will set out to visit the beautiful Vihara at the Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda. To access the pagoda, we need to cross the village of Kampong Tralach in ox carts, moving along a small road that runs perpendicular to the river in the middle of magnificent rice fields. We’ll enjoy lunch on board before exploring the small village of Koh Chen, where craftspeople specialize in silver and copper work. After our tour, we’ll return on board and begin to cruise to Phnom Penh. Once we arrive, enjoy a brief tour of the area by “tuk-tuk,” the easiest way to get around the city. We’ll return to the ship and enjoy a performance of classical Khmer dancing and music. Our ship will remain overnight in Phnom Penh.
Day 6: Phmom Penh
We’ll enjoy a tour of the fabulous Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, which is inlaid with more than 5,000 silver tiles. After, join us for a visit to the National Museum of Cambodia. We’ll have lunch in the city. In the afternoon, you can pay a visit to the Tuol Svay Prey School, a former detention, torture, and execution center run by the Khmer Rouge during the civil war. Afterwards, enjoy some free time at the market. After our tour, we’ll return on board and begin to cruise to Vietnam. Our ship will be anchored overnight.
Day 7: Chau Doc
Chau Doc sits among a giant patchwork of rice fields along the Mekong River. We’ll pay a visit to the Ba Chua Xu Temple and the Tay An Pagoda. We’ll enjoy lunch on board and begin to cruise to Sa Dec. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.
Day 8: Sa Dec – Vinh Long – Cai Be
Visit the former house of Huynh Thuy Le, the man who Marguerite Duras based her book The Lover on. After our excursion, enjoy some free time in Sa Dec. We’ll return on board for lunch and cruise to Vinh Long. We’ll set out in smaller boats and travel through canals and orchards. We’ll discover a brick and pottery factory, a fruit-tree nursery, puffed riced, rice-paper wrappers, and rice alcohol.* We’ll return on board our ship and begin to cruise. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.
Day 9: My Tho – Ho Chi Minh City (Formerly Saigon)
We’ll visit a bee farm and enjoy some honey tea and exotic fruit. We’ll then take a ride in small sampans along the canal lined with mangrove palms and have a glimpse of villagers going about their daily lives. We’ll enjoy lunch on board and then set out to cross the very narrow canal, heading for Ho Chi Minh City and spending the night on the ship, which will remain moored in central Ho Chi Minh City.
Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is the most populous city in Vietnam. We’ll enjoy a tour of the city to see the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Saigon Central Post Office. After, join us for a visit to the Museum of Vietnamese History. Lunch will be served on board. We’ll leave by coach for the Cu Chi tunnels, an immense network of underground tunnels that were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War. After our excursion, we’ll return to the ship. Tonight, we’ll have our farewell cocktail and dinner and spend the night at the port.
Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City – Hanoi
Enjoy breakfast on board this morning. After you disembark from the ship, we’ll head to Cholon, the Chinese-influenced section of the city. We’ll enjoy lunch in the city, and you’ll be transferred to the airport and board a flight to Hanoi. You’ll check into a 3-star hotel and have dinner.
Day 12: Hanoi
We’ll spend the day on a guided tour of the capital, visiting the outside of the historic Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Minh’s humble stilt house behind the mausoleum, and the unique One Pillar Pagoda Buddhist temple. We’ll visit the Temple of Literature, built in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius. After lunch in town, we’ll take a pedi-cab ride. We’ll have a tour of the local “Embassy Row” with its French colonial-style architecture. This evening, we’ll watch a traditional water puppetry show and have dinner in the city before spending the night at the hotel.
Day 13: Hanoi – Halong Bay
We’ll leave early in the morning for Halong Bay (approx. 3.5 hours travel time). We’ll be welcomed aboard a junk, enjoy a cocktail, have lunch on board, and begin our cruise to discover the thousands of various limestone islands dotting the emerald-colored bay. We’ll enjoy dinner on board this evening. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.
Day 14: Halong Bay – Hanoi
Rise early with us this morning and participate in a Tai Chi class on deck. We’ll continue our cruise through the bay, discovering more of its extraordinary scenery and visiting one of the largest caves. Brunch will be served before you disembark at 11:00 a.m. and begin your trip back to Hanoi. Before arriving, we’ll stop off at the Dinh Bang communal hall. You’ll enjoy a light dinner before being transferred to the airport. We’ll bid you farewell at the airport at approximately 6:00 p.m. Please do not book your flight before 8:00 p.m.
