Essential of Vietnam & Cambodia

Upon arrival in Hanoi, you will be met in the arrivals area by your local guide holding a name-board. After a warm welcome and brief introduction, take a private airport transfer to your hotel for assistance with check-in. The remainder of the day is at your leisure.

Enjoy a full day tour of Hanoi’s illustrious history including a tour of the Old Quarter by cyclo. Although it is the modern-day capital of Vietnam, Hanoi still retains the mystery and charm of past centuries. Highlights of today’s tour include a visit to the imposing marble edifice housing the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Mondays & Fridays and annually in October & November for restoration) before moving onto his wooden stilt house. Visit the One Pillar Pagoda dating from the 11th century; this monument was rebuilt after being destroyed by the French in 1954. Tour the Temple of Literature, a peaceful series of walled courtyards and graceful gateways. Founded in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, this was also the site of Vietnam's first university. In the afternoon, visit the Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton) and then the Hoan Kiem Lake & Ngoc Son Temple. A fascinating & exciting one-hour cyclo tour of Hanoi’s old quarter allows you to catch a glimpse of ancient Hanoi and to learn about Vietnamese traditional architecture. This evening, enjoy a cultural water puppet performance at a local theatre.

This morning you will meet your guide and then drive to Halong Bay where you will board a traditional wooden junk for your overnight cruise. A delectable buffet lunch is served shortly upon boarding and you find yourself getting acquainted with the facilities of the boat. The boat starts to cruise into the Bay and within the first hour you can enjoy this World Heritage Site. During your cruise, enjoy different excursions off of the boat including floating village visits, kayaking, cave walks, and more.

Enjoy the morning on the ship and continue your cruise through the 1000's of limesone islets rising from the bay. You will visit the impressive Cave of Halong Bay – Surprising Cave (Sửng Sốt) with your tour guide, a truly awesome and amazing cave to experience. A cooking demonstration onboard shows you how to make authentic Vietnamese Spring rolls. You will learn about the recipes and techniques that create this popular dish of Vietnamese people. Lunch is served on board during cruising towards the harbor. Upon your return to the pier in Halong, you will be met for your return transportation to Hanoi for a little more time to enjoy the city before boarding an overnight train.

Arrival in Hue around 08:50AM. Pick up & transfer to today’s tour showcases Hue’s ancient to modern history. Take a boat cruising on Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, then visit the Imperial Citadel in the heart of Hue, a vast complex built in the early 19th century. The original walls stretched for 10 km and were surrounded by a wide moat. Today, most of the buildings have been destroyed due to bombing during the Vietnam-American War, but the monuments that remain provide a fascinating glimpse into the court life of the Nguyen Dynasty. Later, venture into the countryside around Hue to the Imperial Tomb of Tu Duc, the longest reigning Vietnamese emperor. Afterwards visit the Imperial Tomb of Khai Dinh, dramatically located on a hillside. 

After breakfast at your hotel, journey from Hue over the scenic Hai Van Pass to Danang where you will visit the Cham Museum, an elegant colonial building which now houses the finest collection of Cham sculpture in the world. Briefly pass My Khe Beach, a famous spot for American soldiers during the Vietnam-American War. Continue south to Hoi An, and then enjoy a walking tour of the old town. Hoi An is a picturesque riverside town known as Faifo to early western traders. The walking tour includes a visit to the Japanese Covered Bridge, an ancient merchant home, the Phuc Kien local assembly hall, and the vibrant riverside market.

This morning you will head out for a half-day tour to the My Son Temple Sanctuary. You will delve into the extraordinary ruins of My Son which are situated in a remote jungle valley. Formerly known as the religious centre of the Cham Kingdom, My Son has been dubbed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over 20 well-preserved monuments. Afterwards, you will return to the old town where you add a little light to your life! Visit Lifestart Foundation and learn how to make a traditional lantern from area residents. See how this project, supported by Planeterra, helps local Vietnamese with chronic disabilities gain sustainable employment.

Go home with some new (handmade!) clothes from one of Hoi An’s famous tailor shops. Walk the streets lined with hundreds of local shops that turn out gorgeous suits, dresses, winter coats, shoes, purses – almost anything – in a day's time to create next season's wardrobe.

Be met at the hotel in the morning and driven to the airport in Danang for your flight south to Hoi Chi Minh City (Saigon). On your arrival, enjoy a city tour. Begin your tour into modern history with a tour of the Reunification Palace, formerly the Independence Palace of the South Vietnamese president. Afterwards drive to the historic center to visit the Emperor of Jade Pagoda, and pay a quick visit to the neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral and Central Post Office. Later, visit the moving War Remnants Museum and Cho’lon, Saigon’s bustling Chinatown.

Today, enjoy a tour to Tay Ninh & the Cu Chi Tunnels. From Saigon, drive to Tay Ninh, the birthplace of the unique Cao Dai religion, a fusion of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and native Vietnamese spiritual beliefs. Every day at noon, worshippers garbed in colourful robes flock to the Cao Dai Great Temple to participate in the daily prayer sessions, which visitors may respectfully observe from the upper balconies. Afterwards, continue to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Never discovered by American forces, these tunnels were an important Vietcong base during the American War. Stretching over 200km, this incredible underground network, dug by hand out of hard laterite, connected command posts, hospitals, shelter and weapon factories. Today, you can walk through the area and learn about the day-to-day life of the VC, see the cleverly disguised entrances and elaborate booby-traps, and even venture inside the tunnels. Return to Saigon in the late afternoon and have the evening at your leisure.

Depart for the Mekong Delta. Upon arrival in the town of My Tho, enjoy a boat cruise along the river and take a short walk to a handicraft workshop where products are made from coconut trees. Experience an exciting horse-drawn cart ride to visit a local house where you will enjoy tea and taste home grown fruit. Board a sampan and drift along the narrow, tree-lined canals for further exploration of the Mekong Delta, and after lunch, visit a family-run business making coconut candy before returning to My Tho. On the return trip to Ho Chi Minh City, visit the Vinh Trang Pagoda if time permits. Arrive in the city by late afternoon and have the evening at your leisure.

Drive to the border and cross into Cambodia. Continue on to the capital, Phnom Penh, and enjoy a cyclo ride through the city for a street-level perspective. Settle in a traditional cyclo and depart from Wat Phnom. Tour busy streets to soak up the real vibe of the city. Pass the post office and Van's restaurant, both stunning colonial buildings, and make your way to the Royal Palace - still the official residence of King Norodom Sihamoni, and the adjacent Silver Pagoda, also known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha and National Museum, which contains a comprehensive collection of Khmer Art. Go along the riverside road and take in the atmospheric cafes that line the street.

After breakfast, head just outside Phnom Penh to a peaceful rural setting for a tour of the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, a stark reminder of the atrocities under the Pol Pot regime. Later, visit the Tuol Sleng (S-21) Museum and learn more about a chapter from Cambodia's more recent, tragic, past. Later, head to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel for assistance with check-in. This evening, enjoy dinner & a Khmer dance performance at a local restaurant.

Begin your tour of the Angkor archaeological park. The fortified city of Angkor Thom covers an area of 10 square km, enclosed by a wall and wide moats; the city includes many of Angkor's most popular sights. Enter by the monumental South Gate over a causeway lined on either side by statues of demons and gods, each carrying a giant naga. Continue to the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper Kings, former spaces for public ceremonies. Visit the ruined Baphuon, Royal Enclosure, and Phimeanakas before continuing to the mysterious Bayon Temple. Visit Ta Prohm, one of the most popular attractions of Angkor as much of the jungle has not been cleared and it looks very much as most of the Angkor monuments would have appeared when European explorers first stumbled across them. Also visit Banteay Srei, seemingly miniature in comparison to the other Angkor temples, it is considered to be the jewel of classical Khmer art. This evening, watch the sunset over the Cambodian countryside from the upper terraces of an ancient Angkorian temple.

Today, visit the crowning jewel of Khmer architecture, Angkor Wat, the national symbol and the highlight of any visit to Cambodia. The largest, best preserved, and most religiously significant of the Angkor temples, Angkor impresses visitors both by its sheer scale and beautifully proportioned layout, as well as the delicate artistry of its carvings. Today’s tour also includes an excursion by boat to a floating village for a look at the scenery & communities around the lake.of an ancient Angkorian temple.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and at the appointed time you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.