10 Days Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia Highlights Tour

ITINERARY

Day 1: Phuket | Arrive in Phuket | Relax on the Beach

International Flight: Excluded
Welcome to Thailand! Upon arrival, our guide and driver will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the resort next to the beach for check-in. Then you are at leisure to explore the stunning beaches of Phuket.

Tropical Beaches of Phuket – 10 Days Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Highlights Tour

Accommodation: Banyan Tree Phuket

Day 2: Phuket | Thai Cooking Class and Local Market with Chef Pui | Afternoon Relax

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Enjoy a cooking class with Thai Chef Pui. You’ll start by visiting a local market to learn about the Thai culinary ingredients required to produce a delicious masterpiece – exotic spices, tropical fruit, Thai vegetables, and more. Then receive hands-on training in preparing four distinct dishes. Classes are full of fun and laughter with a maximum of 6 students. After you’re finished, enjoy your creation for lunch. Then return back to the resort for leisure in the afternoon.

Accommodation: Banyan Tree Phuket

Day 3: Phuket | Sea Caves by Starlight

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

World-famous kayaking inside marine limestone karst islands with macaques, water monitors, kingfishers, and Sea Eagles. Meet at the hotel around 11 AM to transfer to the pier (1 hour). Then continue by boat with a light lunch served on board. Self-paddle with your own sea cave guide through tunnels and lagoons. When darkness falls, stars shine overhead in the circle of the black night, fireflies flash in the cliffside jungle, and, most of all, the sea glows with phosphorescence. Enjoy a spiritual ceremony with your own made “Krathong”. Have a magnificent dinner onboard. Then return to land. A truly magical and out of this world experience (Listed among National Geographic’s “World’s Top 50 Adventures”).

Accommodation: Banyan Tree Phuket

Day 4: Phuket – Hanoi | Gentle Giants of Asia | Flight to Hanoi

Internal Flight: Included
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today, you will join in a tour to an elephant sanctuary in the jungles of Phuket by 4WD truck. First, you’ll learn about the project and hear the amazing stories of each rescued and orphaned elephant. Learn how they became a proud herd free from abuse and misuse. Then have an opportunity to feed them. Then take a stroll with the herd to the nearby river. Here you will have the opportunity to observe or participate in bathing the elephants with the sanctuary staff. Finish up with picnic spread.

After you have said your farewells, return back to the hotel for some leisure time.

After the exploration at 12 pm, you will return back to the hotel to refresh up and check out. Then, our guide and driver will transfer you to the airport and take a flight to Hanoi. The flight today would tentatively be from 4:10 pm – 9:05 pm with a short layover in Bangkok(1h25m) feel free to use Bangkok Airway Lounge during your waiting. Upon arrival in Bangkok, go through immigration, and get your luggage. Then head up to the 4th Level to check in for a short direct to Hanoi(2h). Our guide will greet you at Hanoi Airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

After check-in, enjoy a stroll on your own around Hoan Kiem Lake outside your hotel. Feel free to also pick up a souvenir at the night markets or at one of the many trinket shops in the alleys and small roads of this historic part of town.

Accommodation: Silk Path Boutique Hotel

Day 5: Hanoi | Impression of Hanoi | Private Streetfood Tour

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, you’ll start by visiting the Tran Quoc Pagoda. This 1,400-year-old temple features ten tiers surrounded by gardens and which also hosts a bodhi tree grown from a cutting of the original Buddhist tree under which Buddha sat. Next, you’ll take a stroll around the Hoan Kiem Lake where you can see the Tortoise Tower sitting on the water. Then you’ll enjoy a half-hour cyclo tour through the Old Quarter in Hanoi. The cyclo is a historic mode of transportation in the cities of Vietnam where a cyclist escorts you while you sit in a seat affixed to the front with a canopy over top.

Next, you’ll visit the One Pillar Pagoda – a pagoda situated on a pillar made of a single stone, in the middle of a lotus pond. This pagoda was built by a 9th-century emperor who saw it in a dream and regarded this as divine inspiration to recreate the structure in the vision.

You’ll pass by the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum before visiting the highlight of this tour – The Temple of Literature. Often compared with Oxford and nearly as old, this ancient university was erected almost a millennium ago and has hosted many of the most prominent scholars through Vietnamese history. The site features many gardens, pools, buildings, and ancient trees where the best and brightest of Vietnam studied under the guidance of Confucius’s teachings.

Vietnam Street Food

Start the afternoon with the latest craze in Hanoi: Egg Coffee at the original cafe where it began – Cafe Giang(for the less adventurous, other drink options are available). Soak up the local life of Hanoi from your seat while enjoying a pleasant chat. After your cups are dry, begin your walking tour of the Hanoi Old Quarter. Our guide will entertain you with a commentary about the history of the “36 Old Streets and Guilds”.

Throughout the afternoon, you’ll stop to try some excellent Vietnamese street food which may include Pho Cuon(grilled beef and fresh herbs wrapped in rice noodles), Ngo Chien(crispy sweet corn), Bun Cha(BBQ pork in fish sauce with rice noodles, fresh herbs, and spring rolls), Nem Cuon(fresh spring rolls) or some other popular Vietnamese dishes. During the afternoon, you will also visit a local market to see how vendors display their produce, meat, and foodstuffs. Finish the walking tour at Hoan Kiem Lake, a calm lagoon with an old stone tower on an island in the center.

Return to the hotel for leisure time.
Accommodation: Silk Path Boutique Hotel

Day 6: Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay | Emerald Isles of Lan Ha Bay by Orchid Cruise

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning, take a shuttle transfer to Haiphong where you’ll enjoy some time at Orchid’s Private Lounge for refreshments until boarding. Then board Orchid Cruise.

Receive a safety briefing and check in your cabins. The boat sets adrift for Da Chong islet, home to an old French lighthouse. Enjoy a sumptuous feast in the panoramic dining hall while en route to the isles of Con Vit and Gia Luan. The bay opens up to you with stunning green karsts towering above the water. This area receives very few cruise ships as it has just been newly opened up. Continue to Ba Trai Dao beach of Lan Ha Bay. A paradise with perfect beaches and natural beauty. Stop at one of the beaches for swimming or kayaking during the afternoon.

As dusk approaches, welcome the sunset with a local specialty – “Ba Kich”(a liquor made from Noni fruit). Back on board, you’ll join a cooking demonstration to learn a few Vietnamese culinary secrets. Enjoy your creation! Then time for supper in the dining hall. Delicious Vietnamese cuisine and seafood in a romantic setting. After dinner, you may enjoy watching the stars from the sundeck, watching a movie in the restaurant, or give night squid fishing a try with the staff(subject to seasonal availability).

Lan Ha Bay – 10 Days Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Highlights Tour

Accommodation: Orchid Cruise

Day 7: Hanoi – Siem Reap | Sunrise in Lan Ha Bay | Return to Hanoi | Flight to Siem Reap

Internal Flight: Included
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Rise early for one of the top best sunrises in the world. Then head to the sundeck for an invigorating Tai Chi session amongst a picture-perfect backdrop of karsts, sea, and nature. Enjoy breakfast in the dining hall before taking a journey to explore the area around Sang Tai sea cave via canoes.

Return to Hanoi around 2 pm.

Then, take a flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

Siem Reap is a quaint town in Cambodia and the gateway to the vast remains of the Angkor empire. Discover the Royal Gardens on your own with ancient trees home to a colony of giant fruit bats. Take a stroll along the scenic riverside and visit the night markets to find unique souvenirs. You may also want to spend the evening with a visit to Pub Street with several restaurants and bars that stay open late into the night. Many restaurants have live entertainment in the evening.

Accommodation: Heritage Suites Hotel

Day 8: Siem Reap | Vintage Mercedes to the South Gate | Angkor Thom by Bicycle | Water Blessing Ceremony

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, you’ll hop in a Vintage Mercedes-Benz. Circle around Bayon temple with its giant stone smiling faces and stop for photos with the classic automobile if you like. Return back to the South Gate of the ancient capital where you’ll continue with our guide. (Note: Vintage car will return and a standard vehicle with air conditioning will provide transportation for the rest of the tour. No camera is provided for photos. Please bring your own.)

Biking in Ancient Capital of Angkor Thom

Enjoy a relaxing cycling tour in the morning in ancient Angkor Thom – a stone city built around the time of Angkor Wat.

The biking tour will start at the South Gate – a photogenic bridge at the gateway of the stone city of Angkor Thom which has made its way into many Hollywood movies. Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire. Enter the stone city and explore shaded trails and ancient monuments. Visit Bayon Temple where you will be surrounded by 216 gigantic stone faces which fame as “Khmer Smile”, you will also visit the Terrace of Elephants, the Royal Palace, and the Terrace of the Leper King. Stop your cycling trip with a visit to the local monastery to chat with monks and see their daily life. Then take part in a Water Blessing Ceremony. We will provide a change of clothes for you – a traditional Sarong which you will wear during the ceremony.

In the afternoon, go to visit Ta Prohm Temple – a jungle monastery with trees overcoming stone. This temple has been featured in many Hollywood films, including Tomb Raider and Transformers 3. On the way back, stop to see the Killing Fields of Wat Thmei. Our guide will relay to you the history of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, and the war. Cambodia is still healing from these atrocities.

Accommodation: Heritage Suites Hotel

Day 9: Siem Reap | Angkor Wat Sunrise and Exploration | Half-Day Private Cambodian Culinary Class

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Before the light of the day, our guide will pick you up from the hotel and transfer you to the front of Angkor Wat Temple. From here, you’ll watch one of the most revered sunrises in the world. Our guide will arrange a light picnic breakfast for you to enjoy in front of the world’s #1 Heritage Site. Then in the early hours, you’ll explore the vast temple with your guide bringing to life the stories of Angkor. In the morning, the rays of the light play through the chambers as the morning haze settles and giving the temple a mystical ambiance while there are few tourists who visit during this time of day. After your explorations, you’ll return to the hotel for some rest and leisure time.

Angkor Wat Temple – 10 Days Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Highlights Tour

Khmer Culinary

About noontime, transfer to the venue where you will commence a half-day private cooking class. Each class commences with a visit to a local family. Along the way, you will learn about the herbs and vegetables grown at most Khmer households and used in daily cooking. The visit to a family’s home is an opportunity to learn about food preparation in a Khmer home. Who does the shopping and cooking! Your guide will also let you know about food customs, superstitions, and beliefs. A gift of rice is provided to the family as thanks for their participation.

Following this visit, you return to the pavilion to commence cooking. Together with your chef, you will create several dishes which you can then reproduce at home. Learn about the typical ingredients in Cambodian cooking and have the opportunity to see Cambodian cooking first hand.

The class is completely hands-on. You’ll both have your own cooking station and equipment. Classes include a number of Cambodian dishes and a recipe card will be provided. After you’ve finished the class, enjoy what you’ve created. Bid the chef farewell and return to the hotel for overnight.

What to Wear:

• We recommend a hat for the short walk in the village
• Comfortable footwear is recommended.

Other Information

Please do not provide handouts or gifts when in the village, this can contribute to the begging cycle, cause jealousy and other problems. Should you wish to help please discuss it with your guide.

Cambodian cuisine is full of spices but it’s not hot like its neighbors.

Accommodation: Heritage Suites Hotel

Day 10: Siem Reap | Farewell!

International Flight: Excluded
Meals: Breakfast
In the morning, our guide will transfer you to the airport to catch your flight back home and to bid you a fond farewell.

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