12 Days Vietnam and Cambodia by Scenic Mekong Cruise

ITINERARY

Day 1: Saigon | Arrive in Saigon

International Flight: Excluded
Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival in Saigon, our guide will greet you at the airport welcome area and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is at your leisure to relax.

Saigon(officially Ho Chi Minh City) is a bustling metropolis of the South and the economic muscle of Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, it was the main base center of the US military with the largest airport in the region. Prior to that, it was under French colonial rule and was an Asian hub of sea trade. The city is based in the Mekong River Delta region – the rice basket of Southeast Asia and where many exotic fruits are cultivated. Full of history and culture, Saigon will certainly be an interesting visit.

Accommodation: Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon

Day 2: Saigon | Impressions of Saigon | Leisure

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast at the hotel, your private guide and car will greet you and escort you to see some of the most significant and mysterious temples in Ho Chi Minh. You’ll start by visiting the Emperor Jade Pagoda; also known as the Tortoise Pagoda. This figurine-filled place of worship is considered by many to be Saigon’s finest. The next stop is Cholon: the Chinatown of Saigon. A thickly settled district rife with tea houses and pagodas. There you’ll see Phuoc An, Hoi Quan Pagoda and Quan Am Pagoda. Then you’ll enjoy a cyclo tour around the city before stopping at Ben Thanh Market. Here you can find local handicrafts, textiles, and souvenirs or give the local cuisine a try. Once the tour is complete, you’ll be escorted to your hotel to rest in the afternoon.

Saigon Dinner Cruise

As dusk is setting, take a cyclo tour around 45 minutes to the Dang Pier on Saigon River, where you’ll enter a replica of the emperors Saigon Boat Cruise for a magnificent and memorable dining and entertainment spectacle along the Saigon river. The dinner cruise features soft traditional ethnic music while you enjoy the passing lights of the city. The captain will welcome you onboard and introduce you to the specialties which have made this boat a culinary experience in Ho Chi Minh City. While on board, relax on the upper deck and enjoy a panoramic view of Saigon lighting up the evening sky.

Accommodation: Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon

Day 3: Saigon | Cu Chi Tunnels and Vietnam Culinary Class

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Learn southern Vietnamese cooking in Cu Chi province.

After you’ve finished breakfast at the hotel, your private guide and car will greet you and escort you to visit a lush green Vietnamese Medicine Garden full of herbs, vegetables, and spices used in local cuisine. Your chef will teach you how to identify various plants and when is the right time to pick them. The chef will also educate you on the various mints used in the Vietnamese kitchen and which herbs are believed to have certain healing properties.

After you’ve learned about the various vegetation used in Vietnamese gourmet, you’ll be taught how to make your own masterpiece dishes.

Then you’ll have the opportunity to eat your creation for lunch.

Next, you’ll take your adventures underground for an adventure in history you won’t forget with a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Discover these amazing systems developed by the guerrillas fighting in the Vietnam War.

You’ll have an opportunity to see the various weapons used in the war on display. Then you’ll be taken to see the innovative ways the guerrillas survived and fought back in the war. See how they built an impressive underground system as your tour guide tells of the stories and history of the Vietnam War.

Then you’ll have the chance to see rice paper and coconut candy being made. After, you’ll enjoy jasmine tea and a boiled cassava root snack that was a common food eaten by guerrillas during the war.

You’ll return back to Ho Chi Minh.

Accommodation: Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon

Day 4: Saigon – Can Tho | Mekong Delta Discovery

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Discover the Mekong River, essential to Vietnamese life.

Your private guide and car will take you to the remote My Tho.

This burgeoning capital rests in the Mekong Delta and is surrounded by beautiful countryside known as the “rice basket of Vietnam”. First, you’ll visit Vinh Trang Pagoda which is decorated with mosaics made from broken pottery. Overlooked by a tall white Buddha, it is set amongst lovely gardens packed with flowers, shrubs, lotus pools, and tombs and ornate gates which provide entry.

Next, you’ll take a boat ride along the river to view the stilt houses, fruit plantations, and fishing villages. You’ll stop at the Tortoise Island where you’ll enjoy lunch in the orchard.

After lunch, you’ll visit An Khanh, a small village that specializes in fruit orchards and coconut sweets. If time permits, you can take a short cycling trip through the island.

Then enjoy seasonal fruit, honey tea, and delicious coconut candies all to the sound of “Southern Vietnamese folk music”, performed by locals.

After the tour, you’ll transfer to Can Tho for overnight.

Mekong Delta River

Accommodation: Victoria Can Tho Resort

Day 5: Saigon – Chau Doc | Vietnamese Floating Market | Countryside Sunset

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Rise early in the morning for breakfast at your hotel where your private guide and driver will meet you to escort you to the pier of Can Tho for an adventure on the river.

Your motorboat and captain will greet you and help you on board. You’ll be taken to the largest floating market in Can Tho where local farmers bring their bulk produce for sale. The trip there will see the banks with various flowers scattered throughout.

When you arrive at the market, you’ll see boats with colorful fruits and vegetables local to the region being traded in bulk. After this, you’ll venture up narrow canals to find a local fruit farm hidden in the natural landscape of the creek. You’ll have the chance to see local fruits such as mango, limes, jackfruit, durian and more being grown.

Then you’ll have the chance to sit and enjoy fresh-cut fruit before returning to town by boat.

You’ll have lunch at the restaurant overlooking the Mekong River. In the afternoon, you’ll transfer to your hotel in Chau Doc.

You’ll begin your approach to the lodge with an ascent up steep roads to the top of the mountain where a breath-taking view awaits. When you arrive at the hotel, you’ll be greeted with a welcome drink of sweet lemon tea as you perch yourself for a beautiful evening sunset and dinner looking out over the mix of Chau Doc, surrounding mountains, and Vietnamese countryside. Enjoy an epic symphony of sunlight reflected on the clouds and drawing shadows on the green valley below.

Accommodation: Victoria Nui Sam Lodge

Day 6: Chau Doc – Phnom Penh | Scenic Ride to Phnom Penh

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Start the morning early with breakfast at the hotel. Your private car and chauffeur will escort you to the pier where you’ll join a speed boat cruise on the Mekong River. This scenic route to Vietnam features beautiful terrain along the shore while you enjoy the oxygen-filled breeze native to this green-banked river. The morning begins with leaving Chau Doc as you watch a beautiful sunrise open before your eyes, with the light dancing between the lotus plants bobbing on the waters along the shore. Keep your eyes peeled for junks and paddle boats as well as crops of corn, rice, and produce. Depending on the time of year, you’ll spot various flowers which will perfume your journey down the legendary Mekong. When you arrive at the pier in Phnom Penh, your private tour guide and vehicle will greet you.

Accommodation: La Rose Suites

Day 7: Phnom Penh | Royal Palace and City Highlights

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Discover the highlights of Phnom Penh and the iconic landmarks.

After breakfast, your guide will greet you at the lobby and then escort you to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. The Killing Fields were a place of execution and burial of people considered a threat or enemy of the Khmer Rouge regime(1975-1979). You’ll walk near the fields which have been excavated, and see the monument which now houses the skulls of the victims. Also, see an old tree which is notable for it’s eerie and death-like appearance. You’ll also watch a video where you’ll learn about the tragedies that happened at this site.

Next, you’ll continue to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Prior to 1975 Toul Sleng was a high school. When Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975 they converted it into the S-21 prison.

In the afternoon, you’ll continue to the National Museum where you will see the largest collection in the world of Khmer history, arts and architecture on display.

You will also visit the Silver Pagoda, which has 5,000 silver tiles on the floor and then you’ll visit the Royal Palace where the Khmer royal family lives. Finally, you’ll visit Wat Phnom.

Accommodation: La Rose Suites

Day 8: Phnom Penh – Siem Reap | Flight to Siem Reap | Leisure

Internal Flight: Included
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
In the morning, take a flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and continue to your 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.

Apsara Dancing Show – 12 Days Vietnam Cambodia Scenic Mekong Cruise

Be prepared to enjoy a beautiful traditional dance performed by a team trained in the Dance of Apsara.

This unique cultural experience highlights the mysterious civilization and heritage of Khmer spoken through choreography and music. Colorful costumes and playful activities will give you insights into the Khmer daily life and wedding traditions while you enjoy a delicious meal to welcome you to the Kingdom of Wonders.

The rest of the evening is at your leisure.

Accommodation: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 9: Siem Reap | Angkor Thom Ancient Capital

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, you’ll begin your explorations of the remains of an ancient civilization that once ruled much of Southeast Asia. Today, you’ll be visiting the ancient capital city of Angkor Thom. On your way to Angkor Thom, you’ll catch a glimpse of the front of Angkor Wat as you pass by, which will leave you with a tingling feeling on the back of your neck as you take your first glance of the enormity and wonder of the largest religious complex to ever exist.

However, we’ll be saving the best for last as you go on today to see some other equally impressive structures of Ta Prohm Temple, Bayon Temple, Banteay Kdei, Baphoun, Elephant Terrace, Leper King Terrace, and the Royal Palace. First on the agenda is Ta Prohm. Worn by time, rain, and overpowered by the jungle, this immaculate structure is hidden under canopy will leave you feeling like you’ve stepped into the movie set of a treasure hunt adventure. Your private tour guide will give you the history and stories passed through oral tradition.

After lunch, your exploits will continue as you visit Banteay Kdei (“Citadel of Chambers”). You’ll also visit Victory Gate, Terrace of the Leper King, the Royal Palace, Baphuon and Bayon. Bayon sets itself apart with its almost 200 smiling faces, sure to make you feel welcome on your second day to the Kingdom of Wonders. With its winding tunnels, chambers, and daring climbs, Bayon will give you many picturesque moments to keep your camera busy.

As the sun approaches the horizon, you’ll enjoy a sunset from the top of the pyramid-shaped temple of Pre Rup.

Ta Prohm Temple – 12 Days Vietnam Cambodia Scenic Mekong Cruise

Accommodation: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 10: Siem Reap | Explore the Jungle Temple and Kulen Waterfall

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, your tour guide will escort you to discover Banteay Srei Temple: The Citadel of Women. Built in the 10th century and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, this temple lies near the hill of Phnom Dei tucked away in the remote jungle north of Angkor Wat. Banteay Srei is built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings, which are still in excellent condition to this day. The structures are miniature in scale, but the attention to detail is unmatched among all the temples in Southeast Asia. These factors have made the temple a place of intrigue and wonder, which have led to it being widely praised as a “precious gem”, or the “jewel of Khmer art.” After visiting the temple, you’ll then enjoy your trip to Kulen Mountain.

As the day begins to unfold, we’ll take your adventure to new heights into the Kulen Mountain National Park(Mountain of Lychees). Explore the jungles brimming with wildlife and tropical fruit. Discover stone carvings under the streams that predate Angkor Wat. See the 16th-century temple on the mountain where Buddhists and Hindus pilgrimage frequently.

For lunch, enjoy a picnic next to Kulen Waterfall where Angelina Jolie was filmed for the movie Tomb Raider. Take a swim if you like before we continue to the rice fields and countryside below the mountain.

Accommodation: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 11: Siem Reap | Angkor Wat Sunrise | Tonle Sap Lake

Meals: Breakfast
Before the light of day, your guide will pick you up from your hotel and escort 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.

Angkor Wat Sunrise – 12 Days Vietnam Cambodia Scenic Mekong Cruise

In the afternoon, you’ll take a boat trip on the water of the Tonle Sap Lake to a floating village called Kampong Phluk. Kampong Phluk means, Harbor of the Tusks, due to its past trade in elephant ivory many years ago. Having 3,000 inhabitants residing in stilted houses, the most common profession is fishing.

Accommodation: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 12: Siem Reap | Farewell!

Meals: Breakfast
Today our guide will transfer you to the airport before your homeward flight and will bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us!

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