13 Days Impressions of Vietnam and Cambodia

ITINERARY

Day 1: Saigon | Arrive in Saigon

International Flight: Excluded

Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to Intercontinental Saigon Residences for check-in. Then you are at your leisure to relax or explore the city.

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: Intercontinental Residence Saigon

Day 2: Saigon | Impressions of Saigon

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, our 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 return to the hotel.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Residence Saigon

Day 3: Saigon | Mekong Delta Discovery: Vinh Long

Meals: Breakfast

Mekong Delta River – 13 Days Impressions Vietnam Cambodia

Discover the Mekong River, essential to life in the heart of Vietnam.

After you’ve finished breakfast at the hotel, we will take you to Vinh Long where you’ll embark on a boat cruise to the vibrant Cai Be floating market. Be prepared to see fresh spices, mints, and local fruits. If you’re adventurous, you can take one of the many colorful fruits in season.

The next stop is the Hoa Binh Phuoc islet, full of local homes where the families produce tiles and ceramics. You’ll visit the rice-paper kiln and coconut candy kiln where you can walk around and observe daily country life. You can have the opportunity to taste fresh-made coconut candy which has a soft and chewy consistency.

When the tour is finished, you’ll return to Ho Chi Minh.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Residence Saigon

Day 4: Saigon – Siem Reap | Bicycling in Saigon’s Countryside | Flight to Siem Reap

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

Go out of the busy city and enjoy a biking tour around rural areas.

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, transfer with our guide outside of Ho Chi Minh City. Get fitted to your bicycles. Then enjoy a relaxing ride through villages and local markets on both paved and dirt roads. Stop at a cafe on the way. Vietnamese in the South outside the city have warm hospitality and beaming smiles. Then return back to the hotel.

Take a late afternoon 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: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 5: Siem Reap | the Ancient Stone City of Angkor Thom by Bicycle

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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.

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: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 6: Siem Reap | Banteay Srei Temple | Filter Donation and Village Visit | Orphanage Visit

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Banteay Srei Temple – 13 Days Impressions Vietnam Cambodia

In the morning, the guide and driver will pick up you from the hotel for a tour to Banteay Srei Temple. Banteay Srei built largely of red sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings, which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a precious gem or the jewel of Khmer art.

Continue to visit a small village to donate a slow sand water filtration system. You’ll have a chance to meet with the village families. The water filtration system will be able to provide potable/drinking water to the whole village. We can also arrange to have your logo or names painted on the filter ahead of time. The installation staff will instruct the villagers on how to maintain the filter.

Optional recommendation:

We recommend that if you have any used children’s books in your home that you no longer need, you may bring them with to donate to the children in the village. This can impact the village children to focus on their education and provide them English reading materials not available from their school.

More information on the slow sand water filtration system provided can be found on the Center for Disease Control website here: https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/sand-filtration.html

Stop for lunch at noon. Then your guide and driver will escort you to Little Angel City Orphanage in Bakong district, Siem Reap in front of Preah Ko Temple. When you arrive there, you’ll be greeted by many eager young faces filled with hope and ambition. You’ll have an opportunity to learn about the education, living conditions, and opportunities made for the orphans. Then you’ll be able to join the orphans in various activities such as handicrafts or helping them with their English. When you’re finished, you will transfer back to your hotel in Siem Reap for some leisure time.

Accommodation: Shinta Mani Angkor

Day 7: Siem Reap – Hoi An | Angkor Wat Sunrise | Flight to Hoi An

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast

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.

Check out from the hotel and transfer by a late afternoon flight to Hoi An. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check-in.

At the end of a long lane of sandy beaches, palms and blue sea turns the Thu Bon River. Take a step back in time 300 years to cobblestone alleys and aged wooden and stone homes. Time stands still in this quiet part of the world where ornate doorways and bridges could keep the curious passerby entranced in amusement. The setting – a Far Eastern port that was forgotten in time. Japanese, French, Chinese, and Vietnamese designs and styles melt together along every street.

Accommodation: The Nam Hai

Day 8: Hoi An | Relax on the Beach | Hoi An Ancient Town at Dusk

Meals: Breakfast

Morning is at your leisure to relax on the beautiful beaches of Hoi An. Across the sea, you’ll see the Cham islands. Feel free to join or start up a game of volleyball, or just soak up the sun on the sandy beaches.

In the afternoon, transfer with our guide to Hoi An Ancient Town. This town features the 16th-century Hoi An port town in it’s preserved state. You’ll start the day visiting the Museum of Trade Ceramics. This museum houses art and pottery dating from the 1,500s to the 1,700s.

Hoi An Ancient Town – 13 Days Impressions Vietnam Cambodia

Then you’ll briefly visit the Chua Ong Pagoda, a temple from the 17th century which features China’s influence in the region. You’ll continue through the Ancient Town as the streets take on a magic of their own with old lanterns, French-style houses, intricately carved wooden doors, and more. You’ll take a stroll through the Old Tam Ky House to see it’s imperial styles meshed with French overtures. Continue on to stroll along the river and see traditional boats and locals on bicycles passing by. You’ll then approach the Japanese Covered Bridge. This bridge has connected the Chinese and Japanese sides of town over the waterway for centuries. The old wooden structure has shown amazing resilience for more than 400 years.

At dusk, enjoy walking along the riverside as old colorful lanterns light up the town. After you’ve finished the tour, return to the hotel for leisure time and overnight.

Accommodation: The Nam Hai

Day 9: Hoi An | Relax on the Beach

Meals: Breakfast

Today you’ll be able to relax on the beautiful beaches of Hoi An. Across the sea, you’ll see the Cham islands. Feel free to join or start up a game of volleyball, or just soak up the sun on the sandy beaches.

Accommodation: The Nam Hai

Day 10: Hoi An – Hanoi | Flight to Hanoi | Hanoi Highlights | Vespa Streetfood Tour

Internal Flight: Included

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Take a morning flight to Hanoi. Upon arrival, our guide will greet you at the 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.

In the afternoon, go with our guide to visit unique sites in the Millennium Old Capital if Vietnam. Start with 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. 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.

Historical Hoan Kiem Lake

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. In the late afternoon, transfer to Tran Quoc Pagoda set on West Lake. 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.

Around dusk, transfer to a cafe for a cocktail and snack. There you will meet your Vespa chauffeur. With helmets on, hop on the back of your vintage Vespas. You’ll explore the back streets of the Old Quarter on the way to the vending area. It’s a local joint quite literally on the railway tracks! There you will enjoy some infused rice wine and buffalo jerky.

Back on the road, you’ll venture to stop two – a lively restaurant serving Bun Cha. This dish is at the heart of Hanoi cuisine – grilled pork and meatballs, spring rolls, and rice noodles. Heading out of the Old Quarter, continue to the West Lake to give Pho Cuon a try. You’ll learn how to wrap these Hanoi style rolls and enjoy. Then take in a bowl of Vietnamese Pho noodles. Continue to the last stop near the Opera House – a Jazz Club with a blend of 30’s style Jazz combined with traditional Vietnamese music. Nothing like you’ve ever heard! Return back to the hotel for some rest.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake

Day 11: Hanoi – Lan Ha Bay | Emerald Isles of Lan Ha and Halong Bays

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lan Ha Bay – 13 Days Impressions Vietnam Cambodia

In the morning, our guide will transfer you 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 enroute 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).

Accommodation: Orchid Cruise

Day 12: Lan Ha Bay – Hanoi | Lan Ha Bay Sunrise | Return to Hanoi

Meals: Breakfast

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.

Accommodation: Intercontinental Hanoi Westlake

Day 13: Hanoi | Farewell!

Meals: Breakfast

Today, our guide will transfer you to the airport for your flight onward and to bid you a fond farewell. Thank you for traveling with us and choosing 13 Days Impressions Vietnam Cambodia!

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