Cambodia and Vietnam with a Mekong River Cruise - 15 Days

Your adventure begins in Siem Reap. Your private driver will meet you at the airport with a name sign and take you to your accommodation in the heart of the city. Spend the rest of the day exploring at your own pace or relaxing after your flight.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, begin exploring Angkor. Enter Angkor Thom through the South Gate, with its ancient stone faces, then visit Bayon, the royal enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Continue to Angkor Wat, the vast 12th-century temple complex. Discover its columned galleries, libraries, pavilions, courtyards and pools reflecting the temple towers.

Continue to Ta Prohm, where huge fig trees and climbing plants wrap around the ancient stonework. The temple offers a striking glimpse of how the forest has grown around the ruins.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Phnom Penh.

In the afternoon, your guide collects you for a city tour. Visit the Royal Palace, home to Cambodia’s royal family, and the Silver Pagoda, which houses important cultural treasures, including a gold Buddha decorated with diamonds. Finish at Wat Phnom, one of the city’s most significant pagodas, traditionally associated with Daun Penh and the founding of Phnom Penh.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast, visit Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former S-21 prison. Once a school, the site became a prison under Pol Pot's security forces. You then travel around 15 km south of Phnom Penh to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek to learn about the people imprisoned and killed during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Then visit the Russian Market, also known as Toul Tumpong. Browse stalls selling clothing, Buddha figures, woodcarvings, betel-nut boxes, silk, silver jewellery and traditional musical instruments.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast, your driver will collect you at around 11:00 and take you to the pier to board your speedboat.

The boat is scheduled to leave the international floating port on Sisowath Quay in Daun Penh at 12:00 for Chau Doc. You cross the Cambodia–Vietnam border along the way, with arrival in Chau Doc expected around 17:30. Your driver will meet you and take you to your hotel to relax after the journey.

Overnight in Chau Doc.

Have breakfast at your hotel at 06:00, then check out and travel to Can Tho. Board the Bassac at Ninh Kieu Pier, where a welcome drink and an introduction to the boat and crew await. Settle into your cabin before departure.

Cruise downstream on the Hau River with lunch on board. The boat turns into the Nicolai Canal towards the Mang Thit and Co Chien rivers. Relax on the upper deck as rice fields, sugar-cane plantations and wooded riverbanks pass by.

In the afternoon, the Bassac anchors for a visit ashore. Beyond the first line of trees, discover the delta's quiet rural life, with rice fields, fruit orchards and welcoming residents. Alternatively, take a short bicycle ride through the surrounding countryside.

Back on board, enjoy a complimentary drink and watch the sunset from the deck or bar. Dinner is served as the Bassac continues along the Mang Thit River, where it anchors for the night.

Overnight on board.

The boat sets off towards Cai Be at 06:00, with breakfast served from 07:00. After crossing the Co Chien River, the Bassac spends around 30 minutes cruising through Cho Lach Canal. Among the sand and rice barges, look out for fruit-drying facilities and wooden boatyards.

In Cai Be, check out and, if the tide allows, transfer to a rowing boat for a peaceful trip along a narrow canal. A local boat then takes you ashore to see traditional crafts in Cai Be. The Bassac programme ends on land in Cai Be that morning.

Please note: you leave the Bassac for the final time when you transfer to the small boat for the last excursion, usually around 08:00. The programme and visits may change for operational or technical reasons.

A private vehicle will then collect you for the journey to Ho Chi Minh City. Check into your hotel and enjoy some time to relax.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast, drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels, a journey of around 1.5 hours. On arrival, an introduction and a short film explain how the tunnels were built and how people survived the harsh conditions of war.

Explore the preserved areas and tunnel network, including living quarters, kitchens, sleeping spaces, storerooms, weapons workshops, field hospitals and command centres. These underground facilities supported daily life, while concealed entrances and traps formed part of the wartime defences.

Afterwards, try tea and cassava, a staple food for guerrilla fighters during the war, before returning to your hotel.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Enjoy your remaining time in Ho Chi Minh City before your private airport transfer and flight to Da Nang. Meet your driver on arrival and transfer to your accommodation in Hoi An. The rest of the day is free.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Today is free to explore Hoi An at your own pace. You could hire a bicycle from your hotel and ride through town to the river or beach. After a swim, stop at a small beachside café for a fresh fruit drink.

You may also like to visit one of Hoi An’s tailors, where clothing, bags or shoes can sometimes be made overnight. Allow time for fittings and confirm the turnaround when ordering.

In the evening, stroll through the Old Town as its shopfronts glow with lanterns. Look out for colourful street performances along the way.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Enjoy your remaining time in Hoi An before your private driver takes you to Da Nang Airport for your flight to Hanoi. On arrival at Noi Bai Airport, meet your driver and transfer to your accommodation in Hanoi's Old Quarter. The rest of the day is yours.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Duration: one day.

Location: Moc village, Ba Vi District, around 68 kilometres from central Hanoi, approximately 1.5 hours by car.

Highlights: pick tea leaves on a traditional 30-year-old plantation; cook with a local host; visit village workshops; cycle through rice fields and villages; relax with a traditional Muong herbal foot bath.

8:00 am: Your private guide and driver collect you from your hotel or accommodation.

9:30 am: Arrive in Ri village and enjoy a welcome drink at your host’s home. Mr Duoc, a Vietnam War veteran and tea farmer, shares stories from his life.

10:00 am: Join Mr Duoc on his peaceful tea farm to learn how to pick tea leaves. Help with the harvest and discover which leaves are selected for traditional Vietnamese tea. Afterwards, see the largely handmade processing methods in his small workshop.

11:15 am: A short drive of around ten minutes takes you to another host family in Moc village. Mrs Chin introduces you to Vietnamese cooking in a hands-on class, followed by a shared lunch of the dishes you have prepared.

1:30 pm: Walk through the village and visit local families to learn about rural life and the making of tofu, conical hats and other local products.

2:45 pm: Cycle through rice fields, with opportunities to meet local farmers.

3:30 pm: Relax after your ride with a warm herbal foot bath prepared using traditional Muong recipes.

4:00 pm: Return to your hotel or accommodation in Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Check out this morning and meet the cruise team's transfer service. Travel through the Red River Delta towards Halong Bay, passing a landscape of green rice fields.

At the pier, board your cruise and take in the limestone formations and caves. Enjoy a seafood lunch, then admire the bay from the sun deck.

The boat stops in a quiet area where you can get closer to the limestone scenery by kayak or go swimming. Return on board towards evening for an early dinner. Afterwards, join an optional onboard activity or simply relax.

Overnight on your cruise.

Please note: the Halong Bay trip may be cancelled without advance notice if bad weather prevents the boat from sailing or staying overnight. Alternative arrangements or a refund will be considered according to the circumstances.

Rise early to watch the sunrise over the bay. Breakfast is served in the dining room, and a tai chi session on the sundeck offers a gentle start to the morning.

Explore a limestone cave filled with stalagmites and stalactites. Return to your boat, check out and enjoy brunch as you sail back to the harbour, then transfer to your accommodation in Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Enjoy breakfast on the final day of your Cambodia and Vietnam journey. After check-out, visit local markets for souvenirs if time allows. Your private driver later takes you to the airport for your flight home.

Your journey ends here.