Tour itinerary
Angkor Wat Extension: Full details below
Day 1-12 - As per main itinerary
Day 13 Following your Saigon sightseeing, you will take an evening flight to Siem Reap, where you’ll be met by a local group leader who will accompany you during your time in Cambodia. Hotel – 1 night (B)
Day14/15 Today you’ll begin your exploration of the world-famous Angkor Wat itself – perhaps the zenith of human ingenuity in Indo-China. Angkor was built between the 9th and 12th centuries, when Khmer civilisation was at the height of its extraordinary creativity and constitutes one of humanity’s most magnificent architectural achievements. Your first visits are to Angkor Thom, the Bayon, and the eerie, unsettling third level of 49 towers projecting 172 icily smiling, gargantuan faces. Whilst here, you also view the 350 metre long Terrace of Elephants and Baphuon Pyramid. You end the day by watching the sunset over Bakheng Mountain whilst looking forward to your visits tomorrow to Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup and East Mebon amongst others. Hotel - 2 nights (Bx2)
NB: the authorities at Angkor Wat require all visitors to produce a passport photograph in order to combat the use of fake entrance tickets. Although photos can be obtained on the spot, for your convenience we recommend you take two passport photos for this purpose.
Day 16/17 A flight on day 16 takes you to Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital for almost 500 years. Its amazing history can be seen in the buildings and is brought to life with a city tour during your stay. You’ll visit the spectacular Silver Pagoda, which houses the Emerald Buddha and a life-size Buddha of solid gold, decorated with 9,584 diamonds, the Victory Monument and the incredibly moving Tuol Sleng museum which documents Cambodia’s more recent, brutal and, ultimately, tragic history. There is also free time to explore hidden corners of this charming city. Hotel - 2 nights (Bx2)
Day 18 Transfer to the airport and fly to Saigon where the trip ends for clients travelling Land Only. Clients travelling on our group flights connect with your day flight from Saigon back home. (B)
Day 1: Fly to Hanoi.
Depart on overnight flight to Hanoi.
Day 2: Hanoi
Following your flight, you’ll transfer to your first night’s accommodation. Hanoi is sometimes called the Paris of the Orient, with shaded boulevards, verdant parks and ochre buildings that retain an old-world charm.
You’ll start with a brief orientation tour of the nearby Old Quarter, where some of the city’s most beautiful architecture is to be found. Kids will be fascinated seeing locals in conical hats carrying swinging poles of goods on their way to market!
If you fancy taking things easy, do as the locals do and hire a cyclo - a cycle rickshaw - and sit back to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of this remarkable city. Hotel - 2 nights
Day 3: Hanoi city tour
Today you have a full day to explore Hanoi. Your city tour takes in sights within the old quarter and the infamous prison - the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. You also visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, now a site of pilgrimage for thousands of Vietnamese people.
This afternoon you’ll have plenty of time to wander along tree-lined avenues and enjoy pagoda-studded lakes. The Old Quarter has great shopping opportunities; silk, silver, enamel bracelets and embroidery are among the best buys and the street names bear testimony to the business conducted there; Silk Street, Rice Street, Vermicelli Street, and even Boiled Fish Street! Some of the galleries boast the works of painters from all over Vietnam.
This evening you’ll make a visit to one of the water-puppet theatres to enjoy a performance of this fantastic art form - unique to Vietnam and best seen in Hanoi. (B)
Day 4: Halong Bay; boat trip around bay
From Hanoi you’ll travel for four hours by charter minibus to the coast and beautiful Halong Bay, whose name means ‘descending dragon’. Arriving around lunchtime (after a stop at the Sao Do Charity Centre, where you can buy crafts made by disabled youngsters), you’ll jump straight on a boat to go cruising in this secluded bay, marvelling at the 2000 limestone peaks that emerge from the sea. You’ll have the opportunity to visit spectacular caves crammed with stalactites and stalagmites and, weather permitting, to swim from your boat, before spending the night on-board.
Berth in twin-cabin - 1 night (BLD)
Day 5: Reunification Express: overnight train to Hue
This morning you return to Hanoi and have more time to wander in this fascinating city; there are lots of parks and more than 20 lakes to explore as well as little coffee shops and ice cream parlours - a legacy of the French. In the evening you board the Reunification Express train; journeying in four or six-berth, soft sleeper compartments (simple but very comfortable) you travel to Vietnam’s cultural capital, Hue.
Berth on overnight sleeper train - 1 night (B)
Day 6/7: Hue - free day in the cultural capital
Hue was once the capital of the Nguyen emperors, packed with influential people: bureaucrats, royalty, traders, astrologers and courtiers, who left behind many beautiful reminders of their times.
For a fascinating look at life in Hue today, you make your way down to the Perfume River to embark on a riverboat journey to the elaborate tombs of the Nguyen emperors. The tombs are situated among the houses of local farmers who grow rice, fruit and vegetables here, giving views of the Vietnam you know from television; local farmers in straw hats working in paddy fields beneath towering palms. You’ll visit one of the seven tombs, all of which follow a similar layout: statues of mandarins, elephants and horses, a pavilion where a stele (obelisk) tells of each emperor’s glorious reign and a temple where he was worshipped after death.
On your return trip you pause to explore the Thien Mu Pagoda (the Temple of the Heavenly Lady), possibly the most famous of all Vietnam’s pagodas. Legend tells of ‘fairy maids’ who predicted that a king would build a pagoda and bring great wealth to the countryside. Situated on the banks of the peaceful Perfume River, it is one of Vietnam’s best-loved buildings. Hotel - 2 nights (Swimming pool) (Bx1)
Day 8-10: Hoi An; optional activities
Travelling south by bus you climb up and over the spectacular Hai Van Pass, the top of which is crowded by hawkers selling all kinds of souvenirs and people who have stopped to enjoy the magnificent view below. Approximately four hours after leaving Hue, you’ll arrive in Hoi An - a relaxed and laid-back place, where cars are prohibited from the narrow streets of the old town. The fading beauty of the beautiful shops, houses and cafés add to the charm; Hoi An is bound to be a highlight of the trip. Walking or cycling are the only ways to soak up the atmosphere of the old streets and we’ll help you explore on foot during your stay. You can walk down to the riverside market where fresh fish are unloaded and through the backstreets of this colourful town, past temples to the covered Japanese Bridge.
The rest of your time is left free to relax in this beautiful area. You could take a taxi or make the easy five-kilometre bicycle ride through the rice paddies and shrimp ponds to Cua Dai beach. Alternatively Hoi An is one of the best places to shop for souvenirs, especially if you’re looking for t-shirts, paintings or ceramics. For those interested in getting clothes tailored, this is definitely the place to shop – see Top Tips. Another good idea is to take a boat trip out to a village specialising in ceramics and boat-building (optional).
Hotel - 3 nights (Swimming Pool) (Bx3)
Day 11: Fly to Saigon
Today you make the short drive (one hour) to Danang and take a flight south to Saigon, the cosmopolitan powerhouse of the south and a fascinating mixture of old and new. Upon arrival you head out of the city to make a visit to the famous Viet Cong hideout known as the Cu Chi tunnels; it’s likely that your guides were once soldiers here and their insight will help you to understand this tragic part of Vietnamese history. Some of the tunnels have been widened to accommodate foreigners; more than a touch of irony here!
Hotel – 1 night (Swimming Pool)
Day 12: Mekong Delta
This morning you leave the city behind and head for Vietnam’s rice-bowl – the Mekong Delta, a journey of approximately three hours. Passing through idyllic rural scenes you arrive at Cai Be where you transfer to local boats in order to reach your simple lodgings for a night in the house of a local family in the Mekong Delta. This afternoon you board local boats to explore the intricate waterways of the Mekong, zigzagged with ramshackle ‘monkey bridges’ and busy with local traders. There’s time to visit the local markets and cottage industries and soak up the atmosphere of this colourful collection of stilt homes built on channels and rivers. Homestay - 1 night
(BLD)
Day 13: Saigon; free time
Your final afternoon, on return from the Mekong Delta, is when you will discover more of Ho Chi Minh City, as the metropolis is now officially called. The city has plenty of enthralling corners to explore and you spend time today exploring the city. If time permits, you can visit the Chinese area of Cholon, with its strange mix of colonial and Chinese architecture then discover numerous museums, markets, pagodas and incense-filled temples.
Hotel – 1 night (Swimming Pool) (B)
Day 14: Trip ends, fly home.
Clients travelling on our group flights transfer to airport for your overnight flight home.
(B)
Day 15: Arrive home