Vienam – Cambodia Explorer 18 days

Arrive at Noi Bai international airport and be met by your local tour guide and driver who will transfer you to your hotel in the city center. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ha Noi city.

Following breakfast, go to the Ho Chi Minh Complex, containing the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts and the One Pillar Pagoda. Continue on to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university which is almost 1,000 years old. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Museum of Ethnology, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son temple and enjoy a 1 hour ride in a cyclo (rickshaw) around the old quarter of Hanoi and its busy streets filled with fascinating shops. Dinner at your own expense. Transfer to the train station for departure to Sapa on and stay overnight train staying in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin.

Upon arrival at Lao Cai train station at about 6am, you will be picked up and transferred to Sapa. After breakfast start a downhill trek to Y Linh Ho village in the Muong Hoa Valley through beautifully landscaped rice paddies and small hamlets to learn the life of hill tribes here. Chat with local people in Lao Chai village then continue walking through villages and rice terraced fields to Ta Van village, inhabited by the Dzay ethnic tribes. Have a picnic lunch on the way then continue to the bottom of Sapa valley which is supposedly the most beautiful valley in the area. Return to Sapa in the afternoon. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Sapa.

After breakfast at the hotel, trek down to Cat Cat village. The home of the Black H’Mong tribe. Pass by a lovely waterfall and take in the beautiful scenery along the way. Head back by Jeep to Sapa. Check out of your hotel. Have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, go by car to Ta Phin village to visit the homes of the Red Dao people. Stroll around the village and explore the customs, daily life and weaving techniques of these people. Transfer to Lao Cai for an overnight train back to Ha noi. Stay overnight in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin.

Arrival in Hanoi at approximately 5am. You will be picked up at the railway station and transferred to a restaurant for breakfast. Depart for Ha Long Bay. Upon arrival at Ha Long Bay you will board a junk. Enjoy lunch onboard as you cruise Ha Long Bay’s limestone wonders such as Thien Cung cave, Dau Go cave, Tuan Chau island, Dog island, Sail island and Ti Top Beach. Enjoy a scrumptious dinner on the junk. Enjoy a drink as you watch the sunset. Stay overnight on junk. (Optional: Kayaking).

Have breakfast and visit Man’s Head island, Tortoise island, Toad island and Bai Tho mountain. Upon return have lunch on the junk. Back to Ha Long wharf and head back to Hanoi and transfer to Noi Bai airport to board flight VN 1545 (20:10 – 21:20). Pick up and transfer to your hotel. Dinner at your own expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hue city.

Following breakfast, take a morning cruise on the Perfume River to visit the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc, Thien Mu pagoda and the mausoleum of Emperor Minh Mang, set among beautiful lakes and gardens. In the afternoon, visit Dong Ba market, the Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945, and the ruins of the Purple Forbidden City. Enjoy a night boat trip on the Perfume River as you are entertained by a performance of Hue folk songs and music. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hue city.

After breakfast we depart for Hoi An, stopping along the way for photos and sightseeing at Hai Van pass, Lang Co beach and Marble mountain. After lunch, take a stroll around town. Visit the Japanese Covered Bridge, Pottery Museum, Tan Ky old house, the Cantonese congregation, the silk street of Hoi An and Chinese-style temples and pagodas. Dinner on guest’s account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hoi An.

Breakfast at your hotel. A late morning departure for My Son to visit the Cham Holy Land (World Heritage listed). Return to Hoi An. In the afternoon, Go bargain-hunting around Hoi An’s ancient streets. Dinner at your leisure. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Hoi An

After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to Danang airport to board your flight back to Ho Chi Minh City VN 1309 ( 08:20am – 09:40am ). Pick up and transfer to hotel. A sightseeing tour to the Reunification Palace, the former residence of South Vietnam’s President until the end of the war in April 1975. Explore French colonial architecture including Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Central Post Office. Visit Cho Lon (town) and see Thien Hau and Quan Am pagodas. When finished at the Emperor Jade Pagoda and the War Remnants Museum our tour will conclude with a visit to Ben Thanh market where you can find practically everything for sale. Dinner at your expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Breakfast at your hotel. Set off to Tay Ninh province, the headquarters of Caodaism. When we arrive at the Holy See, observe an extraordinary mid-day temple service. The followers fill the temple hall dressed in their multi-colored worship robes to worship and chant. Coadaism is a combination of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. After lunch we will visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground network of tunnels constructed by Vietnamese fighters during the struggle for independence. They were used as a military base for the Vietcong during the American war. The tunnels contained hospitals, accommodation, storage facilities, kitchens, etc. Head back to HCMC. Organize your own dinner. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Ho Chi Minh city.

Eat breakfast at your hotel. Depart for My Tho. Enjoy a relaxed boat ride through a natural canal in Bao Dinh. The canal is lined with traditional stilt houses and fruit plantations. Visit My Tho wholesale fruit market. Proceed to Tortoise island where lunch will be served in the heart of an orchard. In the afternoon take a tranquil boat trip through Tan Thach natural canal in Ben Tre, cruising in the shadows of water coconut trees. Visit a family business which typifies the idyllic rural lifestyle. Take a relaxing walk through a fruit plantation on Thoi Son island then take a rowing boat ride along the waterways before returning to My Tho by motor boat. Transfer to Can Tho city and make your way to a small rural village in Cai Rang district. Check into your riverside bungalow In the afternoon, go cycling or trekking around the village to explore the rural lifestyle of the Mekong Delta people. Get together with a family as they prepare a traditional dinner, then share the meal with them. Enjoy an evening of traditional folk music with your neighbors. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Can Tho city.

After breakfast, take a boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong River (Bassac River), then visit the Cai Rang and Phong Dien floating markets, the best in the Mekong Delta. You will probably have tried Vietnamese vermicelli soup, learn how these noodles are made. Then wander around the village and talk with the local people. Learn how to cross a “monkey bridge” which is built from a single bamboo branch. After lunch you will depart for Chau Doc, stopping half way at Long Xuyen to visit the Thot Not Bird Sanctuary. Arrive in Chau doc and visit Sam Mountain. From the summit admire the beautiful landscape around the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Visit the carved pagoda. Dinner at your expense. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Chau Doc.

Following breakfast at your hotel, you will take a boat trip through a floating village and visit a fish farm to see how the Mekong Delta people raise fish in their floating houses. Visit the Cham minority people and their traditional weaving village. Transfer to a speed boat for the final part of the journey to Phnom Penh, where you will be welcomed by your local guide and driver who will take you to your hotel in Phnom Penh. Lunch is not included. In the afternoon, take a tour of the city to visit the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum of Khmer Arts. Enjoy a welcome dinner. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Phnom Penh city.

After breakfast, we will witness the reign of terror during the Khmer Rouge Regime by visiting the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crimes. Lunch is included. In the afternoon, transfer to Phnom Penh airport for flight K6 109 to Siem Reap (16:00 – 16:45). Upon arrival at Siem Reap airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel for check in. The rest of the day is at your leisure. Dinner on your account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Siem Reap.

Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will visit Prasat Kravan, Srah Srang, Banteay Kdei, Pre Rup, Neak Pean and Preah Khan temples. Lunch is included. Later in the afternoon, tour the Small Circuit of Angkor to see Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Thommanon and Chausay Tevoda. Dinner on guests account. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Siem Reap.

After breakfast at your hotel, we will continue with your tour to see the South Gate of Angkor Thom, Bayon, Bapuon, Terrace of Elephants and Leper King. In the afternoon, visit the fabulous Angkor Wat complex. Enjoy your dinner with a traditional Khmer Dance Show. Stay overnight at your hotel of choice in Siem Reap.

After breakfast at your hotel, enjoy free leisure time to look around until your transfer to the airport for departure. End of services. Finish your 18 day tour to Vietnam Cambodia