Essential Vietnam & Cambodia By World Journeys

Essential Vietnam & Cambodia By World Journeys

13 Days / 12 Nights from $5,330 Price Per Person

Sales from 01 January 2025 to 31 December 2025

**Day 1 : Hanoi**
Upon your arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

**Day 2 : Hanoi**
Today enjoy a full day tour, exploring the charming city of Hanoi, often referred as the Paris of the East, with its yellow ochre colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and scenic lakes.

Visit the historic Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, built to house the preserved body of beloved Vietminh leader Ho Chi Minh. Later stop at the One Pillar Pagoda, a famous Buddhist temple. Learn more about Ho Chi Minh’s life as you visit his house where some of his belongings are on display.

You will also visit the picturesque Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first national university built in the late 11th century. In the afternoon you will explore the fascinating Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays) which displays an extensive collection of costumes and traditional artefacts.

Drive back to central Hanoi for a fun cyclo tour through famed Old Quarter and its charming restaurants and stores. Finish your day by watching and entertaining water puppet performance, a uniquely northern Vietnamese show that have originated in the flooded rice fields.

**Day 3 : Hanoi > Halong Bay**
This morning you will depart Hanoi and be driven to Halong Bay with a local guide. Make a stop en route for refreshment or snacks before arriving in Halong Bay for your one-night cruise. Enjoy a delicious lunch on board while you admire the view. Later in the afternoon visit the mysterious Tien Ong Cave and important archaeological site. Continue to Cua Van area before returning to your boat. Participate in a cooking demonstration before dinner.

**Day 4 : Halong Bay > Hanoi > Danang > Hoi An**
Early morning you can enjoy a refreshing Tai Chi demonstration before starting your day. You will be taken to a natural white sandy stretch. You can also climb up to a hill top to have a last view from above over before returning to your boat and cruising back to Halong city.

After disembarking your will be met and transferred to the airport for your flight to Danang. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel in Hoi An.

**Day 5 : Hoi An**
Today explore Hoi An as part of a half-day tour. The city was an important trading port between the 15th and 19th centuries and today is a World Heritage town, recognised for its well-preserved buildings, distinctive cuisine and vibrant streets. Stroll through the old merchant houses, the 400 year-old Japanese Covered Bridge; the Assembly Hall of the Chaozhou Chinese Congregations with its intricate woodcarvings; and the colourful market stalls.

You will also have opportunity to learn about silk lanterns and the tradition behind this colourful handicraft. Chat with a local handicraftsman for a brief introduction to the history, shape, and colour of the lanterns as well as the stages of production. Try creating your own lantern and take it home as a souvenir.

**Day 6 : Hoi An**
Enjoy your day at leisure.

**Day 7 : Hoi An > Danang > Saigon**
Relax at your hotel before check out. You will be met and transferred to the airport for your flight to Saigon. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel.

**Day 8 : Saigon**
Spend the day exploring Saigon’s highlights. With over eight million inhabitants and four million motorbikes, Saigon is truly a city that never sleeps. Despite its modernity, Saigon maintains a strong link to the past and our walking tour takes in some of the city’s most historic landmarks. Transfer to Dong Khoi Street downtown to visit some of the beautiful French colonial-era buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century. Appreciate the splendidly restored exteriors of the Saigon Opera House and the Notre Dame Cathedral. A short drive away is the former Presidential Palace and the elegant City Hall. Experience Saigon’s famed street coffee culture while your guide provides insights into daily life in Saigon. Afternoon visit to the War Remnants Museum for a vivid perspective of the American War through the eyes of the Vietnamese. (Please note that some of the displays are very graphic.)

You then drive to Chinatown to visit the beautiful Thien Hau Pagoda, built by the Cantonese community in the early 19th century to honour the Goddess of the Sea. Continue your visit to FITO, the first museum of traditional medicine in Vietnam, before returning to your hotel.

**Day 9 : Saigon > Mekong Delta > Saigon**
Today depart from Saigon for the 1.5hr drive to Ben Tre, situated in the Mekong River Delta, exchanging city scenes for lush rice paddies and fruit farms. At the pier, embark on a fascinating motorboat excursion past stilt houses, fish farms and scenes of countryside living.

Arrive at Turtle Island, and sample freshly picked fruit and coconut milk while interacting with a local farming family. Visit a family-run coconut candy workshop, utilising Ben Tre’s famous coconuts. Explore more of the Delta from a rowing sampan through a network of small canals. Enjoy country hospitality as you sip a cup of honey tea while taking in a traditional folk song performance. A local lunch of local specialties will be served at the town of My Tho before returning to Saigon in mid-afternoon.

**Day 10 : Saigon > Siem Reap**
Say goodbye to the busy and lively streets of Saigon and fly to Siem Reap. Upon arrival your will be transferred to your hotel.

**Day 11 : Siem Reap**
Depart early for Ta Prohm, where the magnificent tree roots have merged over the centuries with the temple’s huge stone blocks, and travel by tuk tuk through the forest to Banteay Kdei. In the afternoon, depart for Angkor Thom to visit its centrepiece, the Bayon Temple. Continue to the Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper before heading to Angkor Wat, claimed to be the largest religious building in the world.

**Day 12 : Siem Reap**
Enjoy your day at leisure.

**Day 13 : Siem Reap**
After breakfast you will be transferred to Siem Reap airport where arrangements conclude.

Inclusions

• • Tailor-made journey
  • 11 nights’ accommodation
  • 1 night onboard a traditional junk in Halong Bay
  • 12 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 1 dinner
  • Meet & Greet at all airports
  • Economy class flights Hanoi > Danang > Saigon > Siem Reap
  • Private transfers as per the itinerary
  • English-speaking local guides
  • Private sightseeing as per the itinerary
  • Entrance fees as per the itinerary