Essential Vietnam and Cambodia from Ho chi minh

(premium class flights may be available on request)

Upon arrival transfer to the Fusion Suites Saigon for your two night stay including breakfast (D)

★Insider Experience★ This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at the Chopsticks Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City

This morning, visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, built by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the Vietnam War. Part of a larger network, the tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat. They also served as communication and supply routes, hospitals, weapons caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. (B)

After breakfast, transfer to the port in My Tho and embark the RV Aspara for your cruise along the mighty Mekong. Enjoy lunch as your ship sets off.

Tonight, enjoy a Welcome Dinner with your fellow passengers (B, L, D)

This morning, a local boat takes you to the river-land town of Cái Bè. Go ashore to see Cái Bè’s French Gothic Cathedral and visit a local rice paper manufacturer to learn how rice paper is made.

After lunch, take a boat ride to Sa Đéc for a tour. Here, you’ll see Huynh Thuy Le’s old house, once the lover of French writer Marguerite Duras.

Return to your ship for dinner (B, L, D)

Go ashore for a rickshaw tour of Tân Châu and take a small boat ride to discover rural life on an island.

The rest of today is then spent on board (B,L,D)

Join an excursion to the infamous Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.

This afternoon in Phnom Penh, a tour takes you to visit the magnificent Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda (B, L, D)

Travel to Oudong, the former capital of Cambodia and a place of pilgrimage for the Cambodian Buddhist community. Visit the spectacular Buddhist monastery where you will have the opportunity to partake in a Buddhist blessing ceremony. 

En route back to Phnom Penh, explore Koh Chen, a village specialising in the manufacture of copperware. Here you’ll visit some small family workshops and have the opportunity to buy some souvenirs. (B, L, D)

★Insider Experience★ Visit the monastery in Oudong for a Buddhist blessing.

After breakfast, awake in the town of Oknha Tey, known for it’s traditional silk weaving and is often referred to as the Silk Island. Hop on a local tuk tuk for a village tour. Discover rural life from the local homes to the rice fields and the faces of the friendly locals. You can also continue on foot for a more in-depth exploration of the village.

Enjoy lunch onboard as the ship sets sail for Angkor Ban. As you sail along the Mekong, enjoy some time at leisure. Perhaps take a dip in the pool, sit back and read a book on the Sun Deck as Mekong life passes you by. (B, L, D)

This morning, enjoy an immersive tour of Angkor Ban, a village awash in stories of Cambodia’s cultural history, and one of the few traditional villages that survived the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970’s. During a walking tour you will be able to view the traditional wooden houses standing intact on stilts which are shaded by banana trees and get amongst the hustle and bustle of the daily agricultural activities of the locals.

After lunch, enjoy a tuk tuk tour of the agricultural island of Koh Pen. Travel along the shaded lanes and past wooden stilted houses tucked amongst palm and sandalwood trees. Depending on the time of year, you can see a variety range of crops growing, including tobacco or betel nuts, as well as coconuts and tropical fruits. (B,L,D)

After breakfast your Mekong River cruise comes to an end. Bid farewell to the crew and disembark for your transfer to Siem Reap. En route, travel through rural villages and absorb the changing views as you get closer to Siem Reap. This afternoon, set off to discover Ta Prohm, well known for the tree roots that are intertwined amongst the stonework.

On the way back to your hotel, visit ODA (Opportunities for Development thru Art), an organisation that provides education opportunities for disadvantaged children. (B)

★Insider Experience★ Visit Opportunities of Development thru Art (ODA), which supports underprivileged children

Two Night stay in Siem Reap at the Shinta Mani Shack

Today, visit the incredible historic landmark of Angkor Archaeological Park and explore its ancient wonders, including the 13th century Bayon. Cap off the day with a spectacular sunset over Angkor Wat, also located within the Angkor Archaeological Park.

This evening, enjoy a Farewell Dinner and traditional Apsara dance performance (B, D)

(premium class flights may be available on request) (B)