The 2023 5★ Vietnam & Cambodia Highlights

Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, you will be met and transferred to your hotel, Park Hyatt Saigon, where you will have time to relax and unwind.

Later this evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner. (D)

Signature Experience

Today choose from two Signature Experiences - Perhaps visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the war. These tunnels served as Viet Cong hiding spots, supply and communication routes, hospitals and weapon caches, and make for a fascinating visit.

Alternatively, journey to Ba Ria and learn about the Battle of Long Tan.

Afterwards, attend a memorial service at the Long Tan Cross, a memorial erected by the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, which is set in a rubber plantation and marks the site of the Battle of Long Tan.

This evening, enjoy your second Signature Experience. Experience dinner at Vietnam House, founded by Australia-born Vietnamese celebrity chef Luke Nguyen. (B,L,D)

Spend your final morning in Ho Chi Minh City enjoying your selected sightseeing activity.

Freedom of Choice

Perhaps jump on the back of a motorbike and tour the vibrant streets of Saigon, or rise early for some city discovery and morning Tai Chi in the park. Other options include a walking tour of the capital, retail therapy at a bustling Vietnamese market, a tour of artist workshops or an authentic Vietnamese cooking class. (B,L,D)

Afterwards, transfer to My Tho to embark your ship, the Mekong Serenity for your seven night all-inclusive river cruise. 

In Cai Be this morning, visit the French Gothic cathedral and port area. Then, at a rice paper manufacture, learn how this Vietnamese staple is made. Continue to the quaint town of Sa Dec where French writer Marguerite Duras met her Vietnamese-Chinese lover, Huynh Thuy Le. Tour his former home and learn the story behind Marguerite Duras’ best-selling novel, The Lover. Afterwards, visit a traditional Cao Dai temple. (B,L,D)

Step ashore in Tan Chau today for a rickshaw tour. On board your rickshaw, you’ll glide past shops, rice wine rooms and friendly locals who are always eager to say hello. Stop to pay a visit to a local silk and rattan weaving workshop.

Later, step back in time during a visit to an evergreen island aboard a small boat, where you’ll experience authentic rural Mekong life.

The remainder of today is left free for you to relax back on board your river ship. (B,L,D)

Freedom of Choice

Perhaps take a sobering excursion to the Killing Fields, before visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, located on the site of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Security Prison 21. Alternatively, see Phnom Penh on a tuk tuk ride with a stop at the Central Market. There’s also choice of a visit to the National Museum or a leisurely bike ride through the city.

The evening is yours to relax. (B,L,D)

Disembark in Phnom Penh and discover Oudong, an important place of pilgrimage in Cambodia where you’ll be treated to a special Signature Experience.

Signature Experience

Partake in a traditional Buddhist blessing ceremony at a monastery in Oudong.

Return to your ship via the village Koh Chen, where you will perhaps visit some home workshops that manufacture copperware. Later, your ship glides along the lush banks of the Mekong to Oknha Tey, a small island renowned for its skilful silk weaving traditions.

Enjoy dinner onboard tonight. (B,L,D)

Join a walking discovery of Angkor Ban, one of the few villages in Cambodia that was not destroyed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Experience rustic agricultural life as you wander past the wooden stilted houses in this quiet, rural place. (B,L,D)

Those who wish to climb Wat Hanchey this morning will be rewarded with stunning hilltop panoramas and some of the best views of the Mekong River.

Following lunch on board, take a tuk tuk to explore the island of Koh Pen with its wooden stilt houses and local farming culture.

This evening, a Farewell Dinner awaits onboard. (B,L,D)

Disembark at Kampong Cham and transfer to Siem Reap. Afterwards, head to World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park to visit the enduring capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Thom, and the 12th-century temple of Bayon.

Freedom of Choice

Tonight, choose where to dine.

Three night stay in, Siem Reap, at Hotel Sofitel Angkor (B,L,D)

Rise early this morning and travel back to Angkor Archaeological Park for a Signature Experience. After experiencing the majesty of World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat, enjoy a guided exploration of what is regarded as Angkor’s best-preserved temple, said to be the world’s largest single religious monument. Relax back at your hotel after breakfast. Then this afternoon, explore the temple of Ta Prohm, a World Heritage-listed site which is famous for its intertwined trees. Later, visit ‘Opportunities of Development thru Art’ (ODA), a Siem Reap organisation that provides education opportunities for disadvantaged children.

The evening is at your leisure. (B)

Embark on your selected sightseeing activity.

Freedom of Choice

Perhaps set out a tuk tuk ride to the Senteurs d’Angkor workshop, where you can shop for local handmade crafts. If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, you might like to join a quadbike excursion through the Cambodian countryside. Alternatively, unwind with a soothing spa treatment.

Tonight, enjoy a traditional Apsara dance performance before enjoying a Farewell Dinner. (B,D)

After breakfast, transfer to the airport. (B)