Essential Vietnam & Cambodia - River Cruise

Days 1-3  Fly to Siem Reap  
Fly overnight to Siem Reap, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Start your exploration of the temples of Angkor with the temple of Ta Prohm, known for its huge tree roots that snake their way through the stonework. You can also take the opportunity to visit ODA (Opportunities for Development thru Art), an organisation that provides education for disadvantaged children.  

Day 4  Siem Reap  
Enjoy this morning at leisure and after the full heat of the day explore the beautiful Bayon Temple, characterised by the huge faces built into its stone walls. End your day at Angkor Wat, one of the world’s most famous and spectacular monuments.

Day 5  Cruise Embarkation  
Travel through rural villages to Kampong Cham where you will board your river ship and commence your seven night Mekong River cruise. This afternoon, enjoy a tuk-tuk ride through the agricultural island of Koh Pen. Travel along the narrow lanes, past wooden stilted houses tucked amongst palm and sandalwood trees.  

Day 6  Angkor Ban & Oknha Tey  
This morning enjoy an immersive tour of Angkor Ban, one of the few traditional villages that survived the cruel Khmer Rouge regime. Continue sailing towards Oknha Tey where you can explore by tuk-tuk and learn about the area’s famous silk production process.

Day 7  Oudong  
Today travel to Oudong, the former capital of Cambodia and a place of pilgrimage for the Cambodian Buddhist community. Visit a local monastery where you can partake in a Buddhist blessing ceremony. Visit open air copperware workshops in Koh Chen before returning to Phnom Penh to explore at leisure. Enjoy optional activities such as indulging in the local hops at Kingdom Brewery or taking in off-the-beaten-track sights by tuk-tuk.  

Day 8  Phnom Penh  
Today explore vibrant Phnom Penh. Learn about the atrocities inflicted upon Cambodians during Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime as you visit the infamous Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Return to the city centre to marvel at the spectacular Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda.  

Day 9  Border Crossing & Tan Chau  
Cruise down the Mekong to cross the border into Vietnam. This afternoon, you might like to attend a fruit carving demonstration by the ship’s chef while border formalities are carried out and you cross into Vietnam. Arrive in the small town of Tan Chau, renowned for its silk production where the ship will dock overnight.

Day 10  Tan Chau  
After breakfast, transfer to a small boat and travel along the Mekong’s tiny tributaries, observing the stilt house villages and rural Mekong life. Later, venture ashore for a rickshaw tour of Tan Chau itself and visit several local artisan workshops to learn about the history of their crafts.

Day 11  Sa Dec & Cai Be  
Arrive in bustling Cai Be by boat and head ashore to visit the French Gothic cathedral and witness the local trades in action. Enjoy a guided tour of charming Sa Dec town and explore the old house of Huynh Thuy Le, once the lover of French writer Marguerite Duras.

Day 12  My Tho & Ho Chi Minh City  
Disembark at My Tho Port today and travel by coach to the Cu Chi tunnels, a tunnel network built by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the Vietnam War. Continue on to vibrant Ho Chi Minh City and spend the evening at leisure or enjoy an optional dining experience.  

Day 13  Ho Chi Minh City  
Spend the day uncovering Ho Chi Minh’s fascinating history, from colonial rule to coups and rebellion. This evening indulge in a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.    

Days 14-15  Fly to the UK  
Your tour ends after breakfast with a transfer to the airport for your flight home, arriving the following day.