The Very Best of Vietnam & Cambodia

All flights with Singapore Airlines to Hanoi travel via Singapore. After clearing customs, we transfer to our hotel and our home for our first three nights in Vietnam, the Pan Pacific Hanoi. Early evening, enjoy a welcome drink with your Tour Manager and fellow travellers, so we may become better acquainted and learn more about our adventure ahead.

Hanoi is an immediate assault on the senses. We begin our morning tour at the Ethnology Museum for a unique insight into the 54 ethnic groups that make up the Vietnamese people, before viewing the 11th century Temple of Literature. Following lunch, we visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the final resting place of ‘Uncle Ho’, and see the one pillar pagoda before embarking on a cyclo (similar to a rickshaw) ride through the Old Quarter. Packed with charming colonial architecture, Buddhist temples and pagodas, the ancient commercial streets are named after the original businesses that were housed here. We end our day experiencing a traditional water puppet show.

Today offers us the freedom that this wonderfully old-fashioned city deserves. With the full support of our Tour Manager, perhaps enjoy the delights of Hanoi at your own pace, or indulge in a specialist cookery class to explore the five fundamental tastes of Vietnamese cuisine. We can also help arrange a full day excursion to ‘Ha Long Bay on Land’, Ninh Binh.

Why not start your day with a Tai Chi lesson on the sun deck, before we cruise through the spectacularly serene Lan Ha Bay? Once arriving at Cat Ba Island, we transfer to Viet Hai Village, where we learn about community life in the heart of Cat Ba National Park. Trinh Nu Cave, with its stunning array of stalactites and stalagmites, is our next destination at the heart of the picturesque Ha Long Bay. The evening is reserved for a delicious on-board barbecue with fellow passengers.

After breakfast we head to Ha Long’s famous Sung Sot Cave, before returning to the mainland whilst soaking up the beautiful panoramas. Once there, we take the awaiting coach back to Hanoi, before flying to Da Nang. After landing, we journey to archaic Hoi An, settling into either the first-class Bel Marina Hoi An Resort, or the Allegro Hoi An, where we stay for the next three nights.

Today offers an opportunity to relax by the pool and enjoy the hotel’s facilities, or alternatively head out for some further exploration of the area. You may like to join an optional lantern making class, or perhaps visit the captivating Hindu temple ruins of My Son, constructed as early as the 4th century.

This morning we are treated to a spectacular drive over the Hai Van Pass along the Vietnamese coastline, a 19km stretch of road climbing to 3,000ft (914m) above sea level. This afternoon we visit the majestic Minh Mang Tomb, before continuing to the iconic seven-storey Thien Mu Pagoda, where resident monks continue to practice. We cruise back into Hue city along the Perfume River, before arriving at our hotel, the centrally situated Eldora Hotel, where we spend two nights.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and originally the settlement of the Cham people, the Imperial city of Hue was capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen Dynasty. After breakfast at the hotel we visit the Imperial Citadel, modelled on the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Citadel was sadly destroyed in the war, but, along with many surrounding buildings, is being slowly restored. Soon after we visit the dazzling former residence of Princess Ngoc Son, before taking time in the afternoon to do as we please. You may want to travel to the local village of Thanh Tien to learn the 300-year old craft of paper flower making.

After a leisurely breakfast today, we transfer to the airport for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival, we visit the city’s perfectly preserved French colonial Central Post Office, designed by the renowned French architect Gustav Eiffel, and take a stroll along Dong Khoi Street to the delicately featured Saigon Opera House. Later, we check in at either the upmarket Liberty Central Saigon Riverside Hotel, or the Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel, our accommodation for the next two nights.

After breakfast we journey into the stunning countryside – once the stronghold of the Viet Cong, who fought against the US and South Vietnamese governments in the Vietnam War. We visit the Cu Chi Tunnels – a vast, 250km underground network used by the Viet Cong as hiding spots, for communication, and as supply routes during the war. Our visit provides a captivating insight into how the Viet Cong lived and fought. Following lunch, we return to the city for an afternoon of sightseeing. We start with the War Remnants Museum, which provides thought-provoking insight into the war in Vietnam and its impact on human life. Our day finishes with a visit to the Reunification Palace, a former stronghold of the South Vietnamese Government.

Wake to the sounds of the water lapping against our ship as we gently cruise through the Mekong Delta. Arriving at Cai Be, we board sampans (traditional wooden boats) to explore the network of canals, seeing how the river is still used as an important transporter of goods. We make stops to see cottage industries in action, where industrious artisans create various products from the rice grown in the delta. As we return to our vessel for lunch, rice barges, rice husking mills, villages and temples can be seen on the riverbanks. Later, we take to our sampans once more to reach the historic town of Sa Dec. Here, we visit the home of Mr Huynh Thuy Le, the inspiration for the novel, L’Amant (The Lover), as well as the Chinese Temple built in honour of the Huynh Thuy Le Family, and take a walk through the local market, packed with fresh produce and exotic fruits. Back on board, perhaps enjoy a sundowner before dinner.

This morning, we disembark to visit a traditional farming village where we take a stroll and have the chance to interact with local villagers. We stop to enjoy ‘don ca tai tu’ folk music and a Vietnamese martial arts demonstration. Following lunch back on board, we transfer to the island village of Cu Lao Gieng, known as ‘Mango Island’. Exploring by sampan and motorised rickshaw, our visits include a traditional boat-building yard and a mango farm before returning to our vessel for dinner.

Today, relax on the spacious sundeck and watch daily life on the banks of the Mekong River unfold as we continue our journey upstream. As the scenery flows by perhaps join one of the onboard activities – learn to make Vietnamese spring rolls or discover more about traditional Cambodian clothing. As we pass the Vietnam/Cambodia border, we go through immigration formalities before finally reaching Phnom Penh. This evening, enjoy a cocktail before settling down for our final dinner onboard.

After a wonderful four days cruising the Mekong River, our time on board the Mekong Navigator has sadly come to an end, and we disembark in Phnom Penh. We visit the striking Royal Palace – the official residence of Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni – built in 1866. We also have the privilege of viewing the Silver Pagoda, with its floor covered with 5,000 silver tiles, and the magnificent, near-life-size Buddha, made from solid gold and encrusted with almost 10,000 diamonds. Despite the splendour and the optimism that you will observe in Cambodia, there is no escaping its dark recent history, in which Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime (1975-79) cost thousands of innocent people their lives. To learn more about these troubled times, we first visit Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the former high school turned prison where captives of the Khmer Rouge were held, before their fate at the Killing Fields awaited them. Today, it is a museum, where the haunting faces of some 17,000 people who passed through its gates are displayed. Only seven survivors lived to tell the tale. From here, we journey on to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, where a memorial provides an emotive yet chilling tribute to the fallen. This afternoon’s visit is a sobering and powerful cultural experience, providing us with an important insight into the resilience and spirit of the Cambodian people. Later in the afternoon, we arrive at the Palace Gate Hotel for our overnight stay.

Our Tour Manager will be on hand to help us make the most of this Freedom Day in Siem Reap. Having spent time exploring the city’s most iconic attraction, Angkor Wat, you may wish to indulge in other experiences in and around the city, particularly those linked to social enterprises formed to support the local people. How about learning to cook traditional Khmer cuisine, or visiting one of the city’s thriving local markets? You may choose to explore a neighbouring village, where you can interact with locals and discover more about their rural daily lives. Or perhaps it is time for you to simply relax and unwind? The choice is yours.

Take the opportunity to relax before the homeward journey, or squeeze some last-minute souvenir shopping around Siem Reap before we depart for the airport.

After 23 amazing days full of unforgettable memories, our incredible adventure comes to a close as we arrive into our chosen UK airport this morning.