Best of Vietnam and Cambodia - Standard

On arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, our local representative will be waiting outside the customs area to welcome you and to take you to your hotel (Check-in time is 3.00 pm). Rest of the day is free for you to explore Hanoi Town on your own.

Morning, our guide will meet you at hotel and start to visit the Ho Chi Minh Complex with your private guide. Visit Ba Dinh Square, where silent sentries guard the marble and granite mausoleum where Ho Chi Minh lies in state. See the simple cottage where Uncle Ho lived and worked and visit the nearby Ho Chi Minh Museum – an extraordinary tribute to the life of the “father of the country.” Carry on to the Governor’s Residence, a fine example of Hanoi’s French architecture, followed by a stop at the One Pillar Pagoda to hear the legend of its construction. Continue to the Temple of Literature, built in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius, for a quick escape from the busy streets. After lunch, continue city tour to one of the museums (Fine Art, History, Revolutionary, War, Ethnology Museum) of your choice (closed on Monday), Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple and experience a one hour cyclo tour. Return back to your hotel for overnight stay.

Morning, meet our guide at hotel and transfer to Halong Bay, literally called Descending Dragon Bay, is the most wondrous of bays sculpted when an ancient dragon swished its immense tail. Vietnam’s most obvious attraction is Ha Long Bay, adjacent to the Gulf of Tonkin, and currently attracting nearly two million visitors each year. Despite its status as one of Vietnam’s busiest tourist centres, its enormous scale, unique geomorphology and indisputable splendor makes a visit almost essential. Enjoy 04-hour cruise to visit islands and grottoes, leaving those that have been equipped with lights, walkways, refreshment stalls and souvenir shops to the tourists. The exceptions are Dau Go, a large cavern worth visiting for its grandeur, and Sung Sot, for its remarkable stalactites and stalagmites. Return back to Hanoi in the evening for overnight stay.

Today morning after breakfast, check out of your hotel and you will be transferred to Hanoi Airport to catch your brief flight to Da Nang. Arriving in Danang, you’ll be greeted by your local guide and transferred to Hoi An Town to your hotel for check in. Post check-in relax for some time. Rest of the evening is free for you at leisure.

Start the day with a leisurely 20 minute trip to Tra Que village riding a 3 wheeled cyclo or bike. Renowned as the ‘village of vegetables’, Tra Que is famous for its special aromatic herbs. The unique farming practices used for centuries means leaves of the plants grown here are actually smaller than usual, however they pack a very particular aroma. The local people will show you how they grow the herbs and vegetables as well as teaching you how to cook some of the local specialties including a popular pork, shrimp and herb dish called Tam Huu. The afternoon offers free time for you to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An Town, recognised for its incredibly well-preserved streets and ancient homes. The quaint cobblestones follow the Chinese Temple, Japanese Bridge, the 200 year old Chinese houses, the Chua Ong Pagoda and the vibrant market. Return back to your hotel for overnight stay.

There’s time this morning to enjoy free time exploring Hoi An on your own before your transfer to Danang Airport for your afternoon flight to Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival you’ll be greeted by your local guide and transferred to your hotel for check-in. Rest of the day is free for you to explore Ho Chi Minh on your own.

• Morning, we will visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Vietnamese are proud of their resolve in their prolonged history of struggle against invading armies, and the story of the people of Cu Chi is indicative of that spirit. The residents of Cu Chi then took their war underground, literally, developing a network of tunnels that, at its height, stretched as far as Cambodia and included meeting rooms, kitchens, and triage areas.
• Afternoon, city tour to visit Reunification Palace which was the former residence of the President of South Vietnam until end of April 1975, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Sai Gon Post Office, Cholon, the Chinatown of Ho Chi Minh City and the Emperor Jade Pagoda (Phuoc Hai), one of the most interesting pagodas in Vietnam. Return back to your hotel for overnight stay.

Today we take an excursion to My Tho. We will be traveling past miles of flat rice fields, along a bustling High Way. On arrival at My Tho, we board a Mekong cruise boat to Thoi Son Island where we will be entertained with traditional music. We will then change to a paddle boat to cruise through the narrow canals and visit home grown industries like coconut candy and rice-wine making. We next travel by motorized boat to another Mekong island to visit a bee farm and try tea with fresh honey from the beehives and enjoy fresh seasonal fruits. As we return to My Tho there will be a visit to the Vinh Trang Pagoda.

After breakfast we take a flight to Siem Reap,in the afternoon we embark for a city tour of Siem Reap. Religion is closely linked to Khmer life and pagodas are very important in the country. There are different activities in the pagoda and some are related to the traditions that still remain nowadays. You’ll visit Wat Inkosei built on the site of an ancient temple, which still remains and visit a workshop where traditional shadow play puppets are made. Next, continue to Wat Bo pagoda to view its well-preserved paintings. You will also observe monks making the various moldings, which adorn the pagodas. Drive from Siem Reap to the district of Puok to the Silk Farm and learn the different stages of the complex process of producing handmade silk, including the growing of the mulberry trees, silk worm breeding, and training in the ancient craft of silk dyeing and weaving. Return to hotel and end of the tour.

Today morning proceed for a full day tour of Angkor. Visit to the antique capital of Angkor Thom (12 century) : the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Bayon Temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara, the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Lunch not included , after your rest, visit the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond. Return back to your hotel for overnight stay.

Today, we check out and you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back home. Your tour ends with happy memories.