Vietnam – Cambodia 13 Days

PRIVATE TOUR – CODE: VIM01

The 2-week Vietnam Cambodia holiday includes visit to the most popular sites in both countries. It’s an easy leisure tour with 4 UNESCO World heritages of Halong bay, Hue, Hoi An and Siem Reap – Angkor Wat inclusive. Superior junk cruise on the legendary Ha Long Bay. Discovery the poetic city Hue & the ancient town Hoi An, especially with a night culinary exploration in Hue. Experience the heart of the Mekong the majestic river in Mekong delta Vietnam and Tonle Sap lake Siem Reap.

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Travel route: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Hue – Hoi An – Saigon – Cu Chi – My Tho – Siem Reap – Angkor Wat – Tonle Sap – Departure

BRIEF ITINERARY

• Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D)
• Day 2: Hanoi (B,D)
• Day 3: Hanoi – Halong – UNESCO World Heritage (B,L,D)
• Day 4: Halong – Hanoi – Da Nang – Hoi An (B,L)
• Day 5: Hoi An (B)
• Day 6: Hoi An – Hue (B,L)
• Day 7: Hue – Saigon (Hochiminh City) (B,L)
• Day 8: Saigon – Cu Chi Tunnels – City tour (B,L)
• Day 9: Saigon – My Tho (B,L)
• Day 10: Saigon – Siem Reap – Tonle Sap (B,L)
• Day 11: Siem Reap – Ta Prohm – Preah Khan (B,L)
• Day 12: Siem Reap – Angkor Thom (B,L)
• Day 13: Siem Reap – Departure (B)

DETAIL ITINERARY

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival (D)

Upon arrival at the Airport, you will meet our guide and transfer to hotel for check-in. Enjoy welcome dinner at a nearby restaurant. Overnight in Hanoi.

Day 2: Hanoi (B,D)

Enjoy Hanoi city tour today to visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his former residence, One-pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature – the first University in Vietnam, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology or Vietnam History Museum, Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple and take one hour Cyclo tour. Finish your day off at the Thang Long Opera Theatre for a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show. Dinner and overnight in Hanoi.

Day 3: Hanoi – Halong – UNESCO World Heritage (B,L,D)

Start at 8am with shuttle bus transfer to Halong City. This takes around 3 hours. We may stop enroute to admire the local scenery. Arrive at the port around 11:30 and board the ship. Begin sailing and pass through a magical bay, where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons’ teeth. After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbath on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Back on board, enjoy a lavish dinner.

Day 4: Halong – Hanoi – Da Nang – Hoi An (B,L)

Wake up with Tai Chi exercises (a kind of light exercises) on the sun deck and continue cruising the bays. Enjoy breakfast buffet in the restaurant, then visit the limestone grotto. Disembark in Halong City around 11 and get back to Hanoi with your shuttle bus vehicle, guide and driver. When we arrive in Hanoi you have the rest of the afternoon free to explore the colorful streets of the Old Quarter, sip on coffee in the French Quarter and admire the architecture of the city before transferring to Airport for flight to Da Nang. Arriving at Da Nang, enjoy a private transfer with your local guide to Hoi An Ancient Town.

Day 5: Hoi An (B)

Morning, take a half day walking tour of Hoi An, discover the historic town which used to be a prosperous seaport city during the 16th to 18th centuries. Visit Hoi An’s colourful local market, Tan Ky old house, Fukian Assembly Hall, and the 400-year-old Japanese covered bridge. You can also see local residents raise silkworms and produce silk for Hoi An’s burgeoning textile industry.

Afternoon, free leisure in Hoi An ancient town and relax at Cua Dai Beach.

Day 6: Hoi An – Hue (B,L)

Morning, transfer to Hue in your private vehicle. The overland journey will take you through one of the most beautiful scenery of Vietnam when you traverse the Hai Van (Cloudy Pass). There will be plenty of photo opportunities and stops at beaches en route. Arriving at Hue, you will start the day visiting the Forbidden City and the Imperial Citadel, the magnificent tomb of Vietnam’s last monarch Khai Dinh and the romantic tomb of the poet-king Tu Duc. Enjoy this romantic cruise along the Perfume River to visit Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the oldest ancient architectural structures for religious worship in Hue.

Day 7: Hue – Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) (B,L)

Morning, free at leisure until transfer to airport for flight from Hue to Saigon. Upon arrival at Saigon, enjoy a private transfer with guide to hotel for check-in.

Afternoon, take city tour to visit War Remnants Museum, which features a comprehensive collection of the machinery; weapons; photos; and documentation of Vietnam’s wars with both the French and Americans. The tour continues to the Reunification Palace, which was the former residence of the President of Southern Vietnam until end of April 1975. Afterwards, stop at Ben Thanh market for shopping.

Day 8: Saigon – Cu Chi Tunnels – City tour (B,L)

Morning, meet our guide and drive to visit Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu Chi was an important base during the American War because of its strategic location. The Vietcong built a 200km long network of tunnels connecting command posts, hospitals, shelters and weapon factories. Dug out of hard late-rite by hand tools without the use of cement, this amazing network was never discovered. After lunch, continue to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Sai Gon Post Office, a neo-Romanesque cathedral constructed between 1877 and 1883 using bricks from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres, the Chinatown of the City with the Emperor Jade Pagoda (Phuoc Hai), one of the most interesting pagodas in Vietnam.

Day 9: Saigon – My Tho (B,L)

Enjoy a full day tour traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho, the gateway to the Mekong Delta. Known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam, the Delta is the most fertile region in the country, and the main producer of rice and tropical fruits. From My Tho, take a boat and travel to one of the islands located in the middle of the Mekong River. On the island visit a fruit orchard and sample some of the local produce, before boarding a smaller sampan that winds along narrow canals. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit a local family’s house and enjoy their hospitality and share with them some tea or rice wine. After lunch in My Tho return to Saigon.

Day 10: Saigon – Siem Reap – Tonle Sap (B,L)

Morning, free at leisure until transferred to Airport for flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival at Siem Reap Airport you will meet tour guide and transfer to local restaurant for lunch. Afternoon, start with visit to the floating village of Chong Khneas, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap. Take a traditional wooden boat for a ride on the Tonle Sap Lake (the “Great Lake” of Cambodia, one of the largest in Asia) and flows into Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Siemreap. Here you will see a fishermen’s “floating village” with floating schools, floating police station, etc. It is the same as a big village floating on the lake, and the “village” move from place to place following water levels and current. Next visit the Old Market where you can see the fresh locals’ produces being sold; browsing the souvenir stalls. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Day 11: Siem Reap – Ta Prohm – Preah Khan (B,L)

In the morning, visit the unique brick sculptures of Prasat Kravan, and continue to Ta Prohm. As one of the area’s most beautiful temples, Ta Prohm has been relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery. Its appeal lies in the fact that, unlike the other monuments of Angkor, it was abandoned and swallowed by the jungle. Visit Takeo, Chau Say Tevoda and Thommanon as well.

Afternoon, continue to visit Preah Khan temple (built by the King Jayavarman VII). Preah Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered enclosures and shoulders-hanging corridors. However, Preah Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation and ongoing restoration efforts to maintain and even improve the heritage. Continue your visits to Neak Pean (a fountain built in the middle of a pool and representing the paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake) and visit the temple of Ta Som as well as Eastern Mebon (guarded at its corner by stone figures of harnessed elephants, some of which are still in a reasonable state of preservation), and Pre Rup (the mountain-temple until sunset). Then, back to the hotel. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.

Day 12: Siem Reap – Angkor Thom (B,L)

In the morning, 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 included at local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you 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 this 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. Then, back to the hotel. Overnight at hotel in Siem Reap.

Day 13: Siem Reap – Departure (B)

You’ll have the rest of the time before transferring to your onward flight. End of services.

INCLUSION

• 11 nights hotel accommodation as listed below.
• 1 night on Halong Bay cruise (3-star) or Bai Tu Long Bay cruise (4-star).
• Local English speaking guides in different cities.
• Transfer and sightseeing with air-conditioned car as mentioned in the program.
• Flight tickets: Hanoi – Da Nang; Hue – Saigon; Saigon – Siem Reap
• Meals as indicated: B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner.
• Admissions.
• Boat arrangment in My Tho and Tonle Sap lake.
• Mineral water on transfer

EXCLUSION

• Meals, drinks and personal expenses (eg. laundry, telephone call etc).
• Vietnam & Cambodia visa arrangement
• International airfares arriving in Hanoi and departing from Siem Reap.
• Early check in and Late check out from hotel
• Tips (eg. Driver, guide,..)
• Services not mentioned in our itinerary