Day 1 – Saigon
Arrive in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) where you are greeted and transferred to your hotel to check in. Overnight in Saigon
Day 2 – Saigon
A vibrant metropolis, Saigon teems with energy, activity and motion. Begin with a tour of the historic centre and heart of old colonial Saigon. Including landmarks such as the City Hall, Old Opera House, neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office and the Reunification Palace. Formerly the Independence Palace of the South Vietnamese president, this 60s style building was famously stormed by tanks on April 30, 1975 signifying the fall of South Vietnam. Continue to the harrowing War Remnants Museum and Emperor of Jade Pagoda, one of Saigon’s most interesting pagodas. in the afternoon head to Cholon (Chinatown), before finishing at Ben Thanh Market. Overnight in Saigon
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 3 – Saigon – Cai Be – Vinh Long – Can Tho
Early morning drive to Cai Be to enjoy a boat trip through the river and numerous arroyos of the Mekong Delta. Stop at local workshops to learn how rice paper, coconut candy, pop-rice and pop-corn are made. Delve deeper into the countryside by rowing boat and witness the daily life of local people. Enjoy fruits and traditional music, then hop on a bicycle as you ride on village paths to visit local farms and experience the ancestral lifestyle of the rural peasantry. Head to Vinh Long afterwards, then continue to Can Tho. Overnight in Can Tho
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 4 – Can Tho
From Can Tho town center, take a boat trip to visit the floating market in Cai Rang. Enjoy the colourful sight and buzzing sounds of the market. Get off the boat and hop on a bicycle to start a ride through local villages before taking a break for lunch. Continue cycling, stopping at a local family to enjoy fresh seasonal fruits at their lush green back garden. Transfer back to the hotel. Overnight in Can Tho
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5 – Can Tho – Chau Doc
This morning drive to Chau Doc where you embark by boat to explore the bustling river life around Chau Doc. Visit floating villages, whose inhabitants live and work all their lives on the river. Stopping at a typical house, you learn how they raise fish in nets directly under the house. Head to a distinctive Cham Village, on the other side of the river, with its thriving Muslim community.
Afterwards, drive to Sam Mountain, which rises sharply from the surrounding rice paddies. Considered one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Vietnam, the mountains dotted with pagodas and temples, many inside caves. Visit Lady Chua Xu Pagoda at the base as well as other pagodas while ascending the mountain.
Tay An, an ancient pagoda with mixture of Vietnamese and Asian architectural styles. The main temple has more than 100 statues each representing the peaceful nature of Buddhism. Including Phat Thay Tay An (19th century), an important site of the An Giang Buddhism Association. The solemnity and holiness of Tay An has gained great importance for Buddhists, attracting great number of monks and pilgrims. Overnight in Chau Doc
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 6 – Chau Doc – Phnom Penh
Today transfer to board the Vincab Speedboat to travel to Phnom Penh * No local guide*. On arrival transfer from the pier. Enjoy a day of sightseeing Sightseeing in Phnom Penh, explore Wat Phnom, the birthplace of the capital; according to legend, Phnom Penh was founded here when a woman named Penh found four Buddha statues and built the temple to house them.
Learn about a chapter from Cambodia’s more recent, tragic, past at the Tuol Sleng Museum (Museum of Genocide). Formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High School, in 1975, this became the interrogation and torture facility for the Khmer Rouge regime thousands of victims passed through these doors and only seven of whom came out alive.
This evening board a luxury cruise boat and enjoy views of Phnom Penh while watching the sunset over the Mekong River. Overnight in Phnom Penh
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 7 – Phnom Penh
Explore Phnom Penh, a chaotic, energetic and always fascinating city. Graceful tree-lined boulevards and riverfront promenades are reminders of bygone eras; today they teem with life and activity, as motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and vendors hawk their wares.
Start today gaining insight into Cambodia’s cultural heritage with a visit to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, also known as the Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha. Continue to the elegant National Museum, finally, explore the modern-day city, visiting one of Phnom Penh’s two great markets, the Central Market or the sprawling Russian Market. Enjoy the afternoon at your leisure.
This evening enjoy a traditional dance performance. This vibrant show presents an array of dances from Khmer and different ethnic minorities, ranging from the traditional elegance of Apsara to the folkloric romance of Nesat (the fishing dance). Set in the splendid gardens of the National Museum. Overnight in Phnom Penh
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 8 – Phnom Penh – Kampong Cham
After breakfast drive to Kampong Cham, a lively port on the banks of the Mekong River with some good examples of colonial-era architecture. After visiting the local market and exploring the town, travel in to the countryside to Phnom Pros (Man Hill) and Phnom Srei (Woman Hill). According to local tradition, two teams of men and women competed to build a stupa on the summit of each hill before dawn. After being tricked into thinking that daybreak had already come, the men lost the competition and, as a result, forever-after had to be the ones to approach the women for their hands in marriage. Continue to Wat Nokor Bachey, a thriving modern-day monastery founded on an 11th century Mahayana Buddhist shrine. Overnight in Kampong Cham
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 9 – Kampong Cham – Kratie
Today drive to Kratie, a pleasant small riverside town on the banks of the Mekong River. Visit the Dolphin Observation Park and enjoy an hour-long boat trip past peaceful rural scenery as you watch out for a rare sighting of one of the 50 endangered Irrawaddy freshwater dolphins that inhabit this stretch of the river. On the way back, stop at Wat Phnom Sambok. Phnom Sambok is a hill covered by various kinds of trees labeled with scientific names. At the top of the hill, tourists can visit a small temple, and cottages that serve as residencies for Buddhist monks, clergymen, and nuns. Overnight in Kratie
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 10 – Kratie – Nong Nokkein – Don Khone
Drive to Trapeang Kreul on the Cambodian/Lao border). Continue by vehicle to Nong Nokkein and cross the river by boat to Don Khone. Explore Don Khone by tuk tuk, one of the islands in Si Phan Don. Visit Ban Khone Village, the main village on Don Khone with several old French villas, Wat Mahanthanaram Temple and visit the rusting locomotive. Then Tad Li Phi Waterfalls, a raging set of rapids at the western end of Don Khone. Overnight in Don Khone
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 11 – Don Khone – Champasak – Don Khong
Transfer by vehicle and boat to Don Khong. Visit Khon Phapheng Waterfalls on the Mekong River, a 13km stretch of powerful rapids with several sets of cascades. The largest, Khon Phapheng, flows close to the eastern shore of the Mekong River near the village of Ban Thakho. Explore Don Khong, or Khong Island, a scenic island set in the middle of the Mekong River, with small villages and rice paddies. Visit the largest village, Muang Khong, and visit the local temples, Wat Phou Khao Keo, Wat Hua Khong Pha Yai, Wat Kang Khong, Wat Xieng Wang and Ban Hin Siew (Palm Sugar Village, can be visited from November to April). Enjoy sunset at Muang Sene. Overnight in Don Khong
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 12 – Don Khong – Pakse
Travel by vehicle to Pakse. Enjoy an excursion to Champasak and Vat Phou Champasak. Champasak is a small district of 38,000 people on the western bank of the Mekong River. The Angkor period ruins of Vat Phou Champasak lie 8km south of the town. Continue by vehicle to Vat Phou Museum and Vat Phou Champasak; this Khmer temple site is spread over the lower slopes of Phu Pasak and its name means Mountain Temple. The surviving structures date from as early as the Chenla Kingdom (6th to 8th centuries). Continue by vehicle to Pakse. Overnight in Pakse
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 13 – Pakse – Vientiane
After breakfast transfer to the airport for your flight to Vientiane. The capital city of Laos, Vientiane, still feels like a sleepy city with relaxed charm, tree-lined boulevards, and interesting temples and colourful markets. Tour the many highlights of the city, including Pha That Luang, a gleaming golden stupa which is perhaps the most important national monument in Laos; Ho Pha Keo, the formal royal temple, now a museum with beautiful examples of Buddhist sculpture; Wat Si Saket; and Patuxai, a monumental arch inspired by the Arc de Triomphe, but executed with Lao motifs. Overnight in Vientiane
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 14 – Vientiane – Vang Vieng
This morning drive to Vang Vieng stopping en route at Talat Fish Market in Huay Mor, and at Vang Xang, an 11th century Buddhist archaeological site where primitive Buddha images have been carved into the cliff. Visit Tham Chang Cave which used as a bunker against marauding Chinese in the early 19th century. Overnight in Vang Vieng
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 15 – Vang Vieng – Luang Prabang
Journey to Luang Prabang visiting local villages on the way. Visit Tham Xang Cave, also called Elephant Cave. It contains a few Buddha images, a Buddha footprint plus the elephant shaped stalactites which give the cave its name.
Note: Tham Xang Cave is NOT recommended from May to September due to high water level and a swift current as well as bad road conditions. Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 16 – Luang Prabang
Situated between Nam Khan and Mekong river, Luang Prabang’s an enchanting town filled with historic temples and colonial style buildings. The entire town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.
Start the day at Wat Visoun (Wat Wisunalat), the oldest living temple in Luang Prabang, Wat dating back to 1513 and contains a collection of antique wooden Buddhas. Next Wat Aham before continuing to Wat Xieng Thong, the crowning jewel of all the monasteries and temples in the city. Its many ornate buildings feature exquisite mosaic and gold-stenciled murals. From there, stroll down the main street of Luang Prabang, stopping at some of the many temples that line its sides, including Wat Sibounheuang, Wat Si Moungkhoun, Wat Sop and Wat Sene. Continue to the National Museum (Royal Palace) which provides unique insights into the history of Laos. Afterwards, visit Wat Mai.
This evening enjoy sunset Mount Phousi the hill is 150m high and sits in the middle of the town, offering beautiful views over the temples and river. Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 17 – Luang Prabang – Pakbeng
This morning transfer to Tha Calao Boat Landing to board The Luang Say Lodge and Cruises for a cruise up the Mekong River to Pakbeng. *No local guie* . A continental breakfast will be served on board. On the way to Pak Ou village, visit the Tam Ting Caves and Tham Phoum Caves of a thousand Buddha. A buffet lunch is served on board, afterwards stop at Ban Baw to observe the processing of traditional rice alcohol. The boat arrives at Luangsay Lodge before sunset for an overnight stop. Enjoy dinner on a terrace overlooking the Mekong River. Overnight in Pakbeng
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 18 – Pakbeng
Breakfast is served on the terrace before visit the morning market (optional) where the nearby villagers and hill tribes buy and exchange goods. Return to the boat to cruise towards Huay Xai * No local guide *. Lunch is served on board. A stop is made to visit and admire the authentic rural life of hill tribe village at Ban Houy Phalam (Kamu Village). Arrive Huay Xai before 17.00 p.m. Transfer from the boat to Friendship Bridge 4 * No local guide *.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
