17-Day Best of Indochina Holiday

hanoi

Day 1: Welcome to Hanoi!

Welcome to Hanoi!

Upon arrival at Noi Bai International Airport, your driver will be waiting outside the gate to bring you to your lovely hotel downtown. Now your journey can really begin!

Ha Noi, Vietnam's capital, is one thousand years old and it's known for its peaceful lakes, French styled buildings, old quarter streets, tree-lined boulevards, and brightly painted temples and pagodas.

The afternoon is free at your leisure. We would recommend some walking around Hanoi's Old Quarter if your arrival time is earlier. 

hanoi

Day 2: Hanoi, Capital of Culture

Today is an unforgettable day in Hanoi. You will start with a nice buffet breakfast at your hotel, where you can enjoy some Vietnamese coffee, if you are a coffee lover.

The first stop is Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, where Uncle Ho, Father of the Vietnamese, is laid out in state. Here we also visit the Presidential Palace where Ho refused to live, choosing instead a small stilt house beside a lake. Close by is the One Pillar Pagoda. A tour around the beautiful West Lake then takes us to the venerable Temple of Literature.

After lunch, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, with its art and artifacts from the 54 different ethnic groups that inhabit the country, is a must for all visitors. See examples of the traditional clothing and way of life, as well as reconstructions of traditional longhouses, cemeteries and other distinctive ethnic buildings.

Ha Long Bay

Day 3: Cruise Ha Long Bay

Arrive in our office at Hon Gai Pier, where you will have a bit of time to relax and enjoy a cup of tea/coffee. Wait for our captain to finish the registration and transfer by tender to our boat.

Enjoy a welcome drink and spend a couple of minutes to briefing about safety on boat and activities included, then we check into our cabin. 

Enjoy a delicious Vietnamese set menu served while leisurely cruising further into Bai Tu Long Bay.

Arrive in the kayaking area – that is Cap La Island.

Enjoy kayaking through the karst and breathtaking nature, swimming and relaxing. Get back to the boat and enjoy our sunset party while our cruise sails to the overnight anchorage.

Enjoy a sumptuous set dinner onboard. Free time to challenge yourself in Vietnamese puzzle games, or gathers your group/family for a board game. Try your luck with squid fishing or simply have a cocktail.

Ha Long Bay - hoi an

Day 4: Highlights of Ha Long Bay

Start your day with a tai chi routine on sundeck or catch a morning view of the stunning bay’s landscape with a cup of tea or coffee. 

Breakfast will be served in Western style, familiar to you to fulfill your strength and ready for another exploring day.

Explore the well-hidden Thien Canh Son Cave. Upon your return to the boat you will have about 30 minutes to freshen up and finish packing. 

Attend a Vietnamese cooking demonstration. You can quickly learn a simple but delicious Vietnamese dish that Gordon Ramsey (a 2 Michelin Star Chef) used to guide – Nem Cuon, or challenge yourself in fruit and vegetable carving.

Afterwards, enjoy a traditional Vietnamese lunch on the boat.

Say farewell to Halong Bay, then we take you back to Hanoi. Transfer to the airport for a flight to Danang.

hoi an

Day 5: Hoi An Lantern Making

Join us to gain some insight into Hoi An’s Ancient Town. This tour allows you to get in touch with your creative side as well as allowing you to take part in an important aspect of the Vietnamese culture.

Our tour guide will pick you up at your hotel to go to the center of Hoi An city where you will visit the Hoi An Museum, Ancient Houses, the Assembly Hall with Chinese influence, handicraft workshops and the Japanese Bridge.

We will move on to the home of a local lantern craftsman. There, we will have a hands-on workshop to learn the traditional art of lantern-making. You will bend the frame and select the cloth to build your own lantern from scratch and even take it home with you when you are done. This is the perfect souvenir for you to show off your craftsmanship to your friends and family. Then, return to your hotel. 

hoi an - Ho Chi Minh

Day 6: Discover Saigon

Catch a morning flight to Saigon.

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) which is the largest of Vietnam's cities, the hustle and bustle of life co-exists with 300 years of timeless traditions and the beauty of a mixed colonial-orient culture.

Upon your arrival our driver will take you to the hotel for check-in & relaxing. Overnight in Saigon.

Mekong Delta

Day 7: Float Down the Mekong Delta

Start your journey to the Mekong Delta!

Board a wooden motorboat to Unicorn Island. On this boat along the river’s bank, you’ll be passing through natural creeks, interesting fisherman's port, stilt houses.

From there, we’ll take you to a bee farm where you have a chance to taste a tasteful cup of authentic honey tea. After that, we walk around quiet villages and watch the life of rural people in Mekong Delta. 

Youll cruise a canal whose 2 long sides are orchards. After that, we cruise to a village where the sweat smell coconut candies are in the air. To satisfy your curiosity, we'll get to a village that has many small shops that make coconut candy and handcrafted items from coconut trees of Mekong Delta.

As your journey ends, you will return to My Tho by motorized boat and then travel to Can Tho.

Can Tho - Chau Doc

Day 8: Explore the Lower Mekong

Take a leisurely boat trip to explore the picturesque tributaries of the Lower Mekong river (Bassac River), then proceed to Cai Rang floating markets (& Phong Dien is optional), which are the liveliest in the whole religion.

Have you ever tasted Vietnamese vermicelli soup? Well, now go and see how it is made. Then wander around the village and meet the friendly local people and experience how to pass a "Monkey bridge" which is built by only one stem of bamboo.

Visit the orchard garden. Stop for lunch. Proceed to Chau Doc, continue the tour to visit Tra Su, getting to the wild birds Sanctuary, cruising smoothly with small boats to discover the arrays of splendid canals deep into the forest, watching storks, cranes and other tropical birds.

Chau Doc - Phnom Penh

Day 9: Journey to Phnom Penh

Visit a raft village, and to learn the history of the development of fishery (a type of specific economic on the river).

Then continue by boat along the canal into the village of Cham where we visit the ancient largest mosque of the Cham community in A Giang and to show a clear distinctive architecture and customs of residents here, it is shown all in Chau Phong temple.

After that, you will take a boat trip to Cambodia – Phnom Penh. Stay in Phnom Penh overnight.

Phnom Penh

Day 10: Phnom Penh City Tour

Phnom Penh is a graceful capital that was once known as the ‘Pearl of Asia’. It is a timeless throwback to an older Asia. The riverfront area remains one of the most attractive in the region and is perfect for a late afternoon stroll. The tinkle of music from ancient temples, saffron-clad monks wandering past, and street hawkers with bubbling cauldrons immerse us in the past, even as rapid, modern changes spring up all around.

The capital city of Phnom Penh was once considered the loveliest city of Indochina. Despite its recent turbulent history, it still maintains considerable charm. A city tour acquaints us with some major sights of Phnom Penh.

Visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and then the National Museum, which is dedicated exclusively to Khmer art and sculpture.

At the northern area of the Royal Palace grounds is the Silver Pagoda, the most sacred temple in the country.

Siem Reap

Day 11: Travel to Siem Reap

Catch a flight to Siem Reap, home to the famous Angkor Wat, one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world.

Upon arrival, our guide will pick you up and take you to the hotel for check-in & relax. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Siem Reap

Day 12: See the Temples at Angkor Wat

Beat the crowds by arriving early in the morning by 7:00.

Visit the picturesque Ta Prohm that had nearly disappeared into the jungle and remains overgrown, an oddly haunting and exotic scene.

Continue to visit the intricately carved Khmer ruins at Angkor Wat - one of the world’s most impressive ruins. The temple still owns fine Apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. 

In the afternoon, explore the mysterious Royal city Angkor Thom. City & Bayon Its 54- tower temple is an awesome sight. At first glance, it seems a shapeless mass of stone, but further scrutiny reveals a face, and then another and another until suddenly you are engulfed by the silent, heavy, enigmatic and silent gaze through half-closed eyes, staring out from a primitive and remote time.

Siem Reap

Day 13: Kulen Mountain Adventure

Located 40km north of Angkor Wat, the Phnom Kulen mountain range provides Siem Reap with water and dominates the skyline of the flat plains surrounding it. Although the highest peak of the mountain range lies at only 487m, Phnom Kulen has much to offer visitors.

The Cambodian people regard the site as the birthplace of the ancient Khmer Empire. King Jayavarman II claimed independence from Java there in 802 A.D.

Travel in the morning by car through the countryside to Phnom Kulen and start the rather steep climb up by car.

On top of the mountain, you will visit a modern style pagoda that offers stunning views over the Angkor area. Visit the eight-meter tall statue of a reclining Buddha and wash your hands at the Linga statue to purify your mind and body. Continue to visit the River of One Thousand Lingas and the magnificent waterfall close to it.

Luang Prabang

Day 14: Welcome to Laos

Leave Siem Reap for Luang Prabang.

Welcome to Luang Prabang, a World Heritage town since 1995!

It is a combination of world-class comfort and spiritual nourishment. Upon arrival in Luang Prabang, you will be transferred to your hotel. You can spend the day at your own leisure!

Luang Prabang

Day 15: Explore Luang Prabang city and the Kuang Si Waterfall

Enjoy a short guided tour seeing the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We visit the Royal Palace Museum, which hosts a range of interesting artifacts and Arts and Ethnology Centre to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures.

You may also wish to drive to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall where you can splash around in the turquoise pools or walk along the forest paths. There’s also an opportunity to visit the bear sanctuary nearby, run by Free The Bears Fund Inc.

We then climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a panoramic view of the city at sunset and the Mekong river. The tour ends after a visit to the famous Night Market.

Luang Prabang - Vientiane

Day 16: Discover Luang Prabang's Secrets

After breakfast, we then board a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which gives us a panoramic view of the tranquil countryside as well as an interesting visit to the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. En route, we stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where the local specialty of rice wine is produced.

Once back in Luang Prabang city we take a short drive to Ban Phanom, a village well known for its hand weaving. We then transfer to the airport for your short flight to Vientiane.

Vientiane

Day 17: Farewell, Laos!

Depending on your flight, you may have time at leisure before you will be transferred to the airport in time for your departing flight.

We hope you had an incredible trip through Indochina!