Best Of Vietnam and Cambodia 15 Day

Arrive safely in Hanoi and proceed through the gates at Hanoi Noi Bai airport. Your driver will be waiting in the arrival lobby with your name card, ready to take you into the city. We drive to the central district of the Old Quarter, where you can check into your hotel and relax for a while.

Visit Hanoi in your own way in your free time

Begin your day with a lovely breakfast in your hotel and prepare for the full day city tour of the historical Hanoi City. We will start this tour with Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (closed on Monday and Friday, every afternoon and from late September until the end of December). This is where Uncle Ho – the hero of Vietnam rests. Every year, there are many tourists from all over the world coming here to express their admiration towards President Ho Chi Minh. Behind the mausoleum, we will find Ho Chi Minh’s former stilt-house residence and the iconic One-Pillar Pagoda, a unique relic that encapsulates the Buddhist roots of Hanoi. We will also visit the Presidential Palace that hosts many government meetings.

After this, we will head to the 1st national university of Vietnam – Temple of Literature (Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam).  This temple was built in 1070 and used to host the Imperial Academy. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which is dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars. Before every exams, all of Vietnamese students come here to wish for good luck. 

Then we will have lunch in KOTO Restaurant (which stands for Know One, Teach One). This is a very special restaurant because they train the disadvantaged children.

In the afternoon, we will set out to Hoa Lo Prison or Ethnology Museum. Hoa Lo Prison or as known as Hanoi Hilton – a nickname given by US pilots during Vietnamese war. The Ethnology Museum stores and displays many cultural artifacts of all 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups that help you learn more about Vietnamese history.

Heading back to Hanoi Old Quarter, you can take a walk along the 36 antique streets of Hanoi, seeing the lifestyle of local people here. Maybe also enjoy a beer or go shopping, enjoy the delicious street food before coming back to your hotel for some rest.

After breakfast, the guide and driver will arrive to begin the full-day Hoa Lu and Tam Coc tour with the 2-hour southward drive to Ninh Binh province. The drive is past golden and green fields of rice and your first views of Vietnam’s magnificent and unique mountain ranges.

We make our first stop at Tam Coc, where we will be rowed by a local along the Ngo Dong River in a wooden sampan boat. The scenery on all sides is of rising, forested mountains and watery rice paddies, as we cruise for 1.5 hours down a placid river that runs underneath evocative wet caves. 

Following this, we head to a local restaurant for a delicious buffet lunch. The tour continues afterwards at Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam for 43 years in the 10th and early 11th centuries. We take a walk around this small enclave, finding examples of 1000-year-old architecture in the temples and walls, as well as beauty around the wealth of greenery stretching skyward on all sides.

After this, we head back to Hanoi via the nature-flanked highway, enjoying the sunset en route and finishing at your central hotel.

08:30 – 09:00: At your hotel in Hanoi, the driver will meet you and take you to Halong Bay via the highway through the beautiful and ancient Red River Delta.

11:30 – 12:00: We arrive at Tuan Chau Harbour and board the ship, enjoying the first sites of the magical mountain seascape in the distance.

13:00 – 15:00: Our cruise begins as we start our sailing, passing some of the most incredible scenery on offer throughout Vietnam. We have a few hours to relax on the sundeck or in the cabin and take in the majesty on display.

15:00 – 17:00: Our first stop will be to the area of Tra Bau, where we have much time to enjoy kayaking and swimming in one of the quietest areas of Lan Ha Bay. Admire the statuesque mountain ranges as we cut silently through the bay and speak to the local family who have this amazing area as their back garden.

17:00 – 18:45: Return to the cruise as a beautiful and vivid sunset descends on Lan Ha Bay. We have time to admire the scene on display over happy hour-priced drinks and a sunset party on board. A cooking demonstration by the chef will also be held during this time.

19:00: Sit down for a delicious dinner in the restaurant, which will be accompanied by a live music performance from our multi-talented staff. After this is an evening of relaxation on the cruise or on the tender boat for some squid fishing.

06:00 – 06:30: Head to the sundeck for the final time to enjoy a beautiful and unique experience of tai chi in front of the rising sun in Lan Ha Bay.

07:00 – 08:00: We enjoy a light breakfast in the dining room as the boat pulls up anchor and heads to our final destination in Lan Ha Bay.

08:15 – 08:45: Arriving at the Dark & Bright Caves, we head through the beautiful system on a local sampan boat, marveling at the limestone stalactites hanging like chandeliers from above. We emerge into the lake on the other side of the Bright Cave, where we can soak up the serenity of this enclosed space and look out for the rare golden langur monkeys, sometimes seen eating the fruit from the trees here. 

09:00 – 11:30: Return to the cruise for the final time and relax into your final hours on board with a filling brunch and an open sundeck.

11:45 – 12:00: We disembark from the harbour. End your 2 day trip on Halong Bay Cruise and you will head to Hanoi Airport for the flight to Da Nang.

Once arrived in Hue, we proceed southwards to Hoi An for check in hotel. Stay overnight in Hoi An

The guide and driver will arrive after your first breakfast in the centre of Vietnam. We take the drive to the verdant countryside of this port town, where we will find stretching rice paddies and the green and gold hues that accompany them.

Once arrived at one such rice paddy, we greet the farmer who will introduce us to some of the attractive aspects of farming in rural Vietnam. Your first activity will be riding a buffalo, which is integral to farming in the fields around the country. You will be led through the instructions by our local farmer and guide, who will teach you how to utilise these gentle giants for ploughing and other activities.

Next, we move over to the gorgeous forest of Bay Mau, where we find a fishing village and an array of basket boats. These round-bottomed boats are iconic of Hoi An and offer the perfect, humble fishing vessels for locals. We take one out on the water and learn how to paddle with the help of our guide, heading through gorgeous waterways flanked by nipa palm.

Have lunch in a local house.

We end the day with a drive back to Hoi An, where we will drop you off at your hotel to enjoy free time. You could spend this with some well-earned relaxation on the beaches of Cua Dai or An Bang, or with an afternoon on the Cham Islands, a sandy paradise lying just off the coast of Hoi An.

Plan your free time in Hoi An over breakfast. You could spend part of the day at My Son Sanctuary, an ancient and beautifully weather-worn complex of ancient Hindu temples in the jungle. You could also check out the 21 sites of the Ancient Town, which project the beauty and history of Hoi An across a huge range of Asian and European influences. Or you can visit Vietnam Golden Bridge in Ba Na Hill

Following breakfast, the driver will arrive to take you back to Da Nang airport. Your flight from here will take you to Ho Chi Minh City, formally known as Saigon.

The driver will meet you at the airport and take you into the central districts to find your hotel. Once you have checked in here, you are free to explore or relax with some free time. You could spend this shopping in the local markets and up-market stores of the city, ending with a view of the modern metropolis from the Skydeck of the Bitexco Tower.

After breakfast, the driver and guide will collect you to take you about 2 hours northwest of the city. Here we will find the Cu Chi Tunnels, one of the outstanding wartime relics left behind after the Vietnam War.

Once arrived, we head into the tunnels to explore the incredible feat of engineering, built by ordinary farmers and extending for a gargantuan 250 kilometres. Inside, we find examples of the hard life lived by the Viet Cong down here, while outside on the jungle floor, we see trap doors and entrance holes camouflaged to perfection.

We return to Ho Chi Minh City after this, where we will engage in a tour of the modern city’s best attractions. We head to the Reunification Palace, where the Vietnam War was ended in a brutal display of power by the communist North Vietnamese. We learn more about this event and the war before it at the War Remnants Museum, proceeding afterwards to the Note Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Central Post Office, both of which are attractive pieces of architecture left behind after French colonial rule.

After this, we return to your hotel around 5.00 – 5.30 PM. End of the full day to Cu Chi Tunnels and Ho Chi Minh City Tour. You are left to your own devices for the evening.

After breakfast, we head southward to the fertile Mekong Delta, Vietnam’s premier, tropical playground. We arrive on the banks of the mighty Mekong River, boarding a long-tail boat to explore the views of various fisheries and fruit orchards along the way. 

Following this, we disembark onto land to explore some of the wonderful local crafts, created in humble workshops of ceramic-making, coconut candy-producing and reed mat-weaving. After learning of these crafts, we head into a nearby village to see how life has developed in the Delta. We take a ride through the village on a xe lôi, a type of motorised rickshaw, or on bicycles as we discover the natural splendour of the Mekong Delta in all of its unrestrained greenery. 

We stop for lunch at a restaurant next to the Mekong River, trying out some of the local seafood famous in the region.

After this, we board another local boat and head along the canals of Ben Tre, one of the most beautiful provinces of the Mekong Delta. We skim between gorgeous forests of nipa palm and coconut trees, enjoying consistently beautiful jungle scenery in a tranquil atmosphere.

The tour finishes at your hotel, after the drive back to Ho Chi Minh City. The full day tour to Ben Tre in Mekong Delta ends.

Today you will end the trip in Vietnam and move on to Cambodia.

Our driver will collect you from your hotel 3 hours prior to your flight to Phnom Penh for starting your Cambodia Trip.

Upon arrival, we will take you and your luggage and drop you off at your hotel. 

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21) is our first stop and is a harrowing reminder of the Khmer Rouge regime.

In the afternoon, we will take a trip to the Royal Palace; the current home of the Cambodian royal family with its beautiful palace grounds, where you can see the holiest Buddhist temple in the country, the Silver Pagoda. 

Our last stop will be Wat Ounalom; one of the oldest Buddhist sites in Cambodia and certainly the most important. This is a good spot to learn more about Cambodia’s unique arm of Buddhism.

We will be staying overnight in Phnom Penh.

Breakfast in your hotel will be followed by a trip to the infamous Killing Fields. Choeung Ek is Cambodia’s most well-known ‘Killing Field’, though it is just one of the many brutal genocide sites around the country that display its violent modern past.

We will continue to Psar Toul Tom Pong, the huge open market also referred to as the ‘Russian Market’ due to its popularity with Russian expats in the 1980s. 

Have lunch, then we will transfer from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by private car. Check in hotel in Siem Reap for overnight.

07:30 AM : After breakfast, our tour guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel and drive you through Siem Reap’s rural outskirts to the 10th-century Cambodian temple, Banteay Srei. This holy site is also called ‘The Citadel of Women’ or ‘The Citadel of Beauty’ on account of the temple’s red sandstone architecture and its striking pediments and friezes, all of which were hand-carved by women.

The next place for today will be Chau Srei Vibol; a small but splendid temple atop a natural hill that is well hidden without local knowledge, good for those looking to get off the beaten track.

You will have lunch in a local family and have chance to talk to local people who can share with you more about life and their history.

In the afternoon, we will visit the ancient capital of Hariharalaya, the residence of the Cambodian rulers in the 9th and early 10th centuries. Here you will find the oldest temples in the Angkor area including Bakhong Temple; its main temple featuring an iconic stepped pyramid. Then we will get back to our car for the transfer back to hotel in Siem Reap for overnight.

Eat breakfast in your hotel, and prepare for one of the highlights of your tour – an exploration of the resplendent Angkor Wat.

Our departure time is an early one to ensure that we avoid the crowds. We begin at Ta Prohm, one of the most famous temple ruins of Angkor Wat due to its featuring in the Tomb Raider movie. The beautiful temple is an evocative state of ruin, with jungle vines creeping through dismantled walls and gateways. We explore around here for a while, enjoying the exquisite merging of ancient architecture and lush nature.

We follow this with a trip to Angkor Wat's main temple, reachable by a bridge over a lotus-filled pond. The stunning temple is the icon of the entire complex and a breath-taking ambassador for the beauty found throughout it. We climb upstairs, head through tunnels and find remarkable, antique ornaments carved out of stone.

We will break for lunch own your own, where you can choose from the many options around the complex. After this, we continue onto another of Angkor's greatest achievements, Angkor Thom, an entire city carved out of stone that acted as the capital of the Khmer empire from the 12th century. We head to some of the best temples within the city, including the 216 lifelike faces of King Jayavarman VII at Bayon Temple, along with the Elephant Terrace, Royal Palace and Temple of the Leper King.

After that, go back to your hotel for a night in Siem Reap.

You will have free time for discover Siem Reap in your own way. Take your time for a coffee or shopping around.

3 Hours before your departure flight: Our driver will pick you up for transfer to the airport. Take your flight home. End of 15 day tour from Vietnam to Siem Reap.