Explore Timeless Wonders on a Cruise through Vietnam & Cambodia!
A fascinating, rewarding and multilayered 15-day adventure from HO-CHI-MINH to HANOI
Trip Highlights!
A fascinating, rewarding and multilayered adventure.
Two of the most beautiful, historic and friendly places in all of Asia, dynamic Vietnam and pastoral Cambodia are intriguing studies in contrast. Each possesses its own unique charm and social traditions, its own tragic history and complex past. In many ways, a visit here is less about the sights you see than it is about the people you meet and the experiences you have along the way.
Ho Chi Minh City offers a heady mixture of old and new while Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, surprises visitors with its charm. As the lifeblood of Southeast Asia, the Mekong teems with colorful floating villages and mementos of its French Colonial past. Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s thriving capital, is fast-forwarding to the future yet retains a provincial intimacy. And colorful Siem Reap provides the gateway to the vast UNESCO-designated jungle temple complex of Angkor Wat.
Extensions
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- BANGKOK, THAILAND
Included in your 4-day stay:
- 3 nights at the InterContinental Bangkok (or similar)
- Breakfast daily and all service charges, taxes and porterage
- Guided city tour
- English-speaking local expert
- All transfers, transportation and intra-Asia flights
HA LONG BAY, VIETNAM
Included in your 3-day stay:
- 1 night at the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake (or similar)
- 1 night on a luxury junk in an outside stateroom with all meals onboard
- Breakfast daily and all service charges, taxes and porterage
- Visit to Sung Sôt Cave and floating village
- English-speaking local expert
- All transfers and transportation
NOTE: This extension is for cruise/tours that begin or end in Hanoi.
SAPA, VIETNAM
Included in your 5-day stay:
- 1 night at the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake (or similar)
- 3 nights at the Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa (or similar)
- Breakfast daily and all service charges, taxes and porterage
- Cross-cultural encounters with Vietnam’s ethnic hill tribes
- English-speaking local expert
- All transfers and transportation
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Arrive at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. If your cruise/tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to your luxury hotel. You will be greeted with a private check-in, welcome drink and information packet at the hotel. An elegant flower arrangement and fruit platter await you in your room. Tonight, consider popping out to explore the lively Ben Thanh Night Market or one of the city’s quintessential evening cafés—either choice would mark a splendid start to your adventure.
DAY 2: Ho Chi Minh City
Ready for an adventure? Today’s featured excursion provides a fascinating glimpse of the Viet Cong’s vast network of incredibly narrow, booby-trapped tunnels dating from the Vietnam War. If you dare, you can even climb down inside for an up-close look.
Get set for an authentic slice of daily life along the Mekong with visits to two quintessentially Vietnamese locales, Vinh Long and Cai Be, which you’ll see by trishaw and by sampan. Meet village elders, experience the lively floating market and visit workshops creating products made from rice. Today’s itinerary features two towns that have been shaped by the Mekong in this agrarian but densely populated region, Vinh Long and Cai Be.
Dip into Vietnam’s colorful and culturally eclectic past in Sac Dec—the former haunt of author Marguerite Duras—and the island of Gieng, which boasts a rather unexpected array of Catholic churches and monasteries. Two very different destinations await you today: busy Sa Dec and peaceful Gieng Island. Both reflect Vietnam’s multicultural history.
More authentic encounters await you today, starting with a sampan ride through the floating villages lining the banks of the great river. Stop at a temple devoted to Vietnam’s homegrown religion, then hop aboard a rickshaw for a ride to a factory that makes handwoven reed baskets. Later, cruise through the canals to Evergreen Island, where village houses are built on stilts. Thousands of boats ply the waters of the Mekong—wooden cargo boats, water taxis, dredges, fishing craft. Traditional and modern elements mingle in this region, but the river rules everything.
Once considered the loveliest of Indochina’s French-built cities, Phnom Penh has somehow retained much of its charm despite all the political and cultural turmoil of the 20th century. See how this fascinating city is rediscovering itself with an insightful panoramic tour and time to explore on your own. Founded in the 15th century, Phnom Penh is the thriving capital of the kingdom of Cambodia. It stands at the juncture of three rivers and is divided into three distinct districts: the French colonial area, a handsome residential district and a rapidly changing Old Town.
Today’s featured excursion may be the most profound and memorable experience of your entire journey. You’ll learn about the infamous Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge and visit a former school-turned-prison that is now a genocide museum.
If yesterday was an exploration of Cambodia’s dark past, today is a celebration of the country’s bright future. You’ll meet young children at a local school and friendly villagers in their homes, and have a rare opportunity to receive a special water blessing from Buddhist monks. The mighty river carries you into the Cambodian countryside today, giving you an opportunity to meet and chat with locals.
Siem Reap is your base for exploring Angkor Wat, the heart of the ancient Khmer empire. The city has an allure all its own, with sprawling markets, a lively dining scene and enticing street food. You’ll disembark in the morning and transfer via executive motorcoach to Siem Reap, a place name that means, literally, “Defeat of Siam”—which tells you something of its history. It is the gateway to Angkor, the legendary archaeological site.
Today is a Bucket List Moment kind of day, as you unleash your inner Indiana Jones and explore the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, a gigantic religious complex that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Regarded as the pinnacle of the dazzling, inventive culture that flourished in medieval Cambodia, it is one of the most spectacular monuments you will ever lay eyes on. The next two days are devoted to the astonishing Angkor Wat complex.
Today you will enter the spectacular remnants of Angkor Thom, the royal city. Prepare to be amazed! Built during the heyday of the Khmer dynasty in the 12th century, this extraordinary complex of Hindu and Buddhist monuments was once lost to the world for many years, hidden under dense jungle vines.
Today you’ll fly from Siem Reap to Hanoi and check into your luxury hotel, where you’ll be greeted with a private check-in and a welcome briefing with complimentary drinks. The remainder of your time today is yours to spend at leisure in Vietnam’s charming capital city.
With its tree-lined streets and graceful old architecture, traditional culture and fabulous street food, multifaceted Hanoi is a heady mixture of old and new, timeless and trendy. The capital of Vietnam, millennium-old Hanoi gracefully mixes the old and new. French Colonial mansions line handsome boulevards, lakes and parks invite lingering, and modern office buildings tell of economic revival.
If your cruise/tour package includes a group departure transfer or if you have purchased a private departure transfer, you will be transferred to Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport for your flight home or continue your tour with an extraordinary Ha Long Bay optional extension program or unique Sapa optional extension program.
*For pricing and availability contact Grand Escapades Travel.