Mekong River Cruises

I was very impressed by the organisation of Avalon and in particular the Cruise Director Mark Nicholls. I was also impressed by the care and attention of the ships crew and the comfort of the ship itself. I would recommend this trip to anyone interested in seeing and hearing about local life in two very interesting counties whose people seem resilient to all the terrible traumas they have suffered recently.

I have always wanted to visit both Cambodia and Vietnam so a Mekong river cruise seemed the perfect way of doing this.

Flying with Vietnam Airlines from London to Siem Reap, the holiday began with an overnight stay at the luxurious Angkor Wat Sofitel, lending opportunity to visit the magnificent Angkor Wat temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a place on my list of must visits - it didnt disappoint!

Due to the low water levels it was necessary to take a coach journey to join the ship at Prek Kdam. Not being the best of travellers I hadnt been looking forward to this journey, but it actually turned out to be a great way of seeing Cambodia as we travelled inland through the countryside.

The La Marguerite was fabulous and just the right size (only 90 passengers in total), small and relatively luxurious with all the necessary amenities. Cabins onboard are spacious, decorated in a Vietnamese style and the public areas are light, airy and cool - excellent for relaxing. The plunge pool was magnificent for cooling down after an excursion and the all-inclusive drinks onboard were a real bonus!

The food on the cruise was delicious and fresh (I saw it being delivered to the ship each morning!) and with an excellent variety. The mixture of passengers on board (Australians, Americans and British) and open seating dining meant there was always someone new to chat too - although there were some smaller tables and plenty of quiet areas on the ship too, for times were I was feeling a little less sociable.

The places seen on this itinerary were beyond all my expectations. Visiting a number of small Vietnamese and Cambodian towns and villages and getting a real feel for the countries cultures and way off life, with many places still barely touched my tourism.

Highlights of the trip for me included a visit to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penn, home to the Silver Pagoda and a tour to S21 and the Killing Fields made all the more meaningful with the information provided from the expert local guides. I also thoroughly enjoyed the time spent cruising onboard La Marguerite, where I could sit and admire the scenery as we cruised the Mekong passed magnificent stilt house and floating villages.

I would highly recommend this cruise and will hopefully do it again someday - perhaps including Ha Long Bay next time.

this cruise was one of the greatest experiences of my life, and we were taken care of from my first general queryemail to blue water holidays, they answered every email and question I had, the attention to detail was superb.

on arrival we were met by others joining the tour, they were mainly Austrailians, what a great bunch of people, since arriving home they have been in touch by email and sent photos. we felt at home from day one

the cruise itself- the food was delicious plentiful and beautifully presented, the menu was varied and thedrinks readily availible. I even copied some of the menus to show friends when we got home, the waiters were attentive and most spoke excellent English, the excursions were well plannedinterestiingand allowed ample time to see all the sites, I never felt rushed as I have with other cruises. The guest speakers were interesting and explained about every visit we made , he discussed the history of each site and made us all aware of what to look out for and what the significance was of different architecture. I now feel I have a better understanding of the country.

The Hotels we stayed at both before the cruiseand after were excellent, and a special thanks must go to the staff who were so attentive I felt more like a visiting dignatary than a tourist. the hotels are very central to all of the sites and attractions, including the local markets which were certainly colourfull with plenty of bargains to be had. the food in the hotels was lovely and the gala dinner with the dancing was enjoyed by everyone in the group.