Timeless Vietnam, Cambodia and the Mekong

• Day 1 UK - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

  Overnight flight to Ho Chi Minh City and transfer to the Park Hyatt Saigon.

• Day 2 Ho Chi Minh City

  Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City with included transfer to the Park Hyatt Saigon hotel for a two-night stay. Spend time at leisure exploring the city's lively Ben Thanh Night Market or one of the renowned evening cafes.

• Day 3 Ho Chi Minh City

  A landmark in Vietnamese history is the first destination on your panoramic city tour today, as you travel the city’s busy streets, passing elegant buildings and bustling shopping centers. On April 30, 1975, a North Vietnamese army tank crashed through the gates of the building now called the Reunification Palace, symbolizing the downfall of the South Vietnamese government and the end of the Vietnam War. It’s a modern structure, commissioned in 1962 by the president of South Vietnam after his own air force tried to kill him by bombing the 19th-century French palace that had stood on the site. As you will see when you step inside, he intended to enjoy living here: It has a cinema and a nightclub—and, not too surprisingly, a spacious bomb shelter. A few blocks away, two monuments from the colonial days still stand: the lofty General Post Office, designed by Gustave Eiffel (of tower fame), and, across the street, twin-towered Notre Dame Cathedral, built entirely with materials shipped from France. Your motorcoach will carry you past other remnants of French colonialism—the Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theater (also known as the Saigon Opera House, built in 1901 and modeled on Paris’s Petit Palais) and the City Hall (based on the Hôtel de Ville in Paris)—as well as the contemporary American consulate. But the day includes more than sightseeing: Visit a lacquer showroom to learn a bit about the history and cultural significance of a craft that has been practiced in Vietnam for at least 700 years before enjoying lunch on your own.

• Day 4 Ho Chi Minh City - My Tho

  Head to the fascinating Cu Chi Tunnels which stretch to the Cambodian border. This network of connected underground passages were built to house Viet Cong insurgents during the Vietnam War. Travel to My Tho to embark your ship on the Mekong River.

• Day 5 Tien Loi - Vinh Long - Sa Dec

  Today, you’ll witness the hustle and bustle of delta river life as the local traders take their produce to market. After breakfast, you’ll board a traditional sampan and explore the narrow canals and backwaters of this famed region. The untouched island of Tien Loi awaits on a unique excursion created exclusively for Uniworld guests, where you can see how local farmers make rooster cages, decorate bonsais in their yards and more. Upon arrival to Vinh Long, your sampans will bring you to a traditional rice factory. Back onboard, savor an authentic Vietnamese meal this evening.

• Day 6 Sa Dec - Gieng Island

  Following breakfast, continue your journey via sampan, where you’ll observe the daily routines of the villagers in Sa Dec. Visit a colorful temple, the home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le and then venture to Gieng Island, where you’ll experience how a local family makes incense sticks and the conical hat. Take to Sa Dec’s narrow canals just as the locals do. Children frolic in the water, fishermen ply their trade, and women care for their families. From here, you’ll head into town, where you will walk through a crowded and colorful local market—stands sell everything from snake blood, fresh fish, clothing and flowers to mangosteens— on your way to the romantic, lacelike Huynh Thuy Le House, a late-19th-century home made famous by best-selling French novelist Marguerite Duras. Duras spent her teen years in Sa Dec, and her prize-winning novel, The Lover, is said to be based on her doomed love affair with Huynh Thuy Le, the son of a wealthy Chinese landowner. Sail from bustling Sa Dec to serene Gieng Island to dip into another aspect of Vietnam’s past: The triangle-shaped island is home to a surprising array of 19th-century Catholic churches and monasteries that date to an era when it was the largest Catholic parish in Vietnam. Though the Franciscan monastery and the Providence nunnery have been largely abandoned, stately Gieng Island Church is still in daily use.

• Day 7 Hong Ngu

  Visit the local island village of Hong Ngu, a major producer of the traditional Khmer scarves located not far from the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Since they’re woven in many homes around the village, you’ll have the opportunity to see the process first-hand. You’ll also stop at a local temple dedicated to a unique religion founded in this area of Vietnam, Hoa Hoa. Your last and most interesting visit of the day? A visit to the local home of a retired VC General.

• Day 8 Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

  Today, you’ll discover the thriving capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. It stands at the juncture of three captivating rivers and represents a dizzying blend of architectural styles—French colonial, Khmer, modern and everything in between. Here, you’ll find an alluring riverside esplanade amid numerous bewitching Buddhist temples, palaces and artifacts.

• Day 9 Phnom Penh

  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.

• Day 10 Angkor Ban - Wat Hanchey

  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 an unforgettable water blessing from local Buddhist monks.

• Day 11 Kampong Cham - Siem Reap

  You’ll disembark in the morning and transfer via executive motorcoach to Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor, the legendary archaeological site. You will enjoy three nights at the Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf & Spa Resort, minutes away from the famed temple complex of Angkor Wat.

• Day 12 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat

  Today is a bucket list kind of day as you explore the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, a gigantic religious complex that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Every aspect of Angkor Wat had religious meaning to its builders 900 years ago: the great rectangular moat, the main gate facing the west, the towers topped with stone lotuses, the huge smiling stone heads, the layout of the lanes and buildings. The largest religious monument in the world, magnificent Angkor Wat is the single most recognizable landmark in Cambodia. It is simply breathtaking in both size and scope and boasts the longest continuous bas-relief in the world. Although Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its importance is so immeasurable that several other conservation organizations have been enlisted to help ensure its protection. And yet, Angkor Wat is just one piece of this enormous complex at the heart of the ancient Khmer Empire (which ruled this region between the ninth and 12th centuries). It was part of a roughly 250-square-mile (64,749-hectare) city that has largely disappeared into the jungle, though excavation efforts are ongoing (recent laser imaging has revealed another, even larger nearby city under the jungle floor that was linked to the temple city).

• Day 13 Siem Reap - Angkor Thom

  Today you will enter the spectacular remnants of Angkor Thom, the royal city. 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. After an exciting day of sightseeing, you’ll indulge in a lavish dinner with an Apsara dance show. Apsara is the traditional Khmer dance form that tells stories and conveys messages using ornate costumes, graceful movements, codified facial expressions, and distinctive hand and foot positions. The many Apsara figures that adorn Angkor and pre-Angkor temples you’ve just visited testify to the dance form’s long and esteemed history.

• Day 14 Siem Reap - Hanoi

  Enjoy free time in Siem Reap before your flight to Hanoi. Then, check in to your luxury accommodations, the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel.

• Day 15 Hanoi

  Hanoi’s elegant boulevards are lined with trees and handsome buildings, as you'll see on today's fascinating tour of the city. At the same time, this lively cultural center—Vietnam’s capital city—is replete with bustling streets, food vendors, museums and historic sites, making for an intriguing study in contrasts that rivals any other metropolitan destination.

• Day 16 Hanoi - UK

  Check out of your luxury hotel and head to the airport for your flight home.

Timeless Wonders of Vietnam and CambodiaThe Captain of the ship reserves the right to modify the cruise itinerary in the light of river conditions and external factors