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Vietnam and Cambodia Highlights Itinerary
Day 1 - UK
Make your way to London Heathrow for your flight to Vietnam.
Day 2 - Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)
Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, you will be met and transferred to your hotel where you will have time to relax and unwind. Later this evening, enjoy a delicious Welcome Dinner.
Day 3 - Ho Chi Minh City
Today is yours to shape how you desire. Choose from two Signature Experiences, and enjoy another unforgettable Signature Experience in the evening. Perhaps visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, an incredible tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the war. These tunnels served as Viet Cong hiding spots, supply and communication routes, hospitals and weapon caches, and make for a fascinating visit. Alternatively, journey to Ba Ria and learn about the Battle of Long Tan. Afterwards, attend a memorial service at the Long Tan Cross, a memorial erected by the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, which is set in a rubber plantation and marks the site of the Battle of Long Tan. This evening, enjoy your second Signature Experience. Experience dinner at Vietnam House, founded by Australia-born Vietnamese celebrity chef Luke Nguyen.
Day 4 - Ho Chi Minh City - Ha Long Bay
Today you can choose to enjoy a leisurely walking discovery of Ho Chi Minh City, visiting the Reunification Palace and the Central Post Office. Or you might like to jump on the back of a motorbike for an exciting city ride. Alternatively, you may like to go on a shopping spree. Spend your final morning in Ho Chi Minh City enjoying your selected sightseeing activity. Afterwards, transfer to My Tho to embark your ship, the Mekong Serenity.
Day 5 - Ca Be - Sa Dec
In Cai Be this morning, visit the French Gothic cathedral and port area. Then, at a rice paper manufacture, learn how this Vietnamese staple is made. Continue to the quaint town of Sa Dec where French writer Marguerite Duras met her Vietnamese-Chinese lover, Huynh Thuy Le. Tour his former home and learn the story behind Marguerite Duras’ best-selling novel, The Lover. Afterwards, visit a traditional Cao Dai temple.
Day 6 - Tan Chau - Evergreen Island
Step ashore in Tan Chau today for a rickshaw tour. On board your rickshaw, you’ll glide past shops, rice wine rooms and friendly locals who are always eager to say hello. Stop to pay a visit to a local silk and rattan weaving workshop. Later, step back in time during a visit to an evergreen island aboard a small boat, where you’ll experience authentic rural Mekong life. The remainder of today is left free for you to relax back on board your river ship.
Day 7 - Phnom Penh
Perhaps take a sobering excursion to the Killing Fields, before visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, located on the site of the Khmer Rouge’s notorious Security Prison 21. Alternatively, see Phnom Penh on a tuk tuk ride with a stop at the Central Market, visit a number of Cambodian microbreweries and enjoy the local craft beers or enjoy a visit to the National Museum. Options also include the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. Disembark in Phnom Penh after breakfast and enjoy today’s chosen activity. The evening is yours to relax.
Day 8 - Oudong - Koh Chen - Oknha Tey
Partake in a traditional Buddhist blessing ceremony at a monastery in Oudong. Disembark in Phnom Penh and discover Oudong, an important place of pilgrimage in Cambodia where you’ll be treated to a special Signature Experience. Return to your ship via the village Koh Chen, where you will perhaps visit some home workshops that manufacture copperware. Later, your ship glides along the lush banks of the Mekong to Oknha Tey, a small island renowned for its skilful silk weaving traditions. Enjoy dinner onboard tonight.
Day 9 - Angkor Ban
Join a walking discovery of Angkor Ban, one of the few villages in Cambodia that was not destroyed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Experience rustic agricultural life as you wander past the wooden stilted houses in this quiet, rural place.
Day 10 - Kampong Cham - Koh Pen
Those who wish to climb Wat Hanchey this morning will be rewarded with stunning hilltop panoramas and some of the best views of the Mekong River. Following lunch on board, take a tuk tuk to explore the island of Koh Pen with its wooden stilt houses and local farming culture. This evening, a Farewell Dinner awaits onboard.
Day 11 - Kampong Cham - Siem Reap
Tonight, choose where to dine. Disembark at Kampong Cham and transfer to Siem Reap. Afterwards, head to World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park to visit the enduring capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Thom, and the 12th-century temple of Bayon.
Day 12 - Siem Reap
Enjoy a sunrise experience at Angkor Wat. Rise early this morning and travel back to Angkor Archaeological Park for a Signature Experience. After experiencing the majesty of World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat, enjoy a guided exploration of what is regarded as Angkor’s best-preserved temple, said to be the world’s largest single religious monument. Relax back at your hotel after breakfast. Then this afternoon, explore the temple of Ta Prohm, a World Heritage-listed site which is famous for its intertwined trees. Later, visit ‘Opportunities of Development thru Art’ (ODA), a Siem Reap organisation that provides education opportunities for disadvantaged children. The evening is at your leisure.
Day 13 - Siem Reap
Perhaps set out a tuk tuk ride to the Senteurs d’Angkor workshop, where you can shop for local handmade crafts. If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, you might like to join a quadbike excursion through the Cambodian countryside. Alternatively, unwind with a soothing spa treatment. Embark on your selected sightseeing activity. Tonight, enjoy a traditional Apsara dance performance before enjoying a Farewell Dinner.
Day 14 - Siem Reap
Transfer to the airport this morning for your return flight to the UK.
Day 15 - UK
Arrive back in London today.
This itinerary is subject to change. The sequence and duration of visits may vary due to tides, river conditions, and national holidays.
Itinerary operates in reverse on selected dates.