Mekong River Cruise including Cambodia & Vietnam (Siem Reap - Ho Chi Minh)

Let’s depart for our Mekong adventure, first stop Bangkok Thailand!

We have arrived! We meet our local representative in the airport and transfer to our hotel in Bangkok. 

We will have evening at leisure. Let’s relax and soak up our surroundings, you can enjoy some free time unwinding at the hotel or else you can continue to explore the city of Bangkok independently. Your local expert guide will be happy to suggest some activities to suit your taste. We recommend taking a tuk tuk around the city to experience the buzz of this city as night falls.

Experience the vibrant essence of Bangkok on our half-day tour. We start at Pak Klong Talad, Thailand's largest and most colourful flower market—take a moment to stop and smell the roses. Next, visit the iconic Wat Pho, home to one of Bangkok's oldest and largest Buddhist temple complexes. Marvel at the Giant Reclining Buddha, a stunning 46-meter-long statue with intricately carved feet.

Our journey continues to the Grand Palace, a former royal residence consecrated in 1782. This magnificent complex is one of Bangkok's top attractions and a significant pilgrimage site for devout Buddhists. Explore the majestic palace, throne hall, and the revered Emerald Buddha.

Lunch is included today.

The rest of our day is free to further explore the bustling streets of Bangkok. Our guide will be happy to tell us of further places to see.

We transfer from our hotel with assistance to Bangkok airport, for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

We have arrived! We meet our new assistant at the airport and transfer to our hotel in Siem Reap. 

Join us tonight as we enjoy a welcome dinner together.

Join us this afternoon as we explore the Angkor Temples of Cambodia. The first tour is to Angkor Thom and then you will travel on to Ta Prohm. After lunch we visit the most famous of them all and the largest religious monument in the world, Angkor Wat. The temple was first a Hindu, then a Buddhist shrine and is the top attraction in Cambodia. Before our tour ends, we will enjoy sunset views over this beautiful site before returning to our hotel. 

Please Note: Angkor Wat temple is still considered a sacred site and appropriate attire must be worn during the visit of the Bakan Tower. Please ensure to cover your knees and shoulders during the visit. Angkor Wat temple will be closed on the Buddhist Sabbath Days, religious days and four days a month in accordance with the Lunar calendar.

This afternoon, we have time to explore more of Siem Reap at your own pace and visit the Psar Chass open air market where you haggle with vendors while enjoying the unique local atmosphere

This morning after breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and settle any extra charges incurred before transferring to Kampong Charm, the beating heart of the Mekong Delta.

We will commence our Mekong River Cruise for the next 7 nights. Lets enjoy our cruise as travel south into Vietnam and enjoy shore excursions and on-board entertainment.

Join us tonight for welcome drinks & evening dinner served onboard as the ship cruises towards Angkok Ban. 

Join us this morning as we explore the village of Angkor Ban famous for its wooden stilt houses, here we will experience what rural life in Cambodia is. We will notice most of the wooden houses are Blue as most locals believe the colour blue is lucky and it is a way to allow happiness to enter the home.

After lunch, we will board a local tuk tuk and visit the village of Oknha Tey known as Silk Island where you where you will learn about the process of silk weaving, from worm to loom, along with a chance to observe local families weaving the iconic Cambodian krama. 

We will be docked in Oknha Tey overnight.

Join us this morning as we visit a local Buddhist monastery where we will have the opportunity to partake a traditional Buddhist blessing ceremony.

In the afternoon we cruise to Phonm Penh, where we will disembark the cruise to visit Oudong the ancient capital of Cambodia before continuing onto the village of Koh Chen, here we will uncover the highlight of meeting a local copper and silversmith.

After breakfast we will disembark in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh once known as the “Pearl of the Orient” for its French colonial buildings, tree-lined boulevards and scenic river walk and visit the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields, which tell the story of Cambodia's horrific past under the Khmer Rouge.

We will return the ship for lunch for continuing our tour in the afternoon.

After lunch we will enjoy a city tour of Phnom Penh. We will explore the Royal Palace and The Silver Pagoda here we can admire the elaborately constructed palace buildings, some of the 5,000 silver floor tiles that give the Silver Pagoda its name, as well as spectacular gold and bejewelled Buddha statues that are considered national treasures.

Today we will sail towards the Cambodia - Vietnam border, enjoy a leisurely day on board. Relax on our sun deck as we enjoy the scenery as cross the border sail towards Tan Chau or take advantage of the many activities on board, such as a fruit carving demonstration by ships chef. 

After dinner, you will have the chance to watch a documentary film about Pol Pot as we sail into the Vietnamese town of Tan chau.

This morning, we will transfer to a small boat to explore more the of the Mekong’s tiny tributaries. Lets see more as pass by craft village’s famed for the handmaking Ca Rang clay stoves, floating fish farms and a sacred temple, the spiritual centre for the local residents along the Mekong Delta.

Today we will have the chance to visit the colonial town of Sa Dec, here we can visit the former home of Huynh Thuy Le.

After lunch we will continue onto Cai Be, here we can visit the French Gothic cathedral followed by a tour to a local rice paper manufacturer to learn how rice paper is made. We will end our tour with a visit to a coconut candy factory to see how this famous local sweet is made.

Tonight, lets get together on board for our final night on the RV Aspara.

Today it’s time to say goodbye to the Mekong and depart our cruise. We will disembark our cruise at My Tho Port and travel through the beautiful Vietnam countryside to the Chu Chi Tunnels

Today we will embark in an excursion to discover the Chu Chi network of underground tunnels. These tunnels were the location of many of the Viet Cong’s military campaigns during the Vietnam War (or American War, as it is called in Vietnam). The tunnels were used as hiding places during combat; also serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food storage and living quarters for the Vietnamese fighters. 

For those preferring to remain above ground, there is ample opportunity to view excavated areas from above. The more daring among us can enter some of the tunnels with our guide. As this requires crawling along on hands and knees in the darkness of the tunnel, it is certainly not for the faint hearted.

We will have the late afternoon at leisure to explore more of Ho Chu Minh at your own pace.

Join this morning in Ho Chi Minh, where we can take in the highlights like the former Presidential Palace, the Historical Museum and the Notre Dame Cathedral, before continuing onto our hotel to check in for our final two nights of this holiday.

Tonight, we will get together for a farewell dinner to round off a memorable holiday.

After breakfast we will check out of our hotel and transferred to Ho Chi Minh airport and check in for our homeward flights

Arrive home following your adventures in fantastic South East Asia.