Across Vietnam & Cambodia: A 16-Day Family Adventure

After breakfast, set out on a full-day tour through Hanoi’s history and heritage.

Begin at the Ho Chi Minh Complex, with the Presidential Palace grounds, the Stilt House where the leader lived and worked from 1958 to 1969, and the iconic One Pillar Pagoda, an 11th-century temple built on a single stone pillar.

Note: the Mausoleum is closed Mondays, Fridays, and during annual maintenance — outside viewing only at those times.

Continue to the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, founded in 1070, wandering its peaceful courtyards and ancient pavilions. After free time for lunch, visit Tran Quoc Pagoda, Hanoi’s oldest Buddhist temple, set on a small island on scenic West Lake.

Then explore the vibrant Old Quarter by cyclo, passing ancient shophouses, colonial buildings, and colourful markets, before finishing at a local café to taste the city’s signature egg coffee — a Hanoi original the whole family will enjoy.

Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, your private guide and driver take the family to Pu Luong Nature Reserve, a peaceful mountain retreat of lush rice terraces, forested valleys, and traditional villages.

On arrival, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before a gentle exploration of the countryside. Take a leisurely walk through the rice terraces and ethnic minority villages, passing traditional stilt houses and meeting local residents along the way — a window into the slower pace of rural life amid spectacular mountain scenery. Continue to your boutique retreat and check in, with the rest of the afternoon to relax and take in the views.

Overnight in Pu Luong.

After breakfast, continue exploring Pu Luong’s countryside with a gentle village walk along peaceful paths framed by rice fields and limestone mountains, discovering the traditional life of the local communities.

Next comes a relaxing bamboo-rafting experience along a quiet stream, gliding through lush greenery and mountain scenery — an easy adventure the family will enjoy together. After lunch with regional specialties, depart Pu Luong for Hanoi, checking in on arrival with the rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Today, depart for an impressive journey to Halong Bay – the jewel of North Vietnam famous for its thousands of dramatic limestone islands sprinkled around the bay.

Around midday, after a scenic drive through the rice fields of the Red River Delta, arrive at the pier and board your cruise with a welcome drink and briefing. Settle into your cabins over lunch as the ship heads out among the jungle-clad karsts and hidden caves.

Through the afternoon, the family can kayak among the limestone cliffs or climb to the sundeck for a panoramic view, before the cruise anchors in a quiet spot. Gather on deck with a drink as the scenery glows at dusk, followed by dinner on board and an easy evening together — games, a film, or squid fishing off the deck after dark, always a favorite with teens.

Overnight on the cruise.

Begin the morning with a Tai Chi session on deck in the tranquil early light, then breakfast as the ship glides among the karsts. After checking out, the family can relax on board over a brunch as the cruise makes its way back to the harbor.

Transfer by limousine to Hanoi, then continue to the airport for your flight to Da Nang, where your private driver meets you for the transfer to your hotel in Hoi An.

The evening is at leisure.

Overnight in Hoi An.

This morning, set out on a walking tour with your guide around the charming port town of Hoi An, once the East–West trading center of the 16th century. Wander the cobblestone streets past two-century-old Chinese houses and buildings blending Chinese, Japanese, French, and European styles — the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, and the local fish market. Stop at a lantern workshop to see this signature Hoi An craft up close.

After lunch, board a wooden boat along the Thu Bon River to watch riverside life go by. Stop at Thanh Ha Pottery Village to meet its clever artisans and see ceramics shaped, dried, and fired by hand — the teens can try the wheel — then continue to Kim Bong Village, home to central Vietnam’s finest woodcarvers, with its shipbuilding yards and carving workshops, before returning to your hotel.

Overnight in Hoi An.

This morning, dive into Hoi An’s culinary and cultural life. Begin at a vibrant local market, meeting friendly vendors and learning to pick fresh ingredients, then navigate the Cam Thanh Coconut Jungle in a traditional bamboo basket boat — try your hand at net fishing and catching “purple crabs” in the canals, always a hit with teenagers.

At the cooking venue, a chef guides the family through four traditional Vietnamese dishes — papaya salad, fried spring rolls, Vietnamese pancake, and braised chicken in a clay pot — which you then enjoy together with side dishes, taking home the recipes to recreate at home.

Note: Vegetarian and other dietary needs are catered for on request.

In the evening, experience the spectacular Hoi An Memories Show, Vietnam’s largest outdoor performance, where over 500 performers on a grand riverside stage bring 400 years of Hoi An’s history to life through storytelling, music, dance, and stunning visual effects.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Enjoy your breakfast in the hotel, and then, around 7:30 AM, set off for Ba Na Hills.

Ride the record-breaking cable car up through majestic scenery, the green mountains and white clouds opening up over Mount Chua — an experience the whole family will remember. At the top, visit the Golden Bridge held aloft by its giant stone hands, the Debay ancient wine cellar, the D’Lamour Flower Garden, and Linh Ung Pagoda.

Enjoy a generous buffet lunch, then explore the French Village, a miniature France of squares, churches, and towns, and Fantasy Park — an indoor playground of more than 100 games and rides the teenagers can lose themselves in.

Return to your hotel in Hoi An in the late afternoon.

Overnight in Hoi An.

After breakfast, enjoy some free time in Hoi An before your private driver transfers the family to Da Nang International Airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival, your driver meets you for the transfer to your hotel.

The rest of the day is free for parent and teenagers to relax or explore Saigon’s lively streets, cafés, and cuisine together.

Optional this evening — Saigon Princess Dinner Cruise : a memorable family dinner aboard an elegant river cruise, with live music and panoramic views of the city’s illuminated skyline.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

This morning, your private guide and driver take the family to the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City, beginning at the Independence Palace (the Reunification Palace), designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu. Pass the French-era landmarks nearby — Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Central Post Office — then the War Remnants Museum, with its extensive displays from both Indochina wars.

After lunch at a local restaurant, drive about an hour and a half to the Cu Chi Tunnels. A short introduction and video set the scene before the family explores the maze-like network of living quarters, kitchens, weapons workshops, field hospitals, and command centers, threaded with hidden trap doors — older kids and teens can crawl through the tunnels to sense how people lived underground.

Afterwards, sample the tea and cassava once eaten by guerrillas, with time to relax or try the shooting range, before returning to the city.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

This morning, your private guide and driver take the family to the Mekong Delta. Begin at Cai Be, strolling an orchard and tasting fresh fruit to traditional music, then board a rowing boat deeper into the countryside along the smaller canals. Cross the mighty Mekong — one of the world’s longest rivers — to An Binh Island and travel a handmade canal to a local home for lunch.

Afterwards, walk through the village to a workshop making rice paper, coconut candy, and pop-rice, enjoying some sweets with a cup of hot tea. There’s optional biking along the village paths — a fun way for the family to see orchards, schools, pagodas, and traditional houses — and a stop at the brick kilns to see pottery shaped from clay, before the cruise ends at Vinh Long and you return to Ho Chi Minh City.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

After breakfast, enjoy some free time in the city before your private driver transfers the family to Tan Son Nhat International Airport for your flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. On arrival, your driver meets you for the transfer to your hotel, with time to settle in.

In the evening, enjoy an authentic Apsara Dinner Show, combining traditional Khmer cuisine with the graceful movements of Cambodia’s famous Apsara dancers — a window into the country’s culture through music, costume, and classical dance.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, at around 8:30 AM, set out with your guide for Ta Prohm, one of Angkor’s most beautiful temples — left much as it was when discovered, swallowed by the jungle and looking the way most of Angkor appeared to the first European explorers. Famous as a location in the film Tomb Raider, which the teens will recognize, it keeps much of its mystery.

Continue to Angkor Thom, the Khmer empire’s last and most enduring capital, established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII. Explore the impressive Bayon Temple with its giant stone faces, along with the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King, and Baphuon temple.

Save the biggest for the afternoon: Angkor Wat, the “City of Temples,” a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest religious monuments on earth, spread across 162 hectares. Built as a Hindu temple to Vishnu and later turned Buddhist, its galleries, libraries, and reflecting ponds reward a slow, curious wander — and the long climb rewards everyone with views out over the courtyards below. An unforgettable family afternoon before returning to your hotel.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, travel north through the countryside — villages, pagodas, paddy fields, and mango and cashew farms — about 58 kilometres to the sacred Kulen Mountain, the holy hilltop where King Jayavarman II proclaimed the birth of the Khmer Empire in 804 CE.

The Kulen National Park holds plenty for the family to discover. See the River of a Thousand Lingas, its sacred carvings set into the riverbed in honour of the Hindu god Shiva, then climb a flight of steps to the giant Reclining Buddha resting on a massive boulder — believed to be the holiest in the country — where a platform at the top opens over the jungle and hillsides.

Rounding out the day is a magnificent waterfall in the forest, a favourite with locals and a refreshing spot for teens to cool off, before returning to your hotel around 3–4 pm.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

On the last day of the journey, enjoy breakfast and your remaining free time in Siem Reap until your private driver transfers the family to Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, around three and a half hours before your flight.

As your adventure ends, we hope the bays, lantern towns, and temples have given your family a shared story worth retelling — and a reason to return to Vietnam and Cambodia one day.

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