A Journey from Vietnam to Cambodia on a Luxurious Cruise

In the morning, set off your city tour. Your first stop is the Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office. You will then walk along Dong Khoi Street and make a stop at the Peoples’ Committee Building and the Opera House. The next stop is the Reunification Palace to admire its historical work.

Wrap your beautiful exploration with a discovery of the bustling and lively China Town and a visit to Thien Hau Pagoda.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. After lunch, transfer back to your hotel. The rest of the day is at your leisure.

Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, from your hotel, transfer to My Tho where you will board Pandaw vessel. After checking in your cabin, enjoy a welcome drink and a safety briefing followed by lunch. The vessel will then cruise across the lush Mekong Delta.

Your passports will be collected at the meeting point to handle immigration formalities, so do not forget to bring it along. 

Lunch, dinner and overnight on board.

This morning, board the sampan boat for a cruise to Sa Dec along the canals and backwaters of Vinh Long. The cruise offers you a great chance to see local market and a visit to the ancient house of Mr, Huynh Thuy Le, the 'lover' of Marguerite Duras, a famous French novelist.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and overnight on board.

Today, you will visit a Cham tribal village to explore their unique traditions and lifestyle. You will then enjoy a guided tour to a cat fish farm in Chau Doc and hop on our mountain bikes to paddle through the local market and the stunning Catholic Church. Afterwards, head back to the ship by boat for lunch and head to the Cambodia border for border crossing formalities.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and overnight on board.

Once arriving at Phnom Penh- the capital of Cambodia, it’s time to disembark the ship. Our guide will meet and pick you up at the harbor and then transfer you to the hotel in Phnom Penh for check-in.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

Your city tour of Phnom Penh will start in the afternoon. In this tour, you will explore some of the most famous landscapes and sites of the city. First, pay a visit to the Royal Palace – a complex consisting of different structures that house a stunning collection of Khmer art. You also visit the Silver Pagoda featuring a golden Buddha weighing 90 kg and a Buddha dating from the 17th century. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

NOTES:

• During your visits in the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, you will be led by guides on site as our guides are not allowed to do that.
• In the case the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda are closed without notice, the destination could be replaced with another.

In the morning, you are offered a great opportunity to explore the local cuisine with breakfast at a local restaurant. Here you can get a real taste of Khmer noodle dishes or other various dishes. After breakfast, head out to Kompong Thom for around 3,5 hours. En-route, make a stop to visit Skuon- sometimes known as spider village which is famous for its fried spiders. After lunch at a local restaurant in Kompong Thom, continue your journey to Siem Reap where you will arrive in the late afternoon. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

In the morning, set off your great sightseeing tour of the city. Your first stop is the famous structure of Angkor Thom which was once served as the final and the long-lasting capital of the Khmer Empire. Stretching over 9 square kilometers, the structure includes many ruin temples.

Located in the heart of Angkor Thom, you can see the Bayon Temple with many other relics that offer a great chance to observe ancient sculptures.

Continue your visit to the ancient monastery of Ta Prohm. It is one of the largest monuments in the Angkor complex. You will see the trees growing out of the ruins which create a distinctive feature for the monument.

After lunch at a local restaurant, your temple exploration will be continued in the magnificent Angkor Archaeological Site where you explore the largest and most beautiful temple in the Site – Angkor Wat Temple. The temple has become the soul and the symbol of the country and is recognized as a World Heritage by UNESCO.

The complex is considered the architectural masterpiece thanks to its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief and sculpture. Unlike other temples in Angkor, Angkor Wat remains a significant Buddhist work and houses various Buddha statues dating from the 15th century.

Transfer back to the hotel. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

This morning, you will be picked up from your hotel for a tuk-tuk drive through the beautiful countryside to Meanchey Commune. Make a stop along the way at Bakong temple – one of the oldest temple city near Siem Reap to get some beautiful photos and a brief background on the temple’s history. Continue onto Wat Roka- a large rural pagoda with three distinct buildings. En-route, you also visit some local handicraft makers to observe their unique traditional skills. Enjoy a leisurely stroll through a local market.

When you are at Wat Roka, you have a chance to get to know more the Buddhist culture as well as the various uses of different buildings and structures around the region. Afterward, a relaxing ox-cart ride will take you through beautiful countryside and the nearby village. This traditional form of transportation is a great way to take in the rustic sites of the countryside, traditional buildings and local life at a slower pace. Do not forget to get your camera ready to capture this fascinating moment. You will then get off the ox-cart and take a walk through fields of rural Cambodia.

The field is an authentic farmland of the locals. You may get a special opportunity to see first-hand rural farming techniques from preparation, planting, tending or harvesting depending on the timing and season you visit. You could even get the real experience by joining the farming activities with the locals. Our guide will explain about farming methods as well as introduce various fresh goods produced in the region.

During the walk, there is also a stop at a small rural farm that grows various fresh produce. The place could be a stop for lunch today. Take a seat in the shady farmland and enjoy a great selection of traditional Cambodian dishes and taste some locally-grown fruits. You also enjoy a complimentary fresh coconut refreshment. There is a chance to take a quick break to wander the farm.

In the nearby village of Cheasmorn you can find the JB Foundation. Pay a visit to the site to get to know more the way rural Cambodians are supported by profits from tours. You may see the free English school in operation. If you wish, you could even join and share your own skills. 

After the visit, hop on a bike and paddle through the villages and countryside of Meanchey Commune. The rural scenery is just great and you also have another chance to observe the authentic countryside life. There are various stops for you to take photos as you cross bridges and pass through different villages on the narrow dirty roads.

As approaching back in the village of Cheasmorn, end of your bike ride and take a tuk-tuk to Siem Reap.

Dinner on your own. Overnight at the hotel.

This morning is free for you to relax until being transferred to the airport for the departure flight. Meals on your own. End of tour.