Highlights of Vietnam - Cambodia & Laos Tour - 17 Days

Arrive in Hanoi. Greeted by your driver at the airport. Transfer to your hotel in the city centre for check-in and free at leisure.

Note*:

The hotel room will be available at 2:00pm, and in case that you would like to secure an early-check in, an additional charge will be applied.

Please be advised that both international and domestic might be crowded at sometimes during the day, so in case that you arrive and cannot find our representatives, please be presented at Pole No.16 outside lobby A2 (International) or Lobby of domestic arrival (Domestic flight) and contact us, so we could easily search for you

Hanoi Foodie Tour by Night - from 6pm to 9pm 

Your expert English-speaking local guide will give you an insight into the intricacies and traditions of Vietnamese food culture including details on ingredients and historical backgrounds of popular northern dishes. We eat as we go, trying seasonal fruits and sampling a tasty French-inspired snack from a street cart.

Walking through the maze of bustling streets that make up Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we tempt our tastebuds with the famed Hanoi dish Banh Cuon at a local eatery. Watch in awe as the skilled chefs demonstrate for you how this tasty dish is put together. Continuing into the atmospheric heart of the Old Quarter, we wander past street stalls and quiet residential lanes where you can observe local life that has changed little since Hanoi was founded over 1000 years ago. 

Our next two snack stops are at outdoor barbeque stalls. We sit down with the Hanoi locals and sample various meat, vegetable and bread specialties that are flame grilled over hot coals for extra flavour. It’s then time for dessert as we venture down a small alley to join in the local tradition of feasting on fresh fruit served in a cup and smothered with crushed iced and condensed milk – this speciality is one not to be missed!

Your local guide will then take you to one of Hanoi’s best kept secrets, a hidden street food restaurant to taste top ten street foods in Hanoi is Banh My Hanoi, Vietnamese Rice Wine and famous Egg Coffee. This hard-to-find café is one of the few left in the narrow street inside the old quarter of Hanoi. Or, if coffee is not your style, a cold beer awaits!. At the end of the trip you are free to continue exploring the area or your guide will assist you back to your hotel.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

Today, we will spend a full day to visit the city. We start with visit to President Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum (Outside). We also visit the famous One Pillar Pagoda nearby. Leaving the President's complex, we continue to visit the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu). Although several Van Mieu can be found throughout Vietnam, the most prominent and famous is that situated in the city of Hanoi, and was functioned as Vietnam's first university

After lunch in a local restaurant, we go to the Museum of Ethnology, which is an excellent museum containing the ethnic costumes of the various minorities of Vietnam, as well as relics, tools and even full size replicas of their homes and buildings.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi

08h00: Pick up from your hotel in Hanoi. Drive to Halong City through the paddy fields in the Red River Delta.

10h00: Stopover on the way for a refreshment break

12h00: Arrive at Tuan Chau wharf – Break and photography time

12h30: Board the Cruise for departure. Welcome drink will be served

13h00: Lunch is served while cruising through the bay

15h30: Visit exciting Cua Van fishing village. The village is free of busy roads and streets, electric lights, houses and high rise buildings. Instead, there are only herds of little boats and rafts. You will have the chance to discover the traditional culture and customs of the fishermen.

16h30: Enjoy kayaking or swimming (if the weather permits).

17h00: Back on board and continue cruising.

19h00: Dinner is served.

21h00: Take some leisure time to enjoy chatting at the bar or enjoy some night fishing.

Note*: the itinerary and activities on board would vary depending on the boat you choose. Please see the choice of boat in Acommodation Inclusions.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Accommodation: Night on board

07.00: Coffee and tea will be served

08.00: Continue cruising

08h15: Visit splendid Sung Sot Cave

09h00: Check out and enjoy a fantastic cruise on the bay, passing Dinh Huong Island, fishing villages, Ga Choi Island, Dog Island and Sail Island.

09.30: Buffet brunch (breakfast/lunch) while cruising back through Halong Bay to the pier

11h30: Arrive at the pier. Time to say goodbye to the crew.

12.00: Return from Halong to Hanoi. Arrive Hanoi at about 17pm.

Airport transfer for late flight to Danang. Transfer to the hotel in Hoian upon arrival.

Note*: the itinerary and activities on board would vary depending on the boat you choose. Please see the choice of boat in Hotel Inclusions.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian

Free and easy day to explore Hoian town or swim at nearby beach.

Hoi An is an ideal town for shopping and relaxing. It’s once a major Southeast Asian trading post in the 16th and 17th centuries, is basically a living museum that houses old-town architecture. Some notable heritage buildings include Chinese temples, a Japanese-designed bridge, pagodas, wooden shop-houses, French-colonial houses, and old canals. Although large-scale trading had long moved elsewhere, Hoi An has been successful in preserving and restoring its charming roots and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in December 1999

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian

Pickup at the hotel at 7:50 am, we drive to visit My Son. The My Son temple complex is regarded one of the foremost Hindu temple complexes in Southeast Asia and is the foremost heritage site of this nature in Vietnam. It is often compared with other historical temple complexes in Southeast Asia, such as Borobodur of Java in Indonesia, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Bagan of Myanmar and Ayutthaya of Thailand. Although badly damaged by bombing raids in the 1960s, the site still has more than 20 structures and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.

Leaving My Son for boat station and taking a boat trip on Thu Bon river. You could visit the living of the local people and feeling the fresh air. Enjoy the beautiful views along the river. Arrive Hoian in early afternoon. Free time to explore Hoian ancient town.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian

Free in the morning.

In the afternoon, transfer to Hue. Enjoy scenic view of Hai Van Pass on the way. Arrive Hue in late afternoon. Transfer to the hotel and enjoy free time.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Hue

08:00: Pickup at the hotel.

Today, we will spend a full day touring Hue city. 

In the morning: visit Old Imperial City, Flag Tower, Thien Mu Pagoda and Dong Ba bustling market. Lunch at the local restaurant. 

In the afternoon: visit Royal Tombs of Minh Mang and Khai Dinh. We will also visit a Conical hat village and incense stick village

Then airport transfer for late afternoon flight to Saigon. Transfer to your hotel for checkin upon arrival.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Pickup at the hotel at 7:40, we head out of town to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, which is an extensive underground network of approximately 200 kilometers of tunnels dug initially by the Viet Minh and then expanded by the Viet Cong. Here contains hospitals, plus accommodation and schools, and were used extensively for refuge and storage and also utilized as a military base for the Viet Cong close to Saigon. 

In late afternoon, transfer to Saigon for half day city tour. Our city tour will help you to see the best of Saigon. We visit the historic Reunification palace and War Remnants Museum, followed by the architectural treats of French colonial Notre Dame Cathedral and the post Office. Free time at leisure or shopping at Ben Thanh Market nearby.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Pick up at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh city and start the trip to My Tho. Upon arrival, visit Vinh Trang pagoda which sated back to the late 19th century. Then boarding the sampan and cruising down the river around the four beautiful islands known as Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise islands.

Stop over at Unicorn Island, go walking in the village paths to contemplate orchards, enjoy tropical fruits, and Vietnamese folk music performed by the local people. Visit the fruit plantation.

Be rowed in a small sampan through the Thoi Son canal and treat yourself to the beauty of the countryside, visit the family business & bee-keeping farm, enjoy honey tea and coconut candy workshop.

Have lunch at the local restaurant. Break time.

The afternoon is time for cycling around the Tan Thach village, meeting the local people to experience their daily life in the Mekong delta. Relaxing on hammocks to enjoy the cool breeze is for those do not want to join the cycling trip. Proceed to Can Tho City and overnight in Can Tho.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Night at hotel

Wake up well rested to the sound of the river and get ready for another exciting day of sightseeing in the Mekong Delta. Watch the locals go about their daily work drying exotic fruits and building ships on the wooden yards while enjoying an early breakfast.

After breakfast, we will board a sampan boat to Cai Be or Cai Rang floating market, the region’s busiest and most lively markets. Marvel at the sheer abundance of exotic fruits, vegetables and skilfully handcrafted regional products. We will pull up to the boats for talking and bargaining with the merchants. We will also visit some of the local candy and cake making factories or boat through the green water landscape to see local houses, verdant orchards and ship-building yards.

Note*: The floating markets in the Mekong Delta are no tourist markets but wholesale markets where produce of the Mekong Delta like fruits and vegetables are traded. For this reason the number of boats on the market fluctuates depending on harvesting seasons and market demand. Furthermore, modern wholesale markets are becoming more popular in Vietnam. This can result in decreasing numbers of boats being present on the markets.

Meals: Breakfast/ Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon

Note*: Depending on your budget, you can travel from Saigon to Siem Reap by bus or flight:

By bus (to save the cost – upto US$190/person): pickup at the hotel in the morning for a full day bus to Siem Reap. The bus journey would take over 12 hours drive. You would arrive Siem Reap in late afternoon. Pickup upon arriving Siem Reap. Transfer to the hotel for checkin. 

Free and easy for shopping and personal activities in Saigon.

By plane: In the afternoon, take the flight to Siem Reap. Arrive Siem Reap, Siem Reap – Treasures of the Kingdom of Cambodia, special welcome all warmly to everybody, a moment of courtesy meeting then self-introduce with our Cambodian tour guide in the meeting point's Siem Reap. 

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

We head further out through rural countryside to the small but beautiful temple of Banteay Srei. This temple is largely built of pink sandstone, a harder rock that can be more elaborately carved and better survives the rigors of time. Stop at a local village to visit families who are producing palm sugar. 

We’ll pay a visit to the Landmine Museum where Mr. Aki Ra, a former child soldier in the Khmer Rouge has dedicated his life to helping others in need. After having spent most of his child years fighting for the Khmer Rouge and later the Vietnamese army, Mr. Aki Ra was trained by the United Nations to detonate land-mines; his fantastic work earned him a nomination for CNN Hero of the year in 2010.

Continue to Banteay Samre: Its rose-colored sandstone walls are decorated with carvings and bas-reliefs, which are among the most accomplished Angkor has to offer.

We continue to visit Ta Prohm "Tomb Raider" fame. Ta Prohm has been abandoned to the elements, a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on, oblivious to the dramas of human history. Ta Keo: built by Jayavarman V who ruled from 968 to 1001, it was the first Angkorian monument built entirely of sandstone and was dedicated to Shiva. Thommanon: temple which mirrors Chau Say Tevoda (just to the north), as it was built around the same time and has a similar plan. Chau Say Tevoda: built during the second quarter of the 12th century opposite of Thommanon, it was dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

After meeting our tour guide, then we drive to Angkor Thom that was the masterpiece of King Jayavarman VII. Following the occupation of Angkor by the Chams from 1177 to 1181, the new king decided to build an impregnable fortress at the heart of his empire. 

We begin to visit Bayon Temple. At the exact center of Angkor Thom, this is an eccentric expression of the creative genius and inflated ego of Cambodia’s most celebrated king. From there, we walk to Baphuon, once of the most beautiful temples at Angkor, dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1 in the 11th century.

We continue to visit Terrace of the Leper King. Along the Terrace of Elephants, originally used as a viewing gallery for the king to preside over parades, performances and traditional sports.

We journey out to the Mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Believed to be the world's largest religious building, this temple is the perfect fusion of symbolism and symmetry and a source of pride and strength to all Khmers. 

Enjoy foot massage 1hour & walking at busy pub street where you can find many bars for cool drink or shopping at Angkor Night Market.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Hotel in Luang Prabang.

After breakfast, we depart for the Tonlé Sap, driving down the eastern side of the lake. Arrive at Kampong Phluk; a ‘flooded forest’. Accessible only during high water, you’ll pass through the treetops whilst seated in your boat. Nearby is a fishing village where you can also learn more about the traditional methods used for generations.

Transfer to Siem Reap airport for departure to Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang is perhaps the best-preserved traditional city in Southeast Asia. The tranquility and charm of this town with its splendid natural scenery and cultural sights make it one of the most delightful places to visit in Laos. Upon arrival at Luang Prabang, we met our guide and transfer to hotel for check in.

Overnight at Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Luang Prabang

We embark on a boat for a leisurely trip on the Mekong River, stopping en route at Ban Xang Hai to see the production of and to sample the local rice wine. Upon leaving this village we pass through stunning mountain landscape to the mysterious Pak Ou Caves. These two linked caves are crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes, all brought there by devout villagers. After the river trip we drive to the beautiful Khouangsi Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the turquoise pools or walk along the forest trails.

Meals: Breakfast/Lunch

Accommodation: Luang Prabang

Breakfast, we visit the National Museum at the former Royal Palace displays a lovely collection of the artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through the last sovereign. The National Museum and the Central Market are not to be missed.

We enjoy a short tour seeing the city’s oldest temple Wat Sene and Wat Xieng Thong, a significant monument to the spirit of religion, royalty and traditional art. Later we’ll visit the impressive Wat Visoun, the oldest temple that houses many Buddha images. Next is Wat Aham, the ‘Monastery of the Blossomed Heart’ exudes serenity, and Wat Mai, the largest and most richly decorated of the temples in this city.

There will be free for your own time to venture into town and stroll around the shopping area. The tour ends after transfer to the airport for departure.

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: N/A