Start City: Siem Reap
Departure city: Hanoi
Route: Siem Reap – Angkor Complex – Phnom Penh – Chau Doc – Saigon – Hoi An – Danang – Hue – Hanoi – Sapa – Halong Bay
Duration: 15 Days 14 Nights
Private Tour. Departure: Daily, upon your request.
– Extendable with optional tours
Please let us know your international arrival and departure flight time, so that we can adjust your itinerary much better.
BRIEF ITINERARY
Day 1: Welcome to Siem Reap
Day 2: Angkor Tours: Visiting Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat
Day 3: Siem Reap – Drive to Phnom Penh
Day 4: Phnom Penh – Down stream Mekong River to Chau Doc
Day 5: Chau Doc – Mekong Delta Tour – Saigon
Day 6: Saigon City Tour – Fly to Danang – Hoian
Day 7: Hoian Ancient town
Day 8: Hoian – Marble mountain – Sea Cloudy Pass – Hue
Day 9: Hue city tour – Fly to Hanoi
Day 10: Hanoi City Tour – Night train to Lao Cai
Day 11: Sapa Trekking
Day 12: Sapa – Lao Cai – Night train back to Hanoi
Day 13: Hanoi – Halong Bay Cruise
Day 14: Halong Bay Cruise – Hanoi
Day 15: Hanoi Departure
COST: Price is quoted in US dollars per person based on double/twin room.
Group size | 2 persons | 4 pax | 6 pax | Single Supp |
Land Tour/pp | 1,658 | 1,594 | 1,252 | 420 |
4 domestic flights/pp | 178 | 178 | 178 | |
Total/pp | US $ 1,836 | 1,772 | 1,430 |
Tour Includes | Tour Excludes |
– 2 Domestic flights: Saigon – Danang; Hue – Hanoi |
– International flights |
DETAIL ITINERARY
Day 1: Welcome to Siem Reap
Welcome to the Siem Reap Airport – one of the most elegant airports in Southeast Asia. Our guide will meet you outside baggage claim and take you to the hotel in town.
In the late afternoon, we will take a city tour and visit the Old market. Our guide will give you an overview of Siem Reap.
Meals: N/A
Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap
Day 2: Angkor Complex – Angkor Thom & Angkor Wat
For the early birds and photographers, we offer morning tours for those who want to see the sunrise upon the Angkor Temples. This takes place from 4.30 AM till 6AM and after sunrise we’ll return to town for breakfast
After breakfast at the hotel your day starts with visiting South Gate of Angkor Thom, with its majestic doors, monumental temple of Bayon facing the tropical forest and Baphuon and Phimeanakas Mountains. Later, visit the Elephant Terrace, Terrace of the Leper King and Takeo “Jewel of Crystal”, which is dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva and was erected at the end of the 10th century. You won’t miss Ta Prohm Temple, which is a wonderful combination of human genius and natural beauty with its giant trees that have grown there for centuries. Return to town for lunch at Tonle Sap restaurant. In the evening, visit Angkor Wat, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was constructed by Suryavarman II who reined Cambodia from 1113 to 1152 and built the five towers in the 12th century and dedicated them to the Hindu God Vishnu. The plan of the pyramidal conception of the temple combined with spaces, alleys and ditches is an ancient masterpiece of architectural design and construction.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap
Day 3: Siem Reap – Drive to Phnom Penh
After breakfast you will depart for Phnom Penh via private car. This city was once considered one of the most beautiful in the Orient and despite its recent turbulent history it still retains a colonial charm.
The journey offers an excellent opportunity to observe Cambodian rural life up-close. Stop along the way and visit a market, where every assortment of street food is available, including the Khmer favorite: deep-fried spiders, where we will offer you a complimentary spider snack! Once we arrive in Phnom Penh you will check in have some time for refreshments. The rest of the afternoon will be filled with visits to the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum and the notorious ‘Killing Fields’ of Choeung Ek . A visit to these sights provides deep insight into the painful bloody rule of the Khmer Rouge.
Round up this busy day with a visit the Russian Market – a good place for bargain hunting and good spot to observe Cambodia daily life.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh
Day 4: Phnom Penh – Down stream Mekong River to Chau Doc
After breakfast, enjoy the morning visiting the Royal Palace which now is a home to the royal family, around 10am check out and board the speed boat trip along Mekong River to Vietnam. Visa formalities may take up to 45 minutes at the border. Continue by river to Chau Doc, where you will meet up with our guide and you will be taken to the hotel.
Later in the afternoon, time permitting, feel free to take some time and explore the area surrounding the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Chau Doc
Day 5: Chau Doc – Mekong Delta Tour – Saigon
Leave the hotel early in the morning crossing Mekong Delta to Cai Be along the way the group will see the Mekong Delta (Nine Dragon River Delta). This is special experience on the Mekong Delta. Visit a candy factory, orchard garden, listen to traditional music of South Vietnam and have lunch in an ancient house.
After lunch, cross over to an island on the Mekong River by rowboat and learn more about the life of local people along this magical river.
Return to Saigon late in the afternoon.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Saigon
Day 6: Saigon City Tour – Fly to Danang – Hoian
After breakfast explore Saigon on a brief tour to famous landmarks such as: the Post Office and Notre Dame Cathedral – two of the city’s architectural landmarks after which we will drive to the airport for the flight to the city of Danang where our driver will be waiting for you and take you to your hotel in Hoian.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoian
Day 7: Hoi An Ancient Town
Hoi An is a small city in Central Vietnam famous for its wooden houses, family chapels, Assembly Halls and for its silk shops. It is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century for Chinese, Dutch, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Arab merchants who traded mainly in high quality silks. Its buildings and its street plan reflect the influences, both indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site.
We spend a walking tour around this enchanting port town and visit its numerous places of interest: 400 years old Japanese Bridge, 300 years old Chinese temple, 200 years old Vietnamese former merchants’ house, the local fish market … Around the town we can see a numerous art galleries and tailor shops, get some made-to-order clothes if you like. After lunch in local restaurant, you will have a chance to ride a “Xich Lo or pedicab” through the opposite site of Hoi An River bank where you can take a panorama of Hoi An town. Keep on the “Xich Lo” through the tiny lanes of Hoi An countryside, passing the fields of corn, sweet potatoes, beautiful local fruit-garden … Stop over the local fishing village, get on the boat for 2 hours streaming down to Cua Dai estuary to enjoy the sunset cuise on the river.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hoi An
Day 8: Hoi An – Marble Mountain – Sea Cloudy Pass – Drive to Hue
Car p/u at your hotel and transfer to Hue. The first stop is the Marble Mountain where you can see some marble factories and see their art works. We then have a chance to see China beach – one of the most beautiful and famous beach in Vietnam. The next stop is Cham museum where displayed the exhibitions of Cham people. The Cham museum in Danang has incomparably the best collection anywhere of Cham materials, mostly sculptures. After that, we drive 20km on Sea cloud pass (Hai Van Pass) – the highest pass in the country and one of the most scenic hillside roads in Vietnam. Sea cloud pass is the last spur of the Truong Son Range that reaches to the sea, sightseeing in Vietnam is at its best here with the sequel of valleys and lagoons as the road descends lower. And our last destination is Lang co beach which lies on the most beautiful curve of the “S” where you can be the first to see sunrise in Vietnam. Lang Co beach attracts visitors by its wild beauty with white sand and blue sea. Arrive Hue in mid afternoon and stay overnight at the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hue
Day 9: Hue Royal citadel – Fly to Hanoi
Hue was once the Imperial capital and now listed as a World heritage site. Sitting on the banks of the delightful Perfume River you will find amazing citadels, fabulous palaces and royal tombs. Many of the sites can be reached by river and this makes an excellent way to see the city.
Pick up from hotel in Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. A boat trip on the romantically named Perfume River visits Hue’s best-known religious sites, Thien Mu Pagoda. Then continue to discover Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945 including Flag Tower, Noon Gate, Nine Dynastic Urns, Nine Holy Cannons, Thai Hoa Palace, and Forbidden Purple City.
The afternoon continues with a visit to the elaborate tombs of emperors Tu Duc & Khai Dinh. This guided tour gives you a deep understanding about King’s philosophy of geomancy and how this affected royal life.
Heading to the airport for your short flight from Hue to Hanoi.
Welcome to Hanoi: Vietnam’s bustling colonial capital. Your guide and driver will meet you outside the baggage claim of Noi Bai Airport and take you to your hotel in the city center.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi
Day 10: Hanoi City Tour – Night train to Lao Cai
Today you have a full day to explore Vietnam’s charming capital. With its wide tree-lined boulevards, French colonial architecture, peaceful lakes and ancient oriental pagodas, Hanoi is an eclectic mix that offers something for everyone.
The visit includes most of the City’s outstanding historical and cultural sites.
– Temple of Literature, built in 11th Century and the country’s first University
– The complex of Ho Chi Minh historical sites (include: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, HCM’s Stilt House and One Pillar Pagoda – (closed on Monday & Friday)
– Quan Thanh Temples & Tran Quoc Pagoda
– Visit one of the museums in Hanoi (Museum of History, Museum of Ethnology, Museum of Fine Art, Hoa Lo prison which is also known as the “Hanoi Hilton”
Late afternoon, we will have a brief city tour: discover Hanoi Old Quarter on cyclo ride or open electric car. In the evening enjoy a traditional Water Puppet Performance – a unique Vietnamese Art form hailing from Southeast Asia’s wet-rice culture – before heading to the train station to catch your night train to Laocai.
Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: on train (in 4 soft berths cabin with A/C).
Day 11: Lao Cai – Sapa exploration
The train arrives at the Laocai railway station in the early morning. Your guide and driver will meet you there and take you on the 40km drive to Sapa – Northwest Vietnam’s premier travel destination. Enjoy breakfast at the hotel then catch a few hours of rest before beginning your adventure in this beautiful mountain landscape and home to many minority hill tribe peoples. In the late morning, your guide will take you on a two hour trek through the terraced rice fields to visit the villages Cat Cat and Sin Chai, where you will learn about local traditions and daily life. Rest of the day, you are free at leisure or explore the town on your own.
Meals: Breakfast.
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa.
Day 12: Sapa discovery – night train to Hanoi
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, before setting out on a full day’s trek to explore Sapa’s cultural diversity and haunting natural beauty. Take a guided hike through yawning valleys decorated with terraced rice fields and pass through remote hill tribe villages. You have three trekking options to choose from: Soft trek (~ 3 km), medium trek (~ 6km) and long trek (~ 12km). Trekking is an excellent way to explore the daily life and familiarize yourself with the cultures of the H’mong, Dzao and Dzay people who populate the region. Have lunch at a hill tribe village then drive back to Laocai to catch your return night train to Hanoi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.
Accommodation: on train (in 4 soft berths cabin with A/C).
Day 13: Hanoi – Halong Bay Cruise
After breakfast you will have over 4 hour drive along the country side of the Red River Delta to the UNESCO world’s heritage site of Halong Bay.
Spend 24 hours on a traditional Junk Cruise in the amazing bay: a natural wonderland composed of jutting limestone islands and sparkling turquoise waters. Arrive at the dock around noon and board your junk. Savor a gourmet lunch of fresh seafood onboard as we sail out into the mystical bay. In the afternoon, cruise around some of Halong’s many islands, including Dinh Huong and Ga Choi. Along the way visit one of the bay’s 3 largest caves (Thien Cung, Dau Go or Sung Sot). Stop at an island cove with a sheltered white-sand beach and take a dip in the warm waters of the Tonkin Gulf (weather permitting). Pass the night on your junk, lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of calm waters.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.
Accommodation: on cruise.
Guide: On boat
Day 14: Halong Bay – Drive to Hanoi
Awake early and participate in Tai Chi on the top deck or simply relax and enjoy the sunrise over the bay’s towering islands. Enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, before setting out to explore nearby islands by rowboat. Return to the junk for breakfast then take advantage of the sundeck and admire the amazing rock formations of Bai Tu Long Bay as you navigate back to Halong City. Have brunch on board the boat before returning to Halong pier. Your driver will meet you at the dock and take you to your hotel in Hanoi. Stay overnight at the hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hotel in Hanoi
Day 15: Hanoi Departure
After a breakfast at the hotel, you are free for shopping or relaxing until our driver will drive you to the airport for departure.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: N/A