Vietnam and Cambodia Highlights 13 Days, 12 Nights

Arrive in the capital city of Vietnam; Hanoi welcomes you with a smile.

After clearing immigration, proceed to the baggage reclaim area to collect your luggage. Your private tour guide and driver from Asia Dream Tours will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim/ custom area to transfer you in a private vehicle to the hotel in downtown.

Arrive at your hotel then check in and relax at your own leisure in Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

(Check in time is 14.00 – Early check in is upon availability)

The full day tour takes you around Hanoi’s highlights sites including the Ho Chi Minh Complex: Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and his stilt house, Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda. You also have chance to visit historic University – The Temple of Literature, that dates back to the 11th century; learn about Buddhist practices in a serene lakeside pagoda. Visit the famous Ethnology Museum. Back to the Old Quarter to walk through the narrow streets that were famous for its specialized craft making guilds, the guild streets are named for their product or location and still bear such names nowadays.

Return to your hotel after the visit.

Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, you will meet your tour guide at your hotel and start a 2 hour road trip toward Ninh Binh Province.

Around 10:00am, you will arrive at Hoa Lu. Here you will visit the Ancient Capital with the remaining two temples of Dinh King and Le King. This visit offers you a chance to learn more about part of feudal dynasties in Vietnamese history, as well as the old feudal architecture of Vietnamese Temples.

Leaving Hoa Lu you proceed to Tam Coc. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant

After lunch you will take a boat trip to visit Trang An (you will sit on a sampan boat with local rower). We take a boat trip to visit cave complex: Sang Cave, Toi Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Nau Ruou in mystery and wildness, see scenery of mountain and rivers Ha Long on land of Ninh Binh.

Return to the docks you will enjoy a leisure bicycle ride through the village lanes. Arrive at a mountain where you will climb a few hundred steps to visit Mua Cave and a small temple of Quan Am (the Goddess of Mercy). From the top you can enjoy the panorama view of the amazing rice paddies and the Ngo Dong River below. A perfect spot for Facebook Portrait.

After the visit, check in your hotel and relax at your own leisure in Hanoi.

Overnight in Hanoi.

At 08:00, you will leave Hanoi for Halong Bay after 3.5 hours drive and board a boat, enjoying lunch while cruise through the bay. The magical bay is home to thousands of limestone islands rising from the waves like dragons’ teeth. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Back on board, you will enjoy cocktails or cooking classes while watching the sunset, before indulging in a lavish dinner onshore. Afterwards, you can choose to do anything from joining movie night, playing board games, or relaxing at the beauty spa before retiring for the night.

Overnight on board with the cruise.

*** Itinerary varies depending on which cruise you are going to take

Wake up on the bay to the sounds of waves, fresh air, and breeze welcoming the new day. After breakfast, visit a beautiful limestone grotto then walk back to the boat for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. The boat arrives at the harbor by 11.30am and your driver is waiting to take youto the airport for your next flight to Da Nang.

Being welcomed at the airport by our driver and tour guide, you will head to your hotel in Hoi An. Check in and relax at your own leisure in Hoi An.

Overnight in Hoi An.

After breakfast, you take the half day private tour to My Son – the sanctuary of Cham culture. You will walk into the ruins of ancient My Son holy land to recall the Champa people’s glory days dating from the 4th to the 13th century. Afternoon, balance your leisure time between lounging at the beach or happily emptying your wallet while browsing the world of handicrafts and souvenirs that Hoian has to offer or simply stroll along the riverside to get a feel for the olden days of the busy Faifo merchant port.

Overnight in Hoi An.

After breakfast we drive approximately 4 hours to Hue, via the scenic Hai Van Pass. En-route we stop to visit the Cham Museum in Da Nang, Marble Mountain with the carving village at the foot of the mountain and My Khe Beach which was home to American GIs during the war.
Arrive to Hue in the afternoon, check in and relax at your own leisure in Hue.

Overnight in Hue.

Breakfast at the hotel then meet up with our local guide again to start a day exploring the charms of The Citadel in this former Imperial City with many well-preserved royal monuments in Hue. Board a dragon boat cruising the Huong River. Stop at Thien Mu Pagoda and then back to the car to visit the most famous Tu Duc’s tomb. In the afternoon, visit the Citadel, Forbidden Purple City and the Dong Ba Market.

Excellent vegetarian lunch will be served at a local Buddhist Monastery, prepared and served by the nuns.

Return to your hotel after the visit. Rest of day is for relaxing at your leisure.

Overnight in Hue.

After breakfast, our driver will transfer you to the airport for your short flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

Getting picked up by our tour guide at the airport, we will start visiting the most famous attractions of Saigon including the Notre Dame Cathedral and Saigon post Office. We will also visit the Reunification Palace, this fascinated is filled with Vietnamese historical stories.

After that, we will visit the bustling Saigon market before back to your hotel. Rest of day is at your own leisure in Saigon.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Today your private guide and driver will take you out of Saigon in a private vehicle and onto some beautiful country roads to Ben Tre Town, the heart of the Mekong Delta, popularly known as the “rice bowl” of Vietnam, and is famous for its vast rice fields, orchard farms, coconut trees, numerous waterways and beautiful landscapes.

After appox 2 hour driving through the lush farming land we arrive at Ben Tre town where we will embark on a motorized boat trip around the scenic BếnTre River, viewing various local industries along the way. During the boat ride we will stop to visit the small local factories where bricks and sleeping mats are made. Take a leisure walk along the village lanes visiting the local homes to try dry fruits, taste honey tea while enjoying a local Tai Tu music show. Continue to visit a coconut mill workshop where the local delicacy of coconut candy is produced and a range of coconut husk and fiber products are skillfully handcrafted.

We next take a small sampan through palm-fringed back canals, gliding peacefully along the hidden waterways surrounded by immense variety of tropical plants. The quiet, rural setting is a welcome and restorative retreat to the frenetic buzz of Saigon which seems far, far away.

Enjoy sitting in the back a Motor Cart (xelôi) passing rice and vegetable orchard farms while meeting with local people. Then we head to a local restaurant for a simple lunch, after which we will be driven back to Saigon airport where we will take the direct flight to Siemreap.

Welcomed by our tour guide in Siemreap airport, you will then head to your hotel. Check in and relax at your own leisure in Siemreap.

Overnight in Siemreap.

This morning you will get up early to witness the sunrise over ancient Angkor, and then return to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast you will embark on the tour. Today with the help of your private guide, driver and private vehicle you will get to explore the town’s major attractions.

– Banteay Srei: A favorite site of most visitors. The special charm of this temple lies in its compact size, remarkable state of preservation, and the excellence of it decorative carvings.
– Banteay amre: With its rose-colored sandstone walls, decorated with carvings and bas-reliefs, which are among the most accomplished Angkor has to offer.

After lunch, we will continue visit:
– The fabulous Ta Prohm embraced by the roots of enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers.
– Prasat Kravan – With its unique brick sculptures.
– SrahS rang – The “Royal Baths” once used for ritual bathing.
– Banteay Kdei – Meaning a “Citadel of Chambers” also known as the “Citadel of Monks”, built between the 12th & 13th Centuries.
– Thommanon & Chau Say Tevoda Temples. Built during the reign of Suryavarman II (from 1113-1150), a UNESCO world heritage site.

Your day tour ends at the hotel at around 17:30. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your pleasure.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After having breakfast will drive about 65 km north-east of Siem Reap to BengMelea. This temple was built during the 12th century during the reign of Suryavarman II, at about the same time as Angkor Wat of which its layout and style closely mirror. However, BengMelea is completely ruined and largely overrun by vegetation and competes with Ta Prohm for the “lost in the jungle” ambience. It is a tangle of trees, lichen-covered stones, broken towers and galleries. Many impressive sculptures are hidden among the rubble and the vegetation.

Afternoon, will driving down south to see the great annual flood of Tonle Sap Lake, you’ll take a boat excursion to see the village of KompongPhhluk on stilts. Explore this great ecosystem by way of canoeing and hear the calls of the birds or macaque monkeys while observing the forest beneath the lake’s surface, you’ll see the Buddhist temple is standing on the island with some beautiful Buddhist life painting on the ceiling.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Free at your own leisure until our driver transfers you to the airport for your departure flight home.