Capture the best of Vietnam and Cambodia, plus the energy of Bangkok, Thailand, on an adventure that combines expertly guided visits with time to follow your own interests. Walk Hanoi’s trading streets, cruise among Ha Long Bay’s limestone islands and uncover Vietnam’s imperial past in Hue. Meet artisans for a paper-flower workshop, admire Hoi An’s merchant houses and get to know Ho Chi Minh City. In Cambodia, our local tour leader introduces Phnom Penh’s complex history before bringing the temple cities of Angkor into focus. Bangkok completes the journey, while free days along the way leave room for extra adventures, regional dishes and discoveries of your own.
All accommodation: 15 Comfort nights (14 hotel, 1 junk boat), 1 Simple night (sleeper train) - All breakfasts, one lunches and two dinners - Immersive itinerary with all transport and listed activities - Expert tour leaders to enhance your adventure - Arrival and departure transfers
Not Included In The Price
Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations.
Map
Itinerary
Day 1 Adventure starts in Hanoi
Begin your adventure in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, where the trading streets of the Old Quarter sit alongside lakes, temples and French colonial buildings.
Around 6pm, say xin chào (hello) to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead.
Your tour leader then ensures a big Vietnamese welcome by arranging a group dinner.
Want more time in Hanoi? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.
Day 2 Walk Hanoi’s trading streets • Visit the Temple of Literature
Get to know Hanoi on a walking tour of the Old Quarter, where shopfronts, street kitchens and passing scooters compete for our attention. Our tour leader helps us find our bearings among the trading streets, introducing the daily rhythms of the Vietnamese capital.
Then visit the Temple of Literature, founded in 1070 and associated with Vietnam’s first university. Courtyards, gateways and stone stelae honouring successful scholars reveal the importance placed on learning over the centuries.
The afternoon is free to follow our own interests: return to the Old Quarter, pause for a Vietnamese coffee or take a walk beside Hoan Kiem Lake.
Day 3 Cruise Ha Long Bay • Sleep among the limestone islands
Leave Hanoi early and drive to Ha Long Bay (approximately four hours), where forested limestone islands rise abruptly from the sea. Boarding our traditional junk boat, we settle into a rather different pace: lunch on board, islands passing the windows and a night out on the water.
A seafood lunch accompanies our first stretch of cruising. Later, we stop at a beach, with the option to climb a steep path to a viewpoint overlooking the bay. There’s also time to swim in a designated area, while an optional kayaking excursion may be available at extra cost, depending on the weather.
Back on board, we gather on the upper deck to watch the changing evening light, perhaps with a drink from the bar. We sleep in twin-share cabins with private bathrooms.
Day 4 Sail through Ha Long Bay • Take the overnight train to Hue
Enjoy another stretch of cruising among Ha Long Bay’s limestone islands before returning to port mid-morning.
Driving back to Hanoi (approximately four hours), we have a little free time before transferring to the station. Here, we board an overnight train on the Reunification Express route, continuing south to Hue while we sleep.
Day 5 Uncover imperial Hue • Cruise to Thien Mu Pagoda
Arriving in Hue mid-morning, we transfer to our hotel to freshen up before an afternoon among the palaces, courtyards and ceremonial buildings of the Imperial Citadel.
Our tour leader introduces the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam’s last ruling royal family, as we visit the Imperial City and the remains of the Forbidden Purple City. Surviving buildings and restored structures help us picture life at court, while evidence of wartime destruction reveals another chapter in Hue’s history.
We also take a boat trip along the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda. The seven-tiered tower overlooking the river is one of Hue’s most recognisable landmarks, providing a memorable approach to this Buddhist site.
Day 6 Visit Emperor Thieu Tri’s tomb • Craft paper flowers with Hue artisans
Continue our introduction to royal Hue at the tomb of Emperor Thieu Tri. Divided into separate burial and temple areas, the complex gives us another perspective on the architecture and ceremonial traditions of the Nguyen dynasty.
We then swap royal monuments for a hands-on encounter with Hue’s craft traditions at Lavin Home. This small workshop provides training and employment for members of the Deaf community, whose artisans guide us through making paper flowers. Working alongside our hosts, we learn how careful shaping and assembly transform simple materials into delicate blooms.
The afternoon is free to spend more time in Hue, return to a favourite spot or relax beside the Perfume River.
Day 7 Cross the Hai Van Pass • Walk Hoi An’s historic trading quarter
Leaving Hue, we travel towards Hoi An via Lang Co and the Hai Van Pass. The road climbs above the coast, revealing the lagoon at Lang Co and the mountain slopes meeting the sea: a journey worth keeping the camera close for.
After checking into our hotel, we join our tour leader for an orientation walk through Hoi An’s UNESCO-listed old town. A trading port between the 15th and 19th centuries, Hoi An retains wooden merchant houses, temples and assembly halls shaped by the communities who traded and settled here.
With our bearings established, there’s time to browse the riverside market or visit the town’s clothing shops.
Day 8 Shape your own day in Hoi An
We have a full day to enjoy Hoi An at our own pace, with our tour leader on hand to help arrange optional experiences.
For a closer introduction to the region’s food, choose a street-food adventure or a cooking class in Tra Que village. Alternatively, combine cycling, a boat trip and dinner, or visit My Son Sanctuary, where the brick tower-temples preserve the religious heritage of the Cham civilisation.
All these activities are optional and can be booked through our tour leader during the trip. See Optional Excursions in the Trip Notes for details.
Day 9 Fly to Ho Chi Minh City • Trace the city’s recent history
We transfer to Da Nang airport and fly to Ho Chi Minh City (approximately 1hr 30min). Vietnam’s largest metropolis introduces a change of pace, with streams of scooters, busy shopfronts and streets that reward a closer look.
Our afternoon walking tour takes us to Ben Thanh Market and Notre Dame Cathedral, before we visit the War Remnants Museum. Photographs and exhibits document the Vietnam War and its lasting consequences, adding context to the places we have visited during our journey. Some displays contain graphic images.
Day 10 Choose a city adventure, the Cu Chi Tunnels or the Mekong Delta
We have a free day to spend more time in Ho Chi Minh City or venture beyond the city on an optional excursion.
A morning visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels introduces the underground network used during wartime. Alternatively, a full-day Mekong Delta excursion takes us into the river region south of the city. For those staying closer to our hotel, an evening street-food tour provides another way to get to know Ho Chi Minh City, one dish at a time.
Our tour leader can help arrange these activities, which are paid for locally. The full-day Mekong Delta excursion cannot be combined with the other optional activities. See Optional Excursions in the Trip Notes for further details.
Day 11 Cross into Cambodia • Continue to Phnom Penh
We leave Ho Chi Minh City and drive to the Moc Bai–Bavet border (approximately 2hr 30min), where we bid farewell to our Vietnamese tour leader and complete the crossing into Cambodia.
Meeting our Cambodian tour leader, we continue to Phnom Penh (approximately four hours, including a lunch stop). The journey introduces the next country on our adventure before we arrive in the capital.
During our stay, any spare time provides an opportunity to browse Central Market or Russian Market, or take a walk beside the river.
Cambodian e-visas are currently accepted at Bavet. Please refer to the visa information in the Trip Notes when preparing for the border crossing.
Day 12 Reflect on Cambodia’s history • Visit the Royal Palace
We begin at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former school turned into the Khmer Rouge’s S-21 detention and interrogation centre. Preserved rooms, photographs and personal accounts help us understand the experiences of those imprisoned here during the regime’s rule from 1975 to 1979.
We then visit Choeung Ek, one of the Killing Fields, where mass graves and a memorial commemorate victims of the Khmer Rouge. Both visits are distressing, but provide essential context for understanding Cambodia’s recent history.
In the late afternoon, we visit the Royal Palace complex and Silver Pagoda. The palace remains a royal residence, while the pagoda takes its name from the silver tiles covering the floor. Together, they introduce the capital’s royal and religious heritage.
Day 13 Travel to Siem Reap • Stop at Skuon
We travel to Siem Reap, our base for visiting the temples of Angkor (approximately eight hours).
Along the way, we stop for lunch and visit Skuon, known for stalls selling fried spiders. Our Cambodian tour leader introduces this local speciality; whether we try one is entirely up to us.
We then continue to Siem Reap and settle into our hotel ahead of tomorrow’s temple visits.
Day 14 Walk through Angkor’s temple cities
We devote a full day to Angkor, where temples, reservoirs and former royal cities reveal the scale and ambition of the Khmer Empire. With our Cambodian tour leader helping us interpret the architecture and carvings, we look beyond the individual monuments to understand how this vast UNESCO World Heritage site once functioned.
We visit Angkor Wat before entering Angkor Thom, the former royal city, to see the Bayon and its carved stone faces. Each stop reveals a different expression of Khmer religious belief and royal power.
Our visits also include Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm, where great tree roots grip walls and spread across the stonework. The relationship between the trees and temple buildings makes this a particularly memorable stop.
During our time in Siem Reap, we also watch the sunset at Angkor.
Day 15 Sample Khmer cooking or meet Siem Reap’s artisans
We have a free day to enjoy Siem Reap independently or choose an optional experience.
A cooking class includes lunch and tuk tuk transfers, while a boat excursion on Tonle Sap Lake provides an opportunity to see more of the surrounding region.
For an introduction to Cambodian craftsmanship, consider visiting Satcha Handicraft Centre or Artisans Angkor. Satcha supports artisans in developing their skills and businesses, connecting traditional techniques with contemporary design.
Day 16 Fly to Bangkok • Spend a final evening in Thailand
We transfer to Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport and fly to Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport (approximately 1hr 15min), arriving in the early afternoon.
Our Thai tour leader meets us at the airport before we transfer to our hotel. The afternoon is free to begin getting to know the Thai capital, with our leader available to help us choose how to spend our time.
In the evening, we have the option to meet for a final group dinner: a chance to compare favourite moments from our journey through three countries.
Day 17 Adventure ends in Bangkok
You’ve cruised among the limestone islands of Ha Long Bay, walked Hoi An’s historic trading streets and uncovered the temple cities of Angkor, but now it’s time to begin your return journey home.
Alternatively, if you’d like to extend your adventure, speak to your sales representative to discuss our large range of extension options.
