Discover Vietnam & Cambodia

Welcome to Hanoi and Vietnam, a country full of breathtaking scenery and enchanting culture offering a unique blend of East and West. Hanoi may certainly be a bustling city, but it still retains the mystery and charm of the past centuries and French colonial influence, with its narrow lanes and traditional shop houses that invite one to explore. Its many beautiful public areas, lakes, parks, tree-lined boulevards and monuments give the city a touch of elegance and a harmony with nature.

We don’t want you to miss out on any aspect of your small group tour. To ensure that you don’t, we recommend you arrive at your starting destination by 5.00pm.

We’ll meet tonight to enjoy our group welcome dinner in the Old Quarter.

Meals Included: Dinner
Stay:  Silk Path Hotel – 3 nights

We’ll discover another side of Hanoi during a half day tour in Long Thuong Village, home to a community of bronze casters since the 13th century. Explore the village and observe how the families create a range of products, including incense-burners and flower vases.

Walking alongside fields of rice paddies, we’ll reach the nearby 200-year-old Nom Village. Exploring the narrow brick roads, we’ll see the antique houses and enjoy a cup of tea with a local villager. Learn about the local life and the traditions that define this community.

Later this afternoon, we’ll be met at our hotel by a chef from the Rose Kitchen, who will guide us through the local markets, teaching us along the way about Vietnamese cooking before a special cooking class, where we get to savour what we create!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

We’ll have an early start this morning to discover Hanoi as the city awakens, a great way to see how the locals begin their day. Our tour begins at the photogenic flower market and moves onto the Old Quarter—a fascinating network of narrow alleys and shop houses, also known as ‘The 36 Streets’. Each street has been named after the merchandise traditionally sold there, ranging from fabrics and crafts to medicines and tombstones. This is also a great time of day for us to stroll along the majestic Hoan Kiem Lake as it stirs to life—a favourite spot among locals to practise Tai Chi in the tranquil half-light. We can just watch these practitioners or join in ourselves. Breakfast today includes a traditional Vietnamese ‘banh mi’, followed by a visit to a local coffee shop.

Witnessing some of the unique highlights of the city, our orientation tour will include Long Bien Bridge, St Joseph’s Church and the grand Hanoi Opera House. Continuing on, we’ll visit the Ho Chi Minh Memorial Complex comprising of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (outside only), the beautiful Presidential Palace (outside only) and Ho Chi Minh’s neighbouring traditional Stilt House, where the former Prime Minister lived from 1954 to 1969. We’ll also see the One Pillar Pagoda before heading to the Imperial Citadel & Flag Tower, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010.

After lunch, we resume our tour at Vietnam’s first university, the Temple of Literature, a peaceful series of walled courtyards and graceful gateways, which is also host to the ‘Imperial Academy’. Gain a fascinating insight into the lifestyle and customs of Vietnamese woman at the Women’s’ Museum, before exploring the Tran Quoc and Ngoc Son Temples. Our final stop is the notorious Hỏa Lò Prison, nicknamed ‘Hanoi Hilton’. Formerly used by the French colonists for political prisoners, it later housed the imprisoned US pilots that were shot down during the Vietnam War, and today the remnants of the gatehouse remain as a moving museum.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Try your hand at Tai Chi this morning or just simply sit back, relax and watch the incredible scenery pass by from the deck as we continue cruising on the waters of Halong Bay.

We’ll enjoy a light breakfast, before we disembark our cruise and set our sights on Hue, Vietnam’s former capital and seat of the Nguyen Dynasty’s emperors. Hue is the ancient capital of the Nguyen emperors, and its atmospheric charm owes partly to its location right on the Perfume River.

Meals Included: Breakfast
Stay:  Eldora Hotel – 2 nights

This morning we’ll explore Hue during a sightseeing tour, including the bustling Dong Ba Markets and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Citadel in the old Imperial City, modelled on Beijing’s Forbidden City. It was completed in 1833 and from here the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty ruled Vietnam until 1945. Entering the citadel via a stone bridge you can see the Thai Hoa Palace, an important venue for official receptions and other important court ceremonies. The ostentatious columns supporting the roof are lacquered and inlaid with gold. There is a pair of smaller halls behind the Thai Hoa Palace used by mandarins to prepare for court ceremonies.

After lunch and some time to explore further at our own pace, our afternoon continues with a cruise by dragon boat along the tranquil waters of the Perfume River, before joining a local family for dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Our day commences with a visit to the imperial tombs of Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. Ruling from 1848–83, Emperor Tu Duc enjoyed the longest reign of the Nguyen dynasty. Despite having over a hundred wives and concubines, he was unable to father a son and was left to write his own epitaph, even though he believed doing so was a bad omen. His epitaph can still be found on the stele, the largest of its type in Vietnam, in the pavilion to the east of his tomb.

This afternoon we travel to Hoi An via the scenic Hai Van Pass, the geographical and psychological boundary between North and South Vietnam.

Meals Included: Breakfast
Stay: Bel Marina Hoi An Resort – 3 nights

Hoi An was known as Faifo to early western traders, and it was one of South East Asia’s major international ports during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. This ancient town remains a well-preserved mix of both indigenous and foreign influences, with architecture styles pulled from Chinese, Japanese and later European, designs.

Our walking tour this morning includes a visit to the Culture and History Museum to learn more about this charming town before taking a stroll along the main street where we’ll come to the Chinese Assembly Hall of Fujien Chinese Community. This was built in 1697 as a place of worship dedicated to Thien Hau—the Goddess of the Sea. Strolling along the banks of the river we’ll come to the famous Japanese Covered Bridge, first built by the Japanese community in order to link the town with the Chinese quarters on the other side of the river.

Special Experience

Visit the colourful local market before taking a short cruise along the Hoi An River to the secluded Red Bridge Cooking School for an aromatic and informative cooking class.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

A popular seaside destination for locals, expats and tourist alike, Vung Tau is the ideal getaway to relax by the beach that surrounds the resort town on three sides.

We’ll learn more about the Vietnam War today, beginning with visits to Long Tan-Long Dat, where the first Australian Task Force was established in 1966 and the former Nui Dat Task Force. Little remains of this military base today except for the columns of the main gate. We’ll also visit the old bunkers, Kangaroo Pad, SAS Hill – Nui Dat Hill, Luscombe Air Field and the Battalions Flag Pole. Next, we’ll see the Nui Dat Kindergarten, built for children of the village by Australian veterans.

Continuing on, we’ll visit the Long Tan Cross Memorial, site of the most talked about battle of the Vietnam War for Australians and New Zealanders. We finish with a stop at the Long Phuoc Tunnels, which acted as meeting areas, first-aid stations and fighting pits during the war.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today we return to Saigon, where your day is free to explore more of this lively city, or simply unwind at our hotel.

Later, we’ll take in the city skyline as we relax with a sundowner atop a rooftop bar, before our group dinner, where we’ll bid farewell to beautiful Vietnam.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Stay: Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City – 1 night

Today we will fly to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, known as the ‘Pearl of Asia’ and considered one of the loveliest French-built cities in Indochina during the 1920s.

Our afternoon is spent exploring Phnom Penh by rickshaw. Our sightseeing includes the Royal Palace (still the official residence of King Norodom Sihamoi), the Silver Pagoda, and the elegant National Museum, which contains a comprehensive collection of Khmer Art.

Tonight we’ll enjoy a group dinner at a local restaurant.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Stay: Sun & Moon Urban Hotel – 2 nights

This morning we visit the poignant Killing Fields, located just outside of Phnom Penh. The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek provide a stark reminder of the atrocities committed under the Pol Pot regime, when thousands of people were killed between 1975 and 1978 and buried in mass graves. Today it is possible to see the fields and visit the Memorial Stupa containing 8,000 human skulls, all victims of the Khmer Rouge.

On our way back to Phnom Penh we visit Tuol Sleng, the former high school and site of the notorious Security Prison 21, converted by the Khmer Rouge during their rise to power where an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned. This visit is very moving and can be quite confronting, as it has now become the Cambodia Genocide Museum.

This afternoon is ours to enjoy at leisure.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today we make our way to Siem Reap, known as the gateway to Angkor Wat. Surrounded by rice paddies, the area is dotted with millennium-old temple ruins from the Khmer Empire, the most famous of which is the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor Wat, which we will be exploring in detail in a few days.

En route, we’ll stop in Skuon to visit the renowned Spider Market. Regarded as a delicacy in Cambodia, spiders are the main attraction of this curious market. Fancy sampling a fried tarantula? This is your place to do it! We continue on to Kampong Thom, visiting a local stone mason before some free time for lunch.

Departing for Siem Reap, we’ll marvel at the Naga Bridge in Kampong Kdei. Also known as the Dragon Bridge or Spean Praptos, this bridge is said to be the oldest laterite bridge in southeast Asia. The Naga Bridge is so famous that it’s even printed on Cambodia’s currency – keep your eyes peeled for the 5000 riel.

This evening we travel to this evening’s welcome dinner by remork, a popular mode of transportation in Siem Reap similar to a tuk-tuk.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Stay: Treeline Urban Resort– 4 nights

Our introduction to Siem Reap’s sights begins with a visit to the fortified city of Angkor Thom. This dramatic structure covers an area of 10 square kilometres. Enclosed by a wall and wide moats, it includes many of Angkor’s most popular sights. We enter by the monumental south gate over a causeway lined on either side by statues of demons and gods, each carrying a giant naga (snake-like creature).

Our first stop is the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Formerly spaces for public ceremonies, both are adorned with dramatic bas reliefs. We visit the ruined Baphuon Temple and Phimeanakas Temple before continuing to the mysterious Bayon Temple. In this temple, one of the most popular and compelling in Angkor, we explore the galleries of beautifully preserved bas reliefs and ascend narrow stairs to reach the central sanctuary. Here we will find the famous giant stone faces smiling enigmatically down at us from every angle.

In the afternoon we make our way to Tonlé Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. During the monsoon season the lake swells to four times its normal size, so it’s important for the locals that live on the banks and surrounds to build their houses on stilts. Here we’ll board a boat and take a ride along the canal of the lake, giving us an opportunity to see how the locals live in their colourful stilt houses. Watch children playing on the banks while fishermen wade in the shallows with nets and traps. As we reach the mouth of the canal and lake the stilt houses end, and boats are transformed into houses to make up the floating villages.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Challenging Day

Today is a particularly challenging day, where there will be extended periods of walking time, often across uneven ground and in areas of high altitude or heat and humidity.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner