The Pearls of Vietnam and Cambodia

Meal Provided: No Meal

Welcome to Vietnam. Upon arrival at Hanoi Airport, obtain your Vietnam visa, and then clear Immigration and Customs. After collecting your baggage, exit the airport to meet outside a local Guide. From the airport, you will be privately transferred to your lovely hotel.

Stay overnight in Hanoi

Meal Provided: Breakfast

This morning, you will visit Temple of Literature (Vietnamese name is Quoc Tu Giam) – The Vietnam’s first University, which was built in 1070 in honor of Confucius, his followers and Chu Van An, a moral figure in Vietnamese education.

Continue to visit the Hilton Jail or Hoa Lo prison, a prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners, and later by North Vietnam for prisoners of war during the Vietnam War when it was sarcastically known to American prisoners of war as the "Hanoi Hilton".

This morning, transfer to visit West Lake, the largest lake of the capital, once was named as "Foggy Lake” from its misty condition. Its name was changed to "West Lake" in 1573 to avoid the given name of King Le The Tong. Stop at Tran Quoc Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in the city, originally constructed in the sixth century during the reign of Emperor Ly Nam De, thus giving it an age of 1,400 years.

Pass by Ngoc Son Temple which is located at the northern end of Sword Lake (aka Hoan Kiem Lake) and St Joseph's Cathedral, a 19th-century neo-Gothic church built with the Notre Dame of Paris in mind. The church is a gathering place for the large Roman Catholic community of Hanoi and is also popular with tourists. Constructed when the French first occupied the city, St. Joseph Cathedral is a striking example of colonial architecture in Hanoi.

Enjoy a water puppet show. Water puppetry - " puppets that dance on water"- is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.

Finally, Take a cyclo tour around Hanoi Old Quarter. Sip a cup of Hanoian speciality Egg Coffee before coming back to your hotel.

Stay overnight in Hanoi

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

08.00 – 8:30: Our guide will pick you up at your hotel lobby in Ha Noi, being on a modern shuttle bus heading to Bai Tu Long bay, Ha Long city

12.00: Arrive at Swan office, you have a short time to relax in the office before embark Swan cruise

12.45: Warmest welcome drinks from our staffs. Listen to a brief of safety on board then check in your cabin

13.30: Enjoying delicious Vietnamese for lunch while leisurely cruising to the core of Bai Tu Long Bay.

15.00: Leave the cruise to discover Cap La Island- the beautiful area in Bai Tu Long bay. Enjoy kayaking through the karst and breathtaking nature, swimming and relaxing

17.30: Get back to the boat and enjoy Sunset Time (enjoy tea and fresh fruits). This time is regarded as “Happy Hour” – “buy two get one free” while our cruise is sailing to the overnight anchorage.

19.00: Sumptuous set-dinner on board.

20.30: Free time for relaxing on the sundeck, listening to music, you may also try your luck with squid fishing.

If you want to join in karaoke activity, please our tour guide to be supported

Stay overnight on cruise

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

06.30: Freshen up your new day with doing Tai Chi

07.00: Breakfast will be served in Western style and furthermore with Vietnamese traditional food. Tea and coffee is available

08.00: Explore Thien Canh Son cave. Your guide will explain the history of Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay and this Cave, made by Mother Nature

09.30: Back to your boat by tender then finish packing.

Please remove all of your belongings from your cabin, you may leave heavy luggage outside of the cabin (staff will transfer directly to the pier).

10.30: Cooking demonstration is organized by our guide at this time. You have a chance to make Vietnamese cuisine by yourself.

11.00: Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese lunch.

12.00: Disembark in Hon Gai pier

12.30: Say goodbye Halong Bay then returns to Hanoi

17.30: Arrive at your hotel in Hanoi

Our driver will take you back to Hanoi Airport for your evening flight to Hue.

A driver will welcome you at Hue Airport and transfer you to hotel.

Stay overnight in Hue

Meal Provided: Breakfast

This morning, make a first visit at Dong Ba Market - the oldest of its kind in Hue, with hundreds of stalls selling household items, handicrafts, clothing and fresh produce at affordable prices.

Then, transfer to visit the Royal Palace which has three perimeters of rampart, namely from outside to inside: Kinh Thanh (Capital Citadel), Hoang Thanh (Royal Citadel) and Tu Cam Thanh (Forbidden Citadel)

Then, visit King Tu Duc's tomb is located in a narrow valley in Duong Xuan Thuong village (currently Thuong Ba village, Thuy Xuan Commune, Hue City). It is one of the most beautiful works of royal architecture of the Nguyen dynasty.

Heading to Thuy Xuan Incense Village - a pretty village with green trees nestled at the foot of Vong Canh hill and by the Perfume River.

A trip to Thien Mu pagoda, an ancient pagoda in Hue city, can’t be missed. Its pagoda has seven storeys and is the tallest one in Vietnam. The temple is often the subject of folk rhymes about Hue, such is its iconic status and association with the city. It is regarded as the unofficial symbol of the former imperial capital.

Stay overnight in Hue

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

At 8:30 AM this morning, you’ll be transferred to Toa Kham Wharf by a cyclo.

From there, embark on our dragon boat, start cruising on Perfume River. Stop for a visit to typical Thien Mu Pagoda which is a historic temple and the symbol of Hue romantic city

Back to the boat for a scenic cruise to Hue Ecolodge where our local guide are ready to wait and welcome you to visit Thuy  Bieu  Eco-village, an authentically village representing  the country side of Hue with the  clear notion "garden -home". Spend time to stroll or bike around quiet Thuy Bieu Eco-village. Visit some handicraft families (the incense making family, the joss paper making family and the paper painting family) to discover the daily life of local people while they are working strenuously with joy and enthusiasm. At the end of this tour, you will have a great time to relax by steeping your foot in medicinal herb water - a traditional therapeutic practice and enjoy excellent massage by blind people.

Moving to traditional kite village. We will tell you about the orgin, the tools and all the stages which is a frame, paint a kite and assemble it, etc. Afterwards, you’ll paint your kite and assemble it with our guidance.

Later of the day, transfer to visit Chuon Lagoon for stunning sun set watching. You will know more about the local life here.

Stay overnight in Hue

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Dinner

After having breakfast, you will take a leisure 3-hour driving from Hue to Hoi An.

Spending the afternoon for a walking tour around this enchanting port town of Hoi an, follow the narrow lanes lined with centuries-old houses influenced by Chinese, Japanese, French and European architectures and visit its numerous places of interest: the 400-year old Japanese Covered Bridge, the Phuc Kien Assembly Halls, the Tan Ky old house, the local market …

Participating in Lantern Making Workshop – a great activity for all ages to sit down a few hours. It’s time to make your own lantern to take home as a memory from Hoi An.

Your evening will be devoted to taste many delicious street food. The tour is walking tour but whenever you feel weary in your legs, an electric car is right behind you.

• Many delicious samples (enough for dinner)
• Laugh and Learn about local culture and food history
• Explore some places that are not in your guidebook
• List Food: White Rose Dumplings, Fried Wonton, Banh Beo- Vietnamese Waterfern cake, Bun- Local Beef Noodles, Xi Ma-Black Sesame Sweet Soup, Banh My- Vietnamese Sandwich, Vietnamese coffee,...

Stay overnight in Hoi An

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

You will meet your local guide at the hotel, then drive to Hoi An Market (around half an hour), you can feel the bustle of the morning market, have an opportunity to have a direct contact with sellers.

You might also learn some tips of “bargaining” when going shopping

Our guide will introduce to you the necessary ingredients for cooking classes. Then you will have a sightseeing tour along the Thu Bon River and Cua Dai beach by boat. On the river, you have a chance to enjoy the river beauty in the countryside of Vietnam.

Next, you will join a basket boat tour and get some loveable handmade souvenirs made from nipa palm leaves.

We will welcome you in our restaurant, for welcome drink, here you will join and paint on bamboo class by yourself.

At the end, we will start the cooking class with our chefs. Within two hours, the chef will teach you how to cook Vietnamese cultural cuisine. Then you can enjoy Vietnamese food make by yourself. After lunch, back to the hotel by car.

Stay overnight in Hoi An

Meal Provided: Breakfast

Morning, you'll be transferred to the airport on time for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City (no guide).

Enjoy the sightseeing to Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace, built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, a landmark in Hochiminh City.

Continue to visit Central Post Office which was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a neoclassical architectural style. It was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel in harmony with the surrounding area. Today, the building is a tourist attraction.

Right nearby, you can see Notre Dame Cathedral, a magnificent building located in the heart of the city and was established by French colonists. This cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).

Pay a visit at Ben Thanh market, one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and one of symbols of Hochiminh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, ao dai, and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine.

Stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

Our private tour guide and driver will pick you at 7:30 am to head to Vinh Long province (about 110km from HCMC)

We will start with a visit of Vinh Long market in the town. This is the best choice for you to take pictures of fish, shrimps, prawns, crabs, snakes, rice-field rats, tropical fruits, vegetables...

Welcoming you by a fresh coconut, the boat of Mekong Travel will take you to visit the brick kilns where you can see how the local people create beautiful potteries from clay. Then, visit of the local workshops where you can see how to make rice paper, coconut candy and pop-rice, pop-corn. Enjoy some kinds of candies with a cup of hot tea.

The rowing boat will take you deeper into the countryside on smaller canals and to enjoy the peaceful time. It is so interesting to see traditional houses made of wood or palm tree leaves and see some activities of the local farmers with an opportunity to make contacts with them and see how they catch fish or pick up fruits by ancestral ways in Mekong Delta.

Then, we can walk in 15 minutes to visit the orchard & traditional house of Ut Trinh family and have local lunch nearby her house we will enjoy some kinds of fruits and tea when listening to the traditional music. Walk around the fruitful orchard to see a variety of tropical fruits…

One more thing to do in this trip is biking! It will be so amazing to bike on village paths to see the local farms, houses, monkey bridge, real life…

The cruise will end at Vinh Long city. Transfer to Ho Chi Minh City.

Stay overnight in Ho Chi Minh City

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, transfer to visit Cu Chi Tunnel which is an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. The Cu Chi Tunnel system had been created long time back, from 1948 to assist Viet Minh in the combat with French. And it was continuing built over 25 years later. It was an underground city with living areas, kitchens, storage, weapons factories, field hospitals, command centers. From 1988, two sections of tunnels have been open for visitors.

Catch a late afternoon flight to Siem Reap. Upon arrival at Siem Reap Airport. You will be welcomed by our friendly tour guide and transfer to your hotel.

Stay overnight in Siem Reap

Meal Provided: Breakfast, Dinner

Morning you will visit by Tuk Tuk to the "Great City" of Angkor Thom, visits include the famous Bayon Temple, Phimeanakas Temple within the Royal Palace enclosure, Baphoun Temple, the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King.

Afternoon dedicated to visit the most famous & magnificent Angkor Vat temple. This architectural masterpiece was constructed in the 12th century and covers an area of about 210 hectares. With many galleries with columns, libraries, pavilions, courtyards and ponds full of water, carved low-reliefs about Ramayana Story and day-to-day life at the time of Angkor's construction. Dinner at local restaurant with Apsara dance show.

Stay overnight in Siem Reap

Meal Provided: Breakfast

We departure by private car with guide to discover Kampong Kleang where located on the northern lake-edge about 55 km east of Siem Reap town, more remote and less tourist than Kampong Pluk. Visitors to Kampong Khleang during the dry season are universally awestruck by the forest of stilted houses rising up to 10 meters in the air. In wet season the waters rise up to one or two meters of the buildings. Kompong Khleang is a permanent community within the flood plain of the Lake, with an economy based in fishing and surrounded by flooded forest. Kampong Khleang is significantly larger with nearly 10 times the population of Kompong Pluk, making it the largest community on the Lake.

On the way back we will explore the colorful market Phsar Leu and the famous handicraft school of Artisan d’Angkor.

We will do Sunset quad bike 1h drive. One of the most popular tours starts every day at 5 pm. After a short safety briefing and familiarization training ride you will head out to the rice fields surrounding Siem Reap. Ride will go past several local villages, where you can see how people live in Cambodian countryside. Our guides will recommend you the best stops for stunning sunset photos. Tour finishes at Cambodia Quad Bike office. After you wash mud off your feet and take a refreshing drink, we will transfer you back to your hotel in Siem Reap.

Stay overnight in Siem Reap

Meal Provided: Breakfast

Meeting with our driver and Transfer to Siem Reap Airport. 2 hours before yours departure with international flight. End Tour.