Discover Indochina in 19 Days (Cambodia/Vietnam/Laos)

Your Indochina adventure begins with your arrival in Siem Reap. Your private driver will meet you at the airport, holding a signboard with your name. He will escort you to your accommodation right in the heart of the city. You can easily explore the city at your own pace or relax at the hotel after the flight.
Overnight in Siem Reap. ...more ...less

Have breakfast at the hotel and start your sightseeing tour of the Angkor complex. Start your exploration with the wondrous ancient ruins with the South Gate of Angkor Thom, which is famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone. Continue your sightseeing to the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King, and the largest as well as the most complete temple of Angkor Wat. This architectural masterpiece was constructed in the 12th century and covers an area of about 210 hectares. We will stroll around this massive edifice, seeing the many galleries with columns, libraries, pavilions, courtyards, and ponds full of water reflecting the towering temple. Then visit the famous jungle-covered temple of Ta Prohm. Here the enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers embrace themselves in the stone foundations of the structure giving the impression of man’s creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature.
Overnight in Siem Reap.

Have breakfast at the hotel, and be ready for your drive to Chrieve village. Admire the life of local people, take an oxcart ride, which is a great way to explore Cambodia authentically, meet a lot of encounters, and interact with local people by visiting their home gardens. Learn their ways of life, and Cambodian culture, help them with vegetable gardening, take beautiful photos, and enjoy seasonal fruits at a village house.
In the afternoon, we will visit the floating village of Chong Khneas, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap. Take a boat trip in a traditional wooden boat on the Tonle Sap Lake, the "Great Lake" of Cambodia, and be amazed by the unnumerous stilted houses on the way. Then visit "Chantiers Ecoles - Les Artisans d'Angkor" which provides training to young Cambodians to revive the ancient Khmer traditions of stone carving and wood sculpting. Then get back to your hotel.
Overnight in Siem Reap.

Have breakfast at the hotel and check out the hotel. You will be transferred to Phnom Penh by bus. Upon arrival at Phnom Penh, have some rest for lunch. In the afternoon, you will visit the Royal Palace, where His Majesty, the King of Cambodia, and the royal family lived. Continue to Silver Pagoda, which serves less as a functioning temple than a repository for cultural treasures such as 90 kg golden Buddha encrusted with 2086 diamonds. Finally, visit Wat Phnom Temple, one of the most important pagodas in Phnom Penh, which was built in 1373 on an artificial hill by the wealthy widow Daun Chi Penh.
Overnight in Phnom Penh.

Have breakfast at the hotel, and meet your driver around 11 am, who will take you to the port to embark on the speedboat.
At 12:00 pm, the speed boat will depart from Sisowath Quay – Kh Daun Penh (International floating port) to Chau Doc. You would cross the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. You will arrive at Chau Doc around 17:30. Our driver will meet you and take you to the hotel, where you can relax after the trip.
Overnight in Chau Doc.

After breakfast from the hotel, get to the small motor boat to visit the Fish farm on Chau Doc River, to learn how local Vietnamese businesses with fish. Then by boat to Cham minority village, walk around the village, try to taste local food, to see local daily life,Then boat to small Vinh Te canal, then back to land walk a round town, then back to land, come and go about 3 hrs trip,

Back to the hotel, check out, luggage on the car transfer to TRa Su forest about 25 km, At the forest we have a rowing boat and engine boat to cruise in side forest, to enjoy the sound of the birds, over the green of the water mangrove walking around. Then you will be transferred to Can Tho.

Overnight in Can Tho.

Relish the remaining moment in Can Tho before your private driver escorts you to the airport to take the flight to Da Nang. When you arrive at Da Nang Airport, your driver will pick you up and transfer you to your accommodation in Hoi An. The rest of the time is free at leisure.
Overnight in Hoi An.

Have a free day to explore Hoi An at your own pace. The best way to explore this charming town is to rent a bicycle at the hotel and cycle around the town towards the riverside or the beach. At the beach, you will find many small cafes where you could relax with a fresh fruit drink after swimming. The water in the sea is warm and calm.
You could visit a tailor-shop which could make you and your loved ones a new piece of clothes, bag or shoes overnight.
In the evening we recommend you to walk around the Old Town area, which looks charming when the shops light their lanterns. You and would really feel like being in a fairy-tale. And don’t skip the colourful performances organized on the street in the evening.
Overnight in Hoi An.

Relish the remaining moment in Hoi An before your private driver escorts you to the Da Nang airport to take the flight to Hanoi. When you arrive at Noi Bai Airport, your driver will pick you up and transfer you to your accommodation in Hanoi. The rest of the time is free at leisure.
Overnight in Hanoi.

Enjoy a hearty breakfast at the hotel then our experienced English-speaking guide escorts you on the trip to Ba Vi, a countryside located on the outskirt of Hanoi.
Arrive at Ri village, enjoy the welcome drink and snacks and meet your first host - Mr. Duoc, who is a Vietnam War veteran and tea-farm owner. Listen to the stories of Mr. Duoc's life during the war while enjoying the drink and then visit his tea plantation. You will learn how to pick the best tea leaves to make the most wonderful beverage in Vietnam. Carry on with the tea production at his small workshop, where most of the work is manual.
Then have a short drive to Moc village, where you will meet your next host Mrs. Chin, who will teach you how to cook local Vietnamese dishes. Later have the meals you made for lunch in a beautiful tropical garden.
Have a short break after lunch, and join Mrs. Chin for a walk around the village. You will visit some local families to understand the rural lifestyle and learn how tofu, conical hats, and other local products are made. Then have a cycling trip through beautiful paddy fields to meet your last host Mr. Chinh, who will meet you with fresh mint lemon juice. All ingredients are freshly picked from his own garden.
Wrap up your countryside tour with traditional feet soak in warm water with herbs, following the traditional recipes of the Muong ethnic minority. It will relax you (and your feet) after cycling around the village.
Later, enjoy a transfer from Ba Vi back to your accommodation.
Overnight in Hanoi.

In the morning, check out of the hotel, and get picked up by the Cruise team. Take the most scenic route to reach Halong Bay, taking you across the Red River Delta with emerald green rice paddies stretching for as far as the eyes can see.
On arrival at the pier, you will board the cruise and enjoy the fantastic views of limestone rocks and the karst grottoes. Have an utterly delicious seafood lunch and enjoy the time at the sundeck exploring the Bay.
The cruise will stop in a secret place where you will spend time kayaking or swimming, so you can explore the karst grottoes closer. Towards the evening, you will return to the boat for an early dinner, followed by some time at leisure. You can optionally attend the activities taking part on the boat or just relax.
Overnight on cruise.

Rise early today to view the sunrise at the wonder of nature with breakfast served in the dining room. A Tai Chi class on the sun deck will awake your mind and muscles.
Then head off to visit the limestone cave full of stalagmites and stalactites. After your exploration return to the boat to check out and enjoy the brunch while the cruise is sailing back to the harbor. Later you will be transferred to your accommodation in Hanoi.
Overnight in Hanoi.

Relish the remaining moment in Hanoi before your private driver escorts you to the airport to take the flight to Vientiane (Laos). 

On arrival at the Vientiane Airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. If time permits we will show you around the major temples of Vientiane including the oldest Wat Sisaket, a temple of thousands of miniature Buddha statues, and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo, which previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. We also visit Lao national icon, That Luang Stupa, and stop to take some pictures of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is Vientiane's own Arc de Triumph. 

Overnight in Vientiane.

Please note: on particular days of the week, the flight from Hanoi to Vientiane could be with a stopover in Bangkok.

Get up early and our tour guide and driver will escort you to take the morning flight to Pakse.

QV305 VTEPKZ 0805 0905 (daily)

Upon arrival at Pakse airport, you will be picked up by our driver and tour guide and they will escort you to Wat Phou, a spectacular pre-Angkorian temple that sits amidst the rice fields and waterways of southern Laos. The temple was constructed on three levels: the bottom level is focused on the baray (water reservoir), the second level features quadrangular pavilions and galleries of carvings, and the top level is the sanctuary itself. The temple was built by the rulers of the Khmer empire before the construction of Angkor Wat. The temple served as the most important economic and political centre of the region and still is one of the Lao people’s most revered temples.

Then drive to visit Khone Phapheng Falls. Khone Phapheng is considered the largest waterfall by volume in South East Asia; this is really an impressive sight with marvelous nature near the Lao-Cambodian border, which is teeming with wildlife making this area one of the most breathtaking destinations in Laos.

Continue to hit the road until you reach Don Khong – the biggest island of Si Phan Don area. Transfer to your hotel for check-in then free time for your own discovery of this amazing island.

Meals on your own.

Overnight on Don Khong Island.

After breakfast, today we drive further south to Ban Nakasang village where you have a short cruise
to Khone Island- a haven of peace and quiet and where the scenery runs wild. Upon arrival, by moto-taxi– a local vehicle, we will go around for the discovery of Khone Island through rich nature, between rice fields, coconut trees and colonial vestiges.
After that, we will go to the Li Phi falls which are in the west of Don Khone, very close to the Cambodian border. Their original name, Tad Somphamit, means “trap spirit” and the locals claim that these falls act as a trap for bad spirits. Then we explore the authentic beauty of local life on Don Det – Don Khone’s neighbor through an ancient bridge.
Cruise back to Ban Nakasang village and drive back to Pakse for overnight. Overnight in Pakse.
Overnight in Pakse.

We leave Pakse around 08:00 am and drive to a village known for its knife-making, before going to visit some coffee and tea plantations where we see the production process. We continue to Tad Fan Waterfall, a 120-meter-high twin waterfall, and visit the area, the house of many coffee plantations. We head on to Tad Yuang where we have lunch (on your own) and relax.

In the afternoon, we back to Pakse to catch a flight to Luang Prabang. Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred with our guide to your hotel. Luang Prabang is perhaps the best-preserved traditional city in Southeast Asia. The tranquility and charm of this town with its splendid natural scenery and cultural sights make it one of the most delightful places to visit in Laos. Today is free at your leisure.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Have breakfast at the hotel and meet your guide in the hotel lobby. Today we will visit Phousi Market, where you will see a big diversity of local specialties such as dried buffalo skin, local tea, and saltpeter among the chickens, vegetables, and hill-tribe weavings. Laos is also known for its traditional crafts, and today you will visit local villages of Lao ethnic minority groups such as Hmong village Ban Ouray, Laoloum village Ban Ou, and Khmu village Ban Thapene. After exploring the villages, we will take you to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfall, where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the pools or walk along the forest trails. We then return to Luang Prabang.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Today, we enjoy a short guided tour to the city, the oldest temples of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture.
We then embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the tranquil countryside along the way. Visit the mysterious Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by devoted pilgrims. On the way return by boat, we will stop at the village of Ban Xanghai, where the local rice wine is produced.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Relish a healthy breakfast on the final day of your trip to Indochina. Complete the hotel check-out formalities, after which you can visit the local markets to buy souvenirs for your loved ones. Later your private driver will transfer you to the airport to take your flight back home.
Trip Ends.