Vietnam & Angkor Premium Adventure

Day 1  Hanoi    
Welcome to Vietnam! Your tour begins this evening with a welcome dinner at KOTO (Know One, Teach One), a training restaurant for disadvantaged youths where you will be served local and South-East Asian food as you get to know your fellow travellers and tour leader.

Day 2  Hanoi    
Start the day with a city tour before visiting the acclaimed Bun Cha Huong Lien restaurant for lunch. Try bun cha, the speciality dish of Hanoi. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure.

Day 3  Hanoi to Ha Long Bay    
Depart early for the 4 hour drive to the spectacular Ha Long Bay. Board your traditional Vietnamese boat and cruise among the dramatic limestone peaks and karsts stopping to kayak and swim in the clear emerald sea. Enjoy a fresh seafood lunch on board and later enjoy sundowners on deck as the sun sets in the bay.

Day 4  Ha Long Bay to Hanoi  
After more cruising this morning, return to port where you will be introduced to the Ha Long Women’s Association in the Hon Gai Township; a local sustainable initiative committed to cleaning up waste in Ha Long Bay and upcycling it into items of value. Meet the local women and even try your hand at upcycling yourself. Later, return to Hanoi for a free evening.

Day 5  Hanoi to Hoi An    
After breakfast take a short flight to Da Nang where you will explore the large caves of Marble Mountain, used by the Viet Cong as a hospital during the war. From the top of the mountain you will be rewarded with beautiful views over My Khe Beach and the surrounding countryside. After this travel by road to Hoi An and enjoy a group dinner at a local restaurant.

Days 6-7  Hoi An  
This morning take a walking tour of historic Hoi An before stopping for lunch at a local restaurant. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Perhaps take a trip to the UNESCO World Heritage listed temple complex of My Son, seat of the Champa Kingdom for almost a thousand years. The following day visit a local market on the banks of the Thu Bon River to shop for ingredients before taking a boat across to the wonderful Red Bridge Restaurant where you will learn to cook Vietnamese food under the supervision of a skilled chef. After sampling your creation you can either stay on and enjoy the garden at the restaurant or head back to the town for an afternoon at leisure. Optional activities today include a bike tour through the countryside and on to Cua Dai beach.

Days 8-9  Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh    
Take a morning flight to Ho Chi Minh. This exciting city is a mix of new and ancient Vietnam, with modern buildings standing side by side with ancient temples. Upon arrival the group will dine at Pho Hoa on Pasteur, a renowned restaurant which has been in operation for over 50 years and serves traditional southern Vietnamese food. After lunch enjoy a city tour which includes the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. The following day head north to visit the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels. Used by the Viet Cong during the war, the network spans 3 levels and around 240km of tunnels. Return to Ho Chi Minh for an afternoon at leisure.

Day 10  Mekong Delta  
This morning drive to the Mekong Delta this morning, where we board at . Our adventure takes us around four islets on the Tien River, known individually as Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise and Phoenix, and collectively as the Four Sacred Islets of the Mekong Delta. During our exploration, we stop at a local house to eat seasonal fruits and enjoy the traditional music of southern Vietnam. We then walk to an orchard to sample honey tea. We also visit a coconut candy workshop to see a cottage industry in action, before riding a tuk tuk through coconut gardens to three villages (Quoi Son, Phu An Hoa and An Khanh) to learn about the daily life of the residents. After lunch, we take a rowing boat to see fish breeding in floating cages. After our tour, we return to Ho Chi Minh City, where we gather at Cuc Gach Quan this evening, a Michelin-recommended restaurant serving an elevated take on the local cuisine in a traditional Vietnamese house.

Day 11  Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap
Transfer to Ho Chi Minh City Airport for the flight to Siem Reap in Cambodia. On arrival, we meet our Cambodian tour leader and head to Lynnaya Urban River Resort & Spa, where we spend the next three nights. Enjoy a welcome-to-Cambodia dinner in the village of Lum Orng. We eat at the first farm-to-table restaurant in the country, enjoying authentic Khmer cuisine made with many ingredients from the garden. Depending on our flight time, we may also be able to catch sunset at the Angkor temple complex. If not, we can do this tomorrow.

Day 12  Siem Reap    
Begin today with a moment to remember: sunrise at Angkor Wat, the most iconic of the temples in the old Khmer capital. After breakfast back at the hotel, we return to Angkor to explore the UNESCO-listed site some more, including a look around Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Bayon. That’s followed by a home-cooked lunch at an old wooden house in Srah Srang village. Here we are welcomed by Aunt Ki, the caretaker of this historic home, and enjoy a meal cooked by Ki and her family using locally sourced rice and vegetables. We finish our day around 4pm, with time to relax back at our tranquil resort.

Day 13  Angkor Wat    
We return to Angkor to see even more of the incredible complex. Today we visit Banteay Srei and Ta Prohm, the latter still covered in jungle as it was first found. After the temples tour, we return to the hotel to relax before our farewell dinner, which features traditional cuisine and a dance performance.

Day 14  Siem Reap    
Your tour comes to an end this morning after breakfast.