Summary
Short description
Link Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and Vietnam’s Saigon with an ultra-luxury cruise along the Mekong
Highlights
- Cruise among the Mekong’s floating markets in utmost luxury
- Watch the sun set over Angkor Wat
- Take a speedboat out to Saigon’s Vietnam-war tunnels
- Showcase Phnom Penh’s golden palaces and chequered past with a tuk tuk tour
- Enjoy curated touring, dining, private transfers and luxury stays throughout
In Brief
- 2 Nights Ho Chi Minh City
- 4 Nights Mekong River cruise
- 2 Nights Phnom Penh
- 2 Nights Siem Reap
In pictures
About
Recommended for:
Activity adventure | City | History & culture | Natural world | Photography | River cruise
Between private touring and luxury stays among Saigon’s colonial charm, Phnom Penh’s golden palaces and Siem Reap’s world-wonder temples, sail the mighty Mekong in opulent style. You’ll enjoy full-board gourmet dining as included excursions showcase the region’s highlights, with everything from bike and canoe trips to tuk tuk and skiff rides seeing you between floating villages, exotic markets and local performances. Not to be outdone, your private touring either side will see you take in Vietnam-war tunnels by speedboat, sunrise at Angkor Wat and Cambodia’s hidden, hilltop temples.
Day by day itinerary
Days
1-2
Depart UK
Begin your trip in style with complimentary airport lounge access before your overnight flight to Vietnam, arriving on day 2.
Days
3-4
Ho Chi Minh City
Arriving into Saigon, you’ll be met at the airport and brought to your luxury hotel. Housed in a magnificent French-colonial building, the butler-served rooms come with marble bathrooms while the spa offers a superb range of treatments. And, found next door to the Municipal Theatre and the Notre Dame Cathedral, you’ll be perfectly poised for tomorrow’s private walking tour, showcasing the city’s turn-of-the-century grandeur alongside its chequered past, exemplified by the War Remnants Museum and the Re-Unification Palace. However, after an included lunch, it’s your speedboat ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels that’s the most evocative. Here, you’ll be able to see some of the 250km-long labyrinth used by the Viet Cong soldiers.
Stay: Park Hyatt Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Day
5
My Tho
Today, an included transfer will see you to My Tho where you’ll board the luxurious Aqua Mekong. Settling in to the floor-to-ceiling windows, darkwood beauty and plush daybed of your suite, you’ll be treated to a menu of full-board delicacies, designed by a Michelin-standard chef. There’s also a full range of facilities; this is the only ship on this stretch of the river to offer everything from a fully equipped gym and private screening room to an outdoor cinema and upper-deck pool. However, the Aqua Mekong has boutique luxury at its heart, with its library, lounges and spa treatment rooms all offering the same unmatched standard of understated elegance.
Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
6
Binh Thanh/Sa Dec/My An Hung
On your first full day on board, you’ll begin your curated programme of included shore excursions. Begin with a visit to the mat weavers of Binh Thanh village or a stop at Sa Dec to take in the 19th-century river-house of Marguerite Duras's legendary lover. Then, come the afternoon, you’ll visit My An Hung – a traditional delta village ringed by verdant plantations. Here, you’ll be invited into a local’s home to taste your way through the region’s exotic fruits while enjoying a regional dance and song performance. A cycling alternative is also available – the Aqua Mekong is the only ship on the Mekong to offer complimentary bikes, available whenever you feel like exploring.
Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
7
Chau Doc/Tan Chau/Cambodia border
Travelling on the ship’s skiffs, you’ll slip along the Bassac Canal to Chau Doc – a floating market built on stilts. After taking in its colourful bustle, you’ll be brought inland to Long Son Pagoda, perched atop Sam Mountain. It’s the chance to learn about the monks’ age-old Buddhist practices before you choose between an island bike ride or a rickshaw ride to Tan Chau market, accompanied by the ship’s chef. Back on board, you’ll cross the border into Cambodia, perhaps enjoying a cooking course if you’ve been inspired by the gourmet dining.
Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
8
Koh Oknha Tey/Preah Prosop
As you sail this morning you’ll be treated to a display of Khmer dyeing and weaving by dextrous artisans. Then, there’s the opportunity to explore the riverbank on two wheels, cycling past Buddhist temples and stilted, thatched houses while white oxen wade offshore. After lunch, you’ll then reboard the ship’s tender boats for a cruise to Preah Prosop, a remote village lined with tamarind trees where life goes on seemingly unchanged for several lifetimes.
Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
9
Phnom Penh
Arriving into Phnom Penh, you’ll be treated to a tour of the Cambodian capital’s myriad delights by motorised tuk tuk. There are the burnished delights and sweeping tiers of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, along with the National Museum’s Khmer art. Then you’ll have the choice between shopping at the vibrant Russian Market or a visit to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide – a pair of sites that bore witness to some of Pol Pot’s worst atrocities. End with dinner at one of Phnom Penh’s best restaurants before bedding down at its finest accommodation – the legendary Raffles Hotel Le Royal.
Stay: Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh (Deluxe)
Meals: B D
Day
10
Phnom Penh surrounds
Resuming your private tour, your expert driver and guide will bring you out to Phnom Da, a stone temple perched atop a small mountain. Built for King Rut Trak Varman in the 6th century, it’s one of the ancient palaces of Cambodia and makes for a truly evocative, off-the-beaten-track experience. Following a lunch at a local restaurant, you’ll then continue to Tonle Bati. A temple built by King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century, its sculptures and reliefs date to the Angkorian period, beautified by lakeside gardens of trees and flowers. You’ll then return to the spa indulgences of your landmark hotel.
Stay: Raffles Hotel Le Royal, Phnom Penh (Deluxe)
Meals: B L
Days
11-12
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
Your flight to Siem Reap, bookended by private transfers, will see you arrive at the early-20th-century grandeur of your luxury hotel. Then, it’s time to explore, with your private guide bringing you between the corridors, central chambers and upper terraces of Angkor Wat before you take in the sunset over the temple ruins. You’ll then begin the next day with a spectacular dawn breakfast among the temples, before taking in some of their lesser-visited gems. There’s everything from cloistered corridors and ancient library pools to ruins overrun with giant tree roots and the world’s longest bas relief. Ta Prohm is a particular highlight – once the home of 2,740 monks.
Stay: Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor (Deluxe)
Meals: B L
Days
13-14
Depart for UK
After some time at leisure, your private driver will see you to the airport for your overnight flight, arriving on day 14.
Meals: B
Map
Pricing
Any element of this itinerary can be adjusted to suit your needs. Just contact us to find out more.
Accommodation rating:
14-day tailor-made holiday
from £8,570 pp incl. flights
Deluxe
Low Season
from £8,570 pp. incl. flights
High Season
from £9,555 pp. incl. flights
- Complimentary UK airport lounge access
- Return flights from London to Ho Chi Minh and returning from Siem Reap, including a domestic flight from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
- Private airport transfers & small group transfers to/from the River cruise
- 6 nights accommodation staying in 5* (Deluxe) hotels on a B&B basis
- 4 night luxury River Cruise on Aqua Expedition Mekong cruise on a full-board basis inclusive of touring, with insights into local river life and traditions
- Private touring with local guides including a mix of Lunch & Dinner (as per itinerary), highlights include;
- Half day Cu Chi Tunnels by speedboat & city tour in Ho Chi Minh
- Historical sites of Phnom Penh & ancient temples of Angkor in Siem Reap
Terms & Conditions
Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room; prices are subject to availability and possible change; normal booking conditions apply.
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