Summary
Short description
A luxury, all-inclusive sailing along the mighty Mekong
Highlights
- Enjoy luxury stays among Angkor Wat’s lost temple city and Ho Chi Minh City’s imperial grandeur
- Explore with excursions included throughout, from cooking classes to rickshaw rides
- Indulge with open bars and full-board gourmet dining on board
- Pause at lesser-visited rural villages and jungle temples
In Brief
- 2 Nights Ho Chi Minh City
- 1 Night Ho Chi Minh
- 1 Night Sa Dec
- 1 Night Tân Châu
- 1 Night Phnom Penh
- 1 Night Oudong
- 1 Night Angkor Ban
- 1 Night RV AmaLotus
- 3 Nights Siem Reap
In pictures
About
Recommended for:
Escorted tour | History & culture | Natural world | River cruise
Sailing between Ho Chi Minh City’s colonial charm and the world-wonder temples of Angkor, this luxury APT river cruise showcases the very best of southern Vietnam and Cambodia. You’ll ply the mighty Mekong River, weaving along its verdant delta to pause everywhere from Phnom Penh’s golden palaces to riverside villages and off-the-beaten-track monasteries. Each pause is brought to life by a choice of included, expert-led touring. Think local cooking classes, tuk tuk tours and ox-cart rides. The all-inclusive indulgences continue on board, with open bars and gourmet full-board dining. Then, either side, you’ll enjoy stays in luxury French-colonial hotels.
Day by day itinerary
Day
1
Depart UK
After enjoying a complimentary private transfer and airport lounge access, board your overnight flight.
Day
2
Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Flying into Vietnam's largest city, you'll be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel. Housed in a grand French-colonial building, it's an attraction in its own right, complete with spa treatments, elegant rooms and a pair of superb restaurants. It’s lucky, then, that you’ll be dining here tonight – the chance to meet your fellow guests over a welcome dinner.
Stay: Park Hyatt Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Deluxe)
Meals: D
Day
3
Ho Chi Minh City: Long Tan or Cu Chi Tunnels
You’ll be treated to your first choice of included excursions today. Perhaps you’d like to attend a service at Long Tan Cross – a memorial to Australian troops set among a rubber plantation. Alternatively, you’ll be brought out to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This vast subterranean network was once used by the Viet Cong, serving as hiding spots, supply depots and even hospitals. At day’s end, you’ll be treated to dinner at Vietnam House; it’s one of the city’s best-reviewed restaurants.
Stay: Park Hyatt Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City (Deluxe)
Meals: B L D
Day
4
Ho Chi Minh City: freedom of choice touring and embark cruise
This morning you’ll have some time to explore the city proper, taking in its bustling markets and beautiful colonial architecture on a walking tour. The Independence Palace is a particular highlight; it’s a palm-fringed 1960s vestige with a unique war-time history. There’s also the option of visiting artisan workshops to learn about Vietnamese lacquer art, or taking a Vietnamese cooking class. Whichever you choose, you’ll then be brought to your luxury river ship, settling in to your stylish suite to watch the river scenery from your private balcony. It’s then time for the first of your all-inclusive on-board dining, with a multi-course dinner, perhaps capped with a drink in the open bar.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
5
Cai Be and Sa Dec
You’ll enjoy the first of your breakfasts today as you wind on to Cai Be. Here, a traditional boat will bring you ashore for a visit to a local rice-paper manufacturer before you cruise on to Sa Dec. It’s the chance to visit the beautifully carved house of Marguerite Duras’s amor – Huynh Thuy Le. Its centuries-old façade is just as romantic as the author’s seminal work, The Lover. After, you’ll visit a traditional Cao Dai temple.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
6
Tan Chau, Evergreen Island and border crossing
Boarding a small boat this morning, you’ll be brought to shore with Cai Be, where you’ll enjoy a typically Vietnamese experience. Hopping onto a rickshaw, you’ll tour this archetypal Mekong-Delta town on three wheels, taking in bustling markets and cottage industries. Then, after pausing at some of the many lush-green islands that dot the Mekong, you’ll cruise into Cambodia. It’s the chance to relax on the sun-deck pool as rural river life plays out.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
7
Phnom Penh
Arriving into the Cambodia capital, you’ll once more have a choice of included excursions. Perhaps you want to take in the dazzling Royal Palace, whose burnished tiers sweep skywards, looking down on the Silver Pagoda. Otherwise, there’s the country’s tragic past, showcased in the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum – a high school turned deathcamp. As always, each visit is brought to life by your expert guide. There’s also the option of exploring with a tuk tuk rickshaw tour, bringing you among such city sights as the Independence Monument and the garden-ringed Wat Phnom temple.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
8
Oudong and Koh Chen
Disembark in Phnom Penh and discover Oudong, an important place of pilgrimage in Cambodia where you’ll be treated to a special Signature Experience. Return to your ship via the village Koh Chen, where you will perhaps visit some home workshops that manufacture copperware. Later, your ship glides along the lush banks of the Mekong to Oknha Tey, a small island renowned for its skilful silk weaving traditions. Enjoy dinner onboard tonight.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
9
Angkor Ban
Join a walking discovery of Angkor Ban, one of the few villages in Cambodia that was not destroyed under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Experience rustic agricultural life as you wander past the wooden stilted houses in this quiet, rural place
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
10
Kampong Chhnang
Those who wish to climb Wat Hanchey this morning will be rewarded with stunning hilltop panoramas and some of the best views of the Mekong River. Following lunch on board, take a tuk tuk to explore the island of Koh Pen with its wooden stilt houses and local farming culture. It’s all capped off with a special farewell dinner.
Stay: Mekong Serenity
Meals: B L D
Day
11
Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor
Disembarking today, you’ll be transferred to your luxury hotel, a French-colonial jewel that overlooks a private lake. As your home for the next three nights, it features everything from a golf course to a spectacular pool area. However, with one of the highlights of world travel on your doorstep, you’ll want to head out and explore. Your expert guide will bring you into the UNESCO-listed Angkor Archaeological Park, focusing today on the Bayon Temple’s smiling, mist-shrouded sculptures. End the evening with a choice of six restaurants for dinner.
Stay: Hotel Sofitel Angkor (Deluxe)
Meals: B D
Day
12
Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor
Rising early this morning, you’ll be treated to a special sunrise experience at Angkor Wat, raising a glass of bubbly in celebration. Then, your expert guide will bring you among the temple complex’s upper echelons, sacred centres and beautifully carved cloisters. Ta Prohm is a particular favourite, where great tree roots have interwoven with the temple’s columns and roofs. You’ll finish with a visit to Opportunities of Development thru Art – a grass-roots NGO that provides education to the region’s underprivileged children.
Stay: Hotel Sofitel Angkor (Deluxe)
Meals: B
Day
13
Siem Reap freedom of choice touring
On your final day, you’ll have a full choice of sightseeing. Perhaps visit the garden-temple of Wat Preah Prom Rath and participate in a Buddhist ceremony, or hop on a tuk tuk for a visit to the Senteurs d'Angkor workshop. It’s the chance to pick up some last-minute souvenirs. For something more active, watch an Apsara dance class and take a tour of the surrounding countryside by quad bike, bicycle or horse-and-cart ride. There’s even the option of a spa treatment, while those who’ve been inspired by the trip’s dining might want to enjoy a Cambodian cooking class. Whatever you choose, it’s all included.
Meals: B D
Days
14-15
Siem Reap/UK
After a final breakfast, you’ll be brought to the airport for your return flight back to the UK. On arrival, a complimentary private driver will be waiting to bring you home.
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:
15-day river cruise holiday from £4,545 pp incl. flights
Deluxe
Special Offer
Early booking offer: Save up to £2,100 pp.
Book by: 31 March 2023
Low Season
from £4,545 pp. incl. flights
High Season
from £6,045 pp. incl. flights
Price Includes:
- Return scheduled flights from the UK to Ho Chi Minh & Siem Reap
- Fully escorted tour & river cruise with APT including:
- 5 nights accommodation staying in 5* (Deluxe) hotels on a mix meal basis from Breakfast to Full-board
- 7 night Full board river cruise aboard Mekong Serenity
- Luxury dining – a total of 31 meals and a wide range of onboard beverages
- Unique cultural experiences and touring in up to 10 towns, villages & cities
- Complimentary beverages served on board your cruise
- APT Cruise Director and expert local guides
- Overseas transfers, port charges and tipping
- Home to airport transfers by private car within 75 mile radius, not applicable with certain special offers (speak to consultant for details not available with some special offers)
- Complimentary UK airport lounge access
Alternative departures operate in reverse.
Departure dates from July 2023 to March 2024. Prices vary by departure date, please call for details.
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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