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Angkor Wat & the Mekong: A River Cruise in the Heart of Indochina

Itinerary

Aboard  RV Mekong Pandaw

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Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Hanoi

Trip Pre-Extension: Chiang Mai, Thailand (*Available on select departures)

Begin your exploration of Indochina with a pre-trip extension to Chiangmai and Bangkok, Thailand. You’ll enjoy three nights in Chiangmai, where you’ll stay at a Deluxe hotel featuring a mountain view. Exclusive Vantage Learning Discoveries showcase the city’s rich culture, including a visit to a night market by local tuk tuk, and a tour of an elephant camp at Mae Tang with a chance to ride an elephant! You’ll also enjoy one night in Bangkok before your included flight to Chiangmai. Add another country to your travels and complete your Southeast Asia experience with this enriching extension.

Your Price Includes:

  • Flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand & Bangkok, Thailand to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
  • Accommodations for 4 nights, including 1 night in Bangkok, Thailand at the Superior First-Class Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel and 3 nights in Chiang Mai, Thailand at the Deluxe Shangri-La Hotel and Spa Chiang Mai
  • 6 meals: 4 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 1 dinner
  • 5 sightseeing tours and Learning Discoveries
  • All transportation while on tour
  • All transfers and baggage handling (where permitted)
  • The services of an experienced Discovery Leader
 details >

Trip Pre-Extension: Luang Prabang, Laos & Chiang Mai, Thailand (*Available on select departures)

Enhance your Southeast Asia experience with this pre-trip extension to Laos and Thailand. You’ll begin with one night in Bangkok, Thailand’s bustling capital city. You’ll continue on to Luang Prabang, a beautiful city in laid-back Laos where the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers meet. During your time here, you’ll take in the Buddhist temples, French architecture, and ancient traditions — including an alms giving with local monks. Your final stop is in Chiangmai, the largest city in northern Thailand. While here, you’ll tour an elephant camp, where you’ll have the opportunity to ride an elephant. This extension is a great way to add two more countries to your itinerary and expand your exploration of Indochina.

Your Price Includes:

  • Flights between Bangkok and Luang Prabang, from Luang Prabang to Chiangmai, and from Chiangmai to Ho Chi Minh City
  • Accommodations for 6 nights, including: 1 night in Bangkok, Thailand at the Superior First-Class Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, 3 nights in Luang Prabang, Laos at the Xiengthong Palace, and 2 nights in Chiangmai, Thailand at the Deluxe Shangri-La Hotel & Spa Chiang Mai
  • 10 meals: 6 breakfasts, 2 lunches, and 2 dinners
  • 9 sightseeing tours and Learning Discoveries
  • All transportation while on tour
  • All transfers and baggage handling (where permitted)
  • The services of a Discovery Leader
 details >

Trip Pre-Extension: Luang Prabang, Laos (*Available on select departures)

Enhance your exploration of Indochina with an extension to Laos, a laid-back land of untamed natural beauty and abounding serenity, where Buddhism fills almost every facet of life. You'll start with three nights in beautiful Luang Prabang, Laos, where the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers meet, followed by a night in Bangkok, Thailand. Step back in time as you take in the city's many ancient temples and the French architecture left over from colonial times. Plus, you'll get to know the generous, hospitable people and their rich culture when you visit a local handicraft market and witness the traditional offering of food to local monks by the townspeople. Add another country to your travels and complete your Southeast Asia experience with this enriching extension.

Your Price Includes:

  • Flights fromSaigon, Vietnam to Luang Prabang, Laos as well as from Luang Prabang, Laos to Bangkok, Thailand
  • 4 nights accommodations, including 3 nights in Luang Prabang, Laos at the Xieng Thong Palace, and 1 night in Bangkok, Thailand at the Superior First-Class Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel
  • 7 meals: 4 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners
  • 6 sightseeing tours and Learning Discoveries
  • All transportation while on tour
  • All transfers and baggage handling (where permitted)
  • The services of an experienced Discovery Leader
 details >

DAYS 1-2:

Depart home / Overnight flight / Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Arrive in Saigon on Day 2 after an overnight flight. Or depart earlier for a pre-trip extension.

DAYS 3-4:

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

A panoramic city tour of Saigon (as the locals call it) takes you to the Opera House, the Old Saigon Post Office, and Notre Dame Cathedral on Day 3. Learning Discoveries: A family in Saigon welcomes you into their home for lunch. Afterward, learn about an art form popular since the 11th century when you watch a water puppetry show. Your evening will be at leisure with dinner on your own. On Day 4, you have the morning to yourself with lunch on your own. Alternatively, you can join an optional tour of the Cu Chi Tunnel, a massive network of underground tunnels and chambers built during the Vietnam War, with lunch included. This afternoon, you'll visit the Reunification Palace, a former presidential residence that was of great importance during the Vietnam War. It is now a museum; explore the past and take in the beautiful architecture during a tour. Then, make a stop at Minh Phuong Lacquer Ware workshop before attending a Welcome Dinner.

Food icon Included meals: 2 breakfasts, 1 lunches, 1 dinners

DAY 5 :

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) / My Tho / Embark ship / Cai Be

Arrive in My Tho this morning and embark the RV Mekong Pandaw. The afternoon takes you to Cai Be; cruise through the floating market and make stops at a coconut candy-making workshop and the ancient Vietnamese Anh-Kiet house.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 6 :

Cruising — Cai Be / Sa Dec / Cu Lao Gieng, Vietnam

Your next stop is the peaceful orchard town of Sa Dec, where you’ll take a tour that includes a flower market and the French villa seen in the move “The Lover,” based on the book by novelist Marguerite Duras. Learning Discovery: See how the hard-working locals make a living when you visit a family-owned mill.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 7 :

Cruising — Cu Lao Gieng / Chau Doc

Learning Discovery: Meet the members of a Cham tribal village and stop by a working Mekong fish farm. Later, take a trishaw ride around the riverside town of Chau Doc and visit a historic monastery located on the island of Cu Lao Gien. Learning Discoveries: As you cruise into Vietnam, hear an onboard talk about “Vietnam, Past and Today.” We’ll also learn how to make a spring roll during a cooking demonstration. Take in the view as we cruise from Vietnam to Cambodia.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAYS 8-10:

Cruising — Phnom Penh Area

On Day 8, take a tour to the Genocide Museum and Killing Fields, commemorating a site where 17,000 civilians were killed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Learning Discoveries: Fascinating Phnom Penh comes alive in the best way possible on Day 9, as you hop aboard a cyclo — a gas-powered Cambodian rickshaw — to tour Phnom Penh like the locals. Then, hear a talk on “Life on the Mekong,” followed by a Cambodian children’s dance performance. The next day, you'll cruise the tranquil Tonle River, a Mekong tributary — and experience daily life along its shores. Learning Discovery: Visit a floating village, where homes and shops on stilts appear to float above the water.


Food icon Included meals: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 dinners

DAY 11 :

Cruising — Kampong Cham Area

Enjoy scenic cruising along the Mekong River, taking time to visit a riverside village to see how the locals live.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAYS 12-14:

Disembark ship / Kampong Cham / Siem Reap

Before disembarking our ship, we’ll stop at ancient Kampong Kdei Bridge, then at Wat Nokor, a 12th-century temple. Continue on to Siem Reap, stopping for lunch at a local restaurant en route to your hotel – just steps away from the remarkable Angkor Wat temple.
Spend all of Day 13 meandering through the centuries-old terraces, pathways, and temples of the sprawling Angkor Wat temple complex on both morning and afternoon tours. Learning Discoveries: Get a glimpse into local life during visits to a Cambodian dance school and a silk farm on Day 14. Lunch is included at a restaurant in Siem Reap; your afternoon is free. You may want to join an optional sunset boat tour at Small Lotus Lake.

Food icon Included meals: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, dinner

DAYS 15-16:

Siem Reap / Hanoi, Vietnam

On Day 15, you'll fly from Siem Reap to Hanoi, Vietnam, and check in to your hotel. Explore this timeless yet modern city during a tour on Day 16 that includes the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Square, the Presidential Palace, and a Buddhist pagoda. After lunch at a local restaurant, tour the Temple of Literature. Learning Discovery: Visit the temple of Literature before lunch at a local restaurant, this afternoon, you have a choice to join Optional Pottery Village Tour with dinner included.

Food icon Included meals: 2 breakfasts, 1 lunches, 1 dinners

DAY 17 :

Hanoi / Halong Bay / Embark Junk Boat

Drive to one of Vietnam’s most amazing natural wonders today. Ha Long Bay is home to sandy beaches, fish-filled coral reefs, and hundreds of limestone islands jutting from tranquil waters. Explore the bay up close from the deck of a traditional junk boat, on which you’ll spend the night. Along the way you’ll visit Cua Van, a floating village, and have the chance to try night fishing.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

DAY 18 :

Halong / Hanoi

Cruise along Halong Bay this morning, stopping to visit the splendid Sung Sot grotto. You'll disembark your junk boat and transfer back to Hanoi. Learning Discovery: Upon arrival, you'll tour Hanoi’s lively Old Quarter, riding through the market-lined streets aboard a trishaw, a bicycle-powered rickshaw. Enjoy a Farewell Dinner at your hotel this evening.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast, dinner

DAY 19 :

Hanoi, Vietnam / Return home

Or, join an optional post-extension.

Food icon Included meals: breakfast

Trip Post-Extension: Hong Kong, China (*Not available for all departures)

Round out your Asian discoveries by adding two nights to Hong Kong, the spectacular “shopping capital” of the Far East. Your Deluxe hotel is in a perfect location, and your Discovery Leader will be happy to give you tips on sightseeing, as well as tell you where to find the best bargains and luxury goods. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most famous shopping destinations, and there’s very little you won’t find at Hong Kong’s lively and colorful outdoor markets, most of which stay open long into the night. In addition to fantastic shopping, you'll be treated to a tour of Repulse Bay, and Aberdeen Fishing Village.

Your Price Includes:

  • Flight between Hanoi and Hong Kong
  • Accommodations for 2 nights at the Deluxe Hotel Nikko Hong Kong
  • Daily breakfast
  • Sightseeing tour of Repulse Bay and Aberdeen Fishing Village
  • All transportation while on tour
  • All transfers and baggage handling (where permitted)
  • The services of a local Discovery Leader
 details >

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The above day-by-day itineraries are preliminary and therefore subject to change. If any major changes occur in advance of your departure, you will be notified in writing by Vantage. If changes occur while on tour, you will be notified by your Vantage Program Manager or local representative.

Please Note: During your Mekong River cruise, should there be an extreme change in the water levels or defects to the vessel that prevent the ship’s passage or docking, an alternative itinerary will be offered.