General Information
Tour Route: Luang Prabang - Hanoi - Halong Bay - Mekong Delta - Ho Chi Minh City - Siem Reap
Duration: 12 Days/ 11 Nights
Date: No fixed departure dates. You may go whenever you wish
Start/ End: Luang Prabang/ Siem Reap
Tour Customizable: Absolutely! (Tell us your specific requirements in the inquiry form)
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Luang Prabang Arrival – Welcome Dinner (D)
Day 2: Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves (B, L)
Day 3: Luang Prabang – Khouang Si Waterfall (B, L)
Day 4: Luang Prabang – ½ City Tour – Fly to Hanoi (Direct flight available on Mon-Wed-Thur-Fri-Sun) (B)
Day 5: Hanoi City Tour (B, L)
Day 6: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight in Cruise (B, L, D)
Day 7: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly Ho Chi Minh City (B, Br)
Day 8: Mekong Delta Tour (B, L)
Day 9: Ho Chi Minh City – ½ Day City Tour – Fly to Siem Reap (B)
Day 10: Siem Reap – Angkor Temple Tour (B, L)
Day 11: Phnom Kulen Mountains – Bantei Srey (B, L)
Day 12: Boat Trip – Siem Reap Departure (B)
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Luang Prabang Arrival – Welcome Dinner (D)
On arrival at the airport, you will be met and transferred 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. Dinner will be served in the local restaurant.
Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: Dinner
Day 2: Luang Prabang – Pak Ou Caves (B, L)
After breakfast, we enjoy a short-guided tour seeing the National Museum at the former Royal Palace displays a lovely collection of the artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture dating from the days of the early kings right through the last sovereign. Continue to the city’s oldest temple of Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture. We then board a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a panoramic view of the tranquil countryside as well as an interesting visit to the mysterious of Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims. Along the way, we stop at the small village of Ban Xanghai, where the local rice wine is distilled. We come back city in the afternoon, stop to visit Ban Xang Khong, famous for Saa paper making.
Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3: Luang Prabang – Kuang Si Waterfall (B, L)
An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning rituals of saffron-clad monks collecting offerings of Alms (ubiquitous sticky rice) from the faithful residents. This tradition is very unique in Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving the procession.
From there you will visit the morning Phousi Market, where you will see such diverse offerings as dried buffalo skin, local tea and saltpeter among the chickens, vegetables and hill-tribe weavings. Then drive to the beautiful Kuangsi Waterfall where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the turquoise pools or walk along the forest trails. On the way, we visit Ban Na Oune and Buffalo Dairy Farm with option to do a tour (with extra charge) to see how people take care the buffalo and using the milk to make dairy products, or just stop for a break and enjoy ice cream on your own. Once at the waterfall, you can visit Bear Rescue Center. Swimming at the waterfall is possible.
Overnight in Luang Prabang
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 4: Luang Prabang – ½ City Tour – Fly to Hanoi (Direct flight available on Mon-Wed-Thur-Fri-Sun) (B)
After breakfast, we visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the elegant Wat Mai. We then climb up to the top of Mount Phousi for an enjoyable exploration of the sacred, gilded stupa as well as a beautiful sunset view of the city and the Mekong River. From there, we explore the Night Market, where you can find a lovely selection of handmade textiles made by the hill tribe and local people surrounding Luang Prabang. After the tour, we transfer to the airport for the flight to Hanoi. Welcome up on arrival by local tour guide and driver then we transfer to hotel. Relax in the rest of the day.
Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5: Hanoi City Tour (B, L)
Today we will venture out to explore Hanoi. First up we will drive to the Ho Chi Minh complex where we will spend time at Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, his former stilt-house, the Presidential Palace and One Pillar Pagoda. Followings we visit the Temple of Literature, which originally built as a temple to Confucius.
After lunch, we visit the Museum of Ethnology, which is widely acknowledged as the best in the country and has an extensive display dedicated to Vietnam's 54 Ethnic minority peoples and the infamous Hoa Lo Prison Museum. Hoa Lo is also known as the ‘’Hanoi Hilton’’ and was where former US presidential candidate John McCain was incarcerated for over 5 years. Later this afternoon, we enjoy 1-hour cyclo tour of the French inspired "old quarter". We will be free for shopping in the old quarter ranges from markets through to designer boutique stores to amazing contemporary art galleries. After the tour, we sit down to enjoy a performance of the city’s famous Water Puppets.
Remarks:
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum is not opened on every Monday & Friday.
- Museum of Ethnology is closed on every Monday.
- The Museum can be moved to your favourite museum in Hanoi.
You might like to consider the following alternatives for your day in Hanoi:
- Vietnamese Women’s Museum – one of the most interesting museums in Hanoi and voted among ’10 Must-see sites in Hanoi’ by the Tripadvisor. The museum has three main galleries and three main themes: Women in Family, Women in History and Women’s Fashion. With more than 1000 materials, photos and objects displayed in the museum show the role the Vietnamese women in History and Family life.
- The History, Fine Arts and Army Museum – large, but many interesting exhibits
- The Hanoi Citadel – in the process of being released by the Army: two buildings now accessible
- The Dong Xuan, Hang Be or Hom markets – large, crowded, but very Vietnamese
- Joseph’s Cathedral – European neo-Gothic (plenty of up-market shops and restaurants nearby)
Overnight in Hanoi
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Overnight in Cruise (B, L, D)
After breakfast, we pick you up at the hotel in Hanoi by our private car to start our journey. When we arrive at Tuan Chau Marina, you will get checked in at Paradise Suites Hotel and transferred to the Paradise Cruise via Electric Cart. Once arrived, you will be given a short briefing about your cruise itinerary and safety regulations while you enjoy some complimentary welcoming drinks. Shortly after, enjoy your lunch at the Restaurant while viewing the beautiful islets of Ha Long Bay.
In the afternoon, you will visit the Tung Sau Pearl farm where you will have the chance to learn about the process of pearl cultivation or you go kayaking instead. Afterward, your next stop will be at Titop Island, an island named after the Russian Cosmonaut “Gherman Stepanovich Titov”. You can choose to either hike the island’s mountain to get a majestic view of Ha Long Bay or swim at the beach. After that, we return to the cruise and enjoy the Bay sunset while enjoying the "Happy Hour" special. You may also join our chef in the kitchen to learn how to make a Vietnamese Dish. After a Western Set Dinner, enjoy some night activities on the boat like: squid fishing, drinks, or movies. The rest of night will be relaxing on the cruise.
Overnight on board
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Halong Bay – Hanoi – Fly Ho Chi Minh City (B, Br)
Start your day with a Tai Chi Session at the Sundeck. Then, we enjoy a light meal with some fresh pastries, coffee, and tea at the restaurant. Next destination will be the Sung Sot Cave, the largest and most magnificent cave in the bay where you can see the stalactites in different forms. Afterward come to enjoy breakfast while the cruise passes by Thien Cung, Dau Go Cave, and the Fighting Cock Islet. After breakfast, you will check out and are free to enjoy the rest of your trip at the Lounge or on the sundeck looking at the astonishing view of Halong Bay. At 10:15 AM, Paradise Cruise returns to Tuan Chau Marina. Finally, we disembark and farewell the crew then go to airport for flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
On arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh City, welcome upon arrival by a local tour guide and driver then we transfer to the hotel for check-in. After check-in, we will be free to wander around the hustle and bustle city.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Brunch
Day 8: Mekong Delta Tour (B, L)
We pick you up at the hotel after breakfast and transfer you to Vinh Long. The program will start with a visit to Vinh Long market in the town. This is the best choice for us to take pictures of fish, shrimps, prawns, crabs, snakes, rice-field rats, tropical fruits, and vegetables... After that, we will travel by boat to visit the brick kilns where we can see how the local people create beautiful potteries from clay. Then, come to visit the orchard & traditional house. We will enjoy some kinds of fruits and tea when listening to traditional music at a homestay.
The rowing boat takes us deeper into the countryside on smaller canals so we can enjoy a peaceful time. It is so interesting to see traditional houses made of wood and palm tree leaves and see some activities of the local farmers with an opportunity to make a contact with them and see how they catch fish or pick up fruits in ancestral ways in the Mekong Delta… One more thing to do on this trip is biking! It will be so amazing to bike on village paths to see the local farms, houses, “monkey” bridge, real life... The cruise transfers us back to Vinh Long city where we take our own vehicle back to Ho Chi Minh City.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 9: Ho Chi Minh City – ½ Day City Tour – Fly to Siem Reap (B)
Today, we visit all the highlights in Ho Chi Minh city such as the Reunification Palace, the palace of the old President in the South of Vietnam during the American war; Notre Dame Cathedral and Old Post Office, the two sites that we can’t ignore when we visit the city. Then, we will have a short time to do shopping at the famous Ben Thanh Market before transfering to Tan Son Nhat Airport for a flight to Siem Reap at 14:00 pm. Upon arrival at Siem Reap airport, our guide transfers all members to hotel for check in.
Then, we start to visit to the unique interior brick sculptures of Prasat Kravan, Srah Srang ("The Royal Baths" was once used or ritual bathing), Banteay Kdei (surrounded by 4 concentric walls), Ta Prohm, one of the area’s most beautiful temples. Ta Prohm has been relatively untouched since it was discovered and retains much of its mystery. Neak Pean, a fountain built in the middle of a pool (representing the paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake) and Preah Khan temple, Built by the King Jayavarman VII. Preah Khan is, like Ta Prohm, a place of towered enclosures and shoulder hugging corridors. However, the temple of Preah Khan is in a reasonable state of preservation and ongoing restoration efforts should maintain and even improve this situation.
Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10: Siem Reap – Angkor Temple Tour (B, L)
After breakfast, we visit the antique capital of Angkor Thom (12 century): the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Bayon Temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara, the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King.
Then, we spend time to visit to the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag and the 12th century masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Enjoy wonderful sunset from the top of Pre Rup Temple.
Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 11: Phnom Kulen Mountains – Bantei Srey (B, L)
We will drive up Kulen Mountains for a visit to a Grand Buddha Statue, the River of Thousand Lingas and the Great Waterfall. On the way back, we will visit to Banteay Srey, known as Citadel of Women or a Pink Temple, and Banteay Samre Temples.
Overnight in Siem Reap
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 12: Boat Trip – Siem Reap Depature (B)
In the morning, we will enjoy a boat ride on the Tonle Sap Lake at Kampong Phluk Village. This is the largest permanent fresh-water lake in South East Asia and flows into Tonle Sap River, joining the Mekong in Phnom Penh. We will see a fishermen's "floating village" with floating schools, floating police station, etc. It is same as a big village floating on the lake, and the "village" move from place to place following water levels and current. After this tour, we will transfer to the airport for departure. Trip ends.
