Vietnam and Cambodia Startling Discovery – 16 Days

Tour Route: Hanoi – Halong Bay – Mai Chau – Pu Luong Nature Reserve – Hue – Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) – Siem Reap
Duration: 16 Days/ 15 Nights
Date: No fixed departure dates. You may go whenever you wish.
Start/ End: Hanoi/ Siem Reap
Tour Type: Landscape, Nature, History, and Culture
Tour Customizable: Absolutely! (Tell us your specific requirements in the inquiry form)
Active Level: Regular itinerary, Moderate walking & Trekking

Brief Itinerary

Vietnam Itinerary 12 Days
Day 01: Hanoi Arrival
Day 02: Hanoi Textile Tour
Day 03: Hanoi City Tour
Day 04: Hanoi – Halong Bay
Day 05: Halong Bay – Mai Chau
Day 06: Mai Chau – Pu Luong Nature Reserve
Day 07: Mai Chau – Hanoi – Fly to Hue
Day 08: Hue City Tour
Day 09: Hue Cycling Tour
Day 10: Hue – Fly to Saigon
Day 11: Retracing the Past of Saigon
Day 12: Saigon Free Day
Cambodia Itinerary 5 Days
Day 13: Saigon – Fly Siem Reap
Day 14: Siem Reap – Angkor Thom
Day 15: Angkor Wat
Day 16: Siem Reap Departure

Vietnam Itinerary 12 Days

Day 1: Hanoi Arrival

Welcome upon arrival by Viet Vision Travel tour guide and driver then transfer to hotel for check-in and repose. In the evening, enjoy the interesting Tonkin show. Overnight at Intercontinental West Lake Hanoi

FYI: The Quintessence of Tonkin Show is one of the most interesting shows in Hanoi. Enjoying this 1-hour show will draw your inspiration thanks to the spiritual history of Thay Pagoda which tells you the interesting story of its founding by venerable monk Tu Dao Hanh and explains the long-standing union between religion and the monarchy. Years of the making and with hundreds of artists, an interactive stage, stunning, and state-of-the-art technology, this live spectacle is the spotlight of any vacation to Hanoi. Buffet dinner is included before the show.

Day 2: Hanoi Textile Tour (L, D)

After breakfast, start to visit the Vietnamese Women Museum which offers a good view of the lifestyles, cultures, and textiles of 54 ethnic minorities as well as more than 25,000 items and documents illustrating the achievements, contributions, and creativity of Vietnamese women.

Later transfer to Van Phuc Silk weaving village which is famous for its traditional sericulture, silk weaving and silk ware. Today, the silk is still being made by traditional techniques. After lunch, participate in the textile workshop and demonstrations and try hands-on natural dyed experiences. It shows you the silk-making processes from dyeing, weaving, decorative concepts. You can also learn more about the myriads of natural colors, how to make them, and so forth. Overnight in Hanoi

Day 3: Hanoi City Tour – Life along the Railway (B, L)

In the morning, the local guide and driver will come and pick up for your city tour. First, travel to the Ho Chi Minh complex where you will spend time visiting Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, his former stilt-house, the Presidential Palace, the Ho Chi Minh Museum and One Pillar Pagoda. Next, explore the Temple of Literature, which was originally constructed as a temple to Confucius and the first national university in Vietnam.

After lunch, visit the Museum of Ethnology, which has an extensive display dedicated to the long-standing cultures and tradition of Vietnam’s 54 Ethnic minority peoples. Later reach the Hanoi train street and walk along the narrow path hosting the rails sometimes not even a meter away from the entrance door of the houses! Continue walking deep inside Hanoi Old Quarter, Long Bien Bridge, and Gia Lam station to get a closer look at the unique lifestyle of Hanoians. Overnight in Hanoi

Day 4: Hanoi – Halong Bay (B, L, D)

After breakfast, the driver and guide will come and pick you up for Hai Phong on the new highway to Got Ferry Terminal – Cat Hai Town at noon.  You will be welcome on board the cruise and then check-in, enjoy welcome drink, receive cruise briefing, safety instructions and check-in. Next, start cruising and explore Halong Bay – one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. First, proceed to Da Chong islet where you can see a lighthouse built by the French over 100 years ago. Enjoy buffet lunch while passing the amazing limestone karst formations rising up out of the sea in an impressive manner that belongs to Cai Ba National Park.

Afterward, explore Trung Trang cave with many stalactites that take on various shapes that will awe and inspire visitors to use their imagination on Cat Ba island which is located in the middle of Cat Ba National Park. Then travel to Trung Trang Valley which is the largest valley on Cat Ba Island covering a variety of floras and faunas. In the late afternoon, reach the less populated area at Tra Bau where is located in Lan Ha Bay and enjoy the green emerald and cool water by swimming.

Return to the cruise and behold the magnificent sunset over the Gulf of Tonkin. Then you may join a traditional cooking class in which the cruise chef will instruct you in the making of some Vietnam dishes. After dinner, enjoy the landscape of the bay at night up on the top deck. Relax and enjoy drinks from the bar or try hands-on experience by joining night squid fishing, watching a movie in the restaurant. Overnight on the cruise

Option: Massage service available

Day 5: Halong Bay – Mai Chau Ecolodge (B, L)

Wake up early this morning to witness the bay at its very best and participate in Tai Chi session on the sundeck. After breakfast, head out to explore the bay in the area You enjoy on your own by kayaking to discover the hidden charm of Lan Ha Bay. After lunch and check-out, disembark the cruise and transfer to Mai Chau. Overnight at Mai Chau Ecolodge

Day 6: Mai Chau – Pu Luong Nature Reserve (B, L)

After breakfast, get on car transferring to Pu Luong natural reserve. Arrive at Don village and then start the off-road trekking tour from there, passing some tribal villages. You can have an overview of Uoi village from the road on the top side. After following small muddy trails, get through dense forests and track along streams to reach Lan village, you will behold various rural beautiful scenery of local life, people doing farm-work. The rustic beauty here will amaze you definitely.

At noon, travel to Nua village and stop at one of the local houses for lunch with lots of cuisines such as chicken, bamboo shoot, grilled pork… Then you will have time to take time to get knowledge of their culture and life. And you will be amazed by the house owners’ friendliness. Take a rest before starting to trek Hieu village to get a closer look at the local lifestyle. Afterward, arrive at Pho Doan to join the car back to Ecolodge (take a different way back to catch different seeing of amazing giant bamboo water wheels). Overnight at Mai Chau Ecolodge   

Day 7: Mai Chau – Hanoi – Fly to Hue (B, L)

After breakfast, feel free at leisure until noontime, the driver and guide will take you to get back Hanoi for a domestic flight to Hue. On Hue arrival, transfer to hotel for check-in and repose. Overnight in Hue.

Day 8: Hue City Tour (B, L)

In the morning, board the Dragon Boat on the romantic Perfume River to explore the ancient capital of ancient tombs and scared religious construction. First, visit the charming Lady Pagoda (Thien Mu Pagoda) which is considered the symbol of Hue as well as Buddhism in Vietnam. Next, explore King Khai Dinh’s Tomb and King Tu Duc’s Tomb, the two kings of the last Feudal dynasty in Vietnam.

In the afternoon, visit the Imperial Citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled the country in the 19^th and 20^th century. Then depart to the Hue Royal Fine Art Museum and Dien Long An Royal Palace to see the stunning architecture and ancient artifacts inside. Finish your day with the local Dong Ba Market to see the daily life of local people. Overnight in Hue.

Day 9: Bao Vinh Ancient Town & Rural Cyclo Tour (B, L)

After breakfast, depart from Hue ride a bike through small paths to Bao Vinh, a village featuring traditional Vietnamese houses to interact with local people and enjoy traditional lunch. Then, pedal to Dieu De Pagoda and board a boat for a sunset river cruise with fine drinks along the romantic Perfume River before returning to Hue. Overnight in Hue

Day 10: Hue – Fly to Ho Chi Minh City (B)

After breakfast, you will be free until the driver arrives to take you to the airport for your departure flight to Ho Chi Minh City. On arrival at Tan Son Nhat airport, you will be greeted and driven to hotel in the city center. After check-in, you are free to wander around the hustle and bustle city and spend the night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Day 11: Retracing the Past of Saigon (B, L)

In the morning, visit the shrine outside of the US Consulate and the former CIA building where the last helicopters evacuated the remaining US citizens in 1975 and marked the fall of the Saigon puppet government in the Vietnam War.

Next, explore the Independence Palace with the Reunification Front Gate – 2nd war site which is the former headquarters of the South Vietnamese Government and residence of the presidents. When the Vietcong attacked Saigon, the palace was chosen as their first target. When the tank crashed down the front gate of the palace, it put an end to the puppet South Vietnam government and open the new period of peace and development for Vietnam.

The next visit is the Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument – 3rd war site honoring Thich Quang Duc – a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death to anti the war. We will go the place Thich Quang Duc burned himself which is now a statue of Thich Quang Duc here, to mark an event that shocked the world.

Then you will get to a historic venue for a late lunch of “pho” at Pho Binh restaurant which was the secret headquarters of the Viet Cong in Saigon and. It was used to plan the attacks on the US embassy and other targets in Saigon during the Tet Offensive in 1968. You will take a walk upstairs to learn more about history through the family’s photo collection before sitting down and enjoy the traditional taste of pho downstairs.

After that, move to 197 Ngo Gia Tu, District 10 HCMC – 4th war site for short visit the place, where the Viet Cong soldier, Nguyen Van Lem – was being condemned for war crimes and was executed here. Keep moving War Remnants Museum and learn more about the American war through the local’s eyes. Come back hotel after the tour. Overnight in Saigon

Day 12: Saigon Free Day (B)

The day will be free for strolling in the city, shopping or whatever takes your fancy. Overnight at the Reverie Saigon

Cambodia Itinerary 4 Days

Day 13: Ho Chi Minh City – Fly to Siem Reap (B, D)

You will be free until the car arrives at the hotel to take us to the airport in good time to board our departure flight to Siem Reap. Welcome to Cambodia! Upon your arrival at Siem Reap International Airport, you will be welcome by the tour guide and driver who will transfer you to the selected hotel for check-in. Along the way, you will listen to the interesting history of Cambodia told by the tour guide.

Tonight, your first welcome dinner with Apsara Dance Performance show at Kannel Restaurant followed by welcome cold towel & glass of Kannel signature drinks also snacks. Overnight in Siem Reap

Day 14: Angkor Thom (B)

After breakfast at hotel, you will head to see the capital city of the Khmer Empire “Angkor Thom“. It is perhaps the best-preserved of all the temples, and the layout and scale are equally breath-taking. At Angkor Thom, explore a dozen attractions such as the South Gate, Bayon temple, Baphuon temple, the Terrace of the Elephants as well as the Terrace of the Leper King. Then going to visit a jungle temple overgrown by balsa wood trees and vines – Ta Prohm Temple with its air of mystery. Once finish, transfer back to the hotel to relax and enjoy hotel facilities. Overnight at Viroth’s Hotel

Day 15: Angkor Wat (B)

Early morning rise up to see the sunrise over the five towers of Angkor, experience once in your lifetime. Return back to the hotel for taking breakfast, you then head back to visit the famous Angkor Wat, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. Once finish, transfer back to the hotel to relax and enjoy hotel facilities. Overnight at Viroth’s Hotel

Day 16: Siem Reap Departure (B)

Have your breakfast at the hotel then you have some free time to relax or discover the little Siem Reap town on your own arrangement to Old Market or Angkor Silk Farm. If your time permits, it’s good if you are able to experience with Khmer traditional massage. Your hotel checks out at about 12:00 mid-day, based on your departure flight time the guide and driver are ready to transfer you to the airport for taking a flight home. Trip Ends!!!