DAY 01: HANOI – ARRIVAL
Welcome to Hanoi! Upon arrival in Hanoi, you will be picked up from the airport and transferred to a hotel for relaxing and welcome dinner.
Overnight in Hanoi.
DAY 02: HANOI – HALONG BAY
This morning we depart for Halong Bay, one of the most stunning natural wonders of Vietnam. We have breakfast at our hotel in Hanoi before heading out to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 12:00, arrive at your jetty in Halong City towards noon and proceed with check-in formalities. After your welcome onboard, a lunch will be served while cruising towards the bay itself. In the afternoon, enjoy some visits and/or activities (depending on each boat’s itinerary) or just spend some time relaxing on board. Towards the end of the day the boat sets anchor for the night among the karst formations. Dinner is served on board.
Overnight on boat on Halong Bay.
Distances and journey time:
From your chosen hotel in Hanoi to Halong Bay (160km): approx. 4hrs
Note: This tour may be subject to change depending on weather conditions
DAY 03: HALONG BAY – HANOI
Enjoy your fresh morning in the middle of the bay, the sun rises on Halong in the morning and breakfast is served (brunch on some boats) while the vessels cruises slowly through the magnificent rock formations and back towards port. Disembark and transfer back to Hanoi. Free at leisure at hotel
Overnight in Hanoi.
DAY 04: HANOI – LUANG PRABANG
After breakfast at hotel, depart for a full day tour of Hanoi. Your first visit will be Temple of Literature. In 1076, Vietnam’s first university Quoc Tu Giam was established within a temple to educate Vietnam’s royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past.
Visit The One Pillar Pagoda, founded by King Ly Thai To in 1049, next. This structure is one of Vietnam’s most iconic temples. Close by is the mausoleum of the historic father figure of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, and the former presidents house on stilts where he lived from 1958 to 1969. His former home illustrates the modesty of this Vietnamese revolutionary. (Viewed from outside; closed Mon and Fri and from Oct-Nov)
Continue to picturesque West Lake and the sixth century Tran Quoc Buddhist Pagoda. From here transfer (or stroll along the lakeside) 700 meters to the nearby Taoist temple of Quan Thanh dedicated to Tran Vu, one of the principal deities in Taoism
Free at leisure until transfer to airport for your flight. Arrival in Luang Prabang. Welcome to the spiritual capital of Laos. Your private car and driver will meet you and transfer you to your hotel for check-in. Dinner at local restaurant
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
Distance and journey time:
Luang Prabang Airport – Luang Prabang (4 km): 15 min
DAY 05: LUANG PRABANG – PAK OU CAVES
After breakfast, transfer to the nearby pier to board a private long tail boat for a scenic 2 hour ride up the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves.
Located upstream from LuangPrabang, Pak Ou Caves, locally called Tam Ting, contains thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues crammed into two caves carved out of a towering limestone cliff. The statues range in size from a few centimeters tall to the size of a human, and the view from the mouth of the cave provides sweeping scenes of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers. The caves are also a destination for local pilgrimages, especially during the Lao New Year period of Pii Mai.
After visiting the caves, return downstream to Luang Prabang. You might like to stop along the way back at Ban Xang Hay, a village that specializes in making rice wine.
The city tour begins in the afternoon with your guide who will enable you to learn more about this town registered on the World Heritage Patrimony List since 1995.
Your tour starts at the former Royal Palace, now the National Museum. Your walk continues to Wat Mai, a temple renowned for its golden bas-relief. During Pimai, the LaoNew Year, the Prabang normally housed in the Royal Palace Museum is brought and put on public display in this temple. Next, walk to WatSensoukarahm, built in 1718 it has a beautiful dazzling golden façade. Finish with a visit to the most photographed temple, WatXieng Thong. Located at the end of the peninsula, close to the Mekong, this temple was built in 1560 by King Setthathirat while the library was added in 1828.
At the end of the day, climb the 328 steps to the top of Mount Phousi to enjoy a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding countryside. Return to your hotel via a stroll through the evening hill tribe market, where you may find plenty of local souvenirs to buy such as handicrafts and textiles.
Overnight in Luang Prabang.
Distance and journey time:
Boat trip to Pak Ou Caves (25 km): 2 hours
DAY 06: LUANG PRABANG – SIEM REAP
After your breakfast, your private car and driver will meet you at your hotel and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap.
Upon arrival in Siem Reap, you will be picked up from the airport and transferred to a hotel in Siem Reap for relaxing and your dinner with Apsara performance.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
DAY 07: SIEM REAP – ANGKOR WAT TOUR – SIEM REAP
After breakfast at the hotel, we spend a full day discovering the famous Angkor Complex. We enter the South Gate of Angkor Thom Temple and marvel at the wonders of the eerie Bayon, the terrace of Elephants and the terrace of the Leper King.
Afterwards, we continue and visit Ta Prohm temple, shrouded in the jungle and left untouched since it was found by French explorers in the 1850s.
In the afternoon we visit the Angkor Wat Temple. This architectural master piece was built in the 12th century, took 30 years to complete and represents the Khmer civilization at its grandest. Covering 81 hectares, it is one of the largest religious monuments ever built.
Late afternoon, we enjoy the superb sunset view at Pre Rup temple.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
DAY 08: ANGKOR WAT TOUR
After breakfast at the hotel, we drive to Banteay Srey, one of the most unusual temples of Angkor. It lies 20 km north of the main group and is mostly made up red sandstone covered with elaborate decorations.
We also visit Banteay Samre, built in the third quarter of the 12th century. It consists of a central temple with four wings preceded by a hall and accompanied by two libraries, the southern most of which is remarkably well preserved.
This afternoon, we set out on a cruise on beautiful Tonle Sap Lake, passing a floating village and getting a glimpse into the daily life on the lake.
Overnight in Siem Reap.
DAY 09: SIEM REAP – HO CHI MINH
Enjoy your final day in Cambodia at leisure. Continue exploring Siem Reap on your own, go on a bargain hunt for silk scarves or shadow puppets at Psar Chas, the Old Market, or relax into a wicker chair in a sidewalk café. We will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh city
Arrrival in Ho Chi Minh City, you are greeted by our guide and driver at the airport for our transfer to the hotel. Enjoy dinner at a nice local restaurant.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
DAY 10: HO CHI MINH – CU CHI TUNNEL – HO CHI MINH
After breakfast, visit the famous Cu Chi, an incredible underground tunnel network constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters during the long struggle for independence. The tunnels, over 250km in length and up to three levels deep in places, played a huge part in the Viet Cong’s victory over the Americans, allowing them to control a large rural area surrounding Ho Chi Minh City.
Back to Ho Chi Minh City for lunch. In the afternoon we visit the Former Presidential Palace, the town’s center with the Notre Dame Cathedral, the City Hall, the Municipal Theater, Quan Am Pagoda, Cho Lon and China town.
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
DAY 11: HO CHI MINH – BEN TRE – HO CHI MINH
Have breakfast at hotel, depart from the southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City to the area referred locally as ‘the rice bowl of Vietnam’.
On arrival in Ben Tre Province head towards Tien Giang where you will board your local boat for a cruise among the aptly named Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle and Phoenix Islands. En-route visit a small factory producing handicrafts made of coconut and Turtle Island, where a stop will be made in a tropical orchard to taste some exotic fruit.
After the boat trip, take a ride on a motocycle along country roads to a famed garden for a honey tasting session. Continue on a smaller rowing boat for a more adventurous cruise on the Xep Canal which is set amongst a forest of palm trees.
Have lunch at local house before transfer back Ho Chi Minh city
Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.
DAY 12: HO CHI MINH
Enjoy your breakfast at hotel, free at leisure until departure flight. Go back home with pleasant memories of Indochina Tour Package.
***End of Indochina Tour Package services***
