Indochina Adventure

Arrive Vientiane and check-in at the hotel. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, the Laos capital is a friendly town. Find weathered French Colonial mansions, stunning temples and steaming noodle stalls. A Beer Lao by the river at sunset is the best way to end the day and start your adventure.

Overnight Standard Hotel

This morning we include a sightseeing tour around the city. This is a low-built, red-roofed attractive capital city, with a slight French feel to it. We’ll explore some of the best sights including the Victory Gate (a Triumphal Arch with good views of the town), the That Luang stupa (said to contain a hair of the Buddha) and Sisaket Wat, packed with fine Buddha images.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we drive 4 hours to Vang Vieng, a tranquil town on the banks of the river Nam Song.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today is free to relax or explore with most things easily accessible on foot, although you may choose one of the several options available. You can visit the nearby limestone caves, the great cavern where local people used to hide 200 years ago from the Chinese invaders. The other alternative is cycling in the nearby countryside. If you want to stay closer to home Vang Vieng is the perfect place to relax and unwind. You can also visit the small local market, make sure you don’t miss the ‘wet’ market items: wild game meats and mekong algae. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we drive approximately 7 hours north and approach the country’s former capital. Situated among the rolling hills of the Upper Mekong River, 300m above sea-level, this tranquil little town has a very beautiful setting. Later in the afternoon there is time to climb to the small temple on top of Mount Phousi and enjoy fine views over the town. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Today we'll really get to have a closer look at Luang Prabang.  All the main sights of interest are close together and we'll have a chance to we walk around the various wats including the splendid Wat Xieng Thong (the Golden Temple built in 1559) which is strikingly decorated in brilliant red and gold designs, with an imposing tiled roof and mosaic dragon motifs, Wat Sen and the Royal Palace Museum. Afterwards we'll  hire a longboat to travel up the Mekong River to the Pak Ou Caves. Along the way we stop at the riverside village of Xang Hai which specialises in brewing lao-lao (rice whisky). Glutinous rice is boiled with yeast and left to ferment in large jars; eventually this muddy brew is strained and bottled for sale in Luang Prabang - try it if you dare! Arriving at Pak Ou, we climb steps up the limestone cliff to reach the sacred Buddhist caves. Although now abandoned by the monks, there is an altar for incense burning, flower offerings and numerous rock shelves crammed with Buddha images. The rest of the day is left free for personal exploration.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we travel by bus to the beautiful Kuang Si Waterfalls, approximately 45 minutes from Luang Prabang. Passing forested hills and several ethnic minority villages we arrive at the limestone falls that cascade into several clear pools below. Returning to Luang Prabang, there is an opportunity to take an afternoon bicycle trip (optional) to the Lao Loum village at Ban Phanom. Approximately 6 kms from Luang Prabang, the road gently undulates through cultivated scenery and arrives at a well kept scenic village on the banks of the Nam Khan River. We will spend time meeting the locals and learning a little more about the every day life of rural Lao before returning to Luang Prabang for a well earned ‘Beer Lao’.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning is left free for further exploration of Luang Prabang. In the afternoon, we fly to Hanoi in Vietnam. This evening you can take a walk through the bustling streets and markets of the Old Quarter. The shops themselves have very narrow frontages, but are actually quite deep; they are known locally as ‘tube’ shops, while on the pavement food vendors sell noodles, snacks and stir-fries from shoulder panniers.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we make a tour of the main sights of Hanoi. Architecturally styled like a French provincial town with tree-lined boulevards and substantial low-built houses, the city is wonderfully nostalgic. Among the interesting sights are the charming One-Pillar Pagoda and the Presidential Palace, a very fine example of French colonial architecture. Ho Chi Minh himself, a spartan-living and scholarly man, chose not to live in the Presidential Palace; he preferred instead a simple teak 2-storied stilt-house specially built for him in the grounds.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We have some free time in Hanoi this morning to visit some of the city’s many museums or you may choose to visit Ho Chi Minh’s austere mausoleum which resembles Lenin’s in Moscow. In the afternoon we drive out towards the magnificent Ha Long Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin. Thousands of jagged limestone islands rise out of the jade green waters like the hairy scales of a submerged dragon. In fact Ha Long means ‘where the dragon descends to the sea’ as legend tells that the rugged seascape was created by the pounding tail of a dragon as she ran from the mountains into the sea, carving islands in her wake. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we will enjoy the romantic scenery cruising amongst the islands. We’ll have the chance to stop at some of the hidden grottoes beneath towering cliffs and perhaps pull into a quiet beach, fringed with thick jungle. It is also interesting to see the curious assortment of boats, junks and wooden sampans, their sails hoisted, gliding through Ha Long Bay. We enjoy an included seafood lunch on board the boat, then return to the hotel in Hanoi to freshen up before boarding the ‘Reunification Express’ to Hué. 

Overnight Basic Train Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch

We arrive in Hué, one of the great cultural and religious centres of Vietnam, a major highlight of our trip. In the afternoon we plan to take a trip by boat on the Perfume River from Hué to the Thien Mu Pagoda. This lovely monastery is the oldest in Hué. 

Overnight Standard Hotel

To appreciate Hué’s fascinating history we’ll tour the Old Citadel and museum in the morning, and leave the afternoon free. The citadel/palace built by the Nguyen dynasty (Vietnam’s ruling emperors from the early 1800s to 1945) has formal moats and impressive ramparts and was an exact copy of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Although most of the Inner City was totally destroyed during the month-long Tet Offensive (1968), the vast outer walls and the West Wing remain and are an eloquent reminder of the palace’s former glory. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We enjoy a scenic drive across the spectacular Col des Nuages, passing rural scenes of thatched, wooden houses and lime-green rice paddies. Pausing at Danang, once the centre of the Kingdom of Champa (2nd century AD – 1720) we visit the Cham Museum which houses a fine collection of Cham sculptures. We also visit China Beach and the nearby Marble Mountains. The five peaks are said to represent the five elements (water, wood, fire, gold and earth), and the naturally carved grottoes have been transformed into buddhist sanctuaries. Finally we continue to the ancient town of Hoi An. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

The historic, merchant town of Hoi An had become one of the busiest international trading ports of southeast Asia by the 17th and 18th centuries, and it still retains its medieval charm today, with many of its old buildings superbly preserved. The day is free to explore at leisure. You may choose to visit the Japanese Bridge; or visit some of the many wooden houses and Chinese temples that line the streets. There are many markets in town which are an ideal place to pick up silk paintings and tailored silk clothing. You may wish to take an optional excursion either today or tomorrow afternoon to Quang Ngai, the site of the My Lai massacre memorial. The massacre was a significant turning point in the Vietnam War and the horrific story is told through a photo-presentation – quite an emotional experience. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

A further day is spent based in this popular historic town. This morning we take an excursion to the holiest and most evocative of Vietnam’s Cham sites, My Son. The Chams were dynastic lords who rejected the authority of China in 2AD and established their own kingdom. For 1000 years they managed to stave off attacks by the Vietnamese and Chinese, before being overcome by the Vietnamese in the 15th century. Travel along the track that leads to the site is slow, as we bump through wooded hills southwest of Hoi An. But the site is certainly impressive with several groupings of Cham tombs and temples to be visited. We should be back in Hoi An by early afternoon; the rest of the day being left free.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

After a short drive to Danang Airport we fly to Saigon. Upon arrival we drive to Ben Tre. The picturesque province of Ben Tre comprises of several large islands in the mouth of the mighty Mekong river. Surrounded with lush and fertile Mekong Delta land this province is home to swaying coconut palms and floating markets. We get on a local ferry to take us to a nearby village where we get on a trishaw to explore this area. Later we get on Sampons which are small Chinese boats and cruise along the narrow canals of the delta. Enjoying the stunning views and lunch at a local house, gets us up and close this to rural side of Vietnam. After lunch we get to wander around this area at our own will. Finally we get on a boat to bring us back to Ben Tre where we spend the night. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We spend the morning exploring the Nuoc Trong Canal in Mekong Delta, its wonderful markets and meeting some hard working locals, perhaps with time to see coconut processing and trading. We will also have options to walk or cycle along the canal to explore further. We then drive back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we plan a walking tour of the central sights. Our programme will include such interesting places as the Independence Palace (renamed Reunification Hall) GPO building and the War Crimes Museum. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we’ll take a short drive out of the city to the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels, which formed an amazing underground command base for 10,000 Viet Cong troops and were a major part of the 1968 Tet Offensive. After our visit, we continue on to Cambodia and its capital, Phnom Penh. We cross the border at the MocBai (Vietnam) and Bavet (Cambodia) crossing point. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Phnom Penh is a pleasant and surprisingly quiet city with many French colonial buildings and plenty to see. Our city tour includes the National Museum of Arts, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum , and the ‘Killing Fields’ of Choeung Ek. You should be aware that many people do find Tuol Sleng and the ‘Killing Fields’ quite distressing. This afternoon we make our way to the Royal Palace where we visit the Silver Pagoda. We will also see Wat Phnom before having some free time in the city.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

You are free to spend the day at leisure in thriving Phnom Penh. Optional excursions close to the city include a trip to Silk Island, Chiso Mountain or the abandoned Royal City of Oudong. Each of these excursions are half a day in duration and may be combined, your tour leader will discuss in more detail. Silk Island or Koh Dach is reached by a short boat journey along the Mekong and the majority of villagers on the island earn a living through producing handicrafts. It is a great opportunity to learn more about traditional ways of life and interact with locals as you learn about silk-weaving, wood-carving, pottery, painting, and jewellery making. Chiso Mountain (380m),located in Sia village about 62 kilometers south of Phnom Penh , is topped by the ruins of an 11th century Khmer Brahmanic Temple with fine views of the surrounding paddy fields. Oudong is about 1hour north of the capital and offers the opportunity to explore attractive historic temples and stupas.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

This morning we drive to Siem Reap. On arrival, we journey to the nearby Tonle Sap Lake where we board our chartered boat for a cruise through the fascinating floating villages on the lake.

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Our exact programme may change slightly at the tour leaders discretion (to avoid crowds, coincide with sunsets etc). We spend a full day in exploration of these stunning temples. Firstly we plan to visit the impressive Rolous Group which includes: Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei Temples. In the afternoon we’ll visit Banteay Srei and Ta Phrom, lying half consumed by the jungle, and the best known and most breathtaking of all the sights, Angkor Wat. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

We continue our exploration today with a visit to Angkor Thom. We’ll spend our last days exploring the fortified city including visits to The Terrace of the Elephants and the Leper King, the Baphuon and Phimeanakas, and some of the surrounding temples such as Preah Khan. We’ll also visit the 2nd Angkor capital which includes the temples of Kravan, East Mebon, Srah Srang, Takeo and Pre Rup. We’ll leave the best known and most breathtaking of all the sights, Angkor Wat to the end. 

Overnight Standard Hotel Included meals: Breakfast

Tour ends after breakfast. If you have time you may choose to browse the Old Market for some last minute bargains.

Included meals: Breakfast