Discovery Indochina Tour

Xin chao – Welcome to Hanoi – Vietnam

Meals included: None

Fly to Hanoi, where you will be met at the airport in the arrival hall by your Guide. You will be transferred for about 45 minutes to your hotel and check into your room.

There is no sightseeing today.

Overnight in Hanoi

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch 

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is a charming and richly historic city of lakes, shaded boulevards and leafy open parks. The centre is an architectural museum piece housing groups of ochre colonial buildings the air of provincial French towns of the 1930s. Its Old Quarter, where artisans and guilds lived and worked together to produce and sell a wide variety of items reflects the Vietnamese life in the past.

Today, after breakfast, you will spend a full day to explore this charming city.

You will start with the visit to the visit to the outside of the Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum where the body of Uncle Ho is preserved. 

Move onward to visit his wooden stilt house and One Pillar Pagoda which are located nearby.

Then, visit the Temple of Literature, the first university of Vietnam, which is imbued with the profound philosophies of Confucianism. You will be enjoying Bun Cha Obama today for lunch. This is where President Obama tried during his visit in 2016.

In the afternoon, visit the Hoan Kiem Lake. You will cross a scarlet bridge to access the Ngoc Son temple. An enormous tortoise is exhibited in the center hall.

You will also be taking one-hour cyclo ride through the Hanoi’s Old Quarter to catch a glimpse of ancient Hanoi and learn about traditional Vietnamese architecture. 

After that, get back to your hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, drive to Ninh Binh, the ancient Capital. You will first visit Hoa Lu with the relics of the history. Then, visit the temples of the Dinh and Le kings were two first dynasties in Vietnam after Chinese controlled over one thousand years.

Lunch will be at a local restaurant.

After lunch, take a sampan ride on the Ngo Dong River among the beautiful limestone to Tam Coc. You will have chance to admire the landscapes along the ride. 

Transfer to hotel in Ninh Binh where you will check in for the night.

Overnight in Ninh Binh.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, take a 2,5 to 3 hour drive through rice paddy fields to Ha Long Bay. You will board a junk for a cruise among the hundreds of islets of Ha Long Bay. 

Enjoy lunch on board as you cruise out into the bay, stopping to anchor for an afternoon of activities. Activities are subject to each cruise and weather conditions.

Drop anchor in the late evening for an overnight stay. 

Overnight on a junk.

Meals included: Breakfast

Early morning, enjoy Tai Chi lesson on the sundeck (lasting for about 30 minutes)

Coffee, tea and breakfast pastries served in the dining room.

Enjoy some morning activities before getting back to your cabin to freshen up and finish packing.

The breakfast is served in the dining room while cruising back to the pier.

Transfer to Noi Bai Airport for your flight to Hoian. On arrival, transfer to hotel.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Hoi An was recognised as an UNESCO’S World Heritage site in 1999. It used to be a trading port from the period of the 15th to 19th centuries. This is the “Highlights of Vietnam – Cambodia – Laos – 15-day – discovery tour” 

After breakfast, visit Tra Que vegetable village to discover the cultivation methods of the local. Stay back at the farm for the lunch prepared by the house owner.

After lunch, get back to town for a walking tour to explore the charming Hoian town. You will visit an ancient merchant house, the Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge and the vibrant riverside market. 

Get back to your hotel and have the rest of day at leisure.

Overnight in Hoi An. 

Meals included: Breakfast 

After breakfast, drive to My Son Sanctuary which was once an imperial city during the Champa dynasty, between the 4th and the 12th centuries. We travel about 45km to My Son sanctuary. It comprises many Champa temples. Spend over 1 hour to see a complex of religious relics that includes more than 60 architectural works. In 1999, UNESCO named the Cham architecture in My Son as a World Cultural Heritage Site. Then you will transfer to Danang airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh city

Overnight  in Ho Chi Minh city.

Meals included: Breakfast

Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon) is the most dynamic and modern city of Vietnam. Saigon is the name of a fantastic river flowing through the city. 

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Saigon was the Pearl of the Orient, which flourished  under  the  American  occupation. In more  recent  times,  it  was  the  seat  of  the  South  Vietnam government until the events  that led to the country’s reunification. Today, the old mixes seamlessly with the new and you can wander through timeless alleys to incense-infused temples before catching up with the present in designer malls beneath sleek skyscrapers.

In the morning, you will visit the amazing Cu Chi Tunnels where Vietnamese guerrillas built a labyrinth of narrow tunnels as hideouts during the war. The  Cu  Chi  experience  can  be  emotional  for some  visitors,  but  it  offers  a  fascinating  window  into  the hardship  and  traumas  of  war. 

Return to Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon for a half-day city tour. Highlights include the photo stops at the Reunification Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office. Visit a local market in Chinatown and the Thien Hau Temple.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, drive to Mekong Delta for a day of exploration. 

This program will start at Cai Thia village of Cai Be district in Tien Giang province. Come to Mrs Nam’s family to see how she makes price paper in more than 60 years. We have more option to see more about Mekong Delta if we have a biking trip in one hour to explore the famous village of Hoa Loc mango on the small beautiful roads. It is so interesting to see traditional houses made of wood or palm leaves in Mekong Delta.. Come to local and peaceful home, we can create some local cakes and taste it with hot tea. After biking, we’ll come back Cai Thia village. Be on our boat and enjoy the best lunch on boat when the boat towards to Binh An island. Then, we enjoy the peaceful time in a small rowboat on narrow cannal. An other option stop can be made at Ut Trinh garden to visit old house, orchards, bonsai, orchid and enjoy the local music. Walk to the local workshop where you can see how to make sweets with a cup of hot tea.

After getting along some floating houses and fish farms, we cross the mighty Mekong and finish the boat trip in Vinh Long about 4 PM.

The cruise will end at Vinh Long city where the vehicle is ready to drive you to Can Tho for overnight.

Overnight in Can Tho.

Meals included: Breakfast

Early morning, enjoy a boat cruise to visit the Cai Rang Floating market where local and foreign tourists go to learn about the colorful life on the river. 

The market, which has thrived for over a century, has been a centre for commerce in the city and its neighboring provinces. They traditionally sell all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and recently added coffee, breakfast dishes and even lottery tickets. On boats, products are hung on bamboo poles so tourists and locals can easily know which products each boat is selling. And transfer to visit an ancient house in Binh Thuy where they products the L’amant film by French director Jean – Jacque and other famous Vietnam film.  

Get back to your hotel for breakfast. 

Later, transfer to Saigon and flight to Siem Reap. On arrival, transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meals included: Breakfast

Siem Reap is the second largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province.

It has French and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter and around the Old Market. In the city, there are museums, traditional Apsara dance performances, a Cambodian cultural village, souvenir and handicraft shops, silk farms, rice paddies in the countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near Tonle Sap, and a cosmopolitan drinking and dining scene. Cambodia’s Siem Reap city, home to the famous Angkor temples, was crowned the ASEAN City of Culture for the period 2021-2022 at the 9th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts (AMCA) organised on Oct 22, 2020. 

Siem Reap today—being a popular tourist destination—has many hotels, resorts, and restaurants. This owes much to its proximity to the Angkor Wat temples, Cambodia’s most popular tourist attraction. 

Today, rise up early for the magnificent sunrise at the Angkor Wat. Witness the reflection over the tops of the monuments when the sun is rising. After that, go back to your hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast, visit Angkor Thom (13th Century), including the South Gate, the Bayon, The Terrace of the Elephants and The Terrace of the Leper King, finishing our exploration at the Royal Enclosure. In the afternoon, visit the epic Angkor Wat, viewing its well-known architecture and bas-reliefs.  

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, proceed to the graceful Khmer Temple of Shiva, the Bantey Srei with its rarely seen sculpted female deities. On the way back to town, visit the impressive Ta Prohm Temple, which is dramatically enveloped by jungle.

In the evening, enjoy a dinner with Apsara Dance show at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meals included: Breakfast

Transfer to the Airport for your flight to Luang Prabang, 

On arrival, transfer to hotel.

Luang Phabang is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town Of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and “remarkably” well preserved architectural, religious and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Xieng Thong. It was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos, until the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975. The city is part of Luang Prabang District of Luang Prabang Province and is the capital and administrative centre of the province. It lies approximately 300 km (186 mi) north of the capital Vientiane. 

The rest of day is at leisure.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals included: Breakfast

Today, we embark on a cruise upstream on the Mekong River, which also gives us a breath-taking view of the tranquil countryside, before reaching the mysterious 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 village of Ban Xanghai, where they make the local rice wine. On return, we disembark the boat to visit traditional villages, and continue taking a short drive to Ban Phanom, a village famous for its hand weaving.

In the afternoon your half day city tour begins with a visit to the Royal Palace Museum (closed on Sunday afternoon from 2pm), which hosts a range of interesting artifacts.  We then head to the magnificent Wat Xiengthong with its roofs sweeping low to the ground, which represents classical Laotian architecture.  We also have time to visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun as well as the Arts and Ethnology Centre to learn about Laos’ many ethnic cultures.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals included: Breakfast

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. This is the “Highlights of Vietnam – Cambodia – Laos – 19 – day – discovery tour”.

Then, go back to your hotel for breakfast.

Laos is also known for its traditional handicrafts, and today you will visit local village of Lao ethnic minority groups at Ban Ouay and Ban Thapene. Time permitting you may also wish to drive to the beautiful Khuangsi Waterfall where you can splash around in the turquoise pools or walk along the forest paths. 

We return to Luang Prabang by late afternoon and continue to Ban Phanom, a well-known weaving village, and then return to the city by late afternoon for observing the sunset at Wat Siphouth mountain.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

We drive to VangVieng by road with beautiful mountainous region of the northern Laos where unspoiled environment. We will stop on the top of mountain for 360 dregee view and have a lunch.

On arrival in Vangvieng, we take a boat trip in Nam Song river enjoy a beautiful scenery and a marvelous sunset reflecting over Nam Song river.

to visit Tham Jang caves and have little trekking around caves and hill villages. Take a boat back with a marvelous sunset reflecting over river.

Overnight in Vang Vieng

Meals: Breakfast

This morning, you will cross the Nam Song river to visit Tham Jang Caves  once used by local people as hideout from Chinese invaders  and trekking around caves and hill villages.

Back to hotel and check out 

Drive to Vientiane ( approximilt 4-5 hours)  through passing the spectacular mountain view.

Overnight in Vientiane.

Meals:Breakfast 

This morning, we drive out south from Vientiane city to visit the Buddha Park, an enchanting collection over 200 sculptures of various shapes and sizes Buddhist and Hindu in parkland on the banks of  Mekong near the Friendship Bridge.

Late afternoon, begin a tour of the Lao capital, visiting around the city sights including the oldest Wat Sisaket, the temple with thousands of miniature Buddha statues and the former royal temple of Wat Prakeo previously housed the famous Emerald Buddha Image. Continue on to the famous and sacred structure of That Luang Stupa, stop to take photos of the imposing Patuxay Monument, which is well known as Vientiane’s own Arc de Triumph, from there you visit COPE center. The COPE was created in response to the need to provide UXO survivors with the care and support they required, namely by way of orthitic and prosthetic devices. The museum was set after in 1997 to help covering the victim during Indochina war.

Back to hotel. Overnight in Vientiane.

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to airport for departure. The end of services.