VIETNAM & CAMBODIA LUXURY 17 DAYS

Arrive Hanoi, capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. After completing immigration formalities and clearing customs you will be met by your guide outside the baggage claim area who will escort you to a waiting vehicle for your transfer to the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel.  

Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi.

The hotel is a French colonial-style building that has stood proudly since 1901. The hotel has a rich history and a century-long tradition of welcoming ambassadors, writers, heads of state, and entrepreneurs. Features include 363 rooms and suites, a beautiful interior garden, excellent French cuisine at Le Beaulieu, and Hanoi specialties at the Spices Garden. 

After breakfast, start out for an orientation drive through this charming capital Hanoi before enjoying a scenic drive of 25 miles from Hanoi to Bac Ninh.

Enjoy 2-3 hours of biking through the rice paddies with stops to visit village temples, shrine houses and pagodas. A special visit will be made to the house of the village where you will have the opportunity to interact with the villagers. You will also be a 'tourist' attraction to all the curious villagers. Visit a local family's home. Enjoy a sweet melody of "Quan Ho Bac Ninh" an antiphonal singing tradition in which men and women take turns singing in a challenge-and-response fashion. The singing ends with songs in the farewell category. Quan Ho was designated a UNESCO intangible Heritage of Humanity in September 2009. Interact with local people about their lives and crafts. 

Afterwards return to the Hanoi and enjoy lunch at Press Club restaurant. After lunch we will visit the Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple. Enjoy a one-hour cyclo tour through the Old Quarter - a precious legacy of Hanoi's ancient past with 36 streets and 36 wares to experience more about the life of this city nowadays. In the early 13th century guilds evolved from the collection of tiny workshop villages which clustered around the walled Palace.  Artisans and guilds lived and worked together to produce and sell a wide variety of items. As time progressed this area became a collection of narrow streets each named after the product sold, including Silk Street and Gold Street.

Enjoy your dinner at the upscale La Verticale. The restaurant offers a great selection of French and Vietnamese fusion. You can enjoy the delicacies in a villa built during the 1930s based on French and Indochina architecture. 

Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi.

At 6:15 AM witness the early morning of Hanoi, participate in a Tai Chi exercise. It's a great chance for you to take pictures of local people and the sunrise from the western side of Hoan Kiem Lake.  Return to the hotel for breakfast.  

We will visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, an imposing monument made of generous amount of marble and granite. This is where the preserved body of "Uncle Ho" can be viewed. Continue visiting the lotus-shaped One-Pillar Pagoda. 

We will explore the streets of Hanoi for a special street food tour with your guide. First, drive to a local market to learn about and taste some of the ingredients used in the local cuisine and to watch the buying and selling rituals of a Vietnamese market.  Next, enjoy a Vietnamese Cà Phê (coffee) with the locals at one of Hanoian's favorite, Cafe Lam, one of the many sidewalk cafes in the historic French Quarter. Your guide will give you an overview of the Vietnamese food scene, particularly in Hanoi. Then, drive to Truc Bach Lake for a snack of Pho Cuon, a grilled beef and rice noodle roll.

Lunch with your guide at one of Hanoi's best cafes. Enjoy Bun ha and seafood spring rolls at Bun Cha Le Van Huu.  We then visit the Temple of Literature, the first university of Vietnam and the Vietnam Ethnology Museum - a valuable centre for the exhibition and the preservation of cultural heritages of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. Learn about the cultural diversity and the uniqueness of each group and region as well as the traditional values throughout Vietnam.  

Enjoy your dinner Bobby Chinn restaurant. Afterwards transfer to the train station.

Depart Hanoi onboard the Victoria Express Train (Private Deluxe cabin).

Early this morning arrive in Lao Cai, located near the Chinese border. Enjoy a scenic drive to the former hill station of Sapa. En route enjoy spectacular views of rice-terraced mountains. 

Sapa is a small market town that has been a gathering spot for a great diversity of many hill-tribes for nearly 200 years. Hmong, Dao people, and other ethnic minorities regularly come here to conduct trade and socialize. The scenery of the Sapa region in large part reflects the relationship between the minority people and nature. This is seen especially in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoang Lien Mountains. The impressive physical landscape which underlies this has resulted from the work of the elements over thousands of years, wearing away the underlying rock. 

Have breakfast and then we will be driven to Lao Chai, a Black H’mong ethnic minority village and we then walk from Lao Chai to Ta Van village where the Giay ethnic minority hill tribe lives. Here we will be able to rest and enjoy our lunch in a local house.

After lunch our walk continues on a hilly trail through a bamboo forest to Giang Ta Chai, a Red Dao ethnic minority village. On the way, we make a stop at a waterfall for a rest and to take in the beautiful surroundings and then descend to a suspension bridge before reaching the main road where our vehicle is awaiting for our drive back to Sapa. 

Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Sapa.

At the Victoria Sapa Resort & Spa reservations for a Deluxe Room have been confirmed for this evening. The hotel is located on a hill overlooking Sapa Village. Enjoy views of Mount Fansipan and surrounding terrain. The hotel is a short walk from the local market. Sapa is home to more than 30 colorful hilltribes. 

Today we leave Sapa behind and take a short transfer to the small village of Sin Chai, inhabited by Black H’mong people. Sin Chai is located at the foot of Fansipan Mountain in an area covered by rain forest and under the protection of Hoang Lien National Park. Upon arrival at the village, we experience the daily life of thevillagers who still maintain their ancestor’s way of life. Departing the village, we take in the spectacular scenery as we follow a dirt trail running through rice paddies and along a narrow river where we also visit a local house of the few Black H’mong families living here.

We then head back to Sapa for some free time and finally descend to Lao Cai where we can enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants before boarding our overnight train for our return trip to Hanoi. 

5:30 a.m: Arrival in Ha Noi. Pick-up at the Hanoi train station. After breakfast at local restaurant we depart for Ha Long city (170 km), approximately three hours away to visit Halong bay (a World Natural Heritage site and a New World’s Wonder). Halong bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes with 1969 islets. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, other support floating villages of fishermen. You have chance of observing scenic country side of Vietnam dominated by enormous lush rice field. 

Upon arrival in Halong. Check-in between 11:30 - 12:00 at the boat port. Enjoy a refreshing “Welcome cocktail” upon check-in on the sun deck. Enjoy your lunch as the vessel sails to Halong Bay passing the Fighting cocks islet, the Elephant leg islet, the Castle islet, the Soi Sim island. Arrive at Surprise grotto - one of the most famous grotto in the entire Halong, we will visit the cave by Tender. After taking a lot of photos and admire the beauty of the cave we will visit the fishing village by local rowing boat (1 hour) with the opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations then we return to the vessel for free time at your leisure. You can swim in the clear emerald waters, soak up the sun over a cool beer on the top deck sun lounge or try your hand at some kayaking (your account) amongst the huge limestone outcrops that surround us. We retire to the junk and relax on the top deck and enjoy a refreshing drink from the bar. Enjoy and learn the Vietnamese cooking demonstration on the Sundeck. Your delicious seafood dinner will be served at the restaurant. Stay overnight on cruise for a more in-depth experience.

(The itinerary above may be changed depending on the cruise we choose and weather permitting).

Greet the day with a morning Tai Chi exercise with an opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay. Sitting on the upper desk we can enjoy the breath - taking beauty of the rocky islands rising from the crystal-clear water of the bay. We can hear the birds singing, cicadas chirping ashore and the gentle lapping of the waves against our boat, the perfect soundtrack to accompany the fresh air and gentle breeze. International brunch buffet served in the restaurant. Check-out on board and disembarkation at boat port, Halong city.

Our tour guide and driver will pick you up and transfer to airport for your short flight to Da Nang (01 hour). You are welcome at the airport then you will be escorted to a waiting vehicle for your transfer to the Victoria Hoi An. 

The resort replicates a traditional fishing village with small streets, water ponds and village houses with clay-tiled roofs, providing a warm and restful environment.   

This morning meet with a chef at Hoi An's local and colorful market. Enjoy a tour of the market where you will learn about the various Vietnamese spices and ingredients. After the market tour enjoy a private cooking class with demonstration and hands-on experience at Morning Glory Cooking School. Learn how to prepare various Vietnamese dishes! 

After lunch, enjoy a walking tour of the ancient town centre. Visit the former merchants' houses that are a combination of Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese style; the 400 year-old Japanese Covered Bridge constructed in 1593; Sa Huynh Museum located near the Japanese covered Bridge, it contains exhibitions from the earliest period of Hoi An's history and the colorful market with its stalls brimming with tropical specialties.

This evening you will enjoy dine at Cargo Club where you can sample a selection of Ms Vy's family recipes and other local dishes. 

Early morning,  enjoy a unique visit to the Hoi An fish market when the fishermen are bringing their night's catch to shore. To truly capture the spectacular energy of this fish market, you have to visit at the break of dawn.  Afterwards return to the hotel for breakfast.

Today experience a morning living and working with the local people in the rural outskirt of Hoi An. You'll visit Tra Que organic herb growing village - located on the banks of a lagoon with fertile soil known for for harvesting the country's best vegetables. Stroll around the vegetable gardens and join the farmers in preparing the land and fertilizing it with seaweed from the local lake. You'll learn how to cultivate the vegetable by raking, sowing, watering greens and picking greens and other fun gardening activities.

Enjoy a home hosted lunch with a local family with many local delicacies including "Tam Huu" spring roll made from Tra Que vegetable. After lunch return to Hoi An for a leisurely afternoon.  

Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Hoian.

Breakfast at your hotel. Depart the Victoria Hoi An on your overland journey to Hue. Enjoy a three-hour journey that hugs the ocean coastline, winds through Emerald-green rice fields and climbs over the dramatic Hai Van mountain pass.

This afternoon visit King Tu Duc's Mausoleum, a poetic non-conformist architectural work. As a poet himself, this king went out of the way of Confucianism to choose a romantic, non-symmetrical design for his expected afterlife residence. Pay a visit to Phap Lam Enamel Workshop to admire the architectural objects with copper core body coated with a many layers of different colored enamels. 

If interested, walk with your guide around Dong Ba Market to experience local commercial life activities and shopping opportunities. Dong Ba Market is located in the old part of Hue Royal city at the junction of Dong Ba Canal and Perfume River. A visit to Dong Ba Market helps you to experience the daily life of the locals. A stroll around this food & vegetable market will surely add new colors to your visit.

Enjoy dinner at the private residence of Mr. Pham Ba Vinh. The Vinh's residence 'Tha Om Garden House' offers an excellent opportunity to relax and enjoy traditional Vietnamese hospitality in the surrounds of a fully-working and functioning replica of a 19th century Hue residence. Mr. Pham Ba Vinh is a specialist in Hue ancient wooden architecture. Overnight in Hue

Begin your day with a boat trip on the Perfume River. Visit Thien Mu Pagoda, Hue's most preserved religious monument standing on the riverbank with its seven-floored tower. Thien Mu Pagoda (the Elderly Goddess Pagoda). 

Afterwards visit the Imperial Citadel from where the Nguyen emperors once ruled in Vietnam and Forbidden Purple City. The Forbidden Purple City was once the home of the emperor and his concubines. Stop at a Buddhist pagoda where you will be able to interact with the monks. Join in a blessing ceremony for your welfare and peace of mind. Enjoy a vegetarian lunch with the Buddhist nuns.

This afternoon visit Van An school, the most famous school of martial art in Vietnam. Attend a martial art performance where 20 students and their master will deliver an exciting demonstration of their fighting art. The school was founded by the eldest prince of King Gia Long. You will have the opportunity to interact with the master and the students.

You are transferred to Hue airport to take a flight to Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon). You are welcome at the airport then transfer to your hotel for check in. Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Saigon.

Breakfast at your hotel. Travel outside the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The main "highway" is thronged with bicycles, green paddy fields where local peasants work and children lead buffaloes, and people making their way to the market.  It's hard to believe that you are entering what was a war zone of immense strategic importance. Cu Chi is famous for its 120 miles of underground tunnels, used by the Vietcong forces to fight both the French and the Americans. The Cu Chi tunnels will give you a fascinating insight into the tenacity and courage of the Viet Cong forces during the war.

Afterwards return to the city and visit some of Saigon's historic landmarks including the Post Office - with its notable Decemberorated ceiling designed by Gustaf Eiffel of Tower fame, Notre Dame Cathedral circa 1880, a highlight tour of the former Presidential Palace, once headquarters for the Saigon Government during the Vietnam War.

Complete your day with shopping opportunities at Cho Lon (Saigon China town), Ben Thanh Central Market and the boutique shops along Dong Khoi Street.  

Enjoy your dine at the Temple Club, one of the most atmospheric and romantic spots in town. The Temple Club is an old Chinese Temple (1900s) with original wood and masonry. The cuisine is standard Vietnamese from all parts of the country.

Have breakfast at your hotel. Start your overland journey to the Mekong Delta. Travel to the river town of Cai Be. In Cai Be board a traditional sampan and travel through the winding canal. Enjoy a close-up view of the daily river life. Visit the colorful Cai Be floating market where vegetable farmers and fishermen gather in a swarm of wooden boats to sell their produce.  

Continue your boat trip through small canals and waterways. Enjoy the scenery along the river where local houses are still made of wood and palm tree leaves. Enjoy beautiful vistas of endless rice paddy fields.  

Afterwards you will be transferred to the Victoria Can Tho Hotel. The hotel lies on the banks of the Hau River, set amidst beautiful gardens.  Evening at leisure.

Enjoy an early breakfast.  The we will visit the colorful Cai Rang floating market where a colorful display of boats carrying fresh fruits and vegetables converge to sell goods. Visit a local fruit orchard where you can sample the succulent fruits of the region.

Transfer back to Saigon and take a short flight to Siem Reap. You are welcome at the airport and then be transferred to your hotel for check in.

Free your time at leisure. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Enjoy sunrise at the incredible Angkor Wat Temple Complex. Return to the hotel for breakfast.  

After breakfast travel outside the city to the impressive Ta Prohm Temple. Ta Prohm was built by Jayavarman VII as a shrine for his mother and as a monastery devoted to its upkeep. A stele referred to the temple as a monument "whose limbs are adorned with gold and resplendent with gems". 

Visit Banteay Srei Temple, the birthplace of Khmer classical style architecture. Banteay Srei Temple is a small gem of a temple built by a Brahman. Also visit Banteay Samre, a Vishnu temple built by Suryavarman II. Banteay Samre is one of the most complete sites at Angkor,

Transfer back to the city. Free your time ta leisure. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Breakfast at your hotel. Explore Angkor Thom (which means Great City). Angkor Thom is the cultural home of the Khmer (Cambodian) people and one of the ancient wonders of the world.  This vast network of Wats (temples) dating back to the 7th century is the center of some of the most important structures, statues, and carvings produced in the name of the Buddhist and Hindu religions. The Great City covers an area of four square miles. The total length of the wall surrounding the city is 7.5 miles. Incorporated into the wall are a number of earlier buildings: Baphuon and Phimeanakas.  The city is dominated by a mania for colossal size, punctuated with enormous numbers of towers and reliefs. 

The Bayon, is an awesome sight.  At first glance, the complex seems a shapeless mass of stone. Suddenly, further scrutiny reveals a face, enigmatic and silent, watching with half-closed eyes. Soon, another face is made out, and another, and still yet another, until they are all around - silent, heavy, and impressive, staring from a primitive remote past.  

This evening enjoy the dine at L'Escale des Arts et des sens, a trendy restaurant that specializes in New Asian Cuisine. The menu was created by world renowned French chef Didier Corlou who uses the savors from the four corners of Asia. 

Breakfast at your hotel. This morning enjoy a cruise on Tonle Sap Lake. Inhabited by dozens of floating villages, this leisurely cruise provides a perfect opportunity to take in the local lifestyle, as well as to observe the many species of birds that thrive around the lake.  

Continue to one of the city's lively open markets, Psar Chars, also called the "Old Market", where anything and everything is for sale.

Free your time at leisure, untill our guide and driver pick you up and transfer to the airport for your departure.