11 Days in Indochina: From Sacred Temples to Legendary Bays

Welcome to Cambodia, and to Phnom Penh, where the Mekong and Tonle Sap meet.

On arrival at Phnom Penh International Airport, complete the immigration formalities (visa on arrival is available, or may be obtained online in advance) and meet your driver and guide at the Exit Gate for the sixty-minute drive into the city.

The rest of the day is free at leisure. Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast, set out at around 8:30 AM for Choeung Ek, southwest of the city and known through the film The Killing Fields, where a memorial stupa stands in remembrance of those who died between 1975 and 1978. Returning to the city, visit Tuol Sleng Museum, the former S-21 prison and largest detention centre of the Khmer Rouge regime. Both sites are visited quietly and respectfully. If time permits, a brief stop at the Russian Market follows.

The afternoon turns to the royal city. Visit the Royal Palace, official residence of the King of Cambodia, and the National Museum, home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Khmer art. The day closes at Wat Phnom, the hilltop pagoda that gave the capital its name, raised by legend in 1372 to house four Buddha statues found in the waters of the Mekong by Lady Penh.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast and check-out, transfer to the bus station for the coach north to Siem Reap (ticket included).

On arrival, you are met and taken to your hotel, with the rest of the day free at leisure.

Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Set out at around 8:00 AM for the fortified city of Angkor Thom, the last great capital of the Khmer kings. Within its walls stands the Bayon, adorned with 216 stone faces that have gazed serenely over travellers for more than eight hundred years.

Continue to Ta Prohm, left largely to nature and still held in the grip of colossal tree roots, where the boundary between temple and jungle has all but vanished. After lunch at a local restaurant within the complex (at your own arrangement), the afternoon culminates at Angkor Wat, the crown jewel of Khmer architecture, whose galleries hold the world’s longest continuous bas-reliefs.

As evening approaches, ascend the hilltop temple of Phnom Bakheng for one of the finest sunsets in Asia, returning to town around 6:30 PM.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Free at leisure until your transfer to the airport (driver only) for your flight to Da Nang.

On arrival, your guide and driver meet you and continue to your hotel, with check-in from early afternoon. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Da Nang.

Your driver and guide collect you at 1:00 PM, beginning at Cam Thanh Coconut Jungle, where you learn traditional fishing techniques and how to row the distinctive Vietnamese bamboo basket boat through the tranquil coconut palm waterways — hands-on, and suitable for everyone.

Continue to Hoi An Ancient Town. Visit the colorful Phuc Kien Chinese Assembly Hall, browse the Central Market, and step inside the beautifully preserved Phung Hung and Tan Ky Ancient Houses, which have withstood two hundred years of weather and war. Explore the Museum of Folk Culture, enjoy a performance at the Hoi An Traditional Performing Arts House, and pause at the iconic Japanese Bridge, built more than four hundred years ago to link the Japanese and Chinese communities. There is also time for the town’s handicraft shops and quiet laneways.

As evening falls, a boat ride on the Hoai River brings the day to a close, releasing flower lanterns onto the water in a wish for good fortune, before free time at the lantern-lit night market. You return to your hotel at around 8:30 PM.

Overnight in Da Nang.

Departure at 8:00 AM from Da Nang for Ba Na Hills, at an altitude of 1,487 metres, ascending by a cable car holding four Guinness World Records as the mountain scenery opens beneath you.

At the top, reach the Golden Bridge, curving through the sky like a sash, alongside Linh Ung Pagoda and Le Jardin d’Amour. A second cable car carries you to the French Village, a replica of classical France with squares, a cathedral, and street performances. A buffet lunch is served at midday.

The afternoon is free for Queen Mountain and Fantasy Park, with its many rides and games, before the cable car returns you to the valley at around 3:30 PM for the drive back to Da Nang.

Please note: certain attractions at Ba Na Hills, including the Wax Museum, wine cellar, roller coaster, and some paid games, are not included.

Overnight in Da Nang.

Your driver transfers you to the airport for the flight to Hanoi. On arrival, meet your driver and continue by private car to your hotel (about sixty minutes), with the room available from early afternoon.

In the afternoon, set out on a half-day city tour, beginning at the Ho Chi Minh Complex — the Mausoleum (viewed from outside, closed on Mondays, Fridays, and all afternoons), the Presidential Palace, the House on Stilts, and the One Pillar Pagoda. Continue to Train Street, where a passing train becomes a spectacle in itself, with time for a coffee at a local café (at your own expense). The tour closes with a walk through the Old Quarter and its bustling streets, traditional shops, and colonial architecture, before a drop-off at your hotel.

Overnight in Hanoi.

At around 8:00 AM, a limousine collects you from your hotel in the Old Quarter for the journey to the coast. On arrival, board your cruise and begin sailing through Halong Bay — a UNESCO World Heritage Site holding some 2,000 karst islands over a geological history reaching back 500 million years — with a lunch of local cuisine served on board.

In the afternoon, join a guided visit to a grotto of dramatic stalactites and stalagmites, then continue to a nearby island to relax on the beach or hike to a viewpoint. As the day winds down, take in the sunset before a cooking class in traditional Vietnamese dishes, followed by dinner of local specialties on board. Optional evening activities such as squid fishing are available.

Please note: the cruise itinerary may vary depending on the vessel; a stationed English-speaking guide is available on board.

Overnight on the cruise.

After breakfast, enjoy time sunbathing and relaxing against the backdrop of the bay. Following a brunch on board at around 11:30 AM, transfer back to Hanoi, where your room will be ready on arrival.

The rest of the day is free at leisure. Dinner is on your own.

Overnight in Hanoi.

On the last day of the journey, enjoy free time at leisure until your transfer to the airport (driver only, without guide) for your departure flight. Check-out is as per the hotel’s standard time (~11:00 – 12:00).

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