8 Days in Indochina: Angkor Temples & the Mekong Delta

Welcome to Siem Reap, the gateway to the temples of Angkor and the starting point of your journey.

On arrival at Siem Reap Angkor International Airport, meet your guide and driver at the Exit Door for the transfer to your hotel, with check-in from 2:00 PM. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, 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.

After breakfast, transfer by coach south to Phnom Penh – around 320 kilometres and five and a half to six hours through scenic countryside and local market towns.

On arrival, you are dropped at your hotel for check-in, with the rest of the day free at leisure.

Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

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 now 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 ends 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.

Free at leisure until your transfer to the airport (driver only) for the short flight to Ho Chi Minh City.

On arrival, your driver meets you and continues to your hotel, with check-in from 2:00 PM. The rest of the day is at leisure-an easy first evening in a city that rarely slows down.

Meals are on your own.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

An early departure at 8:00 AM takes you to the Cu Chi Tunnels. A short film explains how the network was dug up and how people survived the underground through the war years, before you explore the surviving passages, living quarters, kitchens, storage rooms, weapons workshops, field hospitals, and command centres, along with the concealed trap doors built into the maze. A break follows, with the shooting range available at your own expense.

Returning to the city, visit Independence Palace (the Reunification Palace), designed by architect Ngo Viet Thu, then pass the French colonial landmarks nearby, the Notre Dame Cathedral (viewed from outside) and the historic Central Post Office, before finishing at the War Remnants Museum, with its in-depth displays from both Indochina wars.

Return to your hotel in the early evening.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

At around 8:00 AM, begin the nearly two-hour drive out of the city, passing lush rice fields before reaching My Tho. Board a boat for a scenic cruise on the Mekong River, taking in life along the riverbanks and the four legendary islands of Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, and Phoenix.

At Unicorn Island, visit a coconut candy workshop, take a rowing boat through the narrow canals, and sample seasonal tropical fruits to the sound of traditional Southern Vietnamese music. A nearby bee farm introduces the practice of beekeeping, with fresh honey to taste.

In the afternoon, return towards Ho Chi Minh City, stopping at Vinh Trang Pagoda, the largest in the Mekong Delta, with its striking blend of Vietnamese, Khmer, and Chinese architecture.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

On the last day of the journey, enjoy free time at leisure until your private 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).

End of services.