Grand Indochina Explorer

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highlights

Enjoy a relaxing two day cruise down the Mekong River
Discover the temples of Luang Prabang and Vientiane in Laos, and Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Explore the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hoi An
Enjoy a luxury cruise on the serene waters of Halong Bay

This incredible 21-day adventure features the fascinating countries of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. You'll explore the Thai capital of Bangkok before flying to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. At the Thai/Laos border, you'll board a private boat to enjoy a gentle two-day cruise following the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.

You'll then discover the highlights of Laos, including the UNESCO listed city of Luang Prabang, the mysterious Plain of Jars at Phonsavan, and the sleepy capital of Vientiane. Next on the itinerary is Cambodia, where you'll visit Siem Reap and you'll discover the ancient temples of Angkor Wat before flying to Phomn Penh.

The last destination on your adventure is Vietnam. You'll start in Saigon in the tropical south, before heading to the charming town of Hoi An on the central coast and then your final destination is the capital city of Hanoi in the north of the country.

Experience the magic, the history and the culture of colourful of Southeast Asia on this explorer trip! Please refer to the itinerary for more details and activities.

Itinerary Expand All

Day 1: Arrive in Bangkok, transfer to hotel

Hotel

Upon arrival at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, you will be met by a Wayfairer representative and transferred to your chosen accommodation. Your Wayfairer guide will meet you at your hotel in the evening to brief you about your itinerary and recommend some great places to eat in this exciting city.

Day 2: Bangkok city tour, flight to Chiang Rai

Hotel

You’ll have an early start today as it is a busy day! This morning your local guide will take you to Bangkok’s magnificent temples and palaces, including Thailand’s most sacred sites - the glittering Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and Wat Pho with its spectacular 46-metre long Reclining Buddha.

After lunch, you’ll transfer back to the airport for a flight to Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, near the Golden Triangle bordering Myanmar and Laos. This evening you can explore the bustling Chiang Rai Night Bazaar where hill tribe people and lowlanders gather to sell their handicrafts.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 3: Mekong River Cruise

Boat Cruise Hotel

It is another early start today. This morning you’ll take a two-hour trip to the Thai border town of Chiang Khong and then you’ll cross the border by boat to Huay Xai in Laos where your guide will help you get your Laos entry visas on arrival. You’ll board a private boat for a two-day personalised cruise down the Mekong River passing beautiful jungle scenery and traditional villages. This slow cruise is a wonderful way to soak up the tranquil atmosphere of the upper Mekong and it is a great introduction to laid back Laos.

This evening you’ll spend the night in Pakbeng, a small village in Laos located on the Mekong River halfway between Huay Xai in Thailand and Luang Prabang in Laos.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4: Mekong River Cruise

Hotel

Today you’ll continue your cruise south along the Mekong River towards Luang Prabang. You’ll stop to explore the fascinating Pak Ou Caves which contain hundreds of Buddha statues, before arriving in Luang Prabang in the late afternoon.

Luang Prabang has been claimed by UNESCO to be ‘the best preserved city in Southeast Asia’. Here you can wander the streets and back alleys and you’ll soon discover why so many people fall in love with this beautiful town with its gleaming temple roofs, fading French architecture and stunning mountain backdrop.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 5: Explore Luang Prabang and Kuang Si Waterfalls

Hotel

We recommend that you get up early to join the locals as they offer alms to the hundreds of saffron robed Buddhist Monks who line the streets of Luang Prabang every morning. This sacred ceremony is quite spectacular and in our opinion certainly worth getting up early to witness it.

After breakfast you’ll embark on a guided walking tour during which you’ll visit Wat Xieng Thong with its sweeping roof and rare reclining Buddha, and Wat Wisunalat which represents the earliest style of Laotian architecture and Luang Prubang’s oldest operating temple. You’ll then walk to the top of Phu Si Hill to take in panoramic views of the city.

After lunch you’ll travel 29km outside of Luang Prabang to Kuang Si Falls, a beautiful cascading waterfall surrounded by lush jungle.

In the evening your Wayfairer guide will give you recommendations for Luang Prabang’s best restaurants.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 6: Transfer to Phonsavan

Hotel

Today you’ll travel to Phonsavan in the remote Xieng Khuoang Province in central Laos.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 7: Discover the Plain of Jars, fly to Vientiane

Hotel

After breakfast this morning your guide will take you to the mysterious Plain of Jars, an ancient site where hundreds of large stone jars are scattered across the countryside, although no one knows exactly why they are there. The jars are carved from both sandstone and granite in various sizes from very small to about 3.5m high and are thought to be more than 2,000 years old.

In the afternoon you’ll fly to the peaceful capital city of Vientiane, located on the banks of the Mekong River.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 8: Explore Vientiane

Hotel

This morning you’ll explore Vientiane with your Wayfairer guide. You’ll visit Wat Si Saket which is the oldest surviving temple in Vientiane and home to over 10,000 Buddha images, and the golden stupa of That Luang (the Great Sacred Stupa) which is the most sacred monument in the country and is now recognised as the national monument and symbol of Laos. You’ll also visit Patuxai (Victory Gate of Vientiane) which is reminiscent of Paris’ Arc de Triomphe and is one of the city’s most noticeable landmarks.

This afternoon you’re free to explore the Talat Sao Morning Market, which is confusingly open in the afternoon.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 9: Fly to Siem Reap

Hotel

Today you’ll fly from Vientiane to Siem Reap, the former capital of the great Khmer Empire. Your Wayfairer guide will meet you at your hotel and they will take you on a tour of this historical city.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 10: Explore the temples of Angkor Wat

Hotel

Today you’ll have a full day to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor Wat, including the iconic temples of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Phrom.

The complex consists of hundreds of temples and monuments which were built by the Khmer empire between 800AD to 1300AD. After the fall of the Khmer empire they were abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle for centuries, but many of the temples have now been restored and more than two million tourists visit Angkor Wat each year. Your Wayfairer guide will provide detailed information on how these temples were built, and what purpose each one had within the complex.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 11: Discover Banteay Srei, visit Chong Khneas

Hotel

After breakfast you’ll travel to Banteay Srei, a temple famed for its intricate carvings depicting battles, scenes of conquest and Khmer daily life. Built in the 10th century and dedicated to the Hindu God, Shiva, this remote temple is one of Angkor’s highlights.

This afternoon you’ll discover Tonlé Sap Lake and the floating village of Chong Khneas where almost 1000 families live and make their living fishing on the lake.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 12: Explore Siem Reap, fly to Phnom Penh

Hotel

This morning you’ll have some free time to explore Siem Reap. We recommend that you visit Wat Thmei which serves as a memorial to those who were killed at the site during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, explore the Old Quarter with its tree-lined boulevards and stunning French architecture, and learn about the fascinating story of the Angkor Empire at the Angkor National Museum. Later today we will transfer to the airport for a domestic flight to Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 13: Explore Phnom Penh

Hotel

Today you’ll have a guided tour of Phnom Penh, which will include a visit to the Royal Palace, home of the current Cambodian Monarch, King Sihamoni. There’s also the option to visit the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum (S-21) where prisoners of the Khmer regime were held and killed. Then this afternoon you’ll visit the infamous Killing Fields of Choeung Ek Killing Fields just outside the city.

Visiting Tuol Sleng Prison Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek is a sobering experience that you will never forget.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 14: Fly to Saigon

Hotel

This morning you’ll have some free time to explore Phnom Penh further and then later in the day you’ll be transferred back to the airport for your flight to Saigon in Vietnam.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 15: Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, guided tour of Saigon

Hotel

This morning you’ll visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, a huge system of connecting underground tunnels built by the Viet Cong in the 1940s as protection from French air raids during the Indochina conflict. The Cu Chi Tunnels offer visitors a poignant reminder of the hardships of war and an insight into the underground life of Vietnamese soldiers in 1948 and you’ll have the opportunity to crawl through a 100m section of the tunnels to experience what life would have been like for the soldiers.

This evening you’ll have a guided tour of Saigon where you’ll see all the famous landmarks of the city including the sobering War Remnants Museum, the Presidential Palace, and some of the colonial-era landmarks such as the famous Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office and the Continental Hotel, plus the Jade Emperor Pagoda (also known as Tortoise Pagoda), and the Thich Quang Duc statue.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 16: Fly to Da Nang, transfer to Hoi An

Hotel

This morning you’ll fly from Saigon to Da Nang on the central coast, and then you’ll be transferred by private car to the charming town of Hoi An.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 17: Explore Hoi An

Hotel

Today you’re free to explore Hoi An. With its cobblestoned streets, narrow canals, French-colonial buildings and Chinese-style shop-houses and French colonial buildings, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s most beautiful towns.

This former trading port is famous for its historic and picturesque Old Town. Although many of the old shops within the cobblestoned centre have been converted into modern businesses aimed at tourists, including countless tailors, art galleries, souvenir shops, restaurants and cafés, it has retained its old-fashioned atmosphere.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 18: Fly to Hanoi, explore the Old Quarter

Hotel

This morning you’ll fly to Hanoi, located on the banks of the Red River in northern Vietnam. With Chinese, French and Vietnamese architecture, bustling markets, ancient Buddhist temples and pagodas, cultural museums, war memorials and communist landmarks, plus the charming Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem Lake, there’s much to explore in this fascinating city.

This afternoon you’ll have time to discover Hanoi. It is a very compact city and the main tourist attractions are all relatively close to each other making it easy to explore on foot or by cyclo (three-wheeled bicycle). The most well known districts are Ba Dinh (the French Quarter) and Hoan Kiem (the Old Quarter).

Meals

Breakfast

Day 19: Halong Bay Cruise

Boat Cruise

Today you’ll drive approximately four hours from Hanoi to Halong Bay for an overnight luxury cruise.

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay is famous for its serene, emerald waters and towering limestone islands topped by rainforests. You can take in the stunning natural scenery as you cruise on the tranquil waters, and you’ll see floating villages such as Cua Van, Vung Vieng, and Cong Dam. During your cruise you’ll have the opportunity to visit a secret grotto, enjoy a swim, and maybe even kayak on the calm waters. Once the crew have moored up in the bay for the night you’ll be served a delicious fresh seafood dinner.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 20: Return to Hanoi, explore the city at your own leisure

Hotel

This morning you’ll cruise back to Halong Bay Pier where you’ll disembark your boat and transfer back to Hanoi.

This afternoon/evening is free for you to discover more of Hanoi. You may wish to explore Hanoi’s Old Quarter which is a maze of narrow lanes crammed with shops, art galleries, boutique shops, trendy cafes and restaurants alongside street stalls. The serene Hoan Kiem Lake is the focal point of Hanoi’s Old Quarter – this beautiful lake surrounds Ngoc Son Temple (Temple of the Jade Mountain) which is built on a small island connected by Huc Bridge. The lake has a particularly romantic atmosphere at night when Ngoc Son Temple and Huc Bridge are illuminated and couples walk around the lake holding hands.

Meals

Breakfast

Day 21: Return to airport for flight home

Today your Indochina adventure comes to an end. After breakfast this morning you’ll check-out of your accommodation and you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight home.

Meals

Breakfast

what’s included

20 nights accommodation
Transfers as stated in itinerary (including boat cruise)
Domestic flights as stated in itinerary
Entrance fees to sites as stated in itinerary
Local English speaking guide throughout

what's excluded

International flights
Optional excursions and activities not stated in itinerary
Visas and travel insurance

Tour details

Availability Available Daily

Duration 21 days

Tour Type Private Tour

Age Requirement 1 +

guiding method Live guide/instructor

Guide Language English

Meeting/Start Point Pick-up at your hotel or location in Bangkok, Thailand

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Payment

A deposit of 20% is required when booking this tour. The remaining balance will be charged 45 days prior departure. For any bookings within 45 days of departure, the full tour amount will be charged upon booking.

Travel Insurance

We advise to take out Travel Insurance to cover for any unforeseen circumstances. Bookmundi recommends World Nomads' travel insurance.

Cancellation20% Deposit payable upfront. Remaining balance payable 45 days prior to trip departure. Free cancellation up to 45 days prior departure, but the 20% deposit paid is non-refundable. No refund applicable within 45 days of departure.

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