From the Angkor Temples to the Mekong Delta & Hanoi and Halong Bay (port-to-port cruise)

Your program will begin according to your time of arrival. If your flight arrives between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., your program will be: Lunch will be served at the hotel. Afternoon visit to the Angkor National Museum. Dedicated to Angkorian artifacts, it offers an immersive multimedia experience on the golden age of the Khmer Empire. Return to hotel. Gala dinner. Overnight in your 5*NL hotel.

Early morning, visit the Roluos group of temples. Located some 15 km south of Siem Reap, the name Roluos refers to several temples dating from the late 9th century: Preah Ko, Bakong and Lolei. This ensemble marks the beginning of Angkorian art. Preah Ko, built in 879, is dedicated to Shiva. It owes its name to the three Nandin statues (sacred bulls), Shiva's mounts, which face the sanctuary towers. Bakong, built in 881, is also dedicated to Shiva and symbolizes Mount Meru, making it the most important and interesting of the Roluos group. Erected on an island, the Lolei temple was built in 889 by King Yasovarman I in memory of his father. Only 4 towers remain, built in the center of a reservoir that had become a rice paddy.Lunch at the restaurant.In the afternoon, we’ll tour Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom. Stroll among the enigmatic faces of the Bayon Temple, and discover the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. Dinner at the hotel followed by the Cirque Phare show: acrobatics, juggling. Night in your hotel.

Today's temple tour begins with the more remote sites of Banteay Srei. An architectural marvel of Cambodia, the temple of Banteay Srei is located slightly off the beaten tourist track. Less well known, this temple is nevertheless considered a jewel of pre-Angkorian art, thanks to its exceptional preservation and particularly delicate decoration. One of a kind, Banteay Srei is built of pink sandstone, which gives it an enchanting air and lends its finely sculpted walls a special charm. It is the only major Angkor temple not to have been built by a king, but by a courtier and royal advisor. A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, Banteay Srei was built in the 10th century and consecrated in 967. Later enlarged, it remained in use until the 14th century. Banteay Srei literally means “citadel of women” or “citadel of fortune”, two homonymous terms in the Khmer language.Lunch at the restaurant.In the afternoon, visit the B.R.B. handicraft center. Set in a magnificent historic garden, it showcases the main Cambodian ancestral skills, including stone and wood carving, textiles and natural fibers with rattan and water hyacinth, leather, jewelry, painting and much more. Next, a boat trip on Tonle Sap Lake to discover the floating villages and traditional life of its inhabitants. Tens of thousands of people live on floating houses, and all their activities revolve around fishing. Dinner at a restaurant. Night in your hotel.

We’ll visit the Angkor Wat temple: the epitome of Khmer architectural art and the most famous and imposing of all the monuments in Angkor (visitors must cover their shoulders and wear long pants or a long skirt). Lunch will be served at the hotel.Transfer to your ship(1). Our crew will welcome you and help you get comfortably settled into your cabins. Presentation of the crew. Welcome cocktail. Night at anchor.

Discover Koh Chen, a rich little village of artisans specializing in engraved and silver-plated copper work. Lunch on board, followed by a visit to Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda. The pagoda is reached by crossing the village of Kampong Tralach in a magnificent rice paddy landscape. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.

Kampong Chhnang is one of the world's largest fishing ports, where fish farming is also practiced. The region is also famous for its archaic pottery. Tasting of local products. Return on board, lunch and sail to Phnom Penh. Tuk tuk ride to discover the city's most important monuments. Traditional Apsara dance show on board.Our ship will remain overnight in Phnom Penh.

We’ll enjoy a tour of the fabulous Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, which is inlaid with more than 5,000 silver tiles. After, join us for a visit to the National Museum of Cambodia. We’ll have lunch in the city. In the afternoon, you can pay a visit to the Tuol Svay Prey School, a former detention, torture, and execution center run by the Khmer Rouge during the civil war. Afterwards, enjoy some free time at the market. After our tour, we’ll return on board and begin to sail to Chau Doc, a town on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, whose territory became Vietnamese 300 years ago. Our ship will be anchored overnight.

Located on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, the prosperous city of Chau Doc has developed around fish and fish farming. We’ll pay a visit to the Ba Chua Xu Temple and the Tay An Pagoda. Lunch on board. We’ll begin to cruise toward Sa Dec. We’ll have dinner and spend the night on board.

Visit the former house of Huynh Thuy Le, the man who Marguerite Duras based her book The Lover on. After our excursion, enjoy some free time in Sa Dec. We’ll have lunch on board and cruise to Vinh Long. We’ll set out in smaller boats and travel through canals and orchards before arriving in Cai Be. We’ll discover a brick and pottery factory as well as a traditional factory producing puffed riced, rice-paper wrappers used to make nems, and rice alcohol*. We’ll return on board our ship and begin to cruise. We’ll have dinner and spend the night on board.

We'll visit a bee farm and enjoy some honey tea and exotic fruit. We'll then take a ride in small sampans along the canal lined with mangrove palms and have a glimpse of villagers going about their daily lives. We’ll enjoy lunch on board and then set out to cross the very narrow canal, heading for Ho Chi Minh City and spending the night on the ship, which will remain moored in central Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is the most populous city in Vietnam. We’ll enjoy a tour of the city to see the Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Saigon Central Post Office. After, join us for a visit to the Museum of Vietnamese History. Lunch will be served on board. We'll enjoy free time on board orwe’ll leave by coach for the Cu Chi tunnels(2), an immense network of underground tunnels that were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War. After our excursion, we’ll return to the ship. Tonight, we’ll have our farewell cocktail and dinner and spend the night at the port.

Enjoy breakfast on board this morning. After you disembark from the ship, we’ll head to Cholon, the Chinese-influenced section of the city. We’ll enjoy lunch in the city, and you’ll be transferred to the airport and board a flight to Hanoi. Dinner in a restaurant. You’ll check into your hotel.

We’ll spend the day on a guided tour of the capital, visiting the outside of the historic Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum on Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Minh's humble stilt house behind the mausoleum, and the unique One Pillar Pagoda Buddhist temple. We’ll visit the Temple of Literature, built in 1070 and dedicated to Confucius. After lunch in town, we’ll take a pedi-cab ride. Visit of the Ngoc Son temple. This evening, we’ll watch a traditional water puppetry show and have dinner in the city before spending the night at the hotel.

We’ll leave early in the morning for Halong Bay (approx. 3.5 hours travel time). We’ll be welcomed aboard, enjoy a cocktail, have lunch on board, and begin our cruise to discover the thousands of various limestone islands dotting the emerald-colored bay. We’ll enjoy dinner on board this evening. Our ship will remain anchored overnight.

Rise early with us this morning and participate in a Tai Chi class on deck. We’ll continue our cruise through the bay, discovering more of its extraordinary scenery and visiting one of the largest caves. Brunch will be served before you disembark at 11:00 a.m. and begin your trip back to Hanoi. Before arriving, we’ll stop off at the Dinh Bang communal hall. You’ll enjoy a light dinner, PHO soup tasting before being transferred to the airport. We’ll bid you farewell at the airport at approximately 6:00 p.m. Please do not book your flight before 8:00 p.m.