23 Day Grand Tour of Vietnam & Cambodia

Xin Chao and welcome to Hanoi! On arrival, you will be met by your Emerald Cruises representative and transferred to your hotel, situated in downtown Hanoi, for a one-night stay. Relax at the hotel, explore the city, or wander Hanoi’s romantic West Lake. This evening, meet your tour director for your welcome briefing.

Meals Included: Dinner

This morning after breakfast, leave Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay where you will board your traditional-style junk boat. Cruise through the bays and islets enjoying the stunning scenery of this magnificent region. Enjoy the tours offered on board, learn more about the main livelihood of the locals in the area or simply choose to relax. Towards the end of the day, the boat anchors for the night in the Trinh Nu area among the karst formations where dinner will be served on board.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, continue sailing further into the region’s more untouched areas towards Lan Ha Bay. From a smaller boat, enjoy swimming on quiet beaches and kayaking in Ho Ba Ham Lake. Then visit Cua Van fishing village by rowing boat. Return to your traditional junk boat after a full day of exploration. Tonight, try squid fishing after dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Enjoy the sunrise and breakfast before beginning your cruise back through the magnificent rock formations, visiting Sung Sot Cave before arriving back at port. Bid farewell as you transfer to Hanoi. As part of EmeraldPLUS back in Hanoi, you will enjoy lunch at KOTO (Know One Teach One), a unique restaurant set up to train and educate disadvantaged children.

After lunch, you’ll visit Hanoi’s Old Quarter also known as the ‘36 streets’. This bustling area of narrow streets and alleys is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers. It is a great place to explore with plenty of photo opportunities. Visit Hang Be Market, also located in the Old Quarter, before enjoying a walk around Hoàn Kiem Lake located in central Hanoi. Here walk across the red bridge to Ngoc Son Temple located on the Jade Islet within the lake. Later, enjoy a traditional water puppet show, a unique North Vietnamese art form depicting scenes from rural life and episodes of historical significance.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Begin your morning tour of Hanoi and learn about ‘Uncle Ho’, considered the father of modern Vietnam, by seeing his mausoleum from outside. Continue to Ho Chi Minh Quarter to see his humble stilt house and the small but iconic One Pillar Pagoda before moving to the nearby Temple of Literature. The Temple of Literature was Vietnam’s first university and it was established to educate Vietnam's royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into the country’s past. Bid farewell to Hanoi and transfer to Hanoi airport to board your flight to Danang (Hoi An). Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel for your included three-night stay, where you can relax for the rest of the evening.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today, start with our EmeraldPLUS visit to the Reaching Out Project. Reaching Out is an NGO (non-governmental organisation) established in 2000, which provides opportunities for people with disabilities to learn skills and gain meaningful employment. Visit the workshop and get a glimpse of how this NGO helps them to integrate fully with their communities and lead independent and fulfilling lives. After enjoying a local Hoi An street food themed lunch, enjoy a walking tour of Hoi An and see the old merchant’s houses, the Japanese Covered Bridge and the Assembly Hall of the Chinese Congregation. Tonight is yours free to wander the historical lantern lit streets and their many shops or bars.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Enjoy a day of leisure to explore Hoi An and its surroundings. Perhaps take the time to explore the Old Town and visit one of the many tailors Hoi An is known for, or take a cyclo (bicycle style rickshaw) to An Bang Beach. Alternatively venture out on one of our DiscoverMORE excursions. The choice is yours.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Leave Hoi An for Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. You will drive through Danang before crossing the Hai Vân Pass, known as the Ocean Clouds Pass before dropping down to the wonderfully photogenic fishing village of Lang Co. In Hue, you will visit the Imperial Citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945. Enjoy a relaxing cyclo (bicycle-style rickshaw) ride from Dai Noi ‘Old City’ to Tinh Tam Lake where the Emperors where the emperors used to go to relax. Then later, join a boat trip to visit Thien Mu Pagoda before checking into your hotel for the night. This evening, as part of your EmeraldPLUS programme, experience a royal dinner with traditional costumes.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Today, transfer to Hue airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. After checking into your hotel, you will be free to explore the city.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Drive away from Ho Chi Minh City to Cu Chi Tunnels, watching the city skyline fade into the distance as the road winds through rice paddies, villages and scenes typical to southern Vietnam. Spend a couple of hours walking around Cu Chi’s rugged grounds with a local guide. Upon your return to Ho Chi Minh City, enjoy a Pho lunch with remainder of the afternoon and evening yours to enjoy at leisure or venture out on one of our DiscoverMORE excursions.

 

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

After checkout, enjoy a tour of the city, visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral, Opera House and Town Hall. Then, visit the Reunification Palace before transferring to the port where you will board your Emerald Cruises Star-Ship, Emerald Harmony. You’ll be welcomed on board by your captain and crew before setting sail after lunch towards My Tho in the Mekong Delta, travelling through the bustling Cho Gao enroute. This evening, enjoy your first dinner on board with your fellow travellers. Your Cruise Director will conduct a port talk to review the activities and itinerary for the days ahead.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The Cho Gao canal is one of the major arterial canals of Vietnam connecting Tien Giang Province in the Mekong Delta with Ho Chi Minh City. Today is a fascinating day watching the heavy commercial traffic navigate this important waterway which can see upwards of 1,800 vessels transit each day. Enjoy watching the scenery pass you by from your balcony or sundeck, enjoy a swim in the resort style infinity pool or maybe try an optional extra spa treatment during your day of relaxation onboard.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, you’ll visit the Tan My Floating community followed by a ride through the local plantations to visit a mushroom farm, a fruit farm with sampling and a honey farm with local sweet before returning to Emerald Harmony to sail onwards to Sa Ðéc, a hidden gem on the Mekong Delta.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After a short ride on a sampan to Sa Dec enjoy a walking tour around town with stops at the Chinese Congregational House in Kien An Cung, the home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le (currently under renovation), who inspired Marguerite Duras’ novel L’Amant, and enjoy a walk through the central market to peruse its varied produce.

Return to Emerald Harmony by sampan and sail to My An Hung Island. Recognised as a cultural and historical destination, this small village in rural Vietnam specialises in red-hot chilli and peppers. As part of our EmeraldPLUS programme, enjoy some local folk singing during the visit.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On Gieng Island where the afternoon you can travel through the island’s villages to visit families who work in a variety of local industries including boat building of different types and creating incense sticks for temples. Also visit Vietnam’s oldest church.

The afternoon is yours to enjoy your free time on board or, if you prefer, partake in a DiscoverMORE optional excursion to the Tam Nong Ramsar Bird Sanctuary in An Long.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Embark on a sampan to Evergreen Island for a walk through a local village to get a glimpse into the lives of the local farming community.  Reboard your sampan to travel back to Tan Chau and as part of our EmeraldPLUS programme, visit the recently renovated Cao Dai temple. The religion of Cao Dai is a syncretic, monotheistic religion established in southern Vietnam in the city of Tây Ninh in 1926. Here, you will learn more about the mix of ideas that form the basis of this fascinating religion. Afterwards ride in a Xe Loi (local form of cyclo) from the temple back to your sampan to then visit a Mekong fish farm before returning to Emerald Harmony.

Back on board your luxury Star-Ship, cruise to the border between Vietnam and Cambodia. Whilst at the border, as part of our EmeraldPLUS programme, you’ll be delighted by a traditional Lion Dance performance on board. Tonight, celebrate crossing the border with a Cambodian-style family dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wake up in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. The city, known as the “Pearl of Asia”, was almost entirely evacuated by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. This morning, you will learn more about the Khmer Rouge and the darkest days of the country’s history. A short drive will take you to the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek. Here you will have the opportunity to walk through the fields, visit the memorial and learn about this sad historic chapter.

Afterwards visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as S-21). This is a former school that was converted to the main prison and torture headquarters of the Khmer Rouge. Spend the afternoon as you please exploring our DiscoverMORE excursions or simply relaxing on board Emerald Harmony. In the evening, as part of your EmeraldPLUS programme you will have a chance to experience an evening remork (local Tuk-Tuk) ride through Phnom Penh to enjoy the city lights.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In the morning visit the majestic Royal Palace with its gardens and Silver Pagoda, followed a shopping excursion to the very art deco style Central Market located in the heart of the city. After lunch set sail from Phnom Penh and enjoy an afternoon of relaxed sailing as you cruise further up the Mekong River to Angkor Ban.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

In Angkor Ban, explore its historical rural wooden houses which survived the Khmer Rouge and visit a classroom that teaches English to the local students, after their regular school lessons. In the village temple learn how to pray in a Buddhist pagoda and you’ll receive a traditional Buddhist blessing from the temple’s resident monks as part of your EmeraldPLUS excursion. Afterwards set sail to your final destination, Peam Chi Korng located further upstream on the Mekong River. This evening, enjoy a cultural performance by the Cambodian Student and Children's Organisation before attending your farewell dinner onboard.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Disembark Emerald Harmony in the morning and continue by road to Siem Reap for your included three-night stay. Stay at the beautiful Shinta Mani, a deluxe boutique property of world-class design that takes great care in honouring the environment and paying homage to the traditional and local aesthetics. This evening as part of your EmeraldPLUS programme, attend Phare, The Cambodian Circus, where a combination of acrobatics, music and dance tell a uniquely Cambodian story.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, start with a visit to Angkor Thom, not a single temple such as the historic sites it neighbours, but rather one of the most remarkable royal cities of the Angkor Period and an architectural wonder. As the last capital of the Khmer Empire, it was a fortified city, home to priests, officials of the palace, military and buildings for administering the kingdom. Afterwards, visit the sacred Temple of Ta Prohm. In an incredible standoff between human creation and nature, the jungle's root systems have reclaimed this spiritual location now enshrouded in wild vegetation. The backdrop to many Hollywood scenes, the incredible Ta Prohm is both a cinematic and contemplative location. This evening is free to visit ‘Pub Street’ or try a DiscoverMORE option this evening.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Rise early and witness the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Afterwards walk through this UNESCO World Heritage-listed site known for its elaborate decorations and intricate carvings throughout. This afternoon is free time to visit the town and markets or try a DiscoverMORE tour. Later this evening, enjoy your farewell dinner as part of your EmeraldPLUS programme, accompanied by an Apsara dance performance.

Senteurs d’Angkor Workshop (extra expense)

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast this morning, you will be transferred to the Siem Reap airport to catch your onward or homebound flight.

This itinerary is a guide only and may be amended for operational reasons such as high and low water. As such, the cruise may operate altered from that stated above.

Meals Included: Breakfast