Grand Tour of Indochina

Fly overnight direct from London Heathrow to Vietnam’s capital Hanoi.

On arrival, transfer to the 5-star Grand Mercure Hanoi (early check-in) for a two-night stay. Afternoon tour of Hanoi focussing on the Temple of Literature, a place of learning for 700 years, known as ‘the first university’, and dedicated to philosopher Confucius; the History Museum, with exhibits from pre-historic to present day; Hoan Kiem Lake, the city’s social centre and a sunrise spot for Tai Chi sessions; and the tight tangle of ‘the 36 streets’ of the city’s Old Quarter. Later, enjoy a Water Puppet show.
(B, D) 

Discovery in Hanoi includes visits to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum; the One Pillar Pagoda, a Buddhist shrine, its 11th-century temple set atop a single pillar, at the centre of a lotus pond; and the city’s Ethnological Museum, focused on the 54 recognised ethnic groups in Vietnam.
(B)

Transfer (3hrs) to Ha Long Bay, its mystical scenery a magnet for visitors, made even more spectacular when colour-washed by sunset skies. Board the stylish Au Co cruise for two nights. Among its many islands, some are little more than limestone pillars crowned with forestry, others have beaches hemming ragged shorelines, or clusters of craggy karst cones soaring skyward from the sea, and one is a National Park with numerous caves. Enjoy a buffet lunch with an assortment of Vietnamese dishes. Cruise towards the southeast of Ha Long Bay, passing several islets and by kayak or tender boat to Trinh Nu Cave, one of the finest sunlight-filled caves in Ha Long Bay with stunning stalactites and stalagmites. Perhaps take a swim or sunbathe on Trinh Cave’s beautiful private beach. Dinner and evening activities on board.
(B, L, D)

At sun rise, you can start your day with the ancient and spiritually healing martial art of Tai Chi. Arrive on Cat Ba Island and pedal by bicycle to Viet Hai Village, a small village nestled in the heart of Cat Ba National Park, visit an ancient Vietnamese house and learn about the Viet Hai Community Farm and Save the Langeurs, two social projects. Cruise towards Cua Van area. By kayak or being rowed by a traditional rowing boat explore around Cua Van Floating Culture Centre well-known for its beautiful location in the heart of ha Long Bay. Return to your cruise to relax and have dinner.
(B, L, D)

Enjoy Ha Long Bay’s stunning scenery and explore Sung Sot Cave, the largest cave in Ha Long Bay. Buffet brunch whilst cruising back, passing Lom Bo Island, Trong Mai Islet and Ba Hang Fishermen Village. Disembark and travel back to Hanoi for the flight to Da Nang, where the Cham people once ruled much of central Vietnam. Transfer to Hoi An, its UNESCO listed old town a web of narrow streets and shallow canals. Two nights at the 4-star Allegro Hoi An Hotel.
(B)

Visit the extensive My So’n ruins of the Champa Kingdom, inhabited between the 4th and 19th centuries, atmospherically set amid jungle scenery, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Later, a cruise on the Thu Bon River echoes the easy tempo of Hoi An, and visits the villages of Kim Bong and Thanh Ha.
(B)

A morning walking tour of Hoi An takes you to historic merchants’ houses and the fabulous, 400-year-old, ‘Chùa Cau’ Japanese Covered Bridge. A stone and painted timber structure, with mythical monster legends, it is a cultural symbol of the ancient town. Travel to Danang to visit the Cham Museum of Sculpture, recording the ancient culture with a large collection of exhibits.  Cross the mountain on the Hai Van Pass to Hue, a vibrant, forward-looking city, where stylish modern towers share the ground with grand and glorious testaments to its imperial past, from tombs and temples to palaces and pagodas. Two nights at the 4-star Senna Hue Hotel.
(B)

Visit the tomb-temples of the (19^th century) Emperor Tu Duc, who moved his household into his own tomb ‘citadel’; and (20^th century) Khai Dinh, whose lavishly opulent tomb took 11 years to build. Continue to the Thien Mu (‘heaven fairy lady’) Pagoda. An iconic landmark, shrouded in legends and set on a hilltop outside the city, its seven-storey octagonal tower is the tallest stupa in Vietnam. Cruise back to Hue on the Perfume River; and later enjoy a village dinner with a local family.
(B, D)

Visit the Imperial Citadel, with gardens, shrines, mandarins’ villas, and the imperial palace within the walled and moated enclave. Fly to vibrant Ho Chi Minh City. Transfer to 4-star Novotel Saigon Centre Hotel for three nights.
(B)

Exciting, energising, almost effervescent, the phoenix of former Saigon is a confusion of old and new, soaring skyscrapers and riverside stilt-houses, chic boutiques and smoky temples, thriving commerce and thrilling culture. A morning tour of the city introduces its highlights and landmarks. This evening, enjoy a Dinner Cruise on the Saigon River.
(B, D)

Drive through the Mekong Delta, where rivers and streams form highways and alleys between swamps and islands, towns and villages, orchards, and coconut palms, while storks circle overhead and working water buffalo are in their element. Visit the magnificent Vinh Trang Pagoda, a 19th century Buddhist temple with a huge rooftop statue of a smiling Buddha; and continue to Vinh Long, for a cruise on the Mekong River.
(B, L)

Visit the labyrinth of tunnels running beneath the city’s Cu Chi district, dug by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam/American war, to house troops, transport, and supplies. The extensive network here is a just a small part of the thousands of miles of tunnels burrowed between Saigon and the Cambodian border. Leave Vietnam for Cambodia, with a flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital, cultural hub, and largest city. Its pre-1970 epithets, Pearl of Asia and Paris of the East, may no longer apply, but modern Phnom Penh has a new reputation as one of Asia’s friendliest cities. Two nights at the 4-star Sunway Hotel.
(B)

Morning visit to the National Museum of cultural history; the Ounaloam Pagoda, Buddhist monastery, one of the five original pagodas of Phnom Penh; and Wat Phnom, crowning a small hill in the city. Afternoon visits this morning include the Genocide Museum, housed in the Tuol Sleng / ‘S-21’ Khmer Rouge Prison, and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, a mass grave and memorial monument to the 1975-79 victims of the Khmer Rouge. Switch to the water for a cruise on the Mekong River.
(B, L)

Take a ‘cyclo’ (bicycle rickshaw) to tour quietly and gently to Phnom Penh’s landmarks, including the shimmering marble ‘Silver Pagoda’ Buddhist temple, within the grounds of the Royal Palace, the residence of Cambodia’s king. Travel by road (6hrs) to Siem Reap, a lively mix of modernity and history, with a cultural scene of theatre and dance, and a perfect position for visits to Angkor, one of the great cultural wonders of the world. Three nights at the central 4-star Lotus Blanc Hotel.
(B, L)

Visit the temples of Banteay Srei, the intricately engraved ‘Lady Temple’, and the ornate and intimate Banteay Samre. This afternoon, discover the star of the show, the 12^th-century Angkor Wat temple complex. Covering 162 hectares with shrines to the Hindu god Vishnu, later re-dedicated to Buddhism, it was abandoned in the 15^th century, yet is still enveloped in haunting mythology. Return to Siem Reap centre to visit ‘Les Artisans d’Angkor’, reviving traditional Khmer crafts.
(B)

Take a tuk-tuk ride to visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom, approached by a causeway across a moat; the astonishing façade of the Bayon Khmer temple; the Elephant Terrace parade, forming part of the Angkor city wall; the Terrace of the Leper King, every inch of its stonework intricately carved; and Ta Prohm, still tangled in the tree roots of the jungle which has hidden it for so long. In the afternoon, visit Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in southeast Asia and a UNESCO listed Biosphere Reserve, sprinkled with stilt-house ‘floating villages’; and this evening enjoy an Apsara dance theatre show and dinner.
(B, D)

Most of the day at leisure to explore Siem Reap. Fly north into Laos, to Luang Prabang, cushioned in a landscape of mountain slopes and waterfall cascades. Three nights at the 4-star Le Palais Juliana Hotel.
(B, D)

Witness the early morning ritual of the Tagbat, when 2,000 monks walk around the old royal capital in a daily ceremony embraced by the local people, who come out to give them food. Visit the Royal Palace Museum, the last palace of Laos royalty, housing the country’s most sacred Buddha image; cruise on the Mekong to visit a typical village and Pak Ou caves, a religious site with hundreds of Buddha statues. Experience a ‘Baci’ ceremony, a custom to celebrate life events, with traditional music and dance.
(B, L)

A morning tour takes you to the beautiful, three-tiered Kuang Si Waterfall, with the chance to swim in its pool. Enjoy an afternoon tour in enchanting Luang Prabang, visit Wat Xieng Thong, a Buddhist temple where Lao kings were crowned; Wat Vixoune, the area’s oldest temple, now a museum of religious artefacts; and (‘watermelon stupa’) That Makmo, a nickname that stuck as it is watermelon-shaped, though its actual name is That Pathun, ‘Lotus Stupa’. and an evening ballet performance at the Royal Palace followed by a walk through the souvenir and street-food stalls of Hmong market.
(B, L)

Climb Phousy Hill this morning, for fabulous panoramic views; then visit the Arts and Ethnology Centre, a museum of the heritage of diverse ethnic groups. Transfer to the airport for the return overnight flight, via Hanoi.
(B)

Morning arrival at London Heathrow.