Vietnam & Cambodia Explorer

Arrive in Hanoi and enjoy the day to explore this fascinating city at your leisure. Hanoi is both bustling and beautiful, with many peaceful lakes that contrast with the busy city. Receive Fast Track Service for a seamless arrival through immigration and customs, then transfer to your accommodation. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at Spice Garden, the hotel's highly awarded Vietnamese restaurant.

A guided tour of Hanoi takes you to the city's most famous historical and cultural sites, including Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, the Temple of Literature, and the iconic One Pillar Pagoda. Enjoy a cyclo ride through the Old Quarter's maze-like streets. Choose from Freedom of Choice experiences including visits to Bat Trang Pottery Village, a head/hand/foot massage, a walking tour, a water puppet performance, Vietnam's coffee culture, or dining at La Terrasse, La Table Hanoia, KOTO Van Mieu, or Lý Club Hanoi.

Take a private tour of your hotel's bomb shelter during a Signature Experience. Travel to Tuan Chau and board the Lyra Grandeur for a three-day Ha Long Bay cruise. Enjoy a welcome drink on board before setting off towards Frog Lagoon. Spend time swimming, enjoy mini golf, or unwind in the ship's infinity pool or jacuzzi. Watch the sunset from the Ocean Sky Sundeck, then attend a chef-led cooking demonstration. Dinner is on board; the evening offers karaoke, films, board games, or learning to catch squid with the crew.

Begin with a refreshing Tai Chi lesson as the sun rises over the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay. After breakfast, travel to Viet Hai in Lan Ha Bay by bicycle or electric car to explore a small fishing village framed by highlands and jungle. Visit an ancient home, meet villagers, and learn how to make rice wine. Visit Ba Trai Dao beach, a crescent-shaped coastline renowned for its clear water, white sands and mountainous scenery. Return to your ship for lunch and enjoy onboard amenities for the rest of the day.

Begin with breakfast, then board traditional rowing boats to venture to the Dark and Bright Cave, discovering the contrast between murky Dark Cave tunnels and sunlight-filled Bright Cave. Return to your ship for brunch. Disembark and transfer to Hanoi airport for your included flight to Ho Chi Minh City, where you'll be met by your Tour Director and enjoy dinner with fellow travellers.

Leave the city behind and enjoy Signature Experiences today. Choose from a thrilling speedboat journey along the Saigon River to the Cu Chi tunnels built by Vietnamese resistance fighters, a guided tour and private tasting at Lady Trieu Gin Distillery with a light lunch and gin and tonic, or dinner at the highly acclaimed Vietnam House with a special cocktail designed for APT guests.

Choose your sightseeing this morning from a city walking tour of iconic landmarks and French colonial architecture, a thrilling motorbike ride through the streets, a cooking class where you learn to make bánh mì xíu mại, a shopping adventure at boutiques and handmade goods stores, or a history tour visiting the Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum and Burning Monk Memorial. Be transferred to your river ship and set sail from My Tho, soaking up the scenery during your cruise towards Cai Be. A Vietnamese welcome dinner awaits this evening, showcasing diverse regional flavours.

Board your traditional sampan for your first excursion on the banks of the Mekong. Visit the French Gothic Cai Be Church, built in Roman architectural style, and explore the colourful port area filled with crumbling colonial buildings and flowering gardens. Visit rice paper and coconut candy manufacturers to learn how these Vietnamese staples are made. After lunch on board, explore the quaint town of Sa Dec on foot, meet sellers at the colourful market, and tour the former home of Huynh Thuy Le, connected to French writer Marguerite Duras' best-selling novel 'The Lover'. Visit a traditional Cao Dai temple, then sail towards Tan Chau as dinner is served.

Transfer to a small boat to cruise the tiny tributaries around Tan Chau. Disembark for a rickshaw tour and visit a local rattan weaving workshop. Explore Evergreen Island to see authentic rural Mekong life. This afternoon, enjoy downtime and watch the scenery pass as the Mekong Serenity cruises towards the Cambodian border.

Enjoy your Freedom of Choice activity then spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure. Choose from a sombre visit to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a cyclo ride exploring the city's iconic sites, a private museum guide tour of the National Museum of Cambodia with its world-class Khmer sculptures and art, a visit to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda showcasing Khmer and French architectural influences, or simply relax on board.

Journey to Oudong, Cambodia's former royal capital, and participate in a traditional Buddhist blessing ceremony with resident monks at a monastery for good luck, health and a safe journey. Return via Koh Chen village and visit local copperware workshops. Cruise to Oknha Tey, known for its silk weaving traditions. Stroll among the stilt houses and gain insight into the traditional silk weaving process as village women create beautiful Khmer fabrics from their wooden looms.

Sail to Angkor Ban and disembark for a captivating walking discovery of this historic village. Remarkably, Angkor Ban remained unscathed during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s, and people still live in traditional wooden homes keeping ancient cultural traditions alive. This afternoon, your ship continues sailing upstream to Wat Hanchey.

If you are feeling active this morning, walk to the hilltop pagoda of Wat Hanchey for expansive views over the Mekong. Find novice monks and many temples, pagodas, and stupas, some built this century while others date back to the eighth century. Savour lunch on board before enjoying a Signature Experience: a tuk-tuk tour around Koh Pen, a riverside village, to gain insight into village life, travel along shaded lanes past stilted houses and see a variety of crops growing. Celebrate with a farewell dinner on board this evening.

Bid farewell to the crew and disembark the Mekong Serenity early at Kampong Cham. Travel to Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Wat, passing through picturesque countryside and remote villages where you can observe rural life. On arrival at your hotel, enjoy a light lunch and relaxation time before your Signature Experiences: visit ODA (Opportunities of Development through Art), a OneTomorrow partner providing free English education and computer skills to children in remote villages, and witness a mesmerising VIP Circus Show combining acrobatics, theatre and storytelling that showcases Cambodia's rich culture and talent.

Wake early to witness sunrise at the magnificent Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument. Soak up the atmosphere as you marvel at this ancient wonder, then delve into its history and significance with a guided tour inside the vast temple complex and sprawling grounds before returning to the hotel for late breakfast. Continue exploring the World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park with a visit to Angkor Thom, the last and most enduring capital of the Khmer Empire, featuring the intriguing Bayon temple with its carved stone smiling faces, the Terrace of Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Journey to Ta Prohm, known for thick jungle of fig trees and vines enveloping the structure, creating a feeling of stepping into a lost world. Tonight, enjoy your Freedom of Choice dinner at Sokkhak River Restaurant, Mouhot's Dream, Malis, Butterfly Pea, Fellini, or Spoons.

Embark on your selected activity today from a tuk-tuk ride to Senteurs d'Angkor handicraft centre, an exhilarating quad biking adventure in the Cambodian countryside, a tour of APOPO and the Landmine Museum, a horse and cart ride into rural Cambodia, a Khmer cooking class at Lum Orng farm-to-table restaurant, a shopping adventure at the Angkor Handicraft Association Fair-Trade Village, or a traditional Khmer massage. Tonight, your Signature Experience awaits: a private visit to Theam's Gallery to discover this talented Cambodian artist's sculptures, paintings and crafts, followed by a tantalising five-course Khmer dinner while enjoying a traditional Apsara dance performance accompanied by live musicians.

After breakfast, transfer to Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport for your onward flight.