Vietnam and Cambodia Highlights

Make your way to London Heathrow for your flight to Vietnam.

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City, once the bustling French colonial city known as Saigon. Be met on arrival with Fast Track Service and transferred to your luxury hotel. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner.

Leave the city behind and relish in your Signature Experiences today. Learn about the remarkable tunnel network which concealed the Viet Cong and served as supply and communication routes, as well as hospitals and weapon caches. Tonight, your dinner is another Signature Experience.

Exploring more of Ho Chi Minh City, select from the array of Freedom of Choice experiences on offer. Later, transfer to My Tho and embark your ship. Set sail from My Tho and soak in the scenery during your cruise towards Cai Be. Tonight, a Vietnamese welcome dinner awaits, showcasing the diverse flavours from the region.

Board your traditional sampan for your first excursion on the banks of the Mekong. Step ashore to visit Cai Be Catholic Church and the colourful port area filled with crumbling colonial buildings and flowering gardens. Built in the Roman architectural style, the bell tower, with its set of four bells cast in France in 1931, is the tallest of all the churches in the Mekong Delta. Afterwards, you’ll visit rice paper and coconut candy manufacturers and learn how these Vietnamese staples are made. Head back to the ship to refresh before sitting down to savour a delicious lunch whilst continuing to cruise to the quaint town of Sa Dec. Upon arrival, explore Sa Dec by foot and meet some of the sellers at the colourful market. Continue to where French writer Marguerite Duras met her Vietnamese-Chinese lover, Huynh Thuy Le. Tour his former home and learn the story behind Duras’ best-selling novel, ‘The Lover’. After, visit a traditional Cao Dai temple. Watch visitors and pilgrims come and go and appreciate the beauty of the colourful building. Dinner is served as you cruise towards Tan Chau.

Transfer to a small boat to cruise the tiny tributaries around the town of Tan Chau. Pass a floating fish farm, then step ashore for a fun rickshaw tour and a visit to a local silk and rattan weaving workshop. Later, step back in time as you experience authentic rural Mekong life on the nearby Evergreen Island. The remainder of today is yours to relax on board and soak up views of the Mekong. Upon entering Cambodia, you’ll cruise towards its enthralling capital, Phnom Penh.

Enjoy your Freedom of Choice activity then spend the remainder of the afternoon at leisure. You may wish to head ashore and explore more of Phnom Penh independently or simply relax on board.

Today, journey to historic Oudong, which was Cambodia’s fascinating royal capital from 1618 until 1866. During your time here, you’ll enjoy a Signature Experience. On the way back to Phnom Penh, take a leisurely stroll through the village of Koh Chen and visit some home workshops that manufacture copperware. Later, your ship glides along the lush banks of the Mekong to Oknha Tey, which is renowned for its silk manufacturing traditions, preserved over centuries. Stroll among the stilt houses and gain an insight into the traditional silk weaving process. Watch as the village women create the beautiful Khmer fabrics from their wooden looms. After, return to your river ship to relax before enjoying delicious onboard dining tonight.

Sail to Angkor Ban, where you'll disembark and enjoy a captivating walking discovery of this historic village. Remarkably, Angkor Ban stands as one of the rare Cambodian villages that remained unscathed during the tumultuous Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s. Here, people still live in traditional wooden homes and keep ancient cultural traditions alive. This afternoon, your ship continues sailing upstream to Wat Hanchey.

If you are feeling active this morning, perhaps set out on a walk to the hilltop pagoda of Wat Hanchey. From here, enjoy views over the Mekong, making it well worth the climb. You’ll find many temples, pagodas and stupas, some dating back to the eighth century. Lunch is back on board, before your Signature Experience. On your ship this evening, toast the end of your cruise during a final farewell dinner.

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 some relaxation time before your Signature Experiences.

Rise early this morning to witness sunrise over the magnificent Angkor Wat, the world’s largest religious monument. As the sun rises, soak up the atmosphere as you marvel at this ancient wonder. After the sun has risen delve into the history and significance of this sacred site with a guided tour inside the vast temple complex and the sprawling grounds before returning to the hotel for a late breakfast. Continue your exploration of the World Heritage-listed Angkor Archaeological Park with a visit to Angkor Thom, the last and most enduring capital. Built during the heyday of the Khmer Empire in the 12th century, this is an extraordinary complex of Hindu and Buddhist monuments. Head to the intriguing Bayon Temple, with its carved stone smiling faces of gods, goddesses and other mythology beings. Visit the Terrace of Elephants, which used to be the base for the king’s grand audience hall, and the Terrace of the Leper King, which housed the royal crematory. Journey to Ta Prohm, known for the thick jungle of fig trees and vines that have enveloped the structure, creating a feeling akin to stepping into a lost world. Commonly referred to as the 'Tomb Raider Temple' due to it being used as a location in the blockbuster 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider which starred Angelina Jolie, Ta Prohm is a captivating glimpse into the past and testament to a bygone era. Tonight enjoy your Freedom of Choice dinner.

Explore Siem Reap your way today. Tonight, your Signature Experience awaits. Set amid a stunning garden this promises to be an enchanting and memorable evening.

Farewell Siem Reap after breakfast this morning, as you transfer to Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport for your onward flight back to the UK.

Arrive back in London today.