21 Days to Explore the Culture of Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam

Welcome to Bangkok!

Upon arrival, our tour guide and driver will welcome you at the airport. You will be escorted to the hotel and check-in.

Note: if your arrival time is early, and you prefer to explore the city instead of taking a nap, please kindly tell our travel consultant, and we’ll recommend one of our suggested activities like watching a boxing game at Rajadamnern Stadium, a half-day city highlights tour, or night market & food tour, etc.

Accommodation: Overnight in Bangkok

Meals: NA

Enjoy your breakfast in Bangkok and prepare to enjoy a full day’s Bangkok city’s exploration. In the morning, you will visit:

1. Wat Phra Kawe & the Grand Palace: a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam.
2. Ride like a Local by tuk-tuk to Wat Pho temple

Then, have a nice local lunch after the long morning tour, and have a short break.

In the afternoon, explore the city’s renowned klongs(canals) by boat and cruise the Chao Phraya River. Also, visit the following two sites:

1. Wat Arun: one of the most visited temples in all of Thailand
2. Royal Barge Museum: many exhibitions on Thai history, royalty, and Buddhism.

After the tour, you will be escorted to a spa center to enjoy one-hour traditional Thailand massage to relax your senses. The go back to your hotel to have a good rest. 

Accommodation: Overnight in Bangkok

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, enjoy your time and wait for our tour guide to pick you up to the airport, taking a flight to Chiang Rai, about 75 minutes.

Welcome to Chiang Rai! Upon arrival, our tour guide and driver will welcome you at the airport. You will be escorted to the hotel and check-in. The rest of the day is at your leisure for recovery.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chiang Rai

Meals: Breakfast

The Golden Triangle is a mysterious region for most of Indochina tourists. Today you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the heart of the Golden Triangle region.

After breakfast, your tour guide will meet you around 8:00 am and take you to the Long Neck Karen village. The Long Neck Hill tribe people are relocated from the Thai and Myanmar border.

And then, you will go to Mt. Doi Mae Salong to visit the Chinese village on the top of the mountain.

Lunch will be at a local restaurant. After a short break, you will continue the trip to the highest peak on the Thai-Myanmar border in the afternoon:

1. Doi Tung: provides an opportunity to view many different Lahu and Akha villages as well as terraced farming areas and see from a distance the Princess Mother's frigid flower Garden.
2. Doi Tung Temple: built in A.D.1493, located at the peak. Its scenery reminds one of Switzerland, and features many unique images and temple architecture overlooking the entire northern rice field plain.
3. Opium Museum: learn more about the region’s opium trade.

After the tour, return to the hotel and rest of the day free at leisure.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chiang Rai 

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, you will be picked up by our guide at 7:30 am – 8:00 am, and drive back to Chiang Mai. After enjoying a local traditional Thai lunch, you’ll start a half-day visit to Elephant Nature Park, which is a natural home and sanctuary for elephants, buffalos, and other rescued animals.

At 14:30, you'll arrive at the Elephant Nature Park. Start a guided walk with our knowledgeable staff and the lovely elephants, emphasizing a no-riding policy. We will take you to the river nearby, where you can observe and learn about the elephants´ habitat and their stories.

Around 16:00, here comes a Snack Break. Sample a delicious assortment of snacks, seasonal fruits, and refreshing drinks offered for you. You'll have a chance to enjoy the peaceful view of the elephant herd from our elevated platform.

After that, you'll see the massive sight of the big herd of elephants gracefully walking down the river, making their way back to their night shelter. Afterward, observe the elephants comfortably bathing in the cool river against the backdrop of a beautiful dusk scene.

At 17:00, it´s time to bid farewell to the elephants. Then you'll be escorted back to Chiang Mai.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chiang Mai

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, after breakfast, your tour guide will meet you from 8:00 am to 8:30 am and take you to Doi Inthanon National Park, which is one of the most popular national parks in Thailand, famous for its beautiful waterfalls, picturesque landscape, and Thailand culture. 

Upon arrival in the park, it’s time to have a local Thai lunch, after a short rest, you’ll visit:

1. Wachirathan Waterfall: one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Thailand
2. Sirithan Waterfall: a centrally-located falls in Doi Inthanon National Park, dropping a total of 40 meters into the river.
3. Grand Pagoda Nabhapolbhumisiri: the great holy relics pagoda.
4. Ang Ka Nature Trail: 2500 meters above sea level and surrounded by hi evergreen forest.
5. Ban Mae Klang Luang: a S’gaw Karen village in Doi Inthanon National Park.

After the end of the tour, you’ll be driven back to Chiang Mai for about 1.5 hours. The rest of the day is free time for you.

Accommodation: Overnight in Chiang Mai

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, enjoy your time and wait for our tour guide to pick you up to the airport, taking a flight to Siem Reap, about 4 hours and 45 minutes.

Welcome to Siem Reap! Upon arrival, our tour guide will meet you at the airport and escort you back to the downtown city. On the way, you will stop to discover one of the landmarks of Cambodia:

In the evening about 6:10 pm, your tour guide will pick you up to enjoy the welcome dinner with a sumptuous buffet dinner while enjoying the Khmer traditional dance performance.

After that, you will be escorted to the hotel and have a good rest.

Accommodation: Overnight in Siem Reap

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today, you will get up a little bit early, at about 5:00am for the sunrise of the Angkor Wat, experiencing the breathtaking moment.

After enjoying the sunrise, you will be escorted to the hotel for breakfast and have a little rest. You guide will pick you up at about 10:00am to start your Angkor Temple discovery. In the morning, you will visit:

1. Ta Prohm: one of the largest temples built during the Khmer empire, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII.
2. Banteay Kdei: considered to be one of the main group of temples in the Angkor complex with peaceful and quiet surroundings.

After the lunch at a local Cambodian restaurant, you will continue to visit:

3. Angkor Wat: the 7^th wonder of the world, is a miniature replica of the universe in stone, its beauty and state of preservation is unrivaled.

After the tour, we prepare a Mudita Signature Treatment for you after touring the temples of Angkor Wat, rejuvenate with a spa session in Siem Reap. Using an herbal compress, your masseuse provides a massage treatment that is said to reduce tension and improve energy flow throughout the body.

After that, you will be escorted to your hotel, enjoy your free time and have a good rest.

Accommodation: Overnight in Siem Reap

Meals: Breakfast

Today, after breakfast, your guide will pick you up at about 9:00am, heading to the spot for the countryside jeep tour.

Hop aboard an open-air Jeep and explore the countryside around Siem Reap. Drive along dirt trails and country lanes, stop in remote rural villages, and admire views over the rice paddies. Along the way, learn about Cambodian life as you meet the locals, sample bamboo rice cakes, and watch demonstrations of traditional handicrafts such as basket weaving. 

The jeep tour is about 1.5 hours, then you will pay a visit to a Cambodian local family and see how is their daily life like. Then enjoy a local lunch with them.

Take a half day excursion to the biggest Southeast Asia’s largest fresh water lake - Tonle Sap Lake. Firstly, tour Kompong Phluk, the largest village on the lake, to discover the fascinating daily lifestyle of the local people who live on the water.

Then, take a boat trip to enjoy the beautiful lake views and mangrove forests.

One of the highlights is to enjoy the beautiful sunset of Tonle Sap Lake, with a beer and the tranquil and serene atmosphere.

Then, back to the Siem Reap downtown, and you will be escorted to the night market and Pub Street, where you will have a nice evening to spend.

After the tour, back your hotel for a good rest.

Accommodation: Overnight in Siem Reap

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Enjoy your free time in Siem Reap until your tour guide picks you up at Siem Reap International Airport to take the flight to Saigon for 70 minutes

Welcome to Saigon, the largest city, business, and financial hub of Vietnam! Its history dates back hundreds of years. Saigon is famous for its fascinating culture and ornate pagodas and temples. Upon arrival in Saigon, our tour guide will escort you to the hotel and have a rest.

Around 18:00-18:30, your tour guide will bring you to join in the dinner cruise on the Saigon River.

After the tour, back to your hotel and have a good rest.

Accommodation: Overnight in Saigon

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, at about 8:30 am, we will drive about 1.5 hours to Cu Chi Tunnels, where you discover these amazing systems developed by the guerrillas fighting in the Vietnam War. You will see various weapons used in the war on display. It will take the whole morning to explore and enjoy.

After lunch at a local restaurant, back to Saigon city to explore the iconic highlights, including:

1. Notre Dame Cathedral: honored as one of the world's 19 most majestic cathedrals, the only representative from Southeast Asia, seen as the architectural symbol of Ho Chi Minh City
2. Old Saigon Post Office: Vietnam’s largest post office and oldest colonial structure, is one of the must-sees, attracting visitors with its aesthetic and historical values
3. Cholon: the largest Chinatown in Ho Chi Minh with many traditional shops, markets, and local food stalls.
4. Emperor Jade Pagoda: a sacred place of Saigon, built by a Chinese merchant named Liu Daoyuan, where people pray and seek blessings.

End of the sightseeing tour, you will be escorted to the hotel and enjoy free time for the rest of the day.

Accommodation: Overnight in Saigon

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel and prepare to enjoy a full-day Mekong Delta discovery. Your tour guide will meet you around 8:00 am -8:30 am.

Today you’ll take an excursion to My Tho, a city in the Mekong River Delta region. After traveling past miles of flat rice fields, along a bustling high way, you’ll start the My Tho tour with boarding a Mekong cruise boat to Thoi Son Island. 

1. Land on Thoi Son Island: listen to the Southern traditional music performed by native artists.
2. Paddleboat Cruise: visiting households with traditional occupations of home-based coconut candy and rice-wine-making.
3. Floating Market: observe from the comfort of your sampan life as it plays out on the riverbanks.
4. Bee Farm: try tea with fresh honey from the beehives and enjoy fresh seasonal fruits.
5. Vinh Trang Pagoda: an ancient architectural gem in Southern Vietnam.

After enjoy a local Vietnamese meal at Le Longanier Restaurant, you’ll head to Can Tho.

1. Le Longanier Restaurant: a lush tropical garden by the river, surrounded by fruit trees, giving you a sense of life during Indochinese times.
2. Local home grown Industries: coconut candy and puffed rice products that provide a living for the river people.

After arriving at the hotel in Can Tho, the rest of time is at your leisure.

Accommodation: Overnight in Can Tho

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, enjoy your time and wait for our tour guide to pick you up to drive back to Saigon. Heading to the airport of Saigon for your flight to Da Nang, about 80 minutes.

Upon arrival in Da Nang, our tour guide will escort you to Hoi An about 1 hour. Welcome to Hoi An, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and famous for the old town. Your tour guide will take you to the hotel in Hoi An for Check-in. You can have the rest of the day to yourself.

Accommodation: Overnight in Hoi An

Meals: Breakfast

In the morning, after breakfast, you will start your half-day excursion to Cam Thanh village. Your tour guide will pick you up around 8:00 am to 8:30 am. Cam Thanh village is a fisherman at Cam Thanh Water coconut village. During this half-hour, you will experience:

1. Fishing, catching the crabs & coconut mussels: enjoying experiences from learning traditional fishing techniques and exploring tranquil coconut-palm flanked waterways of a past war.
2. Vietnamese bamboo basket boat ride: made of bamboo with the shape of baskets to make you have the very Vietnamese experience.

At the end of the first half of the day, the guide will take you to a very delicious Vietnamese lunch.

After a short rest, we are about to start the afternoon tour. Your tour guide will bring you to the edge of the old town for a half day of exploration. During the tour, you will visit:

1. 200-year-old Tan Ky House: a beautiful home that has been lovingly preserved over seven generations.
2. Museum of Trade Ceramics: with fascinating pottery artifacts from all over Asia and the Middle East
3. Chua Ong Pagoda: the neighborhood around it has distinctly Chinese-inspired buildings and is lovely to explore at a relaxed pace.
4. Hoi An Market: reputed to be one of Vietnam’s best.

After the sightseeing tour, we'll take you back to the hotel, and then you can have the rest of the day to yourself.

Accommodation: Overnight in Hoi An

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, enjoy your time and wait for our tour guide to pick you up to the Da Nang airport, taking a flight to Hanoi, about 80 minutes.

Welcome to Hanoi!

Upon arrival, our tour guide and driver will welcome you at the airport. You will be escorted to the hotel and check in. The rest of the day is at your leisure for recovery.

Accommodation: Overnight in Hanoi

Meals: Breakfast

Enjoy your breakfast. In the morning at 8:00-8:30, you will be met by our tour guide at your hotel, and start to explore the city of Hanoi. The morning’s activities include:

1. Tran Quoc Pagoda: located on the shores of West Lake, this pagoda is full of amazing Buddhist symbolism, a must-see for any of Hanoi city tour.
2. Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum: one of the most famous works in Vietnam. With great cultural and historical value, it will expand your understanding of the country.
3. One Pillar Pagoda: Hanoi’s iconic landmark not to be missed, famous for its extraordinary architecture. This Pagoda is not only a famous tourist attraction but also a religious stop for local pilgrims.
4. Temple of Literature: one of the top historical attractions in Hanoi, is the first university in Vietnam. The temple represents Vietnamese ancient architecture and traditional fondness for learning.

End of the sightseeing, you will have lunch at an authentic Vietnamese restaurant, then take a rest.

In the afternoon, you will enjoy the following activities:

1. Hoan Kiem Lake with Ngoc Son Temple: famous for its peaceful beauty, cultural as well as historical values.
2. Taking a traditional cyclo tour through the Old Quarter: the fascinating experience of rickshaws driving around the Old Quarter and experience the daily life of the local.
3. Savor the best street food in the world: Never miss out the Vietnam food

Enjoying local Vietnamese dinner, you will be escorted to watch a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. The show lasts 50 minutes. It’s a unique Vietnam performance to display the daily life in Northern Vietnam villages.

Accommodation: Overnight in Hanoi

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, after breakfast, the cruise stuff will pick you up at about 8:00 am, then head to the cruise port of Halong Bay. It takes about 3 hours to arrive. Upon arrival, the cruise staff will help you with the check-in at around 12:00 am.

Welcome onboard in Halong Bay! You will be greeted with a welcome drink and the introduction and guidelines. Then, you will enjoy the lunch onboard in the elegant dining room.

In the afternoon, you will enjoy some exciting activities such as sightseeing, kayaking, or swimming according to each cruise’s itinerary.

While onboard, you can take advantage of the leisure time of the Spa, Beauty, and Massage services surrounded by the stunning scenery around you. Besides, you can also join in the chef’s cooking class and learn the art of traditional Vietnamese cooking.

In the evening, an elegant dinner is ready with a fusion of Eastern and Western cuisine, accompanied by a wide selection of wines and beverages from around the world.

After dinner, enjoy a leisurely evening onboard, such as joining in board games, squid fishing, a night movie, or bars & karaoke. 

Accommodation: Overnight at the Halong Bay

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Your second day of Halong Bay Cruise will start with a Tai Chi class for 20 minutes to breathe the fresh air and brighten the day.

After breakfast, continue with the exploration of the tourist sites on Halong Bay. At around 10:00 am, it’s time to pack your luggage for checkout.

At about 11:30 am, your cruise boat will sail back to the port and you will enjoy an early lunch on the way. Then, the cruise stuff will take you back to Hanoi. You can be free to explore the city in the leisurely afternoon.

After that, you’ll transferred to the train station to catch an overnight train to Lao Cai, the gateway to Sapa. Sleep on the train in comfortable sleeping compartments.

Accommodation: Overnight on the train

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Early morning arrival in Lao Cai at 5:55 am. From there, you’ll be transferred to Sapa in 1 hour, a picturesque town located in the mountains.

After enjoying a delicious local Vietnamese breakfast, the rice paddy terrace trekking will start at around 8:00 am. During the trek, you'll visit these stops in order.

1. Cat Cat Village: home to the Black Hmong people.
2. Waterfall and a hydroelectric station: trek on a dirt trail through rice paddy terraces.
3. Y Linh Ho Village: Black Hmong minority, where you can take a rest and have lunch.
4. Muong Hoa Valley: pass through Lao Chai village of the Black Hmong minority.
5. Ta Van Village: home to Giay minority.

It’s a very popular trekking route around 15km across different villages of the Hmong, Giay, and Red Dao ethnic minorities, and you’ll enjoy the spectacular scenery of Northern Vietnam highlands. After the trekking, you’ll escorted to the hotel in Sapa.

Accommodation: Overnight in Sapa

Meals: Lunch

Meet your guide at 8:30 am in the hotel after enjoying breakfast. Then you’ll transferred to Fansipan Cable Car Station.

1. Fansipan Cable Car: the Guinness World Record as the world’s longest cable car.
2. Mt. Fansipan: the roof of Indochina.
3. 20-meter celestial Buddha Statue.

You’ll ride a 15-minute cable car to the Mountain Station, and then go up 600 steps to get to the summit of Mt. Fansipan to breathe in the fresh air and get captivating sights from there.

After tour to Mt. Fansipan, come back to Sapa for a local lunch and take a rest. Then you’ll drive back to Lao Cai. You may have a short Lao Cai city exploration before boarding your overnight train to Hanoi.

Accommodation: Overnight on the train

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Early morning arrival in Hanoi at 4:32 am or 5:25 am. Upon arrival, you’ll enjoy your breakfast and free time in the morning until your tour guide picks you up to the airport. Tour service ends here.

Hope you enjoyed a great trip with us and we look forward to seeing you next time.

Note: If you’re planning to continue exploring the Indochina region, like Laos and Myanmar, please never hesitate to tell us, we’re tour experts for all of these destinations.

Accommodation: Overnight on the train

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch