Far East Discovery 22 Days

Upon arrival at Siem Reap International Airport, you are met and transferred to the hotel. Free time at leisure or get a tuk-tuk orientation ride around the town. Dinner at a local restaurant & accommodation at your hotel in Siem Reap.

Meal: Dinner
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

Spend a full day exploring the magnificent ancient ruins of the Angkor area. Begin at the South Gate of Angkor Thom, famous for its massive stone-carved human faces, then visit the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, and the Terrace of the Leper King.

Continue to Angkor Wat, the largest and most complete temple in the complex. This architectural masterpiece, built in the 12th century, spans approximately 210 hectares. Wander through this massive structure, discovering countless galleries with columns, libraries, pavilions, courtyards, and tranquil ponds that beautifully reflect the towering temple.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tour guide: English speaking guide

After breakfast, visit the breathtaking jungle-covered temple of Ta Prohm, where enormous fig trees and giant vines intertwine with the stone structures – a stunning example of nature reclaiming man’s creation. Explore this marvel along with nearby temples including Banteay Kdei, Sra Srong, Ta Keo, Thommanon, and Chau Say Tevado.

In the afternoon, drive to Choueng Kneas village and take a boat tour of Tonle Sap, the Great Lake. Witness the unique floating villages, complete with schools, restaurants, hospitals, and homes, where local Cambodian communities live entirely on the water.

Overnight at the hotel in Siem Reap.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

After breakfast, head out of town along a newly paved road to Banteay Srei, an intricately carved and remarkably well-preserved temple. Stop at Preah Dark village along the way, then visit Banteay Samre Temple, known for its impressive reliefs depicting legends of Vishnu and Krishna.

This afternoon, catch a short flight to Phnom Penh. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and check in. Later, visit Wat Phnom, the temple that gives Phnom Penh its name, followed by a relaxing one-hour sunset cruise. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant.

Overnight in Phnom Penh.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

After breakfast, visit the Royal Palace, opened in 1870 under King Norodom. The complex includes the Royal Residence, Throne Hall, Silver Pagoda, and other buildings. The Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo Morokat), named for its floor covered with over 5,000 silver tiles, houses priceless Buddhist treasures including the famous Emerald Buddha. While monks no longer reside here, it serves as an important repository of Cambodia’s cultural heritage.

Next, visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21) and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, located about 35 km from the city – sobering reminders of Cambodia’s tragic history under the Khmer Rouge.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, where you’ll be greeted and taken to your hotel.

Overnight in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: English speaking guide

This morning, explore the intricate network of underground tunnels in Cu Chi, used by Viet Cong fighters and guerrillas during the Vietnam War.

Return to the city center for a half-day orientation tour of Ho Chi Minh City’s highlights, including the historic Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral, Independence Palace (Reunification Palace), the War Remnants Museum, and the bustling Ben Thanh Market.

Overnight in HCMC.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

Discover the lush beauty of the Mekong Delta as you wind your way down the narrow canals on a sampan that glides along fruit orchards, paddy fields, and sleepy villages; visit a floating market, where vendors display the delta’s bounty of fruits and vegetables on their boats. However, busy selling and buying, they will never forget to throw you a happy smile and wave at you.

Overnight in Can Tho.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

Early bird today to the boat quay and get a 40-minute boat ride to welcome the sunrise, and to get to the most famous floating market of Cai Rang. This is an incredible chance to experience the life and daily business of Mekong merchants on the water. Every kind of fruit, vegetable are all available for sales. Transfer to Can Tho Airport for a short flight to Phu Quoc Island. Shuttle bus of the hotel will pick you up at the airport, check-in and overnight in Phu Quoc.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: English speaking guide

Free for your own leisure to explore the emerald beach.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: None

Free for your own leisure to explore the emerald beach.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: None

Today we transfer to the airport for a flight to HCMC, then a connecting flight to Danang. You are welcome by our driver and transferre to Hoi An – the old port town with rich culture.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: None

A half-day wandering through the picturesque streets of this 16th-century trading port, where the buildings remind us of its Chinese, Japanese, French and Vietnamese architectural styles; visit the Chinese Embassy Halls, Japanese Covered Bridge, Phuc Kien Pagoda, ancient Tan Ky House, and take a walk into the central Hoi An. The afternoon will be free time for shopping or relax.

Overnight in Hoi An.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: English speaking guide

After a rewarding drive through the scenic Ocean Clouds Mountain Pass (Hai Van pass) with a stop in Cham Museum and Marble Mountain in Danang, you will arrive to Hue – the ancient city. Check in the hotel and leisure time. Afternoon visit to the famous Citadel, followed by a royal-style dinner to show off the nice and sophisticated cuisine of Hue.

Overnight at your hotel.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Tour guide: English speaking guide

Morning to embark on the cruise on the Huong River, stop at Dong Ba Market and buy necessary food for a cooking class with our chef. Visit Thien Mu Pagoda – the symbol of Hue City and back to the boat for a scenic cruise to Thuy Bieu village. Arrive on Thuy Bieu and visit the garden house, ancient ancestral temples, and an incense-making family to discover the daily life of local people. Come back to Thuy Bieu restaurant for a cooking class where you will prepare lunch by yourself. After lunch, relax with a short herbal foot bath and massage. The rest of the day, visit Tu Duc tomb and stop for photo shooting at the incense-making village.

Back to the hotel and overnight in Hue.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English-speaking Guide

After breakfast and check out hotel, say goodbye to Hue and take a flight to Hanoi. Welcome by local driver taking you to your hotel. Have a restful night in Hanoi.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: None

The full-day tour takes you around Hanoi’s highlights sites including the Ho Chi Minh Complex Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, and his stilt house, Presidential Palace and the One Pillar Pagoda. You also have a chance to visit historic University – The Temple of Literature, that dates back to the 11th century; learn about Buddhist practices in a serene lakeside pagoda. then you will have a chance to visit the famous Ethnology Museum. Back to the Old Quarter to walk through the narrow streets that were famous for its specialized craft making guilds, The guild was named for their product or location and still bear such names nowadays; and then join in a unique water puppet show that features the Viet folklores and culture.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English speaking Guide

In the morning, you leave Hanoi for Halong Bay and board a boat, enjoying lunch while cruising through the bay. The magical bay is home to thousands of limestone islands rising from the waves like dragons’ teeth. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with the opportunity to interact with fishermen who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. Back on board, you will enjoy cocktails or cooking classes while watching the sunset, before indulging in a lavish dinner onshore. Afterward, you can choose to do anything from joining a movie night, playing board games, or relaxing at the beauty spa before retiring for the night.

Meal: Dinner
Tour guide: English-speaking guide onboard

You will start the day with a morning Tai Chi exercise and an opportunity to view the sunrise over the bay. After breakfast, you will be taken to a beautiful limestone grotto before returning to the junk for a final glimpse of Halong Bay while cruising back to the dock. You will then have free time to enjoy the Hanoi from the late afternoon till the nightlife and staying overnight in your hotel.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English speaking guide onboard

Enjoy the morning in Hanoi before transferring to the airport for a flight to Luang Prabang. Pick up and transfer to the hotel. You will be met by our staff and transferred to your hotel. This afternoon, you will visit the impressive stupa of Wat Visoun and the shrines of Wat Aham and Wat Mai; then climb up to the top of Mount Phousi to explore the sacred, gilded stupa as well as capture a beautiful view of the city and the Mekong River at sunset. From there, we visit the Night Market, where you can browse through a lovely selection of handmade textiles.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meal: Breakfast, Dinner
Tour guide: English-speaking guide

An optional early start gives you the fantastic opportunity to participate in the daily morning alms giving to saffron-clad monks. This tradition is unique to Laos, being the only Buddhist nation still preserving this procession. After breakfast, we enjoy a short-guided tour of the city’s oldest temple, Wat Sene and the magnificent Wat Xieng Thong where you can see the impressive “tree of life” mosaic set in colored glass. You will then board an upstream cruise on the Mekong River, which gives us a panoramic view of the tranquil countryside to Pak Ou Caves, sanctuaries consisting of two large caverns, both repositories for thousands of Buddha images. The cruise also includes stops at a few villages during the day, including Ban Xanghai, where local rice wine is made. After lunch, continue our excursion towards Khouangsi Waterfall. Once at the falls, you can swim in the turquoise pools or walk along forest paths. Return to Luang Prabang by late afternoon and continue to Ban Xang Khong, a village well known for silk hand weaving and making traditional Saa Paper. Enjoy sunset at Wat Phabath.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Meal: Breakfast, Lunch
Tour guide: English speaking Guide

For those who want, early wake up to attend the alms-giving procession in the streets of the town at 5: 30 am and then pursue with a visit of the fresh market before breakfast at your hotel. Option: French breakfast at Café Wat Sene or Le Banneton Bakery. Around 8:30 am, we drive to Xieng Lom Village and start our elephant daycare full-day tour: “Inside the hearts of elephants”

Upon arrival you are invited to have coffee or tea as your guide for the day provides an in-depth introduction to elephant behavior and the ways we should interact with them. A quick boat ride across the Nam Khan River will deliver you to the waiting elephants. You will be introduced to your new friends and feed them some special treats—a sure way to begin an instant friendship. Then, you will enjoy observing elephants from the river bank as Mahouts wash them in the Nam Khan river. You can experience elephants washing, swimming, and playing in the water. Please note this is a voluntary activity for the elephant’s and Mandalao does not force them to get in the water. (On cold days the elephants are less likely to want to get wet.) After 2 hours crossing through a beautiful stretch of traditional Lao gardens you will arrive at the jungle-covered Huay Nok stream. As you walk alongside the elephants and crisscross through the cool water you will experience a profound sense of understanding, respect, and caring for these amazing animals. You and your elephant companions will continue walking past a lovely stretch of rice fields and enter a patch of forest where you can rest, relax, and eat. Lunch will be served in traditional Lao fashion, eating on bamboo mats on the forest floor. Then, you will visit Tad Kuang Song Waterfall, which was named after a Golden Deer spirit seen standing on its crest many centuries ago. If you like, you can take a cool dip, wade, stand under the soft showers of the waterfall, and spend time meditating and admiring the private beauty of this rarely seen natural treasure. You will sit, watch, and learn as the MandaLao mahout’s show how they communicate and listen to their elephants. This will highlight the special skills each elephant has and give you deeper insight into their individual personalities. After this, you can take what you have learned from the mahouts and guides throughout the day and spend quiet, uninterrupted time with the elephants, reading their emotions just as they read yours. You will experience first-hand why humans and elephants have shared such an unwavering bond for thousands of years. Along with the mahouts, you will bring your elephants to their nighttime feeding grounds. Take time for a long goodbye and in knowing that the connection you have built is not only felt by you but by your new friend as well. Enjoy a few moments to think about your experiences from the day as you look out at the vast Luang Prabang mountain range from the terrace at MandaLao. We will then drive you back to town. Arrive at your hotel at approximately 4:00 pm.

Overnight in Luang Prabang.

Tour guide: English-speaking guide

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Travel to Laos

Start our last day with a visit to The National Museum (closed Tuesday) at the former Royal Palace, which displays a lovely collection of artifacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture throughout the ages. You will also see the Central Market. After visiting these sights in the morning, there will be free time to venture into town and stroll around the shopping areas. The tour ends after your transfer to the airport for departure. End of service.

Meal: Breakfast
Tour guide: English-speaking guide