Some people like our style; going local and focussing on unique un-touristy experiences . A few request help to customising tours in other areas – and not always with bicycles. This is an Indo China custom made tour that crams four countries into just 17 days (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) – but works. The feedback was excellent so am just putting it up here as a great ready to go trip – or one that cat be adapted to your needs. I have seen similar itineraries sell for double the price with only a minimal enhancement in hotels. We prefer personable hotels to super deluxe hotels, and spending your cash on seeing the country in depth.
Here is an itinerary for reference:
INDO CHINA CUSTOM TOUR 17 DAYS
Day 1
Bangkok arrival
Meals: None
On arrival in Bangkok International Airport, meet your guide and driver for a private transfer to your hotel in town. Rest of day is free at your own leisure.
Overnight at Nouvo City, Superior Classic room
Day 2
Bangkok
Meals: B
Bangkok is an enormous modern metropolis, full of expressways, massive department stores and skyscrapers, but there is a more hidden side which clearly shows the origins of a people who still believe in traditions from years gone by. This morning you will be picked up by your guide at 07.00 to go on a special walking tour to explore hidden Bangkok. From the Giant Swing via the prison park we wander through small alleys, encounter wooden houses, guardian spirit signs, fresh markets and more. At the city pillar you will learn more about Buddhism and local beliefs ancient superstitions… Next we visit the famous Grand Palace and Wat Po. The Grand Palace Complex, which includes the Temple of The Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Keow), is a “must” for every visitor to Bangkok. Within Wat Phra Keow is a fabulous Buddha image, carved from one piece jade. Just behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha stands Wat Phra Chetuphon, which is more commonly known by its old name of Wat Po. It was founded in the 17th century, making it the oldest temple in Bangkok. King Rama III enlarged the temple in 1832 and turned the temple into a center of learning, making it in essence Thailand’s first university. Rama III is also responsible for the construction of the enormous reclining Buddha statue. The tour ends with a visit to the fascinating amulet market.
After lunch (at own cost), we depart by long tail boat and embark on a klong tour, a great way to observe local life along the canals and stop at a kind of local artist community; Khlong Bang Luang. Well preserved wooden homes more than a century old and historic but non-touristy temples join smaller art studios, vintage antique galleries, a few outstanding hole-in-the-wall noodle shops, a tiny guesthouse and several family-run cafes, convenience shops and barbers. The centerpiece of the Khlong Bang Luang community is Baan Silapin (Artists House), which occupies a traditional two-storey wooden building set beside the canal and centered around a 300-plus-year-old chedi. It typically houses casual exhibitions (usually paintings) while prints, drawings, photographs, sculpture and everything in between are on show as well. Don’t miss the traditional half hour Thai shadow puppet performance. Relax at a table with some local snacks and few drinks (very nice place to chill!). You will then return to the pier and transferred back to your hotel.
Overnight at Nouvo City, Superior Classic room
Day 3
Bangkok – Siem Reap
Meals: B D
Free morning and transfers to the airport for your flight to Siem Reap in the early afternoon.
Fly Bangkok BKK – REP Siem Reap on Bangkok Airways (PG)
After clearing customs and immigration, you will be met by your private driver at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Settle in and relax poolside or have a wander around town before departing for an evening dinner theater Apsara dance performance at the famed Raffles Grand Hotel d’ Angkor.
Set among the gardens of the Grand Hotel d’Angkor, this evening is a great opportunity to experience the beauty of this ancient Cambodian art for, while enjoying a fantastic Khmer and international feast.
Overnight at Viroth’s Hotel, deluxe room
Day 4
Siem Reap – Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom & Ta Phrom
Meals: B L
Depart in the morning at your leisure with your private English speaking guide and driver for a full day of temple touring.
The Angkor Archeological Park is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking and one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia if not the world. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, the park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. You could spend weeks exploring the ruins, but on this day tour, you will have a chance to see all the highlights.
You will start to visit to the South Gate of Angkor Thom where you can take a quiet optional 1km walk along the wall and through the jungle to a hidden temple. Then visit the temples of Bayon, Baphoun and Terrace of Elephants and Leper King. Take a break with a local lunch at the Triple K Restaurant located within the park grounds.
After lunch you will visit the fabulous jungle temple of Ta Phrom and the whole late afternoon is set aside for a visit to the main temple, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is one of mankind’s greatest achievements, and the intricate carvings at the temple of Angkor Wat demonstrate the skill of the Khmer builders. It had constructed in the jungle in the early 12th century, then – two centuries later – was mysteriously abandoned by the Khmer civilization. Now Angkor Wat is the main reason tourists come to visit Cambodia. Finish the tour with an unforgettable sunset on the quiet east side of Angkor Wat relaxing on a comfortable picnic set up with bottle of ice cold sparkling wine.
Dinner tonight is on your own, but we would be happy to make some recommendations and help you make a reservation.
Overnight at Viroth’s Hotel, deluxe room
Day 5
Siem Reap- Cambodia Countryside and Tonlé Sap
Meals: B L
This morning you will be met by your guide and depart on a leisurely bike ride through the countryside and villages outside of Siem Reap. Take time to experience the charms of rural Cambodia, just steps away from the city center.
Today you will prepare a local Khmer meal to offer this to the monks. Buddhist monks live away from their families and are not allowed to have normal jobs. They depend on the faith and charity of the local people. A chef from a local village takes us for grocery shopping at a food market. Maybe the chef will recommend you to learn to cook the popular dish Amok, a fish soup, or Somlor Korko. After you have finished your Khmer cooking, the chef and his wife show you how to pack the meal and some rice into a banana leaf. A short walk takes you to a beautiful local pagoda where the monks live so you can hand them the alms. After receiving your monk blessing, you can ask him everything you would like to know regarding Cambodian culture and Buddhism.
After giving your alms and eating lunch in a local home, after lunch you will drive to Kampong Kleang village. Imagine wooden houses on 10 meter tall stilts, surrounded by water in the wet season and on the flood plains of the lake in the dry season. You will drive on the dirt road to the village along the way you will see many wooden houses and traditional fishing equipment as well as small children wave their hands and say hello to you. Upon arrival at the stilt house the family welcomes you with some tea and coffee before you start walking around the village. This community of Kampong Kleang knows many inventive ways to catch fish. We learn about the village life while visiting a local school, see the smoking of catfish, and speaking to a fisherman while he is making reparations on his net. In the late afternoon take boat trip to see the sunset on Tonle Sap Lake. You’ll be back at your hotel in Siem Reap early evening. Enjoy the evening at your leisure.
Dinner tonight is on your own, but we would be happy to make some recommendations and help you make a reservation.
Overnight at Viroth’s Hotel, deluxe room
Day 6
Siem Reap – Luang Prabang
Meals: B
This morning is free at you leisure until your transfer to the airport for your flight to Luang Prabang. VN 930 11FEB 5 REPLPQ 1655 1900
Arrival in Luang Prabang from Siem Reap (please advise). Meet your guide and driver, transfer to your hotel, free at leisure.
Overnight at Sala Prabang, Riverside room
Day 7
Luang Prabang
Meals: B
The bells of the town’s monasteries toll at dawn when golden lines of monks emerge to receive their morning rice from the townspeople. Rise early and for the opportunity to respectfully witness this sacred ritual typical of old Laos.
In keeping with our respectful stance regarding local cultures, please observe this sacred ritual from a respectful distance. We also encourage that if you must take photographs that it does not interfere with this highly revered ritual.
Afterwards, visit the Morning Market and see an array of products the locals use in their cooking. Return to your hotel for breakfast.
After breakfast, depart through Laos’ scenic countryside to the Pak Ou Caves, a mystical pilgrimage site perched high above the Mekong River 27 miles outside of Luang Prabang. On arrival in Ban Pak Ou, a boat will ferry you across the river to reach the Pak Ou caves. Peering into dark corners, your eyes gradually adjust to reveal the serene faces and figures of more than 3,000 Buddha images, some inlaid with semi-precious stones. Return by boat to Luang Prabang, cruising along the Mekong. Stop at two riverside villages along the way. In Ban Xang Khong, the weaving of prized Lao textiles still takes place on ancient wooden looms. Some villagers are also engaged in mulberry paper production. The villagers of Ban Xang Hai produce Lao Lao, a rice whisky. Try a swig of this potent drink – if you dare!
In the afternoon, free at leisure.
Overnight at Sala Prabang, Riverside room
Day 8
Luang Prabang
Meals: B
After breakfast, continues to your journey at the most popular of temples – Wat Xieng Thong. From here, wander small side streets, along back alleys and through temples – a city that could have been designed with slow travel in mind. Soak up the ambiance and appreciate the hidden charms of Luang Prabang. Through your guide, feel free to ask the locals questions as they go about their daily lives. Continue exploring up the peninsula, stopping at temples and other sites as you wish. Visit the National Museum, which is the former Royal Palace. Overlooking the palace is Phousi Mountain. It is said that those who do not climb the 328 steps up have not really made it to the city. Venture up the hill and be rewarded with remarkable views of the area.
In the afternoon, continue visit the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre, a museum dedicated to the ethnic minorities of Laos. (Note: closed on Mondays)
Then drive deep into the peaceful countryside, stopping to explore several villages off the tourist radar. Visit a Hmong, a Khmu, and a Lowland Lao village to get a feel for their different life styles, traditions and religions.See their homes from the inside, traditional dresses and explanations about different cottage industries and their daily routines. Continue on to the Kuang Si Waterfall where crystal water cascades into idyllic turquoise pools.
Overnight at Sala Prabang, Riverside room
Day 9
Luang Prabang – Hanoi
Meals: B
Relax on your own until the time and transfer to the airport for your flight to Hanoi.
Fly Luang Prbang to Hanoi on Lao Airlines QV 313, departing 17:10, arriving 18:10
Economy Class
Welcome to Vietnam! Upon arrival to Hanoi Noi Bai Airport your driver and guide will meet you and they will transfer you to your hotel. Check-in and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.
Overnight at Essence Hanoi Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 10
Ha Noi – Ha Long Bay
Meals: B L
After breakfast, You will be transferred to magnificent Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Arriving at the small port town of Bai Chay by noon, board our private boat, a restored traditional Chinese junk, and enjoy a half-day cruise of the bay with a gourmet lunch on board. A junk is an ancient-style sailboat, with a design still in use today. Gently cruise amongst the 3,000 rocky limestone islands that emerge from the emerald green waters. When cruising tour finishes, transfer back to Hanoi. The rest of day is free at leisure.
Overnight at Essence Hanoi Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 11
Ha Noi
Meals: B L
This morning, you will meet your guide and driver around 07:00am and head towards Hoan Kiem Lake. It is a cultural thing in Vietnam to wake up very early and start the morning with some exercise. It is very interesting to see how the local people, mostly women from varying age, start their busy routine. Several groups of people can be found practicing tai chi and aerobics. Be part of Vietnam and join the locals in their morning routine!
After visiting the Ngoc Son Temple, located in the middle of the Hoan Kiem Lake, we will visit a traditional, local and charming coffee place, where you will be able to try Vietnam’s local coffee: Cà phê sữa đá (Iced coffee) and if you feel more adventurous, you can also try the ‘Egg coffee’! After our coffee, we will continue walking and we will stop in a street food place, where you will try the delicious ‘bánh mì’ –typical baguette sandwich filled in with a variety of things!-.
Later, we will get deep into Hanoi’s Old Quarter and you will start a walking tour where you will be able to witness the French architecture in different Vietnamese buildings. Our first stop will be the St. Joseph Cathedral, a French gothic building constructed in 1886. Next, we will walk just 10 minutes until we arrive to the Hoa Lo Prison, where Vietnamese as well as American and French prisoners of war used to be imprisoned.
To finish our morning, we will pay a visit to the Huu Tiep Lake, better known as ‘B-52 lake’, where US B-5 bomber wreckage can be seen.
At noon, we will return to the Old Quarter. Vietnam is very well known for its food, so we will stop at a ‘Bún Chả’ restaurant, where you will try Hanoi’s specialty. After our super local lunch, we will visit the Temple of Literature, built in 1076. Vietnam’s first university was established within this temple to educate Vietnam’s royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past.
Our last stop of the day will be in Hanoi railway tracks. This is something very particular from this city as the railway tracks are sometimes located meters away from entrance door of houses! Together with our guide, you will walk along the railway tracks and take some of the most beautiful pictures of the city.
After a long day, we will finish with evening beers at the typical and well known Bia Hoi, where you will taste local draft beer; finishing the day as a local!
Along the tour, you will be trying different street specialties therefore we recommend avoiding breakfast at the hotel this day!
Overnight at Essence Hanoi Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 12
Ha Noi – Hue
Meals: B
In the morning, transfer (driver only) to airport for flight to Hue.
Upon arrival in Hue airport, meet our guide and driver and you will visit the Forbidden Purple City, constructed under the Emperor Gia Long’s, in the early 19th century. It is located in the Citadel of Hue, which was badly damaged during the Tet offensive of 1968.
Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hue was not only the political but also the cultural and religious center under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945. Hue was declared a UNESCO World Heritage in 1993. Next, you will visit the Hue antiques museum.
At noon, we will stop for lunch at a local restaurant.
Later, you will board a dragon boat for a pleasant boat trip on the Perfume River to visit the characteristic Thien Mu Pagoda. Next, and if time allows for it you will have a short cyclo drive to Dong Ba market (6:30am to 8:00pm) for shopping and experiencing the local culture at the market. Here you can buy souvenirs, especially the typical Hue palm-leaf conical hat.
Overnight at Eldora Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 13
Hue – Da Nang – Hoi An
Meals: B
After breakfast, check out from your hotel and meet your guide and driver to depart to Hoi An. The trip passes through many spectacular scenarios along the National Highway 1 such as the breathtaking Hai Van Pass. The pass, which once formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Đại Việt and Champa, also forms a boundary between the climates of northern and southern Vietnam.
The Hai Van Pass is the highest and longest pass in Vietnam, with the North-South National Highway zigzagging through it for almost 20 km. Photo-stop somewhere in the Pass, and get your perfect pictures of Lang Co beach, a spectacular landscape or the peaceful fishing vicinity.
Upon arrival to Da Nang, we will visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture, opened in 1915. Then, we will explore the villages around the Marble Mountains, where very skillful artisans work on their products made of marble / granite and visitors can choose a collection of excellent stone products to buy as souvenirs. We will later continue driving towards Hoi An.
Upon arrival in Hoi An, check-in at hotel and the rest of day is free at leisure.
Overnight at Vinh Hung Emerald Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 14
Hoi An
Meals: B
At 8:00am, we will start a walking tour through this charming small town made of hundreds of historic houses, congregation halls, pagodas and other structures. Its buildings and its streets reflect the indigenous and foreign influences this town had, defining it as a unique heritage and multi-cultural site. There’s plenty to see in this delightful town, such as the Japanese Covered Bridges, the Pottery Museum, the 200 years old Tan Ky House, Chua Ong Pagoda and the vibrant local market. We will visit all of them in this walking tour. Here you will have the opportunity to meet artists who make the typical lantern of Hoi An and learn how their products are made.
Overnight at Vinh Hung Emerald Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 15
Hoi An
Meals: B
This morning you will spend your day in a Farming & Fishing Life Tour which provides you with a close-up and intimate exposure to both the local farming and fishing communities. Accompanied by your tour guide, you will start the day cycling slowly along country roads and witnessing local Vietnamese rural life first hand and where you will have many photo opportunities. Then you will visit a beautiful organic vegetable village, where you will help watering and planting vegetable, hoeing the soil with a local farmer and riding a water buffalo in a rice paddy field. The photo opportunities are endless. Later you will board our eco-tour boat for a river cruise to meet and engage with local fishermen and enjoy a hands-on experience of traditional net fishing. You will also experience paddling the unique Vietnamese bamboo basket boat along the waterways of coconut palm paradise. This tour provides you with a cultural window into the ways of life of both Vietnamese farming and fishing communities. When the tour finishes, you will be taken back to the hotel where you will have free time at leisure.
Overnight at Vinh Hung Emerald Hotel, Deluxe room
Day 16
Hoi An – Da Nang – Ho Chi Minh City
Meals: B
This morning is free at you leisure until transfer (driver only) to the airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City.
Upon arrival to Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat Airport, your driver and guide will meet you and they will transfer you to your hotel. Lunch will take place at Cuc Gach Quan.
In the afternoon, a trip to Sai Gon offers you a good experience of the country‘s most dynamic city – a vital economic hub with bustling life. Sai Gon is the reconciliation between American and Chinese influence, with many dots of modernity yet without losing Vietnamese traits. Modern office skyscrapers, amidst Chinese style pagodas and food stalls, street vendors along the street, they all create a dynamic urban area in a very traditionally modern sense.
You will start the trip by heading to China Town and visit Binh Tay Market, stop over at Thien Hau, a 150 year old Chinese Temple, followed by the FITO Museum – The first Vietnamese traditional medicine.
Overnight at Lavender Boutique Hotel, Executive room
Day 17
Ho Chi Minh
Meals: B
After breakfast, you will visit the Reunification Palace, followed by an exploration of the Notre Dame Cathedral, the historic Central Post Office. End the trip with a visit to Ben Thanh Market: time for shopping then transfer to hotel for picking up the luggage.
You will have the day free at your leisure until your driver and guide pick you up 3.5 hours before your departure time and transfer you to the airport for your flight back home / to next destination.
Depart from Saigon on February 21 at 11:05 pm on Korean Air flight 684.
End of services
A) PRICES LAND ARRANGEMENTS
Price land arrangement (not including airfare) in USD per person based on double/twin sharing:
Incl. transfers, bike, boat, lunch, guide, entry fees
B) INCLUDING AND NOT INCLUDING
INCLUDING:
– All transfers and transport as per program
– All accommodation as per program (based on double/twin sharing room)
– Service of English speaking station guides on days as per mentioned in the itinerary
– All meals as mentioned (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
– All entrance fees on tour
NOT INCLUDING:
– Air tickets both domestic and international
– Insurance
– Personal expenses
– All drinks
– Visa fees and/or visa authorization
– Tips
– Other expenses not mentioned on the itinerary
C) AIRFARE (not included in prices mentioned above)
Price per person in USD:
– Bangkok (BKK) – Siem Reap (REP): USD 255
– Siem Reap (REP) – Luang Prabang (LPQ):USD 195
– Luang Prabang (LPQ) – Ha Noi (HAN):USD 166
– Ha Noi (HAN) – Hue (HUI):USD 125
– Da Nang (DAD) – Ho Chi Minh (SGN):USD 125
**Flight tariffs subject to change by the airline**