Grand Tour of Vietnam & Cambodia

Xin Chao and welcome to Hanoi! On arrival you will be met by your Emerald Waterways representative and transferred to your hotel situated in downtown Hanoi for a two-night stay. Relax at the hotel or explore the city, strolling along the tree-lined avenues or wander Hanoi's romantic West Lake. This evening, meet your Tour Director for your welcome briefing.

Meals Included: Dinner

Today you will enjoy a full-day city tour of Hanoi. The tour includes the main sights of the city including the outside view of by the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which is the historic figure and father of modern Vietnam. Continue to the small but iconic One Pillar pagoda and to the Temple of Literature. The temple of Literature was Vietnam’s first university and it was established to educate Vietnam's royalty, mandarins and members of the elite. The university functioned for an incredible 700 years and its gardens and well-preserved architecture offer a fascinating glimpse into Vietnam’s past. As part of EmeraldPLUS, you will enjoy lunch at KOTO (Know One Teach One), a unique restaurant set up to train and educate disadvantaged street children. After lunch, continue with a visit to Hanoi’s Old Quarter also known as the ‘36 streets’. Take a walking tour through charming Hang Be Market and around Hoan Kiem Lake, as well as a stop at Ngoc Son temple. This bustling area of narrow streets and alleys is home to literally thousands of small businesses and shopkeepers. It is a great place to explore with plenty of photo opportunities. This evening, enjoy a traditional Water Puppet performance.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning after breakfast, leave Hanoi and travel to Halong Bay where you will board your traditional style junk boat. Cruise through the bays and islets enjoying the stunning scenery of this magnificent region. Enjoy the tours offered on board, learn more about the main livelihood of the locals in the area or simply choose to relax. Towards the end of the day the boat sets anchor for the night among the karst formations and dinner is served on board.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, you will be transferred to your day trip boat tour with private crew and cruise to the bay’s most untouched areas. Enjoy swimming on quiet beaches, visiting water tunnels, fishing villages or kayaking. Lunch is served onboard of the boat by your private chef. Return in the evening hours after a full day of exploration to your traditional junk boat.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Enjoy the fresh morning in the middle of the bay while having breakfast and cruising through the magnificent rock formations and back towards port. Bid farewell to the traditional style junk boat on Halong Bay and transfer to Hanoi airport, with a stop en-route for a light lunch at a local restaurant. At the airport in Hanoi, board your flight to Danang (Hoi An). Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel in the historic port town of Hoi An and relax for the rest of the evening. Included is a three-night stay in Hoi An.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today start with our EmeraldPLUS visit to the Reaching Out Project. Reaching Out is an NGO established in 2000, which provides opportunities for people with disability to learn skills and gain meaningful employment. Visit their workshop and get a glimpse how this NGO helps the disabilities to integrate fully with their communities and lead independent and fulfilling lives. In the afternoon, enjoy a half day tour of Hoi An and see old merchant’s houses, the Japanese Covered Bridge and the Assembly Hall of the Chinese Congregation.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Enjoy a day of leisure to explore Hoi An and its surroundings. Perhaps take the time to explore the Hoi An Ancient Town, or take a cyclo to An Bang Beach. The choice is yours.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Leave Hoi An for Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam. You will drive through Danang before crossing the Pass of Ocean Clouds and dropping down to the wonderfully photogenic fishing village of Lang Co. In Hue, you will visit the Imperial Citadel where the Nguyen Dynasty ruled between 1802 and 1945. As part of your EmeraldPLUS, take a cyclo (bicycle style rickshaw) from Dai Noi “Old City” to Tinh Tam Lake where the Emperors used to come to relax. Then later, join a boat trip to visit Thien Mu Pagoda. This evening, experience a traditional costume play Royal Dinner.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Today, transfer to Hue airport for your flight to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Upon arrival, you’ll enjoy an orientation tour of the city, starting with a visit to Reunification Palace, formerly the Presidential Palace. Then, stroll through Ho Chi Minh City’s Colonial Quarter. Admire the beautiful architecture of the Opera House, City Hall and the old Saigon Post Office, and hear stories about French Indochina and how that era continues to influence aspects of modern Vietnamese culture. This afternoon, you’ll be transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Drive away from Ho Chi Minh City, watching the city skyline fade into the distance as the road winds through rice paddies, villages and other scenes typical to southern Vietnam. Spend a couple of hours walking around Cu Chi’s rugged grounds with a local guide. Hear how the residents constructed an intricate, underground network of tunnels during the French and American Wars. Hear incredible tales about the unusual foods the residents ate to survive and much more. Once above ground, see other ingenious items used by the residents to defend themselves such as bamboo traps and camouflaged pits. Upon your return in Ho Chi Minh City, your afternoon today is free at leisure to relax.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today, transfer from your hotel to board your Emerald Waterways Star-Ship, Emerald Harmony, where you’ll be welcomed by your captain and crew. Set sail to My Tho in the Mekong Delta and, this evening, enjoy your first dinner on board with your fellow travellers. Your Cruise Director will conduct a port talk to review the activities and itinerary for the days ahead.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning you will be taken to the village of Ðat Dua, where you will watch a coconut candy and fruit workshop. Then travel to the Tan Long Pagoda and return to Emerald Harmony to sail onwards to Sa Dec, a hidden gem on the Mekong Delta.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Start your day with a visit to the Chinese Congregational House in Kien An Cung. Afterwards, visit the home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, then take a walk through the Central Market and peruse its many stalls. Return to Emerald Harmony and sail to My An Hung village. Recognised as a cultural and historical destination, this small village in rural Vietnam produces a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, specialising in red-hot chilli and peppers.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning is yours to explore on your own or, if you prefer, you can take part in a DiscoverMORE optional excursion to the Ramsar Bird Sanctuary. In the afternoon, embark on a journey to Long Khanh Island and visit a local family to learn about scarf-weaving. Then, visit the Hoa Hao Buddhist Pagoda and a grapefruit garden. Return to Emerald Harmony this evening and you’ll be delighted by a traditional Lion Dance performance on board.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

As part of EmeraldPLUS, visit a unique family-owned Lanh My A silk producing factory. The silk product is created with dyes made from the mac nua fruit, a kind of wood tree, which originally came from Tan Chau silk village about 100 years ago. Here, you will learn more about the long-complicated silk making process and have a chance to touch the real Lanh My A silk. Continue the visit, embark one of our sampans to Evergreen island for a walk through a local village to get a glimpse into the lives of the local farming community. Re-board your luxury star-ship and cruise to the border between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wake up in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh. The city was once known as the “Pearl of Asia”, but it was almost entirely evacuated by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. This morning, we learn more about the Khmer Rouge and the darkest days of Cambodian history. A short drive will take you to the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek. Where you will have the opportunity to walk through the fields, visit the small museum and learn about this sad chapter in history. This afternoon, you will visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as S-21). This is a former school that was converted to the main prison and torture headquarters of the Khmer Rouge. In the afternoon, you will have the opportunity to visit the majestic Royal Palace with its gardens and Central Market located in the heart of the city. In the evening, you will have a chance to experience an evening tuk-tuk ride through Phnom Penh ending on a rooftop terrace, where you will enjoy a beverage and take in the great views of the city as part of EmeraldPLUS.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Start your day with a visit to Wat Kampong Tralach and the Oudong Temples. Located North of Phnom Penh, Oudong is the former royal capital of Cambodia up until it moved to Phnom Penh in the 1800s. Important remnants on the temple sight include the burial sites of Khmer kings as well as religious artefacts dating back more than a hundred years. In one of the Oudong Temple there was a known large Buddha statue which was damaged during skirmishes with the Khmer Rouge which had the hill as one of their last strongholds. Receive a traditional Buddhist Blessing from the temple resident monks as part of your EmeraldPLUS. The afternoon is yours to continue exploring or simply relax on board of your Star-Ship.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Disembark Emerald Harmony in the morning and continue by road to Siem Reap for your included three-night stay. This evening, attend the Cambodian Circus, Phare and enjoy an evening of acrobatics, music and dance.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, start with a visit to Angkor Thom. The last capital of the Khmer Empire, it was a fortified city, home to priests, officials of the palace and military, as well as buildings for administering the kingdom. After the tour, visit the sacred Temple of Ta Prohm, which is overgrown by jungle trees and has been the backdrop to Hollywood movies. 

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Rise early and embark on a fascinating journey to Angkor Wat. This UNESCO World Heritage-listed site is known for its elaborate decorations and intricate carvings throughout. Later this evening enjoy your farewell dinner accompanied by Chayyom dancers. 

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast this morning, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your onward or homebound flight.

This itinerary is a guide only and may be amended for operational reasons such as high and low water. As such, the cruise may operate altered from that stated above.

Plese note: pre-release itinerary subject to change.

Meals Included: Breakfast