Assemble at Cochin International Airport, meet our Tour Manager, and proceed for check-in & immigration formalities. Board your flight to Singapore.

Arrive at Singapore and transfer to the gate for your next connecting flight to Phnom Penh.

Sightseeing

After completing all immigration formalities at Phnom Penh International Airport, you will be welcomed by our local representative at the arrival hall. Welcome to Phnom Penh – the city retains its traditional Khmer and colonial charm. French villas along tree-lined boulevards remind the visitor that the city was once considered the gem of Southeast Asia. Recent political changes have triggered an economic boom of sorts, with new hotels, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs springing up around the city.

 Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by the local tour guide and transferred to visit the impressive, colorful Khmer-style royal palace complex built in 1866 by the predecessors of King Norodom. Nearby is the Silver Pagoda (the Emerald Buddha temple), which contains plenty of Buddha statues decorated and made of gold, diamond, gemstone, and silver.

 We will stop to visit the Russian market and enjoy the bustling daily activities of the locals. After lunch, check into the hotel.

 Later in the evening, follow a trip to Choeung Ek - known as “The Killing Fields”. This seemingly peaceful area, located 17 km from Phnom Penh, was the end of the line for everyone entering the site. Nowadays, it is home to a memorial stupa containing over 5,000 skulls, which allows the Khmer people to return and honor their ancestors who died under the Pol Pot regime. Leaving the relics of Cambodia's dark history, we will transfer past the riverfront park where four rivers meet at a junction, including the mystical Mekong. Walk up to sacred hill Phnom Daun Penh – also the name of a pagoda and the name of the capital nowadays.

Conclusion

Overnight stay at the hotel in Phnom Penh.

After breakfast, check out and transfer to Siem Reap for a 6-hour journey by coach.

Sightseeing

Siem Reap, a resort town in northwestern Cambodia, is the gateway to the ruins of Angkor, the seat of the Khmer kingdom from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Angkor’s vast complex of intricate stone buildings includes preserved Angkor Wat, the main temple, which is pictured on Cambodia’s flag. Giant, mysterious faces are carved into the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom. There will be a short break at Skuon town to see (or even try) sautéed spiders, a local unique food. Drive through villages and rice fields dotted with palm sugar and Khmer houses.

 Stop at Kampong Kdei to visit a beautiful ancient archaeological bridge from the Angkor period, the “Naga Bridge”.

 In the evening, we will visit Chong Kneas Floating Villages, located 10 kilometers south of Siem Reap. Take a ride in a traditional wooden boat on the Tonle Sap, the “Great Lake” of Cambodia and the largest in Asia. Here we will see plenty of examples of the Khmer way of life on the Tonle Sap.

Conclusion

Overnight stay at the hotel in Siem Reap.

After breakfast, begin your day exploring the South Gate of Angkor Thom, known as Big Angkor, a 3 km2 walled and moated royal city that was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire.

Sightseeing

The famous Bayon Temple is an architectural muddle, in part because it was constructed in a somewhat piecemeal fashion for over a century. The Terrace of the Elephants is an impressive, two-and-a-half-meter-tall, 300-meter-long terrace wall adorned with carved elephants and gradation that spans the heart of Angkor Thom in front of Baphuon - a huge temple mountain in the heart of Angkor Thom, Royal Palace Area, and Phimeanakas - an impressive rite and sandstone pyramid. The Terrace of the Leper King is at the north end of the Terrace of the Elephants, a double terrace wall with deeply carved nagas, demons, and other mythological beings.

 Later, we will visit Angkor Wat temple, Cambodia's ancient temple, which is one of the wonders of the Oriental world. Masterpieces of decorative details as well as architectural style, its awe-inspiring ruins survive as a testament to the spectacular achievements of Southeast Asia's greatest civilization. It is a replica of the universe according to Hindu mythology, composed of Mount Meru, surrounded by the continents and the oceans. Its extraordinary bas-reliefs describe some Khmer epics and myths. Angkor Wat's five famous towers rise into the sky, a geometrical arrangement of numerous galleries adorned with beliefs and the stone images of celestial Apsara dancers, as well as portals, chambers, and courtyards.

Conclusion

In the evening, proceed to the airport to fly to Hanoi.
Overnight stay at the hotel in Hanoi.

After breakfast, start a 90 km drive south of Hanoi, which will lead you to Ninh Binh, the site of the one capital city of ancient Vietnam before Hanoi took its leading role in the 11th century. The area is featured by lots of well-known sceneries, which include Tam Coc Caves & Hoa Lu ancient capital with the old temples dedicated to King Dinh & King Le, who reigned in the 10th century.

Sightseeing

The visit in Ninh Binh starts with a boat trip in Tam Coc, where spectacular limestone karsts jut out from the green paddy fields, reminding one of Guilin (China) and Halong Bay of Vietnam, which gives this scenery the name “Halong Bay on land”. Further discovery in Ninh Binh will continue with a visit to Bich Dong Pagoda.

 In the afternoon, drive back to Hanoi, stopping on the way to visit Hoa Lu, the site that used to be the kings’ palace in the 10th century and is now famous for the wooden reliefs of the shady Dinh and Le temples.

Conclusion

Later in the evening, return to the hotel in Hanoi.

After breakfast, check out from the hotel at 08:00 AM.

Sightseeing

Head east for a 3-hour drive to Halong Bay, the pride of the Gulf of Tonkin, a Natural World Heritage site as designated by UNESCO in 1994 and 2006. The road will pass by the Red River delta with green paddy fields and rural villages, where hardworking farmers are busy with their farming jobs, ploughing buffaloes or planting seedlings.

 Upon arrival in Halong, check in to the overnight cruise to discover the magnificent beauty of this “Descending Dragon” bay, created by thousands of oddly-shaped limestone rocks and karst grottoes.

 After lunch on board, we can visit the grottos, stop for swimming or kayaking, passing floating houses and approaching islets to enjoy their beauty up close. Back on the cruise, enjoy a cooking demonstration before having dinner. In the evening, attend activities on the boat or relax at your leisure.

Conclusion

Local lunch & dinner will be served on board.
Overnight stay on the cruise.

You should wake up early to enjoy the dawn on the sea in the early morning. The Vietnamese call the “East Sea” by a point-oriented name “Eastern Sea”, so you may guess how miraculous it is to see the sunrise over the islets of the bay.

Sightseeing

After breakfast, our boat will continue to cruise in marvelous areas, where almost each islet has its own name, adopting its shape or reminiscent of Sail Island, Fisherman’s Head Rock, Butterfly Rock, or Turtle Islet, etc. Check out your room and have brunch on board while the cruise returns to the pier. Disembark from the cruise and transfer back to Hanoi. There will be a short visit to Ba Dinh Square – the biggest square in Hanoi where all the major cultural and political events of the city, especially demonstrations, take place. Take photos at the Complex of Ho Chi Minh. Then, visit the Temple of Literature, which is considered the first university of Vietnam.

 In the late afternoon, visit the Old Quarter, going through the fascinating network of narrow alleys and shop houses, also known as ‘The 36 Streets’ – each street being named after the merchandise traditionally sold there, ranging from fabrics to crafts and from medicines to tombstones. Drop by Hoan Kiem Lake. You will visit the Huc Red Bridge & Ngoc Son Temple.

Conclusion

Return to the hotel and overnight stay in Hanoi.

After breakfast, check out and transfer to the airport for your departure flight to your hometown with delightful memories of Fortune Tour’s Vietnam Cambodia Tour.