Name: 13 Day Culture and Cooking Holidays in Vietnam and Cambodia
Brand: Indochina Best Travel
Price: 2066 USD
Availability: InStock

Accommodation

Check-in Time:

02:00

Check-out Time:

11:33

During this holiday, you will stay at a private room in various accommodations in Vietnam and Cambodia. You will spend your first two nights in a three-star hotel, the third night will be in a traditional junk boat, and the fourth night will be in the train on your way to Sapa.

In the fifth night, you will you will spend the night in a three-star, and in the sixth you will spend the night in the train on your way to Hanoi. For the seventh, eight, and ninth nights, you will stay at a three-star hotel. During the last three nights, you will stay at a hotel in Siem Reap

Program

Day 1 - Arrive to Hanoi

Upon arrival to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN), you will be welcomed by a driver and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the time is at leisure before starting your trip the next day. Dinner will be arranged on your own and you will spend the night in a hotel at Hanoi.

Day 2 - Hanoi City Tour

This day, you will have a full-day tour in Vietnam’s capital city. You will visit the house of Ho Chi Minh (this is where Uncle Ho spent the rest of his life) and the One Pillar Pagoda which was constructed in 1049, the Literature Temple which is a symbol of Hanoi, and the Museum of Ethnology.

After lunch, you will visit the Hoan Kiem Lake and the Ngoc Son Temple and you will continue to the Old Quarter of Hanoi. You will enjoy a kind of traditional Vietnamese stage-art, a water puppet show in the evening, and spend the night at a hotel in Hanoi.

Day 3 - Hanoi - Ha Long

This day, your driver will pick you up at 8:00 a.m. and take you to Halong Bay. Enjoy the journey through the scenery of rice fields, water buffaloes, and the daily village life of the Red River Delta.

You will arrive in Ha Long and you will embark on the boat for a cruise amongst the stunning Ha Long Bay. You will visit the cave and explore countless islands rising out from the emerald water. You will visit the beach and have the opportunity to swim, have dinner, and spend the night on the junk boat.

Day 4 - Ha Long - Hanoi

At 7:00 a.m. you will have tea and breakfast followed by a visit to Luon Cave on a small bamboo boat. You will have a look at the Man’s Head and the Tortoise islands from the boat.

At 9:00 a.m. you will arrange your luggage and check-out, followed by brunch. You will arrive at Ha Long at 11:00 and be transferred to Hanoi around 16:00. You are free to relax until 6:00 p.m. when you will be transferred to the station for a night train to Sapa, where you will spend the night.

Day 5 - Lao Cai - Sapa

This day, you will arrive at Lao Cai Station at 6:00 p.m. Sapa town is about 40 kilometers from Lao Cai. You will leave your luggage at the hotel in Sapa, have breakfast, and embark on a lovely walk to Cat Cat Stream, you will visit the village of the Black H'Mong and explore their routine life, walk around the village to enjoy the scenery of forests, and continue to Sinchai Village, where you will enjoy folk music by local people.

Then you will return to Sapa, enjoy free time, and spend the night at your hotel.

Day 6 - Sapa - Lao Chai -Tavan - Lao Cai

After breakfast, you will take a jeep along the valley to Rose Garden. From there you will trek into the verdant villages and rice field to Lao Chai and Ta Van villages. Ta Van is the village in northern Vietnam inhabited by the colorfully-dressed Dzay ethnic minority.

This will be an opportunity for you to learn and see H’mong people working with natural weaving and dying. This village is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in these regions.

Your car will pick you up at Ta Van and take you back to Sapa for lunch followed by an afternoon walk to Ham Rong Mountain for a birth eye view to Moung Hoa Valley and the Fansipan Mountain. You will be transferred to Lao Cai Station for a night train ride back to Hanoi at 9:15 p.m. and you will spend the night on a soft sleeper train.

Day 7 - Hanoi - Hue

You will arrive at Hanoi around 6:00 a.m. and be transferred to the hotel for breakfast. The rest of your time is at leisure until your transfer to the airport for the afternoon flight to Hue. You will spend the night in a hotel in Hue.

Day 8 - Hue - Da Nang - Hoi An

This morning, you will have a boat trip on Perfume River to visit Thien Mu pagoda. You will visit the Tombs of Kings Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. After lunch, you will depart by car for Da Nang via the scenic Hai Van Pass (or the Pass of Ocean Clouds).

The road passes by vivid green fields of rice. You will stop at Lang Co Beach. Before arriving to Da Nang, you will visit the Non Nuoc Beach (famous as the China Beach).

Upon arrival in Da Nang, you will be transferred to the Cham Museum, which reserves the biggest collection on the history and culture of the Cham Pa Kingdom which ended at the16th century. You will admire some of the best-preserved statues. You will spend the night at the hotel.

Day 9 - Hoian

You will leave Hoi An early in the morning and drive to My Son. You will enjoy the peaceful and beautiful scenery of My Son valley and mountain and visit the My Son Sanctuary, one of the most stunning sights in the Hoi An area. It is about 40 kilometers from Hoi An.

My Son was the site of the most important intellectual and religious centers during the centuries when Tra Kieu (then known as Simhapura) served as the political of Champa.

Though some of the monuments were destroyed by the war or thieves, what remains is still considerable. Many of the structures are overgrown with dense vegetation but you can get inside some of them. You will be back to Hoi An for lunch.

During the afternoon, you will visit the ancient town and explore the old port town's narrow cobblestone streets. You will pay a visit to historic sites including the traditional Chinese trading houses and the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge.

You will have time at leisure for shopping or enjoying the charming township of Hoi An and spend the night in a hotel at Hoi An.

Day 10 - Hoi An -Da Nang - Siem Reap

This day, you will have free time until you are transferred to the airport for a flight to Siem Reap. Your hosts will pick you up from the airport and transfer you to the hotel for check in.

The same afternoon, you will drive to Choueng Kneas Village, where you will take the boat to visit the way Cambodian people live along with their schools, restaurants, hospitals, and much more floating on the great lake of Tonle Sap. You will spend the night at Siem Reap.

Day 11 - Siem Reap

You will have breakfast at the hotel and head out to town, where you will admire the carved and well preserved temple of Banteay Srei. Along the way, you will make a stop over at the Preah Dark Village and visit the Banteay Samre Temple adorned with impressive relief’s depicting scenes of Vishunu as well as Krishna legends.

During the afternoon, you will explore the jungle covered temple of Ta Prohm, it is an incredible sight. There are enormous fig trees and gigantic creepers which embrace themselves in the stone foundations of the structure, giving the impression of man's creation being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature.

You will also explore the grand circuit with Preah Khan, Kravan, Neak Pean, Krol Ko, Ta Som, East Mebon, and the Pre Rup Temples where you will view the sunset for the end of the day. You will spend the night at Siem Reap.

Day 12 - Siem Reap

You will be transferred to Angkor to watch the sunrise early in the morning and return to have breakfast at the hotel. You will continue your visit to the wondrous ancient ruins with the South Gate of Angkor Thom, which is famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone, the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King, and the largest as well as the most complete temple of Angkor Wat.

This architectural masterpiece was constructed in the 12th century and covers an area of about 210 hectares. You will stroll around this massive edifice, seeing the many galleries with columns, libraries, pavilions, courtyards, and ponds full of water reflecting the towering temple.

In the early evening, you will be taken by Tuk Tuk, a small open-sided taxi common in Cambodia, to cruise around the suburb of Siem Reap town and for a blessing ceremony by Buddhist monks for happiness, prosperity, and safety for your journey.

Day 13 - Siem Reap departure

After breakfast, you will take a long walk in the road in front of the King’s Residence to see the Main Shrine, where the local people usually worship the statue of Yeay Teap, Preah Ang Chek, and Preah Ang Chorm.

Buying jasmine and lotus flowers to worship is very important for the Cambodians. You will continue to one of the city’s lively open markets, Psar Chars, also called the Old Market, surrounded by elegant French Colonial colonnades!

Then you will continue to Wat Bo, a large, highly respected pagoda, founded in the 18th century. Like the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, Wat Bo contains unique wall paintings that are said to be late 19th century.

You will look for the daily-life market scenes such as an opium smoking Chinese merchant, the colonial era French officer at the market, and the French soldiers attending a traditional dance performance. Also of interest is the large collection of Buddha statues located behind the main Buddha. After the tour, you will be transferred to the airport for departure.

Included excursions

Day 2

Hanoi City Tour
One Pillar Pagoda
Literature Temple
Museum of Ethnology

Day 3

Ha Long Bay
Red River Delta

Day 4

Luon Cave
Man’s Head Island
Tortoise Island

Day 5

Black H'Mong village
Cat Cat Stream
Lao Cai Station
Sapa
Sinchai Village

Day 6

Fansipan Mountain
Ham Rong Mountain
Rose Garden
Lao Chai
Moung Hoa Valley
Ta Van

Day 8

Da Nang
Khai Dinh
Lang Co Beach
Cham Museum
Perfume River
Thien Mu
Tombs of Kings Tu Duc

Day 9

My Son

Day 10

Choueng Kneas Village
Siem Reap
Tonle Sap

Day 11

Banteay Samre Temple
Banteay Srei
Preah Dark Village
Ta Prohm

Day 12

Cambodia
Angkor Wat
Bayon Temple
Elephant Terrace
Royal Enclosure
Terrace of the Leper King

Day 13

King’s Residence
Old Market
Wat Bo

Location

This holiday, will take place at Vietnam and Cambodia. You will spend 10 days in Vietnam and three days in Cambodia. Throughout the holiday you will visit the region's political, economic, cultural, commercial, and tourist centers.

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Food

During this holiday, you will enjoy three daily delicious meals. For nine days, you will have dinner on your own, and during the seventh day, you will only enjoy breakfast. Special dietary requirements will be catered.

The following meals are included:

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner

The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:

Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Other dietary requirements on request

If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation

What's included

1 cooking class in Hoian
12 nights accommodation
Boat cruise through Halong Bay and the Perfume River
Domestic flights as per itinerary
English speaking guide during tours
Local transfers
Meals as mentioned in the itinerary
Round trip ticket between Hanoi and Laocai
Tours and entrance fees
Train travel to Hanoi
Train travel to Sapa
Transfer from and to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN)
Transfer to Lao Cai Train Station
Transfer to the Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) for the afternoon flight to Hue

What's not included

Additional activities
Airfare
Meals not mentioned in the itinerary
Personal expenses
Tips and gratuities
Travel insurance
Visa

How to get there

Recommended Airports

HAN

Noi Bai International Airport

21 km

Transfer included

Arrival by airplane

Please book your flight to arrive at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN). Transfer from and to the airport is included. Indochina Best Travel will pick you up from the airport.

Airport: Noi Bai International Airport Airport transfer included: Noi Bai International Airport No additional charges. You can request this in the next step.

Cancellation Policy

A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.

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