Meet & greet: Upon arrival at Ho Chi Minh airport, you will be welcomed to Vietnam by your private English-speaking guide, and then transferred to your hotel. An early check-in to your hotel room is included this morning.

Afternoon tour of Saigon: This afternoon, you will visit Saigon's historic landmarks including the 1880's General Post Office and the former Presidential Palace which was once headquarters for the Saigon Government during the "American War". Next visit the late 19th century Notre Dame Cathedral, located in a peaceful part of the city, and finally the War Remnants Museum.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Grand Hotel Saigon (Deluxe Room)

Morning tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels: After breakfast, travel out of the city to the Cu Chi Tunnels. This vast network of tunnels, stretching for over 150 kilometres, was built by the Viet Cong in the battles for the South. The tunnels are a sobering insight into the dedication of the Viet Cong who virtually lived in the narrow and claustrophobic tunnels whilst the war raged. Nearby, a chilling demonstration of the traps and weapons that were used against the Americans is given. The Cu Chi tunnels have been widened in places for visitors, however they can still be dark, hot and claustrophobic inside so please bear this in mind if you do not like enclosed spaces.

Saigon after dark tour by Vespa: A foodie tour on the back of a Vespa in the early evening is the perfect way to explore this exciting city. The tour reveals the city's culinary secrets, taking you to see and taste exotic foods and brews in Saigon's authentic nightspots. First, your vespa driver / tour guide will stop at a small shop with a reputation of selling the best “Banh Mi” in town. Choose your own stuffed Banh Mi then proceed to a small coffee shop where you can enjoy a drink before continuing your ride through busy streets and alleys, witnessing the local life at night. Continue on to a vendor selling authentic Banh Xeo. Enjoy interacting with your vespa drivers and other locals while trying this Vietnamese specialty. Another habit of Saigonese at night is eating seafood and your night wouldn’t be complete without tasting some local seafood at a hidden “Oc” (seafood) vendor located away from the busy city. Before reaching this place, you will pass the city's downtown which is very lively at night, see youngsters out enjoying the eveningt on Nguyen Hue Walking Boulevard and the numerous colourful stores along the streets. After enjoying some seafood, your driver will take you to a hidden Vietnamese style pub to enjoy a cup of local beer before finishing with a visit to an acoustic bar. Stop here for a drink or two and enjoy the music before being transferred back to your hotel.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Grand Hotel Saigon (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Road journey from Ho Chi Minh City to My Tho: This morning, you will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the Intercontinetal Hotel where you will meet up with your fellow Pandaw Cruise guests in the lounge. After some time to relax and have a drink you will board a coach and travel by road from Saigon to My Tho, with a short comfort break at a local shop /restaurant en route. This drive will take approximately one and a half hours. Upon arrival at My Tho, embarkation of your Pandaw ship will commence.

Mekong River Cruise: After settling in to your cabin, the ship will begin cruising along the busy waterways of the Mekong Delta. My Tho is the hub of the Delta, but not of great cultural interest, so once on board you set sail at 13.00 and have lunch. In the afternoon you will moor near Cai Be and make a fascinating trip by traditional junk to explore evergreen islands and the former Imperial residence - An Kiet House. Surviving members of the Kiet family will welcome you with tea and you can wander in the fruit orchards around the house. On the way back stop at Dong Hoa Hiep Island to see boat yards, brick works and traditional roofers. Moor overnight mid-stream at Cai Be.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: This morning, take a trip aboard a smaller vessel around Cai Be floating market and on to Vinh Long, navigating canals and backwaters, coming ashore to see the lively local market. This afternoon there will be a visit to Sa Dec to see the ancient house of Mr Huyn Thuy Le, the 'lover' of Marguerite Duras, a famous French novelist whose book was imortalised in the film L’Indochine. The remainder of the day is spent cruising through the Mekong Delta.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: From the main Mekong channel at Tan Chau you travel down the canals and backwaters by local ferry boat. At Chau Doc you will transfer to small boats to visit a Cham tribal village. You will also visit a cat fish farm. Later take a trishaw ride round this fascinating town with its fine French colonial buildings and its bustling market. Return to the Pandaw by boat for lunch, and then cast off for the Cambodian border for the necessary formalities, which in this part of the world can take time. In the evening cruise up the broad Mekong channel, which is an international shipping route. Moor overnight just downstream from Phnom Penh.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: Today, you reach the capital of Cambodia which retains much of its French charm. The old colonial architecture makes an attractive backdrop to busy cafes, and the renovated river "corniche" is full of life. The city has several impressive wats, including Wat Ounalom, Wat Phnom and the newly painted Wat Lang Ka. Pride of place goes to the spectacular Silver Pagoda, one of the few places in Cambodia where artefacts embodying the brilliance and richness of Khmer culture were preserved by the Khmer Rouge. The National Museum is another highlight, with outstanding displays of Khmer crafts. An afternoon excursion is arranged to the Killing Fields and the Khmer Rouge's grim Tuol Sleng, or S21 detention centre, situated in the suburbs of the city. More happily, Phnom Penh has a lively night life, and some passengers choose to dine ashore or try one of the capital's many watering holes; a favourite being the Foreign Correspondents' Club.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: Early this morning, the ship sets sail from Phnom Penh and cruises upstream. After breakfast, there is a morning excursion to a silversmith village of Prek Kdam. Silversmiths can be seen at work in front of their bamboo houses crafting small boxes, bowls and other ornamental items using traditional techniques. Continue by road to the village of Kampong Trolach, located near the ancient Khmer capital at Lovek. From here you will be transported on a traditional oxcart back to your Pandaw ship.

After enjoying lunch on board, this afternoon's stop will be at the little-known Chong Koh silk weaving village for a leisurely walk. You will then cruise past the Mekong's timeless villages and river life with extensive fishing activities. The scenery is very lovely here, and in the distance, forested hills rise. On the river upstream from Phnom Penh there is little shipping, just real Cambodian life.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: This morning, continue cruising north up the Mekong River towards Kratie. After breakfast, there will be an excursion to the village of Angkor Ban, a rural Khmer village with a chequered history. Some of Cambodia's finest examples of traditional houses can be seen here as they were used by the Khmer Rouge as storage faciliites during the civil war, whilst many others were destroyed. These sturdy wooden stilted structures are extremely spacious, and many are painted the lucky blue colour. There is also a two-level pagoda in the village, surrounded by colourfully painted stupas which are looked after by the resident monks.

Return to your Pandaw ship for a leisurely lunch then continue sailing upstream past the provincial capital of Kampong Cham. Depending on water levels, there may be an afternoon excursion to the cave temple of Wat Preah Angkoak, sollowed by a monk's water blessing and chanting ceremony back on board. Arrive in the French colonial town of Kratie by early evening.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: After breakfast this morning, travel to the nearby town of Chhlong to explore the local market, and see the crumbling Franch colonial architecture. Continue north by local bus, arriving into a protected National Park area to view the famous Irrawaddy Dolphins who inhabit this stretch of river. Travel by motorised boat to access the deep pools where the dolphins are found before switching to local paddle boat to avoid disturbing these gentle creatures. Viewing is commonplace, although it is easier to see the dolphins in the shallower waters of the dry season, than in the swollen river of the wet season. In the afternoon on your return downstream you will stop at a curious shrine known as the Monkey Temple, and then press on to moor overnight near Kampong Cham.

Accommodation: Stay tonight on board the RV Mekong / Tonle Pandaw (Main Deck Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Mekong River Cruise: After an early breakfast, you will disembark the Pandaw, and join a shared transfer by road to Siem Reap. This journey by coach will take around 4 hours.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Pavillon D'Orient (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch

Guided tour of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom & The Bayon: Probably the best time to visit Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of the Angkor temples, is early in the morning, when the light is good and it is relatively quiet. Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehive-like towers rising 65 metres from ground level. At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall and the walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2,000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art.

Angkor Thom (Big Angkor) is a walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured the badly damaged Angkorian capital from the Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new capital city. He began with existing structures such as Baphuon and Phimeanakas and built a grand enclosed city around them, adding the outer wall and some of Angkor's greatest temples including his state-temple, Bayon, set at the centre of the city. There are five entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the Royal Palace area. Each gate, as well as much of Jayavarman VII's architecture is crowned with four giant faces. The giant stone faces of Bayon have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture. There are 37 standing towers, most sporting four carved faces oriented toward the cardinal points.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Pavillon D'Orient (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Dawn at Ta Prohm, tour of Preah Khan and Banteay Srei : Rise early to travel to Ta Prohm in the dawn light. Ta Prohm has been abandoned to the elements, a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on, oblivious to the dramas of human history. Left as it was ‘discovered’ by French explorer Henri Mouhout in 1860, the tentacle-like tree roots here are slowly strangling the surviving stones, man first conquering nature to create, nature later conquering man to destroy. 

Afterwards drive to the mighty temple of Preah Khan or 'Sacred Sword', built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. Sister temple to Ta Prohm, the cruciform corridors here are impressive and there are some wonderful carvings adorning the walls, including the spectacular hall of dancers. Look out for the curious two-storey structure that is almost Grecian in inspiration. This is one of the few temples originally dedicated to Buddhism and Hinduism. The original eastern entrance was for Mahayana Buddhists, while the other cardinal points represented the Hindu trinity of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma.

Finish the tour at Banteay Srei, Angkor’s ultimate art gallery. This petite pink temple is the jewel in the crown of Angkor-era sculpture. The elaborate carvings here are the finest found in Cambodia and the name translates as ‘Fortress of the Women’, thanks to the intricate detail here, considered too fine for the hands of a man. Originally believed to date from the latter part of the Angkor period, inscriptions at the site suggest it was built by a Brahman in 967. However, some architectural historians have suggested that the inscriptions may date from an earlier structure on this site and the temple is in fact later, marking a high-water mark in Khmer sculpture.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Pavillon D'Orient (Deluxe Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer: At the appropriate time today, your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport.

Flight: VN834 Siem Reap - Hanoi 20.30 - 22.10