Custom Tour: Classic Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia for Adriana & Juan
29 Mar 10 Bangkok - Arrival
Arrive on your flight - at 01:35. Arrive in Bangkok where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Meals Included: None
Overnight at The Peninsula Hotel - 1Double Grand Deluxe Suite Room
30 Mar 10 Bangkok - Public Transport Tour with Klong trip
You will be met by your guide at your hotel at 9am and set off on the Skytrain. Enjoy the elevated view of central Bangkok as you speed across town to the river where you will board a river express boat to the Flower Market. Take in the sights and smells as you wander past stalls piled with flowers and then head off on an exciting tuk tuk ride to Wat Pho to see the famous Reclining Buddha.
Enjoy a thirty minute massage at the temple’s traditional Thai massage school followed by lunch at a local restaurant, and then head to the pride of Thailand, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew housing the Emerald Buddha. Take a stroll down the street to a local Buddhist amulet market before heading off along the klongs (canals) finally boarding a river express boat to the Skytrain station and returning to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at The Peninsula Hotel - 1Double Grand Deluxe Suite Room
31 Mar 10 Chiang Mai - Doi Suthep and City Temple Tour
You will be transferred to Bangkok Airport for your flight - Bangkok Airways PG215 departing at 08:05 & arriving at 09:20. You will be met at Chiang Mai Airport and transferred to your hotel.
This afternoon visit Doi Suthep, the most important Wat in Chiang Mai. Perched high above the city, it offers wonderful views of the city and countryside below.
Enjoy lunch with your guide at a local restaurant. Visit some of the more famous Wats, within the city walls of Chiang Mai. Your guide will discuss Buddhism and the role it plays in everyday life as well as showing you the many details of each temple.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at The Chedi Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Room
01 Apr 10 Chiang Mai - Patara Mahout Training at Patara Elephant Farm
You will be met in the lobby of your hotel at 7:30am and transferred to the Patara Elephant Farm outside of Chiang Mai. At the farm you will be given your mahout outfit and a brief talk on working with elephants before heading into the bush to find them. As the day goes on you will hear all about elephant farm management and the breeding program taking place here. You will meet the elephants and learn to approach them and work with them from the ground and to take them to the river for their morning bath.
After a short ride to a local temple you can learn about elephants in Buddhism and the Thai’s ancient relationship with these traditional beasts of burden. Around mid-day you will set off for a ride through the jungle to some waterfalls where you will enjoy a picnic lunch and a swim with your elephant in the falls. Return to the camp in the afternoon and say goodbye to your new friends before being transferred back to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at The Chedi Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Room
02 Apr 10 Hanoi - Arrival
Transfer to Chiang Mai Airport for your onward flight - Thai Airways TG101 departing at 08:10 & arriving at 09:20. Catch your connecting flight - Vietnam AirlineVN830 departing at 12:20 & arriving at 14:10. Arrive at Noibai airport Hanoi, where you will be met by your guide and transferred to your hotel.
Take a one-hour cyclo tour of this charming capital city through the scenic Colonial Quarter, the Restored Sword Lake and the Old Quarter of “36 streets of 36 wares”. Attend a Water Puppet Show to experience a truly traditional Vietnamese evening. Your guide will take you to a local restaurant for dinner.
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner
Overnight at Sofitel Metropole - 1Double Classic Deluxe Room
03 Apr 10 Hanoi - City Tour
This morning start by discussing with your guide what you would like to do and see today. There are so many options that we like to leave it up to you and your guide to decide what suits you best. Some interesting highlights that you may want to consider are the Hanoi Hilton, where John McCain and other prisoners were held during the war, it now houses a museum; the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where you can see Uncle Ho laid out to rest; or if you like art you can visit the Fine Art Museum or see which local galleries are offering shows.
The Temple of Literature is always a relaxing area to stroll through and is a great stop before or after lunch which you will have at KOTO, a restaurant benefiting at risk youths. Your guide will be with you all day so discuss what suits you and then have fun!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Sofitel Metropole - 1Double Classic Deluxe Room
04 Apr 10 Halong Bay on Sails Junk Day 1
Your guide will meet you at your hotel at 8am and take you by private car to Halong Bay. Once there you will board the beautiful Indochina Sails Junk where you will be shown to your private cabin with ensuite bathroom.
Enjoy lunch on board as you start your cruise through the amazing UNESCO World Heritage site enjoying the views from the deck or the main saloon. Arrive at Titop Island where you can swim and relax on the beach or climb the steps to the top of the mountain on the island for fantastic views and photo opportunities.
You will spend about 45 minutes on the island before getting on the boat and heading to Bat Cave Area. Once you arrive you can either head out for a kayaking trip or visit one of the largest floating villages in Halong Bay. Your boat will finally take you to Luon Bo Area where you will anchor for the night. After the sun sets have a delicious seafood dinner onboard and then relax with some fishing or stargazing. Don’t forget happy hour from 9 until 11pm, buy one drink and get one free!
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
05 Apr 10 Halong Bay on Sails Junk Day 2
In the morning you can enjoy tea and coffee before boarding a smaller boat and exploring Surprise Cave. On your final sail to the pier you will enjoy a Buffet Brunch. Return to the pier around 1130 where you will be met by your private car and taken back to Hanoi, arriving in the early afternoon.
Transfer to Noibai airport for your onward flight - . Arrive in Saigon where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - 1Double Colonial Saigon River Deluxe Room
06 Apr 10 Saigon - Cu Chi Tunnels & Dinner with Mr. Nam
Take a full day excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels. On the way to the tunnels, visit Tay Ninh Cao Dai Great Temple, a unique religion worshiping Jesus, Confucius and Buddha! Enjoy lunch at Ngoc Tuyet restaurant in Tay Ninh. Arrive and descend into the Cu Chi tunnels where the guerilla fighters constructed an amazing underground base and meet a veteran of the Vietnamese/American war who will give you a private tour of the tunnels and recount his experiences as a tunnel rat. Finally, to end our trip, we will be taken to the private home of Mr. Nam where we will have dinner with him and his family.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight at Majestic Saigon Hotel - 1Double Colonial Saigon River Deluxe Room
07 Apr 10 Siem Reap - Arrival
Join your guide for a Half Day City Tour including: Notre Dame Cathedral, Reunification Hall (the ex- Presidential Palace), the History Museum, Thien Hau Pagoda and Jade Emperor Pagoda.
You will be picked up and taken to the airport for your flight - Vietnam AirlineVN9882 departing at 15:55 & arriving at 16:55. You will be met at Siem Reap Airport by a Journeys Within representative and taken to your hotel.
Meals included: Breakfast
Overnight at De La Paix Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Suite Room
08 Apr 10 Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
After breakfast head to Angkor Wat in an air conditioned car, or if you choose by bike, with your guide. Explore this majestic temple throughout the morning while it is still cool and has fewer tourists.
Return to Journeys Within for lunch and back to your hotel for a swim or a nap. In the afternoon head to Angkor Thom, the famous walled city and see the many temples within its borders, including the fascinating Bayon temple. There are several beautiful spots from which to watch the sunset. Discuss with your guide where you would like to be and then relax and enjoy a memorable end to your day at the temples.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at De La Paix Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Suite Room
09 Apr 10 Siem Reap - Banteay Srei and Tonle Sap
This morning set off with your guide to Banteay Srei, the intricately carved temple just 30 km beyond Angkor Wat. Then head back to the local temples where you will visit Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm, two of the prettiest temples in the complex.
After a rest or swim drive through rural Cambodia to the Tonle Sap Lake where you will take a boat ride to visit the floating village and a Cambodian fish farm. As the day ends choose to climb Phnom Krom and see the ancient ruins high on the hill and watch the sun set over the lake and rice fields below or relax and watch the sun disappear below the horizon from your boat on the lake.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch
Overnight at De La Paix Hotel - 1Double Deluxe Suite Room
10 Apr 10 Siem Reap - Departure
Set out on the Journeys Within Village Tour with our guide who will take you to his village, showing you rice paddies and typical homes along the way. Once there enjoy a fresh coconut drink and meet his family and neighbors. Walk from here to West Baray Lake where you can take a local boat to an island with some picturesque ancient Khmer ruins and return to shore where your car will be waiting for you. From here head to Pua District and visit the fascinating Artisans de Angkor silk farm where many local women are trained in the art of silk weaving.
Transfer to the airport in time to catch your flight - Bangkok Airways PG906 departing at 13:10 & arriving at 14:35. Catch your connecting flight - departing at 17:05.
Meals included: Breakfast