Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh holiday
| country: | Cambodia, Vietnam |
| location: | Indochina holidays |
| departures: | This trip can be arranged at a time to suit you, and adapted to your requirements as necessary. |
| price: | From £530 (6 days) including domestic flights only, as per itinerary |
read 2 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
Ho Chi Minh, Tayninh, Cuchi, Siem Riep, Angkor, Phnom Penh.
The trip begins in Saigon and the chance to see the sites including Reunification Hall, City hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, War crimes Museum, Chinatown, Ben Thanh Market, Tay Ninh Cu Chi Tunnels.
You will be collected and taken to your flight to colonial Siem Reap, a few kilometres from the famed temple ruins at Angkor. Here well preserved ruins dating back about 1,000 years cover an area of 200km2 and visitors can easily spend several days exploring here, taking in the thousands of exquisite statues and bas relief carvings.
A cruise on the Tonle Sap (Asia's largest freshwater lake) is also a memorable experience. The 9km2 of Angkor Thom reflect the transition from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism and contains the remarkable Bayon, and the famous Elephant and Leper King Terraces. Other temples and monuments have their own distinctive features.
The trip begins in Saigon and the chance to see the sites including Reunification Hall, City hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, War crimes Museum, Chinatown, Ben Thanh Market, Tay Ninh Cu Chi Tunnels.
You will be collected and taken to your flight to colonial Siem Reap, a few kilometres from the famed temple ruins at Angkor. Here well preserved ruins dating back about 1,000 years cover an area of 200km2 and visitors can easily spend several days exploring here, taking in the thousands of exquisite statues and bas relief carvings.
A cruise on the Tonle Sap (Asia's largest freshwater lake) is also a memorable experience. The 9km2 of Angkor Thom reflect the transition from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism and contains the remarkable Bayon, and the famous Elephant and Leper King Terraces. Other temples and monuments have their own distinctive features.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Ho Chi Minh - city tour. Arrive Tan Son Nhat airport, transfer to hotel, take some time resting before city tour, you will visit sites of Reunification Hall, City hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, War crimes Museum, Chinatown, Ben Thanh Market. Overnight stay in Ho Chi Minh. (D,G) |
| Day 2: | Tay Ninh and Cu Chi tunnels. Morning transfer to Tay Ninh with the Great Cao Dai temple (a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism and Christian). You see the noon mass. Lunch in Tay Ninh. Afternoon you visit Cu Chi - a fabulous tunnel. You will have the opportunity to get the unique experience of guerrillas living and fighting underground during the war (a crawl through 50 -100 meters of the 200km tunnel system is unforgettable). Local rice paper workshops, nice paddy fields are pleasant sights on the way. Overnight in Ho Chi Minh. (B,L,G) |
| Day 3: | Ho Chi Minh – Siem Reap. You are free until transfer to the airport for the flight to Siem Reap to discover the spectacular temples of Angkor Wat. Upon arrival we check in the hotel and start exploring Angkor Wat. This afternoon we visit the South Gate of Angkor Thom, famous for its series of colossal human faces carved in stone, then the impressive Bayon Temple, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King. In the afternoon we continue with visit Taprohm. In the late afternoon we walk up Phnom Bakheng Hill to see the sunset over the magnificent ruins of Angkor. Overnight in Siem Riep. (B,D,G) |
| Day 4: | Angkor Complex. This morning we will drive beyond the main Angkor complex to visit another favourite temple amongst visitors – the enchanting Banteay Srei: It appears that the temple was designed to leave no space undecorated, and the fine carvings in the pink sandstone are quite unique. Banteay Samre: built in the third quarter of the 12th century. It consists of a central temple with four wings preceded by a hall and accompanied by two libraries, the southern most of which is remarkably well preserved. Two concentric walls enclosed the ensemble. After lunch you will visit The Royal city off Srah Srang: A Royal bathing place. Banteay Kdei or the Citadel of Cells: surrounded by 4 concentric walls. Ta Prohm a favourite amongst visitors because it has become part of the jungle. Ta Keo Further east along the victory road you will get to Tekeo. Jayavarman V began construction work on the temple, one of the firsts to built put of sandstone. Prasat Kraven: brick temple guilt by Hashavarman in the first quarter of the 10th century, small but worth the visit. Overnight in Siem Riep. (B, L,G) |
| Day 5: | Siem Reap - Phnom Penh. We fly to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia in the morning. On arrival we check into the hotel before and are free at leisure. After lunch, we will start touring around Phnom Penh. Firstly we will visit the Royal Palace compound built in 1866 by the Predecessors of King Norodom - the most conspicuous feature and also an impressive colourful Khmer-style Palace. Nearside the Royal Palace is Silver pagoda (the Emerald Buddha temple), displaying plenty of Buddha Statues that were decorated and made with diamonds, emerald, gold and silver. You will proceed to visit Independence Monument which was constructed in 1954 after Cambodia took their country back from French colony; continuing visit to National Museum - the distinctive red building with a beautiful Khmer architecture was built since 1917 and contains more than 5000 art objects made of sandstone, bronze, silver, copper, wood and others. The rest of day, you will shopping and excursion at the Central Market and Toul Tompong Market where you will feel a bustling daily life of local people with Cambodia’s special character through local specialties, their houses, their faces, Palaces and buildings of Khmer & Colonial style architecture. Overnight in Phnom Penh. (B, L,G). |
| Day 6: | Phnom Penh - departure. Breakfast at hotel, visit centre market and go shopping until transfer to the airport to afternoon flight back home. (B, G) |
travellers' tales
Very well organised, flexible to my change in plans, and was extremely helpful. I have already recommended your site to my friends (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
 It is more important than ever to minimise our impact on the environment and the communities we visit. Travellers are briefed on the importance of respecting local sensitivities and not leaving behind litter and wearing appropriate dress. We use small local hotels, eat in local restaurants, and shop for food, drinks and souvenirs in small villages and local markets thus supporting the local economy. We have also developed relationships with many of the villagers we meet along the way and travellers are encouraged to buy handicrafts directly from the villagers themselves. We also use local transport to really experience everyday life in a developing country. We ensure that the money spent on transportation goes to the local infrastructure. Our travellers also have the opportunity to help the villagers materially, by purchasing authentic hand-made clothes and handicrafts from them. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |