Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat cycling tours
Highlights
Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh | Cu Chi Tunnels | Mekong River Delta | Can Tho | Cai Rang floating market | Rach Gia Cambodia: Phnom Penh | Koh Dach or Silk Island | Siem Reap | Sambor Prei Kuk temple | Sunrise at Angkor Wat | Tonle Sap | Beng MealeaDescription of Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat cycling tours
This twelve day Vietnam and Cambodia cycling holiday is a small group tour, using a mixture of bikes and private bus transfers to cover some of the most spectacular landscapes and cultural sites of Southern Vietnam and Cambodia. Getting around by bike is definitely one of the most pleasant and and local ways to experience these countries, and we have endeavoured to create a cycling itinerary that takes you to both classic sites and off the tourist trail.Starting in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, we take time to explore this fast paced and fascinating city, but also cycle out through paddy fields to Cu Chi Tunnels. We spend a couple of days in the Mekong Delta region, with floating markets and traditional villages, before heading into Cambodia. Here, our first stop is Phnom Penh, the capital, know during its heyday as the ‘Pearl of Asia,’ but now also holding a grim fascination due to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.
After a visit to the nearby ‘Silk Island’ and a pause in Skuon, otherwise known as Spiderville for the local delicacy: fried tarantulas(!), it’s time for the grand finale of this classic Indochina cycling trip, which is around the Angkor Wat temples.
On this trip we use comfortable geared bikes and cycle at a steady pace, with a support crew on hand at all times. So you can enjoy the landscapes at a gentle pace, but also take a break with the support crew at any time.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.com
Check dates, prices & availability
The leaders are not guides – they’re not there to shepherd you around. Instead, they’ll let you know which local restaurant serves great value food – without running the risk of travellers’ tummy. They’ll allow you to avoid hour-long queues at train stations and attractions.
We like to think of small group travel as the Goldilocks option. It is independent travel without the fuss, worry and bunk beds – and organised travel without the coaches. And it’s cheaper than a tailor made tour. It’s sits somewhere in the middle – and we think it’s just about right.
Have big, life-enriching experiences that would be impossible to organise without lots of time and insider knowledge.
Simplicity
Make the most of your holiday time by letting someone else do the hard work and boring logistics!
Peace of mind
Small group tours take care of the security aspects – and provide a safety net should anything unexpected happen.
If you don’t have three months to spend exploring, small groups trips let you cover more ground in less time. Your days are not spent queuing for tickets or finding hotels – so you can squeeze more into your holiday.
Solo travellers who’d like company
Likeminded travel companions plus peace of mind for those travelling alone. Single supplements are usually available – providing privacy if you want it.
Less confident travellers
Stray from the tourist trail without worrying about getting lost, and meet local people without dealing with the language barrier.
Couples and friends have private rooms, and you can choose to eat alone or not. Single supplements give solo travellers their own room.
“There won’t be any free time”
Free mornings or afternoons let you explore on your own, or just relax.
“The accommodation will be basic”
Trips are as high or low end as you like. Though off the beaten track destinations won’t have luxury hotels, this is all part of the adventure.
“I won’t like the other travellers!”
Tour operators try to create groups with a similar demographic – age, families, activity levels... Chances are, you’ll even make new friends.
“Will we be following an umbrella?”
No.
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
Asia Cycling tours - Our cycling tours in SE Asia have all been designed with sustainable travel principles firmly in mind. Our Responsible Travel Guidebook - Our philosophy since 1975 has been to leave only footprints and take only photographs. To reiterate this, every customer who travels with us receives a copy of our award-winning Responsible Travel guidebook. This detailed book outlines our environmentally sustainable principles, and outlines how each customer can minimize their impact while travelling.
Global Warming and Carbon Balancing - The root cause of Global Warming is society's dependence on emission creating fossil fuel. Planting trees is not going to reverse this trend or cancel our carbon emissions very quickly or effectively. We believe the way to reduce these dependencies is to create clean energy production. Therefore, we support renewable energy projects like wind and solar power, and we are aligned with Climate Friendly, the gold standard setter in effective, meaningful action addressing climate change. So, while we believe that tree planting can play a small role in greenhouse gas abatement, we have gone the extra mile in promoting a longer term solution. Is this cheap? No. Is it responsible? Absolutely.
The Impacts of this Trip
On tour, we travel in small groups of maximum 16 cyclists, led by a locally employed and trained leader, to minimise our impact on the communities we visit. We also aim to maximise the financial benefits to local and remote village. We do the latter by purchasing and preparing food locally and providing home stay opportunities, where appropriate, which provide the local villagers with an extra source of revenue. We assist the home stay visits by providing the required sleeping needs for our travellers to the communities.
Getting well away from the main roads by cycling rural back roads will bring you into contact with local people who do not see masses of tourists. This provides you with an opportunity for real and authentic cultural exchange and allows you to make purchases or even supply appropriate gifts to communities that do not benefit from the mass tourist trails.
On certain nights on tour we organise local cooking demonstrations, rather than visiting a restaurant, to again employ the services of locals, utilise their fresh and delicious produce and provide you with an authentic experience.
Cycling tours allow us the opportunity to employ more local staff as bike mechanics and local drivers who are required for additional support. We employ a different local team in each country we visit on the cross-border cycling tours.
With the assistance of our local guides we distribute donated clothing, books & stationery supplies to the children living in remote hill-tribe villages. We also support our local partners clean-up program in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay.
No local payments policy - Local cash payments are becoming increasingly popular with many operators in the adventure travel industry. This policy seems to benefit the tour operators more than the local economies or the travellers, as it avoids local taxes and transfers the costs and risks of cash handling onto the travellers. In accordance with our Responsible Travel practices, we have chosen a policy of not asking for such payments.
Asia Cycling tours - Our cycling tours in SE Asia have all been designed with sustainable travel principles firmly in mind. Our Responsible Travel Guidebook - Our philosophy since 1975 has been to leave only footprints and take only photographs. To reiterate this, every customer who travels with us receives a copy of our award-winning Responsible Travel guidebook. This detailed book outlines our environmentally sustainable principles, and outlines how each customer can minimize their impact while travelling.
Global Warming and Carbon Balancing - The root cause of Global Warming is society's dependence on emission creating fossil fuel. Planting trees is not going to reverse this trend or cancel our carbon emissions very quickly or effectively. We believe the way to reduce these dependencies is to create clean energy production. Therefore, we support renewable energy projects like wind and solar power, and we are aligned with Climate Friendly, the gold standard setter in effective, meaningful action addressing climate change. So, while we believe that tree planting can play a small role in greenhouse gas abatement, we have gone the extra mile in promoting a longer term solution. Is this cheap? No. Is it responsible? Absolutely.
The Impacts of this Trip
On tour, we travel in small groups of maximum 16 cyclists, led by a locally employed and trained leader, to minimise our impact on the communities we visit. We also aim to maximise the financial benefits to local and remote village. We do the latter by purchasing and preparing food locally and providing home stay opportunities, where appropriate, which provide the local villagers with an extra source of revenue. We assist the home stay visits by providing the required sleeping needs for our travellers to the communities.
Getting well away from the main roads by cycling rural back roads will bring you into contact with local people who do not see masses of tourists. This provides you with an opportunity for real and authentic cultural exchange and allows you to make purchases or even supply appropriate gifts to communities that do not benefit from the mass tourist trails.
On certain nights on tour we organise local cooking demonstrations, rather than visiting a restaurant, to again employ the services of locals, utilise their fresh and delicious produce and provide you with an authentic experience.
Cycling tours allow us the opportunity to employ more local staff as bike mechanics and local drivers who are required for additional support. We employ a different local team in each country we visit on the cross-border cycling tours.
With the assistance of our local guides we distribute donated clothing, books & stationery supplies to the children living in remote hill-tribe villages. We also support our local partners clean-up program in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Halong Bay.
No local payments policy - Local cash payments are becoming increasingly popular with many operators in the adventure travel industry. This policy seems to benefit the tour operators more than the local economies or the travellers, as it avoids local taxes and transfers the costs and risks of cash handling onto the travellers. In accordance with our Responsible Travel practices, we have chosen a policy of not asking for such payments.
2 Reviews of Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat cycling tours
Reviewed on 23 Feb 2019 by John Martin
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There were too many great memories to recall, however, the Cu Chi Tunnels tour was fascinating although I did bail out of the tunnel crawl after 25 metres - even though widened it was very narrow and hot. The cycling through Vietnam on small tracks that passed little villages was amazing as was the hospitality of the Vietnamese. The food was also lovely - I ate like a king and yet lost 6lbs!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you travel in February it is very hot so light clothes and plenty of fluids are the order of the day. Temperatures get up to the mid 30's Centigrade and what would be an easy flat ride in the UK is made quite difficult by the heat.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes the locals benefited - we stopped for lunch at small locally run eateries and of course cycling is the most sustainable form of transport.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. I started the tour with a number of strangers who became good friends after this superb shared experience. The food, the people and the weather were brilliant (ok the weather may have been a little hot for my liking!). The bikes in Vietnam were modern hard tail mountain bikes although the ones in Cambodia could have done with an upgrade. There was however, less cycling in Cambodia but the off road (tracks) cycling trip to Angkor Watt was worth the cost of the tour alone!
Reviewed on 21 Jan 2018 by Lynda Taylor
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Cambodia riding bikes through Angkor Wat and Vietnam riding backroads through villages.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Make sure to bring medical (anti nausiand and diahrea) for food poisoning. Packing list provided should be more specific to exact tour ie/ hiking books were not necessary and were heavy to transport across the world.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not particularily
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
7 out of 10
Read the operator's response here:
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