Simply Southern Indochina 2025 - 10 Days

Our tour starts today in Thailand's capital, Bangkok. Here, old meets new, and the energetic local life - awash with street vendors, locals and tourists - is set against a backdrop of ornate shrines and modern skyscrapers. Sample fragrant street food, haggle in the non-stop markets and take a cruise out on the Chao Phraya River to witness stunning sunsets. For those arriving on time, our tour leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 1pm for a welcome meeting. Afterwards, for those who want to join, there is an optional longtail canal trip to explore the city from its network of backwaters branching off the Chao Phraya River. The excursion will also include visits to Wat Arun, the Royal Barge Museum and the Temple of the Dawn, built to represent the towering slopes of Mount Meru - the Khmer's mythical home of the gods. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), which is one hour from our hotel. Please note, if you plan to join the optional longtail canal trip today, you'll need to arrive at the hotel by 1pm. If you're booking your own flights, we recommend giving yourself at least one hour to clear the airport. From the airport to the hotel is around a one-hour drive, therefore the latest your flight can arrive is 10am. From night markets to temples, Bangkok has so much to see and experience. Our itinerary allows us limited time to see the highlights so we highly recommend booking additional nights pre-tour to your trip. Alternatively, you might like to unwind on the beautiful beaches of Thailand with our premium beach extension to Koh Samet.

We have an early start this morning as we travel to Siem Reap. We take a private bus to Aranyaprathet/Poipet, the border of Thailand and Cambodia, where we change vehicles and travel onwards to the city of Siem Reap. Our Thai tour leader will accompany us to the border where we meet your Cambodian tour leader to continue our journey. Please note, today is a long travel day with around seven hours of driving plus an hour or two to deal with formalities at the border. Border crossings take time and require patience.

Today is free to explore the incredible jungle temple complex of the Angkor period, whose history covers 600 years, from the 9th through to the 15th centuries. Two of the best ways to explore are by bicycle or striking a deal with one of the many tuk tuks that ply their trade here. Obvious choices are the magnificent complex of Angkor Wat, the fortified city of Angkor Thom (home to the Bayon, with its mysterious giant faces) and the wonderfully overgrown and atmospheric Ta Prohm, set amidst tangled tree roots and lush jungle and famous as the setting for some of the Lara Croft film Tomb Raider. Other options include taking to the waters of the Roluos River, visiting the floating villages and local wat at Kompong Phluk and exploring the flooded forest and great lake of Tonle Sap. Those wishing to gain a little understanding of Cambodia's more recent past might like to seek out the fascinating Landmine Museum just to the south of Banteay Srei Temple. Set up in 1997 by a former Khmer Rouge soldier, the museum offers support for countless victims of landmines, as well as providing visitors with a poignant reminder of one of the country's most violent and tragic periods.

We have another free day today to explore Angkor. You might like to visit the Old Market where you can pick up trinkets and try local street food. You could also visit the APOPO Visitor Centre where you meet and observe rats trained to detect landmines.

We leave Siem Reap behind us today and travel on to Battambong (a journey of around three hours). Battambang lies along a route that has seen countless Thai and Khmer Rouge soldiers wind their way north and south, either in the pursuit of conquest or in the case of the Khmer Rouge to escape the invading Vietnamese in 1979. Though the town is the second largest in Cambodia, it has a laid-back feel with its leafy streets and colonial villas. Depending on our arrival time, we might have time to explore this afternoon, taking in the town's traditional temples and French-colonial architecture.

This morning, we'll take the public bus to the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The journey takes around six hours and should get us into the city by mid-afternoon. Phnom Penh sits at the confluence of the Sap, Mekong and Bassac Rivers, a charming testament to the country's ancient and colonial past, with tree-lined boulevards and colonial villas dotted amongst the reminders of its turbulent history. The Cambodian capital since the mid-15th century, Phnom Penh's origins lie in the legend of four statues of Buddha, washed on the shores of the Mekong and discovered by a woman named Penh, which were later housed in the 14th-century Wat Phnom, located on a small hill at the northern end of the city. On arrival, we should have time to freshen up, before our tour leader takes us on a short orientation walk.

Today has been left free for you to continue exploring the city at your own pace. Phnom Penh offers a rich blend of cultural, historical, and atmospheric experiences. You can explore the National Museum, which houses a remarkable collection of Angkor-era statues, or visit the Royal Palace, a stunning example of French-influenced Khmer architecture. The palace, with its striking pagoda-style design, features golden nagas, vibrant tiles in hues of orange, sapphire, and green, and intricate scenes from the Ramayana painted on the ceiling. For a sobering glimpse into Cambodia's tragic past, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek offer poignant reminders of the horrors under the Khmer Rouge regime. The glass tower filled with skulls at Choeung Ek is a stark memorial to the 17,000 victims who perished there between 1975 and 1978, though these sites may be distressing for some visitors. If you're looking for a change of pace, take a scenic trip along the Mekong River or explore the bustling markets of the city, such as the Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung), known for its textiles, jewellery, and antiques. Alternatively, you can simply stroll through Phnom Penh's lively streets, soaking in the vibrant atmosphere and perhaps enjoying a refreshing drink at one of the charming old colonial riverfront bars.

This morning, we set off on the seven-hour journey to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly and still locally known as Saigon). We'll cross the border at Bavet (Cambodia) and Moc Bai (Vietnam). Lying to the north of the Mekong Delta, on the banks of the Saigon River, the city is the largest in Vietnam, an eclectic mix of the traditional and the new, where pagodas and markets compete alongside the trappings of Vietnam's newly discovered entrepreneurial spirit. Depending on our arrival time we plan to have a short orientation tour on foot, taking in some of the more obvious highlights, including the prominent Hotel de Ville, whose ornate grandeur is today the home of the city's People's Committee, as well as the Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral and the impressive French style edifice that is the GPO building (if we arrive too late, we'll take this tour tomorrow morning instead).

Today you're free to choose from several optional activities. You might like to visit the remarkable Reunification Palace and the emotive War Remnants Museum, which contains a fascinating, and at times chilling reminder of the cost of what the Vietnamese refer to as the American War. Or perhaps browse the bustling stalls of the Binh Tay Market, the largest wholesale market in southern Vietnam and a fabulous place to stroll and meet the locals. Another option is to visit the infamous Cu Chi Tunnels, an underground command base which was a major part of the 1968 Tet Offensive. If you're up to experiencing the claustrophobic conditions the Viet Cong lived in, there's the opportunity to crawl through a small, specially adapted section of the tunnels.

Our trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Ho Chi Minh. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart from Ho Chi Minh at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Tan Son Nat International Airport (SGN), which is a 30-minute drive from the airport.