Indochina Overture

A fourteen-day private tour visiting the best-known destinations in the three countries of Indochina – Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

Highlights: Hue’s Imperial City, the Mausoleums of the Nguyen Emperors, cycling, dinner in a ‘garden house’, Hoi An, the remarkable remains of My Son, the marvels of Angkor, and the pleasures of Luang Prabang.

Your tour start with....
... a transfer from the airport, time to relax, a Welcome dinner, and some light-hearted entertainment based on Vietnam’s rural culture.

Escort/guide: transfer to hotel and evening

Three days in Hue
With the massive Citadel complex, a cruise on the peaceful Perfume River to visit the flamboyant tombs of the Nguyen Emperors, and Dong Ba Market, Hue has a lot to offer. You’ll see it all. You’ll also cycle around the ‘garden house’ area, and eat a classic Hue dinner prepared and served by a descendent of the Imperial Court who will explain its distinctive cuisine and rich cultural traditions.

Guide/escort: transfer from the airport, and evening, and both following days
Meals: three breakfasts, three lunches and one dinner

Three days in Hoi An
The drive to Danang takes you over the Hai Van Pass – the panoramic views make a pause for photographs essential. After dropping in at Danang’s famous Cham Museum, you’ll arrive in Hoi An with time to wander around what was once a major commercial port accompanied by an expert guide. Apart from a half-day excursion to the evocative My Son Sanctuary, an impressive monument to the once mighty Kingdom of Champa, your time is then your own. Five kilometres from Hoi An, the sun, sea, sands and palm trees of Cua Dai Beach await you.

Guide: one and a half days
Meals: three breakfasts and one lunch

Three days in Cambodia
A noon flight takes you to Siem Reap, the gateway to the fabled capital of the ancient Kh’mer Empire – Angkor. Its secular wooden buildings are long-gone, swallowed up by decay, termites and the jungle, leaving only the stone buildings – the Wats and Palaces of the kings and priests. And what a heritage they left! The scale of their creation beggars the imagination, and the quality and quantity of their stonework and statuary is amazing, particularly considering that enormous quantities were looted by European opportunists posing as ‘archaeologists’.

Guide: two days
Meals: three breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners

Luang Prabang and your departure – four days altogether
In common with the other counties of Indochina, Laos has experienced the rise and fall of Empire. Typically, the fall from supremacy included the sacking of cities and buildings or their decay to ruins. Luang Prabang is the exception.

Once the capital of the Laotian Lan Xang Kingdom, Luang Prabang is the “best preserved city in South-East Asia” according to the UNESCO World Heritage List. It’s comfortable and compact, located on a small peninsula created by the confluence of the Nam Khan River and the Mekong. There’s abundant wats, palaces and other buildings to visit, pleasant places to eat and drink, and good hotels within easy reach.

Apart from the architectural delights of the city, you’ll have a cruise along the Mekong to visit the wats, caves and villages on the opposite bank. Finish with an evening stroll up Phu Si hill to see the lights of the city and the river below and the ice-white stars above, followed by a good dinner and you’ll take home unforgettable memories of Indochina when you board you departure flight.

Guide: one half day, or two if you choose the My Son option
Meals: three breakfasts, and one lunch

This tour is nine days/eight nights

It includes:
All transfers and transport
All accommodation
Eight breakfasts, six lunches and three dinners