Compare Vietnam & Cambodia by Under30Experiences

Day 1: Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City!

Morning/Afternoon

• Arrive at Tan Son Nhat Airport (SGN) in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam before 3:00 pm to meet your fellow travelers.
• Your Trip Leader will meet you at the airport and take you included private transportation to our accommodations in the center of Ho Chi Minh.
• Relax after a long flight at your hotel or take a walk with your Trip Leader and explore Ben Thanh market or discover Ho Chi Minh‘s Chinatown (Cho Lon).

Evening

• Get to know your new friends over a delicious Vietnamese dinner. Savor the traditional cuisine of Vietnam with your group as you begin to settle into this side of the world.

Day 2: Explore the Capital of Southern Vietnam

Morning

• Wake up in Vietnam and enjoy breakfast at your hotel.
• After breakfast, your Trip Leader will lead you on a morning sightseeing tour in Ho Chi Minh city where you’ll see some of the most important historic sights of the city.
• Visit The Reunification Palace, Stroll in Dong Khoi Street--home to many French colonial buildings and Vietnam’s version of the Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Afternoon

• Enjoy free time to explore the city at your own pace.
• Find some of the best Vietnamese food for lunch with the help of your Trip Leader and indulge in the exotic cuisine of the region.

Evening

• In the evening, you’ll have the option of taking a street food tour or attending an A-O Show at the Ho Chi Minh Opera House.
• Explore this lively city at night with your new group of friends.

Day 3: Vietnamese Cooking Class & Cu Chi Tunnels

Morning

• After breakfast, travel to an organic farm outside the city (~1.5-hour drive).
• Pick fresh vegetables and mushrooms straight from the garden that you’ll use for your cooking class with your Vietnamese Chef.

Afternoon

• Enjoy your homemade Southern Vietnamese lunch with your group.
• Afterward, enjoy an excursion to the Cu Chi Tunnels--one of the most important historic sites of the Vietnam war. This network of underground tunnels is 200km long complete with meeting rooms, medical and sanitary posts.

Evening

• Return back to Ho Chi Minh City and relax for the rest of the evening or enjoy the Ho Chi Minh nightlife with your group.

Day 4: Cycle & Float the Mekong Delta

Morning

• Enjoy your final breakfast in Ho Chi Minh City before departing for the Vung Liem district in the Mekong Delta (~3.5-hour drive).

Afternoon

• Arrive at your new lodge situated perfectly along the river.
• Enjoy some free time to enjoy a hearty lunch amongst coconut trees and picturesque rice fields.
• Cycle for 1-2 hours through the beautiful Vietnamese countryside. If you don’t like to cycle, you can follow along on a tuk tuk.
• Float down the small canals of the Mekong Delta in the shadow of the surrounding water-coconut trees.

Evening

• Settle into your riverside lodge and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the Mekong Delta.

Day 5: Vietnamese Cultural Immersion

Morning

• Wake up in the stunning Vietnamese countryside and enjoy breakfast with your group.
• Take a morning boat ride through the Mekong and reach a farmers market where locals sell vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat.
• Continue down the river to a local Cao Dai temple by the river, a coconut factory, and learn how locals make crafts from natural materials. 

Afternoon

• Return to your riverside lodge for lunch.
• Spend the rest of your afternoon taking part in optional activities like fishing, palm weaving, or preparing dinner with a local chef.

Evening

• Feast on some more delicious Vietnamese cuisine at your riverside lodge.
• After dinner, meet a former Viet Cong war veteran and interact with him as you listen to traditional songs about war.

Day 6: Welcome to Cambodia!

Morning

• Enjoy a relaxing morning or check out the local workshops in Vinh Long.
• Be sure to enjoy a final scenic walk along the river before departing for our next stop--Cambodia!

Afternoon

• Travel back to Ho Chi Minh City (~4-hour drive) with your group and catch a final Vietnamese lunch in the city before catching your included flight to Cambodia (~1.5 hour flight).

Evening

• Welcome to Cambodia!
• Take included transportation to your boutique hotel in Siem Reap.
• Wrap up your first night in a new country with a delicious dinner.

Day 7: Village Immersion in Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

Morning

• Start off your first morning in Cambodia by cycling to Bong Thom Village where you’ll visit Preah Dak--a local Cambodian market.
• Arrive at a villager’s house renowned for its production of Cambodia's famous rice noodles.
• Be welcomed by the family and help them through the different stages of making rice noodles.
• Eat the traditional breakfast you helped prepare called Nom Bahn Cho.
• Stop at another family home where villagers teach you how to make palm leaf handicrafts.
• Visit two temples called Banteay Samre and Phnom Bok as you cycle through picturesque rice paddies and palm trees. If you don’t like to cycle, there will be a tuk tuk available to transport you.

Afternoon

• Enjoy lunch in a small village that specializes in bamboo sticky rice production.
• Relax under a palm tree while indulging in delicious Cambodian snacks.
• After lunch, you’ll visit Angkor Wat-–the biggest temple in the Angkor complex. Marvel at the architectural achievement of one of the largest religious monuments in the world.

Evening

• Finish the day by visiting Ta Prohm, a temple which has been covered by the surrounding jungle and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
• Enjoy included dinner in Cambodia as a group at a traditional restaurant.

Day 8: Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple

Morning

• Travel by tuk tuk on a road surrounded by hundred-year-old trees to discover the legendary Angkor Complex.
• Visit Angkor Thom known as “the big city.”
• Admire Bayon Temple built around the 12th century and Baphuon, a temple mountain built in the 11th century.
• Discover the Terrace of the Elephants, with a length of 350 meters, was used for royal audiences and public ceremonies.
• Continue your visit to the Terrace of the Leper King, built in the 12th century, covered by magnificent Apsara sculptings.

Afternoon

• Enjoy a free afternoon discovering more of the Angkor Wat complex at your own pace.
• If you’d prefer to make your own adventure your Trip Leader will provide more information on some of the best optional activities the Siem Reap has to offer.

Evening

• Enjoy another traditional Cambodian dinner with your group (not included) as you recount the experiences of the last few days.
• Check out the nightlife in Siem Reap before we depart to Battambang in the morning!

Day 9: Phnom Sampov & Battambang

Morning

• For those who didn’t go out, wake up early and experience the sunrise over the Angkor Temples by local tuk tuk (optional).
• After breakfast, travel to Battambang from Siem Reap (~3 hours drive)
• Stop at a local silk farm and learn about the importance of cultivation, cocoon unwinding, and silk weaving.

Afternoon

• Arrive in Battambang and visit the Bat Caves at Phnom Sampov.
• Phnom Sampov is known for its "killing caves" from the Khmer Rouge era.
• Take a hike to the top of Phnom Sampov and soak in the magnificent views over the rice fields and surrounding countryside as millions of bats take a flight out of the caves.

Evening

• Enjoy dinner at your boutique hotel in Battambang.

Day 10: Discover Battambang

Morning

• Discover Battambang’s beautiful countryside by tuk tuk.
• Start off at an ancient pagoda named Wat Balat, and drive past typical Cambodian houses that have been unchanged for generations.
• Observe the daily activities such as the preparation of sticky rice, custom knife making, and the preparation of the traditional fish paste prahok.

Afternoon

• Have the option of riding the famous Bamboo Train of Battambang or do a workshop at the Phare arts school.
• Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the famous sights of Battambang, visiting the central market or strolling along the riverside.

Evening

• After an eventful day, grab dinner with your group at a restaurant in Battambang where you’ll be able to try traditional Khmer dining.

Day 11: Siem Reap

Morning

• Begin the drive back to Siem Reap (~3-hour drive).
• Admire the traditional Khmer houses, the massive Tonle Sap Lake, and observe the stonemasons whose techniques have been passed down since the Angkorian era.
• Afternoon
• Your final afternoon in Siem Reap is free for you to relax or immerse yourself further in everything the city has to offer.

Evening

• Enjoy your farewell dinner at one of the best restaurants in Siem Reap.
• Reflect on the cultural experiences of the last few days and enjoy one final night out with your group of travelers.

Day 12: Departure

Morning

• Enjoy the final morning at your leisure or do some last minute souvenir shopping.
• After checkout, you will take included private transportation to Siem Reap Airport for your flight back home.
• Be sure your flight home departs after 12:00 pm.
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