PANORAMA OF INDOCHINA AND THAILAND

22 days - 4 Countries 

Step into an authentic Indochina tour with an incredible mix of cultures, natural landscapes, activities, cuisines and religious. We will take you to the spectacular Angkor Wat and marvelous karst peaks in Ha Long Bay or gently calming down in hushed footsteps of monks during Alms-giving ceremony in Luang Prabang. This wonderful panorama tour is meticulously designed to show you a more in-depth viewpoint and thrillers than just must-sees. 4 countries in one shot give you a taste of all the big sites plus some hidden corners. From Bangkok to Vientiane to Angkor, from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay to Mekong Delta, you won’t want to miss a thing.

TOUR PROGRAMME IN SHORT 

Day 1    Bangkok Arrival
Day 2    Bangkok Full Day Hightlights
Day 3        Bangkok - Chiang Mai - Half Day Doi Suthep And Meo Hill Tribe
Day 4    Chiang Mai Full Day Elephant Safari & Rafting    
Day 5    Chiang Mai - Bangkok - Ha Noi (Capital Of Vietnam)
Day 6    Hanoi Old Quarter Tour   
Day 7    Hanoi - Halong Overnight On Boat - Unesco World Heritage

Day 8    Ha Long - Hanoi - Da Nang - Hoi An

Day 9    Hoi An Full Day Ancient Town
Day 10 Hoi An Cooking Class - Biking Tra Que Vegetable Village
Day 11  Da Nang – Hochiminh (Sai Gon) - Half Day City Tour   
Day 12  Full Day Mekong Delta Tour (Mytho & Ben Tre)

 Day 13  Hochiminh - Siem Reap
Day 14    Angkor Thom & Angkor Wat Tour

Day 15  Siem Reap - The River Of The Thousand Lingas - Luang Prabang    Breakfas

Day 16  Luang Prabang Full Day City Tour
Day 17  Luang Prabang - Pak U Cave & Khuang Si Waterfall - Vientiane                                                                                                                                                                       Day 18 Vien Tiane Full Day City Tour   
Day 19  Vien Tiane Departure
                                                 FULL ITINERARY OF I LOVE TO TRAVEL

DAY 1    Bangkok Arrival    Meals:

Welcome to Bangkok! When you're arrival at Bangkok international airport, your guide will greet you and escort you to the hotel. The driving distance is approximately 45 minutes. Check in hotel and leisure

DAY 2    Bangkok Full Day Hightlights    Meals: Breakfast  

Today, enjoy a full day city tour including the Royal Grand Palace, the nation’s landmark and most praised royal monument in Thailand, the enclosed and dazzling Wat Phra Keo with its revered Emerald Buddha, the Golden Chedi, the Pantheon of the Chakri Kings and the Eight Coloured Towers, all are must-see highlights in Bangkok. It is considered to be a living example of classical Siamese Court, being the former residence of the kings of Thailand.
Next, you’ll visit Wat Pho – the first centre of public education and ‘Thailand’s first university’ where you will find mural paintings, inscriptions, and statues placed in the temple-educated people on different subjects such as literature, warfare, archaeology, astronomy, geology, meditation. You’re then offered the Thai traditional massage with a 30-minutes treatment as an excellent break after a morning tour.

In the afternoon, experience a trip along the bustling Chao Phya River and the quiet Klongs (canals) in a long tail boat. The tour shows you more scenes of life by water, more local traditional way of living that totally away from all the high-rise and modern buildings of Bangkok City. As we gently pass Thonburi residential areas, a stop will be made at the “Temple of Dawn” (officially named Wat Arun). Next, visit the Flower and vegetable market that closed to the Chao Phraya River, this part brings you to a rural piece of Bangkok where there is a vast selection of all kinds of flowers, orchids and tropical flowers. You also see how the merchants create very special flower garlands. This Bangkok day ends at the Golden Mountain. Photography is permitted in the Royal Palace Grounds and in the compounds of the Emerald Buddha Temple, but not inside the buildings.

Note: Please dress respectfully by not wearing sleeveless, shorts or sandals, when visiting the Grand Palace and temple complex.

DAY 3    Bangkok Full Day Ayuthaya By Coach & Cruise    Meals: Breakfast

Morning, visit the former capital of Thailand, Ayuthaya, located approximately 75km north of Bangkok. The mixing cultures in Ayuthaya began in the mid-16th century when ships from Ayuthaya plied the Asian seas and traded with neighboring countries. Ayuthaya became a port city and trading routes extended to China, Japan, Indonesia, Portugal, Holland and France and up to the Scandinavian when the Dutch showed up in the 17th century.

Although the ancient villages of foreign traders lining the Chao Phraya riverbanks were abandoned when the city was sacked by Burmese troops in 1767, some remnants survive to showcase the cities past glory. Arrival, start at the Summer Palace of the late King Rama V, commonly known as “Bang Pa-In”. Move on to the magnificent ruins of early splendor that Ayuthaya is famous for all over the world. We will pass all the most impressive ruins of this World Heritage Site for taking sufficient pictures. We then return to Bangkok by cruising down the Chao Phraya River on a comfortable, air-conditioned cruise ship, while enjoying a sumptuous buffet lunch on board. Upon arrival at the disembarkation point in Bangkok in the late afternoon, we drive you back to your hotel.

Note: Kindly be aware that proper attire is required to enter the Summer Palace compounds; staff will be pleased to advise you accordingly

DAY 4    Bangkok – Vientiane By Flight    Meals: Breakfast  

 After breakfast, you will check out the hotel and then transfer to the airport for flight to Vientiane. When arrival Vientiane, our guide will greet you and escort you to the hotel for check in

DAY 5    VienTiane Full Day City Tour    Meals: Breakfast  

 In the morning, xplore Vientiane including some main temples such as Vat Ho Prakeo used to be the house of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Sisaket crossing the street and where more than ten thousand of Buddha images are being placed. We continue to Pratuxai, it was Arc the Triumph of France. Afterwards, climb up to the top to get a great view of the city. End the tour with the visit to Golden Stupa, well known as That Luang Stupa and believed to contain a relic of Lord Buddha.

Afternoon, we continue to visit Lao Revolutionary Museum where you’ll learn and get to know what happened during the French colonial time, and during the reign of the King Anou and Chao Fa Ngum. Visit Ban Nong Bouathong the weaving village, to get to know how people feed worms for the silk and lots of the Lao textiles.

DAY 6    Vientiane - Luang Prabang    Meals: Breakfast    

Today you are free until meet our guide & driver then transfer to airport for flight to Luang Prabang. Flight time is approximately 50 munities.
Meet your driver for an airport transfer with a private vehicle and guide. Check in hotel
Same day, we explore Luang Prabang to visit former royal temples, Wat Visun where one can see the Biggest statue, Wat Xieng Thong the most beautiful temple in Luang Prabang with its mosaic decoration and the former royal carriage. Next, visit the Museum (former king’s palace). End of day, climb up Mt Phousi overlooking the city of Luang Prabang and then visit night market.

DAY 7    Luang Prabang - Pak U Cave & Khuang Si Waterfall    Meals: Breakfast    

Morning, your guide bring you to the Big Brother Mouse shop to select some books for the village visit. Then head northward along route 13, before taking a unpaved road to Ban Khia Luang village. There spend most of time to visit the school, play with the kids and watch them enjoy their new books. We’ll also spend some time to explore the rest of the village, where you can see weaving and visit the local temple. Lunch at the village (not included in the tour price) which can either be a western picnic lunch, or traditional Laos food such as sticky rice; laap and fresh vegetables cooked by the villagers.

Afternoon, drive through beautiful sceneries of paddy fields and mountains to reach Ban Khoklin where you board on a private boat on Nam Ou River for 30 minutes to visit Pak Ou Caves, two linked caves crammed with thousands of gold lacquered Buddha statues of various shapes and sizes left by pilgrims and continue down the Mekong River return to Luang Prabang late afternoon.

DAY 8    Luang Prabang - Siem Reap - Kbal Spean – The River Of The Thousand Lingas    Meals: Breakfast  

 You are free at leisure until transfer to the airport for flight to Siem Reap. Meet your driver for an airport transfer to hotel.

Welcome to Siem Reap _ Cambodia! please go to custom desk as your first point of entry to get visa-on-arrival into the country and pay stamping fees directly by cash to custom office there then guide will pick you up outside and transfer to the city for check in and leave your bag before continue the tour in Siem Reap.

Afternoon, deep in the jungle, a visit of Kbal Spean will be made. Kbal Spean is known as the river of the Thousand Lingas and highly recommended. The rocks of the river have been carved during 11th and 13th Century, which gives it a magical touch. Next, drive to Kbal Spean in 1h15 on a good unpaved road and climb-up to this extraordinary site of the Thousand Lingas before heading back to Siem Reap in the early afternoon. We don’t recommend this tour during dry season as there is no water in the river.

DAY 9  Full Day Angkor Tour    Meals: Breakfast    

In the morning, visit to the antique capital of Angkor Thom, built in the 12th century: the South Gate with its huge statues depicting the churning of the ocean of milk, the Bayon Temple, unique for its 54 towers decorated with over 200 smiling faces of Avolokitesvara, the Phimeanakas, the Royal Enclosure, the Elephants Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King.

After a short your rest, you will visit the most famous of all the temples on the plain of Angkor: Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 81 hectares and is comparable in size to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Its distinctive five towers are emblazoned on the Cambodian flag. This masterpiece is considered by art historians to be the prime example of classical Khmer art and architecture. Angkor Wat’s five towers symbolize Meru’s five peaks - the enclosed wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world and the surrounding moat, the ocean beyond. End of day take a relaxing stopover at Prasat Chrung visiting Tadev Hole and temple with the best Sunset. Return to your hotel and end of the tour

DAY 10 Siem Reap - Phnom Penh By Land Transfer    Meals: Breakfast 

Morning, we drive to Phnom Penh. En route you will cross an ancient bridge called “Spean Kompong Kdei” it was built in the 13th century and it is 87 meters long. The balustrades are carved to look like the bodies of giant snakes. Upon arrive Phnom Penh, check in hotel

DAY 11 Phnom Penh City Tour    Meals: Breakfast    

Morning, visit to Royal Palace, built by King Norodom in 1866 on the site of the old town, and the Silver Pagoda, located within the grounds of the Royal Palace. Then continue to the National Museum, This is one of Phnom Penh's true architectural gems.

Afternoon we continue to visit to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S 21), followed the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek it is approximately 15Km from the city. You’ll witness Cambodias horrible recent past. End tour, stroll around Russian market (Psah Tuol Thom Pong), a lively outdoor market where you will find antiquities, silver and gold jewelry, gems, silk, kramas, stone and wood carvings, as well as T-Shirts, CDs and other souvenirs. Back to the hotel

DAY 12 Phnom Penh - Chau Doc By Speedboat    Meals: Breakfast 

Free at leisure until transfer to the port then take speed boat to Chau Doc. The boat trip is approximately 6hours.

Arrival Chau Doc, meet our guide & driver then transfer to hotel for checking in. Time at leisure in the rest of day

DAY 13 Full Day Chau Doc – Long Xuyen – Cantho    Meals: Breakfast  

Morning, take the morning boat trip to visit the floating fish farm and the floating village, the Cham weaving village. Afterwards, depart for Can Tho via Longxuyen to visit the incense stick village, the Crocodile farm. End of day tour stop at Can Tho.
     
DAY 14  Can Tho - Cairang Floating Market – Hochiminh (Saigon Meals: Breakfast 

Today, we depart Ninh Kieu wharf by shuttle-boat where you can see bustling activities along Can Tho riverbanks. Particularly, you may know how local people go fishing with plenty of fish traps and how they transport passengers as well as products by the waterway. When we approach Cai Rang floating market, the selling activities are reappeared in the past using a traditional “offering pole” exchanging consumer goods hanging on the pole for Mekong fruit and vegetables with local sellers. In order to understand more about lifestyle over here, keep on going into the small creeks called Rach Nho in which the Southern countryside can be seen clearly before cruising back to Ninh Kieu Wharf. End of day, our guide & driver will transfer back to Ho Chi Minh City. Free in the rest of day.

DAY 15  Hochiminh City Tour - Cu Chi Tunnels    Meals: Breakfast 

 Morning, meet your guide and transfer about 75 km North-west of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. Discover the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, which were once a major underground hideout and resistance base of Viet Cong forces during the two wars against the French and the Americans. The tunnels, entirely hand-dug, formed a highly intricate network of interlinked multilevel passageways at times stretched as far as the Cambodian border and totaling over 120 km in length. Its complexity was beyond imagination containing meeting rooms, kitchens, wells, clinics, schools, depots, trenches and emergency exits all aimed for guerrilla warfare. The tunnels were deep and strong enough to withstand destructive bombings and self-contained enough to outlast prolonged sieges. Return to the city at noon time for a rest.

Afternoon, tour in the city starting with Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, a neo-Roman cathedral built over 130 years ago by the colonial French with materials entirely imported from Marseilles and stained-glass windows from Chartres. Next, visit Sai Gon Post Office, a fine colonial building which was designed and built in the early 20th Century by the famous French architect Gustave Eiffel. Move on to Cho Lon or the city’s China Town where you will visit the Jade Emperor Temple (Phuoc Hai), a rare Taoist structure in Vietnam built in 1909 in dedication to the Lord of Heaven. It’s filled with smoky incense and fantastic carved figurines and still buzzing with worshipers, many lounging in the front gardens.

DAY 16 Hochiminh - Da Nang City Tour – Hoi An  Meals: Breakfast  

Transfer to airport for flight to Da Nang city. Flight time is approximately 1.5 hours.

Arrival Da nang airport, a short visit to Da Nang will be made. Da Nang is the fourth largest city in Vietnam with a major seaport, long sandy beaches and upscale resorts. You’ll visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture built in 1915 and housing the world’s most extensive collection of Cham ethnic sculpture artworks, the China Beach and the Marble Mountains, whose peaks represent the five basic elements of the universe before heading to Hoi An. The transfer distance from Da Nang to Hoi An is approximately 40 minutes.

DAY 17 Hoi An Full Day Ancient Town Meals: Breakfast

Morning, discover the charm of Hoi An recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, is now a peaceful town of exceptionally well-preserved architecture, lifestyles and traditions. The town exemplifies a fascinating fusion of cultures between Vietnam and the outside world including China, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Your sightseeing will include the iconic 400-year-old Covered Bridge with a small temple attached to one side as a prominent example of Japanese architecture, the Museum of Trade Ceramics which is an elegant Vietnamese style wooden house built in 1858 showcasing antique ceramic artifacts, the 200-year-old Tan Ky House typifying an ancient Chinese merchant residence, the Ong Temple built in 1653 by Chinese settlers to worship Guan Yu, an ancient Chinese general whose character stands for loyalty, bravery and justice and the local market vibrant with colors and activities.

Afternoon, enjoy a boat cruise on the Thu Bon River along the countryside landscapes. Afterwards, land on Kim Bong village where carpentry has been practiced since the 16th Century as the village’s trademark to visit some old-fashioned boatyards using timber as the main material. You’ll then move on to Thanh Ha village to see its traditional ceramic production trade still alive and thriving despite the 500-year passage of time. Return to your hotel

DAY 18 Da Nang - Ha Noi - French Quarter Walking Tour    Meals: Breakfast

Today, transfer to airport for flight to Hanoi. Flight time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Arrival Hanoi airport, you are warm welcomed by our guide & driver then transfer to the city for hotel-check in.

Afternoon, explores the French Quarter through the ideas of its architects and the shape of its stones. It sets about unraveling all the threads of civilization, which have left their mark on the area, beginning with recent reminders of Soviet style. Only just around the corner discover a different world altogether as we visit the Buddhist pagoda of Quan Su, the centre of Vietnamese Buddhism and Tran Hung Dao streets. You’ll learn about the French approach to justice and punishment and hear tales of daring Vietnamese resistance to the repressive regime. End of day, finish tour with stop to enjoy a nice cup of coffee.

DAY 19  Ha Noi Full Day City Tour    Meals: Breakfast   

The city tour begins with a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Complex which features the life of Ho Chi Minh, the nation’s founder. At the complex, visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the nation’s founder’s body is pre

served (closed on Monday, Friday and through October - November), the colonial Presidential Palace, originally the French Governor Office and a fine example of French architecture in Hanoi, and the rural style Ho Chi Minh’s house on stilts where Ho Chi Minh lived and worked. Stop by one of Hanoi’s icons, the One Pillar Pagoda, built in the 11th Century in dedication to Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara or Buddha of Compassion and reminiscent of a lotus blossom rising from a pond. Continue to the Temple of Literature, known as the first university of Vietnam built in 1070 by the Ly Dynasty to honor Confucius, sages and outstanding Vietnamese scholars.

Afternoon, continue the tour to one of the following museums of choice namely the Museum of Fine Arts, the National Museum of Vietnamese History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Military History or the Museum of Ethnology. Next, head for Hoan Kiem Lake, the center point of Hanoi whose name “The Return Sword Lake” originated from a legend of a sacred sword and home to a rare endangered giant turtle species and visit Ngoc Son Temple on the lake. Take a one-hour cycle tour of the Old Quarter of Hanoi with its ancient streets representing traditional trades from the past. Finish the tour at the Thang Long Opera Theatre with a traditional Vietnamese water puppet show.

DAY 20 Hanoi - Halong Overnight On Boat  Meals: B,L,D    

Morning pickup at 8:00 AM from your hotel for transfer to Ha Long Bay, which is about 160 km or 3.5-hour drive away. The transfer is approximately 3 hours. You will see some rural areas of the Red River Delta with plenty of chances to take photos of Vietnamese farmers working in paddy fields and you may stop on the way to admire the local scenery.

Arrive in Ha Long City at 11:30 AM and check in aboard the booked junk right after the welcome drink is served. Start cruising while having lunch on board and enjoy the mighty bay view. Ha Long Bay meaning Descending Dragon Bay in Vietnamese as legend has it that it was where a holly dragon landed down from sky. The bay, famous as one of the world’s wonders and heritage sites whose formation dates back 500 million years, consists of around 2,000 karst islands and islets scattered over an area of 1,553 km2.

After lunch, take a short trek to a nearby summit for a panoramic view of the bay dotted with golden sails, go swimming on a quiet beach or sunbath on the sundeck. Later in the afternoon, you will visit an interesting fishing village with an opportunity to interact with local people who have been living in the bay for almost three generations. An optional kayaking trip is available weather permitting. Back onboard enjoy a lavish dinner and enjoy the bay view at sunset. Spend a night on board.

DAY 21 Ha Long - Ha Noi    Meals: Brunch

In the morning, refresh your body and mind with a Tai Chi exercise on the sundeck at the break of dawn. Have tea and coffee onboard and continue exploring Ha Long Bay sailing across its 2000 islets and visiting some of its major highlights. Normally, check out at 09:30, have a buffet brunch while cruising back to shore. Disembark at 11:00 AM to transfer to Hanoi capital.
Afternoon, free at leisure

DAY 22 Ha Noi Departure    Meals:

Free at leisure until meet our guide then transfer to airport for flight...