Saigon Cruise Tour to Phnom Penh by Lan Diep Cruise
Best places to visit: Saigon – My Tho - Cai Be – Vinh Long – Sa Dec - Chau Doc – Koh Dek Chau - Phnom Penh
4 days
Daily Tour
20 people
English, Cezch
Put the mythical Southeast Asian capitals of Phnom Penh and Saigon side by side and you have a meeting of two countries separated by an invisible line at the river. But the line becomes real when you compare their very different cultures, landscapes and pace of life. After the “Land of the Nine Dragons”, the rice granary of Vietnam, we arrive at the impressive pastoral riverbanks of Cambodia. We are struck by the pace of activity and the cascade of things to see, including the nostalgic port of Saigon, the brickworks and trawlers of My Tho, the floating market in Cai Be, the temples and pagodas, the aquatic gardens of Vinh Long, Marguerite Duras’ hometown of Sa Dec, the boat yards of Long Xuyen, the houses over fishing rearing pens in Chau Doc, before docking at Phnom Penh
Itinerary :
Day 1: Saigon – My Tho (breakfast/lunch/dinner)
06:30: Lan Diep is opened for embarkation at the International Port of Saigon, terminal of Nha Rong, next to Ho Chi Minh museum
07:30: Breakfast, customs formalities, departure for My Tho. Safety briefing. Morning relaxation, lunch during the crossing of the splendid channel of Cho Gao.
16:30: Arrival to My Tho. Lan Diep drops anchor in proximity of the Island Thoi Son. My Tho, “Good Grass Scented” according to the translation is a quiet and prosperous city, approximately 100 000 inhabitants, known for its many orchards rice plantations. The climate is hot and pleasant all the year. This countryside-site has the most variable fruit collection of Vietnam (coconuts, banana trees, mango trees).
Local boats take the passengers from the boat to onshore, departure for the Vinh Trang pagoda by bus, on the way short visit of the city and the local market of My Tho. Visit of the local zoo. Later passengers come back to the small boats, navigation to the Island Thoi. Walking on the island, exploration of the everyday life, tasting of the seasonal fruits, lessoning the local musician band, visit of the candy factory, shopping of the local products. (The visit of My Tho is depend of the level of the traffic on the channel of Cho Gao which can cause considerably delay (+ 2 hours) the arrival to My Tho.)
19:00: Embarking, welcome cocktail, presentation of the crew. Lan Diep leaves to Cai Be
Welcome dinner and overnight on the Lan Diep Cruise.
Day 2: Vinh Long – Cai Be – Sa Dec (breakfast/lunch/dinner)
07:00: Breakfast
08:00: Lan Diep drops anchor on the river near Cai Be. Local boats take the passengers to visit the floating market, discover the brick manufacturers and pottery, the seedbed of fruit trees of the Island Binh Hoa Phuoc while passing by and visiting a traditional house of a local farmer.
Vinh Long, the “Majestic Dragon” according to the translation, is located at the center of the areas of the delta, embraced by two arms of Mekong. The life was organized around and with water. Houses on pile, trade in boat, hundreds boats which pass each other in all the directions. The hospitality of the inhabitants makes this place unique tourist site.
12:30: Return to Lan Diep , departure for Sa Dec. Lunch during navigation.
15:00: Arrival to Sa Dec, panoramic tour of the city. Visit the market then turn to the city by bus. On the way visit the primary school Trung Vuong and the pagoda Kien Year Cung. In this authentic town of 30.000 inhabitants, passengers can experience the environment of a small city of the delta where still can be felt the colonial atmosphere along with the “House of the Chinese” (of the novel The Lover of Marguerite Duras, also adapted to a movie).
17:00: Return to the boat after a stop in a seedbed of bonsai. Famous for its horticulture (large variety of exotic flowers) Sa Dec was called at the colonial time “the garden of Cochinchine”.
18:30: Lan Diep leaves Sa Dec, night navigation to Chau Doc.
Dinner and overnight on the Lan Diep Cruise.
Day 3 Full day Chau Doc – Koh Dek Chau (breakfast/lunch/dinner)
04:30: Departure of the boat early the morning towards Chau Doc.
07:00: Arrival to the pier of the hotel Victoria Chau Doc, breakfast in the restaurant of the hotel.
08:30: Chau Doc is located in the middle of a gigantic squaring of rice plantations, while the city itself is prosperous, developing, over-populated with some amazing colonial buildings. Departure in local boats to visit the village of the Cham minority, with its fish farm.
After that bus tour to the downtown and visit the colorful local market. With a few kilometers away, the hill of Harmed Sam “climbs up” to 237 m and offers its famous Buddhist sanctuaries with an unspoiled view of the rice plantations. On the way visit the temple of Chua Xu and the pagoda Tay An.
12:00: Departure for the border, Vinh Xuen, lunch on board
14:30: Lan Diep arrives at the border, formalities
17:30: The boat leaves the border towards to Phnom Penh
19:00: Lan Diep remains moored for the night in the island Koh Dek Chau. Dinner and overnight on the Lan Diep Cruise.
Day 4: Koh Dek Chau – Phnom Penh (breakfast/lunch/dinner)
Morning departure for Phnom Penh, breakfast. Packing, rest on board.
11:00: Lan Diep arrives at Phnom Penh, custom formalities, disembarkation.
Includes:
• Full board accommodation, including meals, coffee, tea & drinking water.
• French or English speaking guide.
• Visits mentioned in the program.
• Entrance fees.
• Transportation from departure port to arrival port
Excludes:
• Personal Travel Insurance.
• Tours & meals other than those mentioned in the program.
• Transfers from/to airport and hotels.
• Personal expenses.
• Gratuities for the crew. Indochine Cruise
• Transfer from hotel to port and vice-versa.
