Toum Tiou Cruise Tour from Ho Chi Minh City To Siem Reap for 8 Days
Best places to visit: Ho Chi Minh City – My Tho - Vinh Long – Chau Doc – Koh Dek Chau - Phnom Penh - Kampong Chnang – Siem Reap
8 days
Daily Tour
20 people
English, Cezch
Here is some highlights about this program Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap
Cultural Highlights:
To complement your tours and shore excursions, take part in Cruisesmekongriver’s Cultural Highlights—immersive learning and enhancement activities both on board and ashore:
• Visit the renowned Tonle Sap Lake
• Tour the magnificent ruins of Angkor
• Enjoy traditional Apsara temple dancing and other folkloric performances
• Visit colorful floating markets on the banks of the Mekong
• View onboard film screenings that will enhance your journey These in-depth experiences are included as an essential part of discovering more about the places through which you cruise, and each activity is planned specifically to illuminate each itinerary.
Culture Curriculum:
Sometimes you want to dig a little deeper. We offer a series of on multimedia talks to shed light on the history and culture of the places you visit.
Learn about:
• The rise and fall of the Khmer empire
• The archeological excavations at Angkor
• History of Vietnam and Cambodia
• History and culture of the Champa people and other ethnic groups
• Key words and phrases in the local languages These presentations provide a context for your own observations, enhancing your travel experience.
Itinerary :
Day 1 – Ho Chi Minh City Cruise Tour to My Tho:
15:45 Toum Tiou II is open for embarking.
16:00 Clearance of departure formalities.
16:30 Departure for My Tho, security briefing.
19:00 Welcome drink and info meeting about cruise, crew introduction
Meals: dinner
Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 2 – My Tho Cruise Trip to Cai Be Floating Market:
07:00 Departure of the boat early in the morning. Breakfast during navigation on the marvelous canal of Cho Gao.
12:00 Arrival at My Tho – Toum Tiou II drops anchor on river in the proximity of Thoi Son Island.
On the banks of a northern arm of the Mekong, My Tho, which translates as “fragrant herb”, where tourists come to discover the beauty of the delta. It’s a quiet, prosperous city of about 100,000 inhabitants, famous for its many fruit orchards, gardens and the huge rice fields that surround it. The climate is warm and pleasant year round. The surrounding countryside is home to one of the most luxuriant gardens of Vietnam, with its coconut palms,banana and mango trees.
Local boats are coming alongside Toum Tiou II to pick up passengers and transfer to the mainland. Departure for Vinh Trang Pagoda by car – Short panoramic tour of My Tho town on the way, stop for a visit of My Tho market. Return at the pier – Passengers cruise on the river to Thoi Son Island by local boat to visit the island, explore local people’s daily life and enjoy locally seasonal fruits. Lunch on board.
18:00 Passengers re-embark Toum Tiou II and leaves My Tho for Cai Be. Dinner and leisure on board.
20:30 Toum Tiou drops anchor at Cai Be.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner
Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 3 – Cai Be Cruise Tour to Vinh Long – Sa Dec:
07:30 Local boats are coming alongside Toum Tiou II, picking up the passengers and cruise around Cai Be Floating market. Continuing for Vinh Long – a brick and pottery factory, the Binh Hoa Phuoc Islet Nursery of Fruit Trees as well a typical house and a show room of traditional farming tools. Vinh Long, which translates as “Majestic Dragon”, is right in the middle of the delta, between two arms of the
Mekong.
The soil of Vinh Long is enriched by silt deposits, making it ideal for growing mandarins and other citrus fruits. Life is organized around the water. Houses on stilts, hawkers in boats, hundreds of small craft crisscross in all directions. The hospitality of the locals makes it a tourist destination par excellence.
10:30 Return on the Toum Tiou II, departure for Sa Dec. Lunch during navigation.
13:00 Arrival at Sa Dec, Toum Tiou II drops anchor on the river.
14:00 Sa Dec – Short panoramic tour and transfer to Trung Vuong primary school. Continuing to Kien An Cung Pagoda. Stroll around Sa Dec Market along Sa Dec River bank. This small city of 30,000 inhabitants is fascinating in its unspoiled authenticity and undisturbed by tourists. It provides a glimpse of the delta where a few colonial houses still remain, including the “Chinaman’s house” (from Duras’ novel “The Lover”, also made into a movie).
16:30 Passengers re-embark; Toum Tiou II leaves Sa Dec, dinner whilst navigation on board.
20:30 Drop Anchor.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner
Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 4 – Chau Doc Cruising Trip:
07.30 Breakfast during navigation to Chau Doc.
09:00 Departure for fish raising rafts and Cham minority village by local boat. Return to the Victoria. If the timing is allowing it, watch of the sunset on the Sam Mountain which peaks at 237 meters. Its well-known Buddhist sanctuaries offer an unobstructed view over the mosaic of glistening rice paddies below. To the left is Cambodia, the flow of the Mekong on the horizon breaks into an infinity of silver ribbons. Visit on the way of the Lady Chua Xu temple and Tay An Pagoda.
12:00 Lunch at Victoria hotel. Facilities include internet access. Departure from Chau Doc after lunch.
15:00 Arrive at Cambodian border, formalities conducted on boat.
23:00 Arrive at Phnom Penh.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner
Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 5 – Phnom Penh Cruise Tour by Toum Tiou Cruise:
07:00 Breakfast,
08:00 Half-day city sightseeing tour including the Royal Palace, Wat Phnom and the National Museum.
12.00 Lunch in a local restaurant.
13:30 Departure for the Tuol Sleng Museum, old center of detention, of torture and execution between 1975 and 1979. The visit of this place is essential to understand what could be the fatal madness perpetrated by the Khmer Rouges. Visit Russian market.
19:00 Local group performs on board traditional “APSARA” show for 45 minutes.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner . Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 6 – Toum Tiou Cruise: Phnom Penh Cruise Trip to Kompong Tralach:
07:30 Breakfast, Morning is free for exploration on own. Suggestions can be made up on the interest of passengers. FCC,Russian market, other boutiques (antiques), etc.
12:00 The Toum Tiou II leaves Phnom Penh for Kompong Tralach. Lunch during navigation.
16:00 Arrival at Kampong Tralach to visit its wonderful Vihara belonging to Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda. To get to it, we cross Kampong Tralach Krom village along a small road perpendicular to the river, crossing some gorgeous stretches of emerald rice paddy as we leave the river behind.
The Vihara dates back to early last century. It was probably built on an older site, as indicated by the latérite foundations, and is home to some outstanding mural paintings. These, however, are starting to suffer from weathering. They remain one of the last survivors of cultural destruction that continues unabated due to widespread indifference.
Standing by itself in the middle of rice fields, it is a modest pagoda that receives very few visitors. Its isolation may well be its undoing, as was the case for Wat Tani Pagoda in the province of Kampot.
18:00 Passengers re-embark. The Toum Tiou II drops anchor few miles away. Diner and overnight on board.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise.
Day 7 – Kampong Chnang Cruising Tour to Chnok Tru:
07:00 Departure of the Toum Tiou II early in the morning. Sail to Kampong Chnang. Breakfast during navigation.
08:00 Arrival to Kampong Chnang. Located some 56 miles from Phnom Penh, the town of Kampong Chnang is one of the largest fishing ports on the Tonlé Sap. Fish farming is also widely practiced in the area. The area is famous for its pottery ware, unchanged in style for centuries, which is produced in sufficient quantities to supply the entire country?
And not to be overlooked are the products of the Thnot tree (sugar palm – a real national symbol) that abounds in the area: a mellow tasting, caramel-colored sugar sold in large cakes and palm wine.
11:30 Passengers re-embark the Toum Tiou II. Lunch on board on the way to Chnok Tru.
14:00 Arrival at Chnok Tru. Local boats are coming along the Toum Tiou II and picking passengers for the visit of the biggest floating village on the Tonlé Sap River.
17:00 Passengers re-embark. The Toum Tiou II stays overnight in the proximity of Chnok Tru.
19:30 Farewell cocktail (1 glass of local liquor or juice) with Master of Ship & Cruise Manager Captain’s farewell dinner.
Meals: breakfast/lunch/dinner Overnight: on Toum Tiou Cruise
Day 8 – Toum Tiou Cruise: Chnok Tru – Siem Reap:
07:00 Breakfast, chartered speedboat is coming along the boat and picks up passengers for crossing the Lake.
12:00 Arrival at Phnom Krom pier (~5 miles from Siem Reap) At the end of the low water period, (around late March to June) the water level may not allow anymore speedboats to cross the lake. In this case, passengers will be transferred by our convenience from/to Siem Reap by land or river way. (~5-6 hour).
Meals: breakfast/
Inclusions:
- 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
Exclusion:
- Personal Travel Insurance.
- Tours & meals other than those mentioned in the program.
- Transfers from/to airport and hotels.
- Personal expenses.
- Gratuities for the crew. Toum Tiou Cruise
- Transfer from hotel to port and vice-versa.
