Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Vietnam and the neighbours
Saigon first, then three days at Angkor
A week split cleanly in two: three nights in Ho Chi Minh City with a day in the delta, then a short flight and three full nights in Siem Reap, which is what Angkor needs.
Overview
A week with two halves that do not compete
This is the shortest trip we sell that crosses a border, and it works because it does not try to do more than two things. The first half is the city we live in: a day on foot through the centre, a day out to the Mekong Delta, and evenings eating where Saigon eats. The second half is Angkor, given the three nights it deserves rather than the one it usually gets.
The hinge is a single flight of about an hour and a quarter. There is no overland day, no border queue at a land gate, and no early morning spent in a van. If you have a week and want Cambodia in it, this is the version we would build for ourselves.
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Finish
- Siem Reap
- Flight
- Saigon to Siem Reap, about 1h 15m
- Longest drive
- About 2 hours
- Pace
- Unhurried, early starts at Angkor
Nights
Where you sleep
Day by day
The week, day by day
Day 1
Arrive in Saigon
Our driver meets you at Tan Son Nhat, which is seven kilometres from the centre and anything from twenty to fifty minutes depending on the hour. The rest of the day is yours. If you land before four, we suggest a slow walk up Dong Khoi to the cathedral and the post office, and an early night.
Day 2
The city on foot, and a museum morning
Your guide collects you at eight, before the heat builds. The War Remnants Museum first, while it is quiet, then the Independence Palace and its basement command rooms. Lunch is at a rice shop our guide uses. The afternoon is free, because Saigon at two in the afternoon is 34 degrees, and in the evening we can arrange a street-food ride through District 4 if you want one.
Day 3
A day in the delta
Out of the city at seven-thirty for Cai Be, about two hours south-west. We leave the main river quickly and spend the late morning in a sampan on the smaller canals around An Binh island, stopping at an orchard and a brick kiln rather than a souvenir hall. Lunch is at a family house on the water. Back in Saigon by about five.
Day 4
Fly to Siem Reap
A late-morning flight of about an hour and a quarter. The new Siem Reap airport is roughly an hour outside town, so our Cambodian partner’s driver and guide meet you there and you check in by mid-afternoon. A pass bought at the ticket office late in the afternoon usually lets you in for that evening’s sunset without using up one of its days, so we go to Pre Rup for the last light.
Day 5
Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom
The bas-reliefs in the outer gallery of Angkor Wat, read with a guide
Sunrise at Angkor Wat means leaving at five, and it is shared with a crowd; we go anyway on this day, then walk the galleries while most people head back for breakfast. The heat arrives around ten, so we break for a long lunch and a rest, and do the Bayon and the terraces of Angkor Thom from three until the light goes.
Day 6
Ta Prohm early, Banteay Srei by late morning
Ta Prohm at opening time, when the roots and the collapsed galleries have only a few people in them. Then an hour north to Banteay Srei, a small temple in pink sandstone with the finest carving at Angkor. Afternoon free in town, or a slow circuit of the smaller temples if you still have the energy.
Day 7
Leave Siem Reap
A free morning, then the transfer to the airport for your flight home or onward. Allow an hour for the drive and do not book a flight that leaves before ten if you want breakfast in peace.
Price
Price
| Travellers | Tier 1 — simple | Tier 2 — comfortable | Tier 3 — the good ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travelling | from 995 | from 1245 | from 1890 |
| 4 travelling | from 815 | from 1020 | from 1550 |
| 6 travelling | from 735 | from 920 | from 1400 |
The price is built on a private car and guide in each country and the flight between them. What moves it most is the hotel tier and the month: December and January are the expensive weeks in Siem Reap, and a Tier 3 hotel there costs noticeably more than its equivalent in Saigon. The flight fare is quoted on the day we book and shown as its own line.
Included
What is included
What the price includes
- Six nights in the hotel tier you choose, with breakfast
- Private car and driver for every transfer and touring day
- An English-speaking guide on days 2, 3, 5 and 6
- The flight from Saigon to Siem Reap, economy
- The sampan and boat on the delta day
- A three-day Angkor pass and the other entrance fees in the day-by-day
- Lunches listed above, and drinking water in the car
- Our 24/7 line while you travel
What it does not include
- International flights in and out
- Visas for Vietnam and Cambodia
- Travel insurance
- Drinks, dinners and tips
- Optional extras such as the street-food evening
Practical
Before you go
In Cambodia the ground is run by a local partner we have worked with for years; their guides and drivers take over at Siem Reap airport. We do not keep an office there and do not pretend to. Your planner and our 24/7 line stay the same throughout, so if anything goes wrong in Cambodia you still call us.
Most passports need a visa for Cambodia. There is an official e-visa, and since you arrive by air it is the simplest route; a visa on arrival also exists at the airport. Vietnam has its own rules depending on your nationality. Both change from time to time, so we confirm the position against your passport when you book and tell you what to apply for.
Angkor from March to May is 35 degrees and more by eleven. We move the temple hours to the edges of the day in those months, but you should know that the middle of the day is for the hotel pool, not for climbing steps. Bring shoulders-and-knees clothing for the upper terraces of Angkor Wat, which are closed to anyone in shorts or a vest.
Not for everyone
Who this does not suit
If you have never been to Vietnam and this is your only visit, a week that spends half its time in Cambodia will leave you with Saigon and nothing else of the country. Take a longer trip, or book something else — a week in the south alone. It also does not suit anyone who cannot manage steep, narrow stone steps, because several of the best viewpoints at Angkor are reached by them. The rest of the temples are accessible, but the climbs are part of it.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
Why three nights at Angkor rather than two?
Because the temples are best early and late, and the middle of the day is too hot to enjoy them. Three nights gives you three good mornings and two good afternoons, which is roughly what the main group needs.
Can we reverse the order and start in Cambodia?
Yes. The flight runs both ways and the price does not change. Starting in Siem Reap means your Vietnam visa needs to be valid for entry from Cambodia, which we check.
Is the delta day tiring?
It is about four hours in the car in total, split around a morning on the water. Most people find it the easiest day of the week.
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