The food on this trip is a real highlight for many. Southeast Asian cuisine is known for its abundance of freshly prepared dishes with strong aromatic flavours. There is a focus on herbs and citrus, ensuring each dish packs a punch; chilli features highly too, but is easily avoided if desired.

Typically most dishes will come with rice and many are often served in a banana leaf with a variety of dips and herbs served separately. Visiting three countries means a different culinary experience every time you cross the border; ensure you try freshly made pad Thai noodles from the Bangkok street stalls, the fish amok curry in Cambodia for a creamy coconut-based fragrant curry; and the banh xeo (huge sizzling pancakes) in Vietnam.

Western food is readily available almost everywhere, with the exception of the night in the Mekong Delta.

Vegetarian food is widely available; however, the offering will be fairly similar in most places within each country. Please advise at time of booking if you have any dietary requirements.

Venture northwest of the city to crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels, sections of a vast Viet Cong network expanded for visitors. Learn how kitchens, field hospitals and hidden entrances sustained guerrilla life beneath the surface.

Back in Saigon, step inside the Reunification Palace—freeze-framed in 1975—and reflect at the War Remnants Museum, a sobering archive of the Vietnam/American War. This experience pairs on-the-ground perspectives with curated exhibits for a rounded understanding of modern Vietnamese history.

Cruise quiet Mekong backwaters by sampan, gliding past water palms, fruit orchards and riverside workshops. From the boat, witness the rhythms of trade at a floating market around Cái Bè, where produce changes hands with effortless choreography.

Pause at small cottage industries to see rice paper sheets drying in the sun and taste coconut treats, a reminder why this region is Vietnam’s rice bowl. It’s an intimate look at river life: slow-moving channels, friendly waves from passing boats, and camera-ready riverfront scenes.

Visit a vividly decorated Cao Dai temple, spiritual home to an interfaith religion founded in 1926 that harmonises teachings from Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity and Islam. Beneath kaleidoscopic murals and the all-seeing Divine Eye, learn how this uniquely Vietnamese faith promotes unity.

Your host explains symbols, robes and ritual as you pause for photos and reflection in the serene courtyard. Modest attire is appreciated to respect worshippers; photography is welcome in designated areas.

Experience Delta hospitality at a family-run guesthouse set amid fruit trees and lotus ponds. Share a home-cooked southern Vietnamese dinner with your hosts and unwind to the chorus of crickets and river breezes—a simple, authentic stay that reveals everyday life off the tourist trail.

By daylight, stroll through nearby hamlets to see orchards, fish ponds and cottage gardens, then cross the main channel to Vinh Long by local boat. This is immersion in the Mekong’s gentle cadence—unhurried, green and welcoming.

Ascend the slopes of sacred Sam Mountain to a ridge-top pagoda terrace as late light washes over rice fields and canals. From this natural lookout, pause for photos and reflection across the flatlands stretching toward the Cambodian border.

Learn how the hill’s shrines and the cult of Lady Xu draw pilgrims, especially during festival season. The panorama captures the Mekong’s boundless geometry—misty mountain passes on one side, floodplains patterned like jade on the other.

Explore a renowned Kampot pepper farm to see vines climbing their posts and learn how green berries become black, red and white pepper through careful harvesting and drying. Join a guided tasting to appreciate floral, citrus and warm spice notes.

Once famed across French Indochina, Kampot pepper now holds Geographical Indication (GI) status, protecting its terroir and traditional methods. This is both a flavour journey and a story of revival—local producers restoring a heritage crop to world-class standing.

Board a local boat and drift along the Kampot River as the sun lowers over Bokor’s silhouette. Palms and stilt houses glide by while the water—known to reverse with the tide—turns molten gold at dusk.

From the open deck, admire the relaxed riverfront life and soft evening breeze. The gentle pace and shifting light make this an atmospheric moment to soak in the lakeside atmosphere and capture the day’s best photos.

Take a short boat ride to Koh Tonsai, a palm-fringed isle with a sandy sweep and calm Gulf of Thailand waters. Swim and relax in a tranquil cove, wander the shore, or nap in the shade with the soft hush of waves.

Facilities are simple and low-key—part of the island’s charm. Expect clear shallows, fishing skiffs puttering by, and the unhurried rhythm of a tropical day far from city noise.

Confront Cambodia’s recent past at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21), a former school turned prison where exhibits and survivor testimony trace the human cost of the Khmer Rouge era.

Continue to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek to pay respects at the memorial stupa and reflect on lives lost between 1975 and 1979. Guided context ensures a thoughtful, dignified visit that balances remembrance with understanding.

Explore the Royal Palace, a compound of gilded roofs, airy pavilions and manicured courtyards where Khmer architecture meets ceremonial grandeur. Your guide highlights regal symbols and the history of Cambodia’s monarchy.

Step inside the Silver Pagoda to see a floor sheathed in silver tiles and treasured Buddha images, including an Emerald Buddha of crystal. With fewer crowds than its Bangkok counterpart, there’s time to pause for photos and reflection among elegant colonnades.

Walk forest trails to Sambor Prei Kuk, a UNESCO-listed ensemble of 7th-century brick prasats from the Chenla kingdom. The overgrown setting and octagonal sanctuaries offer a rare pre-Angkor perspective on Khmer art and urban planning.

Enjoy a community-run Khmer lunch nearby, supporting village livelihoods and traditional recipes. It’s a rewarding pairing of ancient heritage and modern stewardship—culture preserved by the people who live alongside it.

Explore Angkor Wat, following bas-reliefs of epics and armies beneath lotus-bud towers. Cross the moat to galleries where sandstone apsaras and celestial battles animate every wall.

Enter Angkor Thom via monumental gates to the Bayon, famed for its serene stone faces smiling down from 54 towers. One evening, your group will watch sunset over the temples, when the laterite glows and silhouettes sharpen against the jungle edge.

Visit Ta Prohm, where silk-cotton and strangler fig roots lace over galleries and gopuras—nature and masonry entwined into photogenic doorways and courtyards.

Continue to Banteay Kdei, a Buddhist monastic complex of guardian towers and quiet cloisters. With fewer visitors, it invites slower looking—carved lintels, dappled shade, and the whisper of the forest offering a calmer counterpart to Angkor’s headline monuments.

Travel into the countryside to Banteay Srei, a 10th-century jewel carved from pink sandstone. Its diminutive scale belies astonishing craftsmanship—exquisite carvings from the Ramayana and floral motifs cut as crisp as lace.

En route, glimpse rice paddies, palm-sugar huts and village life that anchor the temples in a living landscape. Scholars hail Banteay Srei as the finest Khmer stonework; here, mastery is measured not in size but in detail.

Cruise the Thonburi canals in a classic long-tail boat to see why Bangkok was once the “Venice of the East”. Stilt houses, orchid-draped shrines and waterborne vendors reveal a quieter city beyond the main river.

Glide past temples and wooden piers where daily life unfolds at the waterline. The open-air ride offers breezes, photo stops and a first-hand feel for Bangkok’s amphibious heritage of trade, worship and travel.

Step inside the Grand Palace, a ceremonial heart of gilded chedis and mirrored mosaics. In the Royal Chapel, admire Wat Phra Kaew’s Emerald Buddha, the most venerated image in Thailand, set amid luminous frescoes.

Continue to Wat Pho to encounter the gold-plated Reclining Buddha, 46m long and framed by mother-of-pearl soles. Your guide notes dress requirements for palace entry and points out the temple’s famed school of traditional Thai massage.

Board a local boat to explore stilted homes and floating schools on Southeast Asia’s largest lake. As water levels rise and fall, communities adapt—fish traps shift, houses lift, and daily life stays anchored to the rhythms of Tonlé Sap.

Your guide explains the lake’s unique flood pulse and fisheries while you soak in the lakeside atmosphere. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; availability may vary with water conditions.

Rise early to join a guided walk through Kampot’s morning fish market as boats unload the night’s catch. Watch bargaining over glistening mackerel and squid, breathe the briny air and capture the first light over the river.

Your leader decodes market etiquette, seasonal species and local recipes linked to the town’s pepper heritage. This immersive market visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Begin your journey by gathering to meet your Tour Director and travelling companions over a hosted dinner at a locally loved Saigon restaurant. Sample fragrant southern Vietnamese dishes—herbs, citrus, lemongrass and chilli—paired with stories that set the scene for the days ahead.

Amid the bustle of District 1, your host introduces dining etiquette and regional specialties, helping you decode menus and flavours with confidence. This convivial start is about connection and context—a warm Vietnamese welcome that elevates shared tables into memorable first-night camaraderie.