Cambodia & Mekong Delta Sample Itinerary

Day 1.
Arrive in Siem Reap, an attractive town with tree-lined streets and the gateway to the famous Angkor Wat complex. There is a great butterfly garden where you can sit amongst them drinking your cold fruit smoothies, plenty of craft stalls to potter around and the hotel swimming pool to cool off in.​
Day 2.
An early start to beat the heat and the crowds for a day out at the Angkor Wat complex. Stretching over some 400 square kilometres, including forested area, this UNESCO World Heritage Park contains the magnificent remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire of the 9th to the 15th centuries, including the largest pre-industrial city in the world. The most famous are the Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations.
You may well want to pop back to the hotel at some stage for a swim and a rest before heading back to the park as it can get pretty hot during the middle of the day.​
Day 3.
Head back out to the Ankor Wat complex to finish off parts you may have missed the previous day or grab a guide and spend the day visiting the interesting carved riverbed of Kbal Spean set deep in the jungle, the nearby animal rescue centre and the beautiful Banteay Srei temple.​
Day 4.
Head by bus down to the rural service town of Kampong Cham and then out to a nearby village where you will be hosted by a Cambodian family. The village is situated amongst rice and lotus flower paddies and surrounded by cashew and mango trees.
Day 5.
​Saddle up for a bike ride around the local villages with your host and take the by-ways rather than highways so that you can interact with the rural Cambodian people in ways you would not be able to otherwise. 
Day 6.
Travel by bus to Phnom Phen, the bustling capital city of Cambodia.​
Day 7.
There are many great things to see and do in and around Phnom Penh, including excellent street stalls selling delicious Khmer food, the Royal Palace, an interesting museum and, not suitable for children, the harrowing but powerfully moving Tuol Sleng Prison Museum with the nearby Killing Fields.​
Day 8.
Spend a further day exploring Phnom Penh. Highly recommended is a visit to the ‘Seeing Hands‘ massage establishment where excellent massages are given by blind or partially sighted people who have been trained as part of an aid programme.​
Day 9.
You will be picked up and taken to your boat which will transport you to the border of Cambodia and Vietnam. There, you will be handed over to your Vietnamese guide once you have cleared immigration. You will stay with this guide for the next 3 days as you make your way down the Mekong Delta, visiting points of interest on the way to Ho Chi Minh City.​
Day 10.
Your guide will escort you to many interesting places today, including a Cham minority village where they are famed for their weaving skills, a working fish farm and a great food market. Stay tonight in a homestay surrounded by melon and rice paddies.​
Day 11.
After a morning stroll through the surrounding fields you will once again get back into your boat and cruise to a working rice mill and then on to a floating market before heading further south through lush gardens and more rice paddies.​
Day 12.
Visit a number of islands within the Delta this morning before saying goodbye to your guide and make your way by bus to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. The change of pace from the Delta will be immediately apparent with swathes of motorcycles, honking horns and multitudes of people going about their day. It is a fun and vibrant city with great shopping, colourful markets where you can haggle away to your heart’s desire and lovely leafy streets to walk and soak up the atmosphere.​
Day 13.
Spend the day further exploring Ho Chi Minh City – the War Memories Museum is very interesting but not a good place to take the kids. The children would, however, enjoy the water theme park or the many indoor arcade amusement areas found in the shopping malls.
Day 14.
Make your way to the airport for the start of your journey home.​
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Total indicative cost for the above sample itinerary is NZD$2,000 - $2,500 depending on the level of accommodation chosen.
​This price is based on a family of 2 adults plus 2 children under the age of 12 and includes all accommodation, meals (where provided by the accommodation) and guide services. It excludes sundry expenses such as spending money, entrance fees to attractions, meals (where not provided by the accommodation), visas (where required) and international airfares.