March 7: DEPART THE U.S. FOR HO CHI MINH CITY
March 8: HO CHI MINH CITY
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- Arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, and transfer independently to the centrally-located Caravelle Hotel.
- This evening gather with fellow travelers for a festive welcome reception at the hotel’s iconic roof-top bar, which was a popular spot amongst journalists in the 1960’s. Enjoy dinner at Reflections.
March 9: HO CHI MINH CITY
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- After breakfast, meet with Dr. Bui Tran Phuon, former president of Hoa Sen University. The discussion will focus on Vietnam’s lengthy and tenuous history with China, as well as cultural changes since the conclusion of the war.
- Depart on a short walking tour and see the former Opera House, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the City Post office.
- Enjoy a traditional Pho lunch at Pho Binh restaurant. This humble noodle shop is of great historical significance as it was the former secret headquarters of the elite Viet Cong unit and from where the Saigon chapter of the infamous TET Offensive was planned.
- After lunch, visit the War Remnants Museum. The museum offers a chilling account of the Vietnam War, known in Vietnam as the American War.
- Later meet with climate activists, Nguyen Nguyen and Phuong Ha, with Earth Venture Capital, who invest in deep-climate tech startups around the world.
- This evening walk to the delightful Hoa Tuc restaurant, located in a former opium refinery.
March 10: HO CHI MINH CITY
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- Spend a full day exploring the Mekong Delta. Drive to the beautiful Ben Tre Province. Known as “Coconut Island,” many of its people still rely on tradition and centuries old methods of production. Our program focuses on the Giong Trom and Phong Nam districts, areas relatively untouched by commercial tourism. We’ll meet with locals to learn about the villages they call home and the peaceful rivers they use as a part of their daily lives.
- Drive about 2.5 hours to Ben Tre Province and upon arrival take a short walk through the village with your local guide. Take a private boat cruise through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery.
- Upon arrival in Ben Tre, take a Xe loi (cycle rickshaw) ride through the local village of Huu Dinh to enjoy the green fields and gardens. Continue with a short walk to Huu Phuoc Bridge, where we will meet our private boat for a sail through small canals with beautiful tropical scenery.
- Visit a family-owned coconut processing business, where we will learn the hundreds of uses for the coconut. Return to our boat and cruise across the water to a brick making factory, where centuries-old traditional methods are used to make bricks by hand.
- In small groups, explore the maze of narrow canals aboard a rowing sampan, before taking a TukTuk ride through the village streets.
- After lunch at Mango Restaurant, bike or walk to a local rice noodle factory which produces Hu Tieu noodles, one of the most popular dishes in the region.
- Return to Ho Chi Minh City in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner at leisure.
March 11: HUE
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- For those who would like a traditional, and very local, Vietnamese breakfast, rise early and join the morning rush for a cup of Vietnamese black coffee, or condensed milk coffee and a Vietnamese baguette. It’s a great chance to see how the city wakes up and the crazy Vietnamese morning traffic made up of cars, cyclos and bicycles.
- Meet with Vu Minh Hoang, a diplomatic historian of 20th century Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific, studying national and regional security, economics, identity formation, and genocide.
- Visit the Reunification Palace where the first Communist tanks, which arrived in Saigon on April 30, 1975, parked.
- Enjoy lunch at Propaganda restaurant.
- Take a late afternoon flight to Hue. Upon arrival check-in to the Silk Path Grand Hue, where Premium Classic River View rooms have been reserved.
- Dinner is at one of Hue’s wonderful garden restaurants.
March 12: HUE
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- This morning we will be joined by local guide, Huong Lan, as we begin exploring Hue. The city served as Vietnam’s political capital from 1802 to 1945 under the 13 emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty. This 19th century capital of regal pavilions has preserved its air of gracious reserve and faded glamour.
- Visit the Tomb of King Dong Khanh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which has just been restored and opened. Because of its relative seclusion, it has remained a lesser-known destination. King Dong Khanh was installed on the throne by French colonists in 1885 and reigned for four years until he died.
- Stop at the Imperial Citadel. The complex contains the palace that housed the imperial family, as well as shrines, gardens and villas for mandarins, and today is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- After lunch, visit the Le Ba Dang Memory Space. This magnificent contemporary art museum showcases the work of Lebadang, a Vietnamese-born French artist, in a unique, state-of-the-art facility.
- Take an afternoon cruise on the Huong River to Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the most famous structures in all of Vietnam. Its 35-foot high octagonal tower was built in 1844 by Emperor Thieu Tri and has become the unofficial symbol of Hue. Each of the seven stories is dedicated to a Buddha.
- Dinner this evening is at leisure.
March 13: HUE
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- Drive a little over an hour to the Blind Center, where Project RENEW supports the blind and other persons with disabilities connected to unexploded ordnances and Agent Orange. Project RENEW was cofounded by Chuck Searcy in August 2001 as an effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by cluster bombs and other munitions remaining in Vietnam since the war ended in 1975. Learn how the suspension of U.S. foreign aid to humanitarian programs has impacted this important program.
- From here drive to the Mine Action Center to learn about their work. Almost eight million tons of ordnance was dropped on Vietnam from 1965 to 1975. Bombs that failed to detonate became de facto land mines, which the Vietnamese government estimates have caused 100,000 deaths and injuries since the war's end. Meeting us here will be Toan Quang Dang and Hien Xuan Ngo, who will talk about their work.
- After a vegetarian lunch, drive about an hour and a half to Khe Sanh, where we will visit infamous battle sites along with former bases. The Battle of Khe Sanh began on January 21, 1968, when forces from the People’s Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) carried out a massive artillery bombardment on the U.S. Marine garrison at Khe Sanh. For the next 77 days, U.S. Marines and their South Vietnamese allies fought off an intense siege of the garrison, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.
- Enjoy dinner at leisure.
March 14: HOI AN
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- This morning drive to Danang through the Hai Van Pass. Upon arrival visit with staff from GreenViet, a biodiversity conservation center.
- Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.
- Continue to the Cham Museum, which houses the finest collection of Cham sculpture in the world.
- Depart for Hoi An in the late afternoon and check-in to the Little Allegro hotel.
- Dinner at the Mango Mango restaurant this evening.
March 15: HOI AN
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- This morning explore the old town of Hoi An accompanied by Frederico Barocco, an Italian archaeologist who has been working in Southeast Asia for many years. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was once one of South-East Asia’s major ports. Today parts of Hoi An look exactly as they did a century ago. More than perhaps any other place in Vietnam, Hoi An retains the feel of centuries past. Explore the Japanese Covered bridge and the Tan Ky House which was built almost two hundred years ago as the home of a well-to-do Vietnamese merchant.
- At lunch meet with Kieu Maily, a researcher, artist, poet, writer and expert on Cham culture.
- After lunch drive about an hour to My Son, considered to be one of Vietnam’s most impressive Cham sites. Monuments are set in a verdant valley surrounded by hills and overlooked by Hon Quap Mountain. This site of 70 redbrick temple towers, dedicated to Hindu deities, represents the height of Cham spiritual and artistic expression.
- Dinner tonight is at leisure.
March 16: HANOI
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- Take a morning flight Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, a charming city with pleasant lakes, shaded boulevards and verdant public parks. The city center is an architectural museum piece; its blocks of ochre buildings retain the air of a provincial French town of the 1930’s.
- Upon arrival drive to Ky Bistro, a project of the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, an NGO that rescues children from crisis and provides them with shelter, education and employment opportunities.
- Drive to the Temple of Literature which was erected in 1070 under the Emperor Ly Thanh Tong during the construction of the royal city. The temple is home to two very important institutions, the shrine to Confucius as well as the site of the first university. The cluster of well-preserved buildings is considered to be an example of traditional Vietnamese architecture.
- Meet with Chuck Searcy, who was assigned to the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion in Saigon from June 1967 to June 1968 and served as an intelligence analyst at the Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam (CICV). After military duty he became active in Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) and founded Project RENEW in 2001, tasked with policing up the deadly ordnance left behind. In 2003 he was awarded Vietnam's National Friendship Medal, the highest award to a foreigner who has contributed to the country's welfare.
- Check into the Movenpick Hotel Hanoi Centre.
- Dinner at Lan Ong in the heart of the Old Quarter.
March 17: HANOI
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- This morning visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum complex. Built in 1975, this is the final resting place of the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary, revered father of modern Vietnam, and liberator from French colonialism, who died in 1969.
- Close by is the One Pillar Pagoda. Built of wood on a single stone pillar, the pagoda is designed to resemble a lotus blossom, the symbol of purity, rising out of a sea of sorrow.
- Continue on to Ngoc Ha Market. Hanoi’s street food has been recognized as one of the best in the world and this morning we will stroll through the bustling market and learn about the traditions and intricacies of Vietnamese food and culture. During the walk purchase ingredients for our lunch, which you will later learn to prepare when we stop at Anatolia, a restaurant and art space in a garden house.
- In the afternoon enjoy a walking tour of the Old Quarter, the city’s beating heart of commerce, as old as the city itself. Beneath a canopy of banyan trees dripping with Spanish moss, the pavements are full of people washing clothes, men welding metal, and makeshift barber shops. Narrow streets, each named after the produce that it sells or used to sell, create an intricate web of activity and color. Every narrow street has a designated purpose, the legacy of the 13th-century guildsmen who divided up the Old Quarter into 36 areas, so the prefix “Hang” on street signs means “merchandise."
- Enjoy dinner at leisure.
March 18: SIEM REAP
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- This morning visit the Fine Arts Museum, accompanied by artist, Thu Kim Vu.
- From here drive to the Cultural Exchange Center, a cultural space offering insights into Hanoi's history and architecture. Meet with Nguyen The Son, a talented artist, art curator, and lecturer at Hanoi University of Fine Arts.
- Enjoy lunch at Le Art Café.
- Take a late afternoon flight to Siem Reap and transfer to Treeline Angkor Hotel.
- Dinner at the hotel.
March 19 SIEM REAP
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- This morning begin at the most famous of all Angkor monuments – Angkor Wat. You will be immersed in this inspired melding of sacred geometry, architecture, and adornment. Built by Suryavarman I in the first half of the 12th century, this temple complex is unsurpassed in the artistic accomplishment of its myriad sculptures and the bas-relief friezes that line its galleries and narrate stories of great significance to Khmer (Indianderived) mythology and history. Angkor’s iconic five towers – four organized around a central fifth – have come to represent the Khmer cultural heritage and the country of Cambodia.
- Close by is the Bayon Temple, which was built by Jayavarman VII in the exact center of the city of Angkor Thom. It is decorated with 1,200 meters of extraordinary bas-reliefs incorporating over 11,000 figures. The famous carvings on the outer wall of the first level depict vivid scenes of everyday life in 12th-century Cambodia
- Enjoy lunch at the Angkor Botanic Garden.
- After lunch visit the site of Ta Prohm. Built as a Buddhist monastery during the 12th century and under King Jayavarman VII, 18 high priests and 2,740 ordinary priests lived here.
- End the day at the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC), founded by Kenro Izu, a renowned Japaneseborn photographer based in the United States. Between 1993 and 1996, Izu made a series of trips to Cambodia to capture images for his photographic series, Light Over Ancient Angkor. He was deeply moved by his encounters with the ill, maimed, and malnourished children of the war-torn country. As a way of giving something back to Cambodia in return for the many images he captured there, and as a symbol of gratitude for the inspiration he gained from Cambodia’s ancient monuments, Izu dedicated himself to building a pediatric hospital near the temples. Meet with staff to earn more about the facility.
- Dinner at leisure.
March 20: PHNOM PENH
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- Morning visit to Banteay Srei, an architectural jewel located about 16 miles north of Angkor Thom. This large monument, considered by many to be the most perfect Khmer temple, is famous for its exquisite pink sandstone carvings.
- Stop at Color Silk, which provides women a secure, safe and permanent job perserving the ancient silk weaving culture of Cambodia.
- This afternoon fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. Upon arrival check into the Hyatt Hotel.
- Before dinner meet with Jean-Michel Filippi, a professor of Khmer studies at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, who will provide a background on Khmer history.
- Enjoy dinner at leisure.
March 21: PHNOM PENH
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- This morning visit the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, who work for the promotion of independent media, press freedom, freedom of expression, access to information and democratic governance.
- Continue to National Museum of Arts, which contain an impressive collection of Khmer art.
- Enjoy the afternoon at leisure.
- This evening enjoy a farewell dinner at Villa 5 Restuarant.
March 22: PHNOM PENH
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- Independent departures for return flights home.
Trip Price
Per person double occupancy: $8,550
Single supplement: $1,590
Included
- Accommodation, based on double occupancy, in hotels as listed in the itinerary
- Meals as listed in the itinerary including bottled water and wine at the welcome and farewell dinner
- Water on the bus at all times
- All sightseeing and excursions in a private air conditioned bus
- All private events and speakers as listed
- All entrance fees listed
- Services of an English-speaking local guide in each country
- Services of a Distant Horizons tour manager who will accompany the group throughout
- Basic gratuity to tour manager/guides and bus driver
- Whisper devices to facilitate hearing guides on-site
Not Included
- International airfare to Ho Chi Minh City and from Phnom Penh
- On-tour airfare: Ho Chi Minh City/Hue, Hoi An/ Hanoi, Hanoi/Siem Reap, Siem Reap/Phnom Penh: $660 (as of June 2025. Subject to change. These flights will be booked for the group)
- Airport transfers upon arrival and departure
- Drinks with meals
- Passport fees
- Visa fees
- Excess luggage charges
- Travel Insurance
- Items of a purely personal nature
- Any item not listed as included