RV Mekong Discovery Cruise: Siem Reap – Saigon 8 Days

Day 1: Siem Reap – Koh Chen

Activities:

Check in counter, drive from Siem Reap to Koh Chen, arrive on the luxurious Mekong Discovery.

• 09:00 Check-In Counter at FCC Angkor by Avani.
• 10:00 Departing in the morning, you will enjoy a scenic drive from Siem Reap to Koh Chen, with a lunch stop, arriving on the luxurious Mekong Discovery in the afternoon. After settling into well-appointed suites, that evening, guests will experience our cordial hospitality at a welcome reception and introduction to our friendly and professional crew who will present a safety briefing. Shortly after, a delicious Cambodian Welcome Dinner is served in the dining room.

Mekong Discovery departs Koh Chen after all guests are onboard around 15:00 and sails to Kampong Chhnang, reaching there around 21:00.

Overnight: Mid-river in Kampong Chhnang.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner.

Day 2: Kampong Chhnang – Kampong Tralach

Activities:

Sail through Tonle Sap Lake, arrive in Kampong Chhnang, enjoy a Tuk Tuk ride to explore a rural village.

In the morning, the cruise continues its sailing through Tonle Sap Lake and arrives at Kampong Chhnang around 13:00.

• 14:00 After having lunch, guests will enjoy a Tuk Tuk ride to explore a rural village in Kampong Chhnang. As we explore the village on foot, our guide reveals the village’s specialties – Khmer style pottery, a local market, and the process of making palm sugar “skor t’not” from the palm tree.

Around 17:00, Mekong Discovery sails to Kampong Tralach and reaches there around 21:00.

Overnight: Mid-river in Kampong Tralach.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 3: Kampong Tralach – Koh Chen – Phnom Penh

Activities:

Have a chance to experience an Ox-cart ride through the rice paddies with the beautiful countryside scenery, visit the village by foot at Koh Chen.

• 08:30 After a nice breakfast, guests will have an interesting excursion in Kampong Tralach. Guests will have a chance to experience an Ox-cart ride through the rice paddies with the beautiful countryside scenery.
• Heading into the local pagoda – Wat Kampong Tralach Leu, where guests speak with the monks and receive a water blessing. Many Cambodians experience the monk’s lifestyle as children because the monastic order is relatively flexible—one need not make a lifelong commitment. The meeting hall is brightly colored and decorated with scenes from the Buddha’s past lives so that the congregation can learn these morality tales. We will board a Tuk Tuk to return to the ship.
• 14:00 After lunch, we dock at Koh Chen to visit the village by foot. Koh Chen is an island with a wide reach. The closer you get to its village, the louder the heartbeat-pounding sound emanating from it gets. The source, men hammering heated bronze, is also drawing visitors from around the globe, who—along with shops in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap—are showing renewed interest in the intricately engraved bronze items produced in the village.

Pre-dinner cultural entertainment is provided on the Sun Deck as guests enjoy a performance by local children of Apsara, the Khmer national dance, and other traditional folk dances.

Mekong Discovery departs Koh Chen at 16:00 and reaches Phnom Penh around 18:00.

Overnight: At Phnom Penh port.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 4: Phnom Penh

Activities:

Take the Tuk Tuk ride for an exciting morning tour of the best sites in Phnom Penh.

• 08:30 After breakfast on board, this morning takes the Tuk Tuk ride for an exciting morning tour of the best sites in Phnom Penh. You are gently riding along the riverfront to the Royal Palace complex, which is the official residence of the King of Cambodia, where you enjoy a leisure walk through the grounds. After viewing the Throne Hall and Moonlight Pavilion, you visit the famous Silver Pagoda, home of Cambodia’s Emerald Buddha and the Maitreya Buddha, which is encrusted with more than 9,000 diamonds.
• Your Tuk Tuk is waiting outside to take you on the short ride to the open-air National Museum, Cambodia’s largest museum of cultural history and one of the world’s largest collections of Khmer art and ceramics as well as pre-Angkorian, Angkorian, and post-Angkorian artefacts, excavated at the Angkor complex and around the country.

After returning to the cruise, enjoy a free afternoon in Phnom Penh—shopping, dining at one of the many wonderful restaurants, or exploring the city independently. (There is a scheduled shuttle coach with your local guide provided from the Port to the Central Market for your shopping time).

Around 16:30, Mekong Discovery will leave Phnom Penh to sail to the border between Vietnam and Cambodia and reach there around 21:30.

Overnight: Mid-river at the border.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 5: Chau Doc

Activities:

Enjoy a tropical fruit introduction and tasting, explore Chau Doc.

After finishing the border formalities around 09:00, Mekong Discovery will sail to Chau Doc and reach there around 11:00. In this morning, guests will enjoy a tropical fruit introduction and tasting.

• 14:00 After a delicious lunch, guests will begin to explore Chau Doc. Brimming with lush forests, bustling riverbanks, and brilliant temples, the border town of Chau Doc is a compelling spot to experience the fusion of cultures and colors that make up Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Chau Doc may surprise you with its hidden treasures: mysterious wetlands, ethnic Cham villages, and atmospheric temples. This small town has fascinating stories to tell: you might need to stay a while to hear them all.

Suggested timing for excursion in Chau Doc:

• 14:00: Take sampan to Cham village.
• 14:45: Continue by sampan to visit a fish farm.
• 15:15: Return to pier and take coach to go to the foot of Sam Mountain.
• 15:45: Visit Ba Pagoda, then go to Sam Mountain top for a panoramic view towards the Cambodia border.
• 17:00: Return to Mekong Discovery.

Overnight: Mid-river in Chau Doc.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 6: Sa Dec – Cai Be

Activities:

Learn how to make Vietnamese spring rolls with the cruise’s chef, visit the home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le in Sa Dec.

In the morning, Mekong Discovery will leave Chau Doc and sail to Sa Dec, reaching there around 13:30. This morning, guests will learn how to make Vietnamese spring rolls with the cruise’s chef.

• 14:00 This afternoon, your wooden boats take you out for a leisurely, scenic navigation of the narrow canals of the Mekong, where you will observe daily routines of the villagers en route to the historic town of Sa Dec. In the town of Sa Dec, you visit the home of Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, the inspiration of Marguerite Duras’ novel, L’Amant (The Lover), as well as the Chinese Temple – Kien An Cung, which was built in honor of the Huynh Thuy Le Family. From there, you will begin a walk through the town’s market, where you experience the sights, sounds, and smells, and capture wonderful photo opportunities of the colorful fresh produce, meat, live fish, and seafood for sale.

Around 17:00, Mekong Discovery will start to sail towards Cai Be, reaching there around 19:30. In the evening, guests will have a great time with the music quiz program.

Overnight: Mid-river in Cai Be.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Day 7: Cai Be – My Tho
Activities:

visit Ba Duc ancient house to learn about family’s story, earn how to grow mushroom, a fruit garden to taste tropical fruits, and a bee farm to enjoy honey tea

(08:00) In Cai Be, board the tender to cruise on a tapestry of waterways bringing us to a cottage factory where industrious artisans produce coconut candy, rice paper, rice wine and popped rice. There’s a selection of postcards, souvenirs, and beautiful oil paintings on sale. Continue into the long and narrow canals of Cai Be to visit Ba Duc ancient house to learn about family’s story. There are also photo opportunities of rice barges along the cruise. On return to the ship, an elegant dinner is served while sailing downstream towards My Tho.

(14:00) Start the afternoon excursion by visiting Thoi Binh island hamlet in My Tho. The excursion is partly by tender boat, partly by hand rowing sampan into tiny creeks and partly by motor buggy to tour around the island. The visit will bring us into an abalone mushroom farm to learn how to grow mushroom, a fruit garden to taste tropical fruits, and a bee farm to enjoy honey tea. After the island visit, guests will return the cruise by tender boat.

At 16:30, Mekong Discovery will sail towards Sai Gon and dock mid-way in the evening.
In the evening, guests gather in the Sun Deck for a Farewell Reception with the entire crew, before enjoying a Vietnamese Farewell Dinner in the dining room.

Overnight mid-river in Go Cong.

Meals:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: RV Mekong Discovery Cruise

Day 8: Saigon
Activities:

Sail to Saigon, disembark the cruise

In the early morning, Mekong Discovery continues its sails to Sai Gon, reaching there around 11:00. Guests will bid farewell to the crew and disembark the cruise.

Itinerary Changes and Amendments
Every effort will be made to follow the itinerary provided, however due the nature of the river and the rural environments we are traveling through, there will be times where modifications are required to the itinerary without prior notice. In such cases, we will do everything we can to make sure the locations visited, and excursions taken are similar to the ones originally planned.
In the event of political problems, natural disasters like earthquakes or even disruption due to weather, festivals or things beyond our control we reserve the right to make changes to the itinerary or an activity in order to maximize the passenger’s experience.
Meals:

Breakfast