A River Journey through Indochina

After enjoying complimentary airport lounge access, board your overnight flight to Vietnam.

You’ll be met, on arrival, by a private driver, who’ll see you to your spa hotel in the city centre. Then, after an included dinner at a handpicked restaurant, you’ll begin your series of included tours the next day. Heading out early on a speedboat, you’ll beat the crowds, sweeping past rural scenery to take in the Cu Chi Tunnels – a subterranean network built by the Viet Cong. Then, after an included riverside lunch, you’ll enjoy a city tour, showcasing everything from the grand Beaux-Arts Independence Palace and Saigon’s spread of French-colonial architecture to the views from the 48th-floor Saigon Skydeck.

Today, a private transfer will see you aboard your luxury river ship, settling into one of just 26 plush cabins after a welcome drink. Each features a private balcony and white-wood furnishing. There’s also the sun-deck Jacuzzi, spa treatments and steam room to relax with, along with a gym and lounge cinema. The full-board fine dining is equally impressive, featuring high teas and meals washed down with complimentary wines and beers. All along, you’ll watch as river life plays out, sailing past verdant rice paddies and remote villages.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

Each morning, you’ll have the option of joining a complimentary Tai Chi class on the sun-deck. Then, as the ship sails into the Mekong Delta, you’ll arrive at Cai Be to explore its famous floating market. You’ll also go ashore to visit the town’s artisan workshops before taking a local boat along the surrounding green, palm-fringed canal-ways. This afternoon, you’ll continue towards Sa Dec, once again boarding a traditional local boat, this time to explore Binh Thanh – an island given over to water hyacinths and a remote village that specialises in mat weaving. After trying your hand, reboard the ship for a presentation on “Life on the Mekong Delta”.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

You’ll arrive at Tan Chau today, a slow-paced town that bears Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian Khmer influence, playing out over workshops and homes. You’ll take it in with a ride on a xeloi – a local vehicle still used as taxis. Stopping at historic temples and colourful markets, you’ll have the chance to practice your bargaining skills before a local boat cruise sees you to a floating fish farm. Then, hopping over the border, you’ll sail into the Cambodian countryside. While you might want to relax with the captain on the bridge or with your private balcony, be sure to also enjoy today’s cooking class, alongside the usual afternoon tea. It’s served before you arrive into Phnom Penh, where you might want to enjoy a drink in one of its riverside bars.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

Among its bustle, Art-Deco architecture and historic temples, the Cambodian capital still remembers its tragic past. You’ll visit the Killing Fields and the high-school-turned prison “S21” – a pair of haunting sites that memorialise the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge in moving exhibitions. Then, after a fine-dining lunch in town, you’ll continue to the magnificent Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda. These 19th-century jewels are also paired with the exceptional Khmer crafts at the National Museum before a cyclo rickshaw ride sees you back to the ship. Here, you’ll be treated to a barbecue dinner, dance performance and a lecture on modern Cambodia history, delivered by a professor of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

High water (Sep–Nov): Your first stop today will be the Angkor Ban village. It’s a delight of traditional houses and gives a glimpse into rural Cambodia life, seeming unchanged for a century. Then, after a display of traditional Khmer fashion back on board, you’ll visit a local school and Wat Hanchey – a 7th-century pre-Angkorian temple with gorgeous river views. The nearby colourful monastery also offers the chance to meet the resident monks.

Low water (Nov–Aug): Gliding through the jungle-like landscape, you’ll arrive at Kampong Tralach on the narrow Tonle River. Here, you’ll take in the local life on an ox-cart ride, stopping off at a school supported by your cruise. Then, after a display of traditional Khmer fashion, you’ll sail onto Kampong Chhnang, where stilted houses balance on water-rich soil. You’ll even visit a local pottery village that’s also home to palm-sugar workshops.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

High water: Pausing at the island of Koh Oknha Tey, you’ll be brought on a tu tuk to explore its workshops and high-quality silk manufacturers. Back on board, a presentation on the “Geography of the Mekong and Tonle Sap” is followed by a monk’s blessing before a trip through jungle-like scenery brings you to a school supported by your cruise – its village showcased on your ox-cart ride.

Low water: This is the same as the high-water itinerary today, save that the school visit is swapped for a cocktail party on the riverbank and a trip to Angkor Ban village. This remote settlement is full of charm, barely having changed over the past 100 years.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

High water: Arriving into Kampong Chhnang, you’ll explore its stilted villages by local boat, followed by a trip to a Khmer pottery workshop. You’ll then arrive into the great Tonle Sap – the biggest freshwater lake in Asia. It’s a spectacular event, made that bit more special for a farewell dinner and music, enjoyed with the ship moored mid-lake.

Low water: Today starts with a visit to the pre-Angkorian temple of Wat Hanchey, a 7th-century jewel with hill-top views over the Mekong. After meeting with the monks of the colourful monastery of Wat Nokor, you’ll admire their bamboo bridge, built anew each year at low water. It all culminates with a school visit and music back onboard.

Stay: The Jahan, a Heritage Line Collection (Deluxe)

While in high water, you’ll be brought on a tender through a vast floating community to Siem Reap, the low water seasons means a scenic overland transfer through the Cambodian countryside. Either way, you’ll arrive at your upscale spa hotel, set among the wide boulevards of the French Quarter, just moments from the famous temples. And, you’ll explore straightaway with a private sunset tour of Angkor Wat. The next day, you’ll go into more detail, with your private guide taking you to some of the complex’s lesser-visited jewels, including tree-covered Ta Prohm and Bayon – famed for its smiling faces. You’ll also enjoy an included dinner at one Siem Reap’s finest restaurants each evening, paired with a cultural dance show at the Angkor Village Theatre on the last night.

After breakfast, transfer to Siem Reap airport for your onward flight, arriving into the UK the next day

NB This tour also operates in reverse starting in Siem Reap and finishing in Saigon.