Aqua Mekong River Cruise

Begin your trip in style with complimentary airport lounge access before your overnight flight to Vietnam, arriving on day 2.

Arriving into Saigon, you’ll be met at the airport and brought to your luxury hotel. Housed in a magnificent French-colonial building, the butler-served rooms come with marble bathrooms while the spa offers a superb range of treatments. And, found next door to the Municipal Theatre and the Notre Dame Cathedral, you’ll be perfectly poised for tomorrow’s private walking tour, showcasing the city’s turn-of-the-century grandeur alongside its chequered past, exemplified by the War Remnants Museum and the Re-Unification Palace. However, after an included lunch, it’s your speedboat ride to the Cu Chi Tunnels that’s the most evocative. Here, you’ll be able to see some of the 250km-long labyrinth used by the Viet Cong soldiers. 

Today, an included transfer will see you to My Tho where you’ll board the luxurious Aqua Mekong. Settling in to the floor-to-ceiling windows, darkwood beauty and plush daybed of your suite, you’ll be treated to a menu of full-board delicacies, designed by a Michelin-standard chef. There’s also a full range of facilities; this is the only ship on this stretch of the river to offer everything from a fully equipped gym and private screening room to an outdoor cinema and upper-deck pool. However, the Aqua Mekong has boutique luxury at its heart, with its library, lounges and spa treatment rooms all offering the same unmatched standard of understated elegance.

Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)

On your first full day on board, you’ll begin your curated programme of included shore excursions. Begin with a visit to the mat weavers of Binh Thanh village or a stop at Sa Dec to take in the 19th-century river-house of Marguerite Duras's legendary lover. Then, come the afternoon, you’ll visit My An Hung – a traditional delta village ringed by verdant plantations. Here, you’ll be invited into a local’s home to taste your way through the region’s exotic fruits while enjoying a regional dance and song performance. A cycling alternative is also available – the Aqua Mekong is the only ship on the Mekong to offer complimentary bikes, available whenever you feel like exploring.

Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)

Travelling on the ship’s skiffs, you’ll slip along the Bassac Canal to Chau Doc – a floating market built on stilts. After taking in its colourful bustle, you’ll be brought inland to Long Son Pagoda, perched atop Sam Mountain. It’s the chance to learn about the monks’ age-old Buddhist practices before you choose between an island bike ride or a rickshaw ride to Tan Chau market, accompanied by the ship’s chef. Back on board, you’ll cross the border into Cambodia, perhaps enjoying a cooking course if you’ve been inspired by the gourmet dining. 

Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)

As you sail this morning you’ll be treated to a display of Khmer dyeing and weaving by dextrous artisans. Then, there’s the opportunity to explore the riverbank on two wheels, cycling past Buddhist temples and stilted, thatched houses while white oxen wade offshore. After lunch, you’ll then reboard the ship’s tender boats for a cruise to Preah Prosop, a remote village lined with tamarind trees where life goes on seemingly unchanged for several lifetimes. 

Stay: Aqua Mekong (Deluxe)

Arriving into Phnom Penh, you’ll be treated to a tour of the Cambodian capital’s myriad delights by motorised tuk tuk. There are the burnished delights and sweeping tiers of the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, along with the National Museum’s Khmer art. Then you’ll have the choice between shopping at the vibrant Russian Market or a visit to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide – a pair of sites that bore witness to some of Pol Pot’s worst atrocities. End with dinner at one of Phnom Penh’s best restaurants before bedding down at its finest accommodation – the legendary Raffles Hotel Le Royal.

Resuming your private tour, your expert driver and guide will bring you out to Phnom Da, a stone temple perched atop a small mountain. Built for King Rut Trak Varman in the 6th century, it’s one of the ancient palaces of Cambodia and makes for a truly evocative, off-the-beaten-track experience. Following a lunch at a local restaurant, you’ll then continue to Tonle Bati. A temple built by King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century, its sculptures and reliefs date to the Angkorian period, beautified by lakeside gardens of trees and flowers. You’ll then return to the spa indulgences of your landmark hotel.

Your flight to Siem Reap, bookended by private transfers, will see you arrive at the early-20th-century grandeur of your luxury hotel. Then, it’s time to explore, with your private guide bringing you between the corridors, central chambers and upper terraces of Angkor Wat before you take in the sunset over the temple ruins. You’ll then begin the next day with a spectacular dawn breakfast among the temples, before taking in some of their lesser-visited gems. There’s everything from cloistered corridors and ancient library pools to ruins overrun with giant tree roots and the world’s longest bas relief. Ta Prohm is a particular highlight – once the home of 2,740 monks. 

After some time at leisure, your private driver will see you to the airport for your overnight flight, arriving on day 14.