Food Adventure to Vietnam and Cambodia in 19 Days

Xin chao! Welcome to Vietnam.

Your adventure begins in the country’s capital city – Hanoi. If you arrive early, maybe grab a delicious Vietnamese coffee (typically served with condensed milk or, for the more adventurous, egg)!

Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi

Meet your tour guide for a welcome meeting at 5 pm, then head out for your first introduction to Vietnam’s lively culinary scene. Your tour guide will take you on a street food tour around the streets as the sun goes down and the city comes alive at night. You should try bun cha (a grilled pork and noodle dish loved in Hanoi) or lau (a Vietnamese hotpot).

Overnight at the hotel in Hanoi.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: dinner.

This morning, hit the road for Ha Long Bay, a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Boarding on the cruise, participating in the welcome drink, and checking into your room boat. You’ll set sail on the emerald-green waters, gliding between limestone karsts to take in the incredible scenery from the best outlook of all the water. Then, you’ll explore Sung Sot Cave (Surprise Cave), one of the most striking caves in the bay.

Halong Bay

In the afternoon, you’ll return to your boat and enjoy a delicious feast prepared by an onboard chef. Tonight’s stay is something special, as you’ll sleep on the boat, let the water lull you to sleep, and really take in the beauty of the surrounding bay.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, Ha Long Bay overnight cruise, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Wake up early in the morning to participate in a Tai Chi session on the sun deck at dawn while the natural wonders around you are slowly waking up! Then have breakfast at the cruise’s restaurant.

Tai Chi Session in Ha Long Bay

Take a small boat to Luon Cave, another amazing cave in Ha Long Bay. Lunch is served on board, and the cruise returns to Ha Long City at noon for disembarking.

Tonight, you’ll head back to Hanoi and board an overnight train bound for Hue. Perhaps grab some snacks today for the train, then settle in and play some cards with your group or watch the scenery pass you by from the window.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, Hanoi – Hue train ticket, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast.

Arrive in Hue in the morning, the former royal capital of Vietnam.

Enjoy a local breakfast of bun bo hue (a special beef noodle soup). The food here is influenced by its imperial heritage (small dishes and a focus on aesthetic presentation) and Buddhism, reflected in the many vegetarian restaurants.

After leaving your luggage at your hotel, embark on a tour of the city’s imperial monuments from the back of a motorcycle. Stop at Thien Mu Pagoda, an active Buddhist monastery since 1601, where you’ll see a car that belonged to Thich Quang Duc, the worldly famous self-immolating monk of the 1963 protests.

Thien Mu Pagoda

After some time exploring, it’s time to explore local cuisine! You’ll enjoy a plant-based Buddhist meal specially prepared by a chef and descendant of the royal family in the garden of their family home.

After, visit the royal tomb of Emperor Tu Duc and enjoy some free time this evening. You may like to ask your tour guide the best place to try imperial street specialties for dinner, like banh hue (rice flour cakes stuffed with shrimp, pork, and spices).

Overnight in Hoi An.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch.

This morning, you’ll go to a local coffee house where three generations of Hue locals are living together. Admire the traditional house and gardens before meeting your host to learn about his passion for coffee with a demonstration of how to make Hue’s traditional salt coffee.

Hue’s Imperial Citadel

After that, visit the Imperial Citadel and Forbidden Purple City before heading south by bus through coastal rice paddies and the mountainous Hai Van Pass to Hoi An. This beautifully restored city retains the feel of centuries past, and tonight you’ll hear about the Old Center, a UNESCO World Heritage site full of colorful streets, heritage buildings, and specialty shops. Try Cao Lau (a local noodle dish) with your group tonight, then head out among the lanterns for a nighttime orientation walk.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, dinner.

Today, you will get to know Hoi An. First, you will walk around the Ancient Town, then you’ll discover Reaching Out Tea House, a non-government organization that supports the local deaf and mute community by providing employment and vocational training. While here, you’ll sip delicious teas in total silence—a tranquil experience you won’t soon forget.

Cooking class in Hoi An

After a little time to relax, you’ll be ready for a cooking class with a local chef this afternoon. You’ll be escorted to a local market to shop for fresh ingredients, then you’ll go through the culinary journey with hands-on demonstrations. Your local chef will even share the stories behind the yin and yang elements, unveiling the secret of home-cooked Vietnamese meals.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch.

Enjoy a free day in Hoi An to explore at your own pace. Maybe relax at the hotel pool or go for a bike ride in the nearby rice fields. You can stroll around Hoi An Ancient Town for some last-minute shopping.

Hoi An – The city of lanterns

Maybe you can visit the stunning beach for a while before boarding an overnight train bound for Nha Trang.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, Meals: breakfast.

Arrive in Nha Trang this morning around 10 am, then have some breakfast.

After checking into your hotel, maybe stroll around the city. Visit the Po Nagar Cham Towers or head to the Tran Phu Bridge for scenic city views and coastline.

Po Nagar Cham Towers

This afternoon, you’ll meet with your group for a seafood dinner—a local specialty in Nha Trang.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, dinner.

Leave Nha Trang this morning and drive on to Ho Chi Minh City – the national capital. Stop for lunch along the way, then when you arrive, take a walking tour to get a feel for the city’s fascinating blend of old and new, East and West.

You will visit the Reunification Palace, the former Presidential Palace. After that, we will visit the War Remnant Museum, where we can see countless artifacts, photographs, and pictures documenting the Second Indochina War. We also stop at Notre Dame Cathedral and Saigon Old Post Office to get good shots for your memorable trip.

Ho Chi Minh City Tour

You’ll notice a strong French influence here, which means excellent coffee and baguettes. Stop past the General Post Office, then take a guided walk around one of Vietnam’s most pulsing markets – Ben Thanh. This is the perfect place to pick up any last-minute snacks, cooking utensils, ingredients, or presents for friends and family. Try the world-famous crispy pork belly Banh mi, then visit the War Remnants Museum to learn about the city’s sobering past.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: lunch.

After breakfast this morning, say goodbye to Ho Chi Minh City and make your way to the Mekong Delta. The delta is known as “Vietnam’s rice bowl” for its abundance of rice paddies, fruit, and flower orchards.

Once you arrive, you will embark on a journey up this powerful river, making stops at tropical fruit gardens and local cottage industries to savor locally produced honey, coconut, candy, and fruit. Paddle slowly along the quieter backwaters in a sampan – one of the most common forms of transport in these parts.

Mekong Delta

Continue to your homestay for this evening. Meet your hosts and take some time to wander the garden, relax, or lend a hand with dinner preparations. Enjoy a southern Vietnamese feast on the wide veranda overlooking the gardens as the sun goes down.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Wake up early in the morning and take a boat trip to visit the Cai Rang Floating Market with the busy trading sense.

Cai Rang Floating Market

Enjoy the freshest fruit in the market for breakfast, then head to Cai Be for a hands-on cooking class with a local chef.
Enjoy the tranquil setting and the spice garden as you learn some contemporary twists on traditional Vietnamese dishes with your passionate chef. Sit down and enjoy the delicious feast you’ve prepared over lunch, and then enjoy a free afternoon to continue your explorations.

Tonight, you might like to get together with your group and toast a great trip over a farewell dinner.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch.

Today, you will take a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh.

Upon arrival, you’ll be met by a local representative and taken to your hotel. Cambodia’s capital city is set on a major junction of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers and boasts some fine examples of French-inspired architecture.

Tonle Sap Lake

When you arrive, maybe head for a mojito on the rooftop or stop in at the art-deco Psar Thmei (Central Market). You’ll have a second welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight to get to know your new guide and the new travelers joining your group.

Have dinner at a local restaurant and maybe go for a drink or stroll along the famous Sisowath Quay.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, Ho Chi Minh City – Phnom Penh flight ticket, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: dinner.

This morning, leave Phnom Penh and head to confront Cambodia’s tragic past on a guided tour of the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, in a former high school that served as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) for the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. See the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, which represent the tragic legacy of the Khmer Rouge.

Kampot, Cambodia

After that, you’ll drive south by private vehicle towards Kampot, one of Cambodia’s most attractive old towns. Famous for its pepper, Kampot supplied most French restaurants for many years during colonial rule. Today, the region is also renowned for its durian.

Overnight in Kampot.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast.

This morning, you’ll have breakfast at Epic Café – a social enterprise employing local people with disabilities. After visiting the salt fields stretching across much of Kampot’s coastline, you will learn about salt production and head to Phnom Chhngok, a Hindu cave temple built in the 7th century, dedicated to Shiva.

Kep Beach

You will taste some pepper ice cream here before heading to Kep Beach for lunch—the nearby Kep markets serve fresh crab cooked to perfection—and eat on the pier overlooking the ocean. After lunch, walk along the coastline and explore the old oceanfront buildings. Kep was one of the most popular and prestigious beach towns in Cambodia, but Khmer Rouge destroyed many of Kep’s mansions and villas.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, lunch.

Back to Phnom Penh and meet with a passionate chef for a guided tour of the markets, learning about the building blocks of Khmer cuisine.

Fish Amok

Enjoy a hands-on cooking class and master Khmer staples such as chicken curry, fish amok (Cambodia’s signature dish, a mildly fish curry, typically made with freshwater fish such as catfish and cooked with a rich coconut milk-based sauce), or bok svay (pounded green mango salad, usually served with dried fish or prawns). Feast on your creations over dinner.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide. Visit fees, Meals: dinner.

Today, you will take a bus from Phnom Penh to Battambang, the second-largest city in Cambodia. Battambang is a riverside town of French influence, famous for its many statues of animals and divinities that decorate the streets and buildings. Unlike Phnom Penh, this city is quieter and less crowded, so it’s a great place to get a real slice of Cambodia.

Battambang

You can join a local Battambang foodie for a home-cooked meal, tasting local dishes such as monk, Khmer curry, and fried spicy chicken with homemade rice noodles.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast.

Wake up early and take a bicycle ride into the countryside. The ride is easy and takes mostly shady roads through local villages. Along the way, stop to experience rice paper making, fruit drying and preparation, the famous prahok (fish paste) production, and rice wine making at local homes. Finish up at the best Kralan (sticky rice in bamboo) stall in the district.

Siem Reap Night Street

After that, you’ll head to Siem Reap via private vehicle. When you arrive, head out for a street food tour with your local guide, tasting grilled fish or spicy fried chicken. Enjoy the atmosphere along the riverbanks as the sun goes down, then head to a cocktail class and tasting. You’ll also learn how to make three popular cocktails as you taste local liqueurs and snacks made with Cambodian herbs, mango, and ginger.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast.

Have breakfast at the hotel.

Then, head to the village of Preah Dak for a traditional breakfast of homemade num banh chok (a popular Khmer noodle dish). This village is famous for its lifestyle, language, spirituality, culture, and, of course, its food!

You will see how the local families make the noodles just as their ancestors made them, and then you’ll try some seasonal fruits. After, it’s time to explore more of the Angkor Wat complex, built between the 9th and 13th centuries when the Khmer Empire was the preeminent influence in Southeast Asia. See the Bayon Temple and the jungle-covered Ta Prohm.

Angkor Wat

Tonight, head out for dinner at a plant-based restaurant celebrating contemporary flavors. They use fresh produce from their gardens; therefore, you will tuck it into dishes like grilled eggplant, creamy pumpkin soup, vegetable curry, and homemade lime pie.

Overnight in Siem Reap.

Included: Transportation, Accommodation, English-speaking guide, Visit fees, Meals: breakfast, dinner.

This is the last day of your 19-day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. There are no activities planned for today, and you can enjoy your last minute on your own. Our driver will take you to the airport for the departure flight.

Included: Airport drop-off and breakfast.

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