Authentic of Vietnam & Cambodia Tour – full package

Halong Bay is the headline here, but the real strength is the route. In 14 days, you move from Hanoi’s old streets to limestone islands, Hoi An’s old town, the Mekong Delta, Phnom Penh, and Angkor. It is a big serving of Southeast Asia, with most major transport and sightseeing arranged.

I like the good mix of guided visits and free time, especially the open day in Hoi An and free hours in Hanoi and Siem Reap. I also like the practical coverage: hotels, breakfasts, five lunches, dinner, sightseeing tickets, one flight, and bus transport are included. Guides and support staff, including Jenny Pham, Alice, and Jhenny Pham, receive especially warm praise for keeping transfers and special requests on track.

The catch is pace. You change cities often, spend about six hours on the bus to Siem Reap, and join several local tour groups rather than one fixed group for the whole trip. At $1,950 per person, the package can be good value, but you should be comfortable with early starts, road travel, and a tightly packed schedule.

Key points to know before booking

• Halong Bay includes an overnight cruise: You travel by tender to the ship, sleep on the bay, and have time for Tai Chi, breakfast while cruising, and more island views the next morning.
• The route covers five cities: Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap each bring a different pace and style.
• The Mekong and Cu Chi Tunnels add depth: One day focuses on river life and fruit-growing areas, while the next examines wartime history.
• Transport is mostly arranged: The package includes the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh flight, buses to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, hotel transfers, and sightseeing transport.
• You get free time in key places: Hanoi, Hoi An, and Siem Reap are not completely filled with guided stops.
• The group limit is 15: This is small enough for a more personal feel, although local excursions may not use the same group or guide throughout.

A fast-moving route from Hanoi to Angkor

This tour works best for you if you want to see a lot without arranging every hotel, transfer, ticket, and guide yourself. The route begins in Hanoi and ends in Siem Reap, with Vietnam’s central and southern regions followed by Cambodia.

The price is $1,950 per person. That covers accommodation, breakfast for 13 mornings, five lunches, dinner, sightseeing tickets, internal transport listed in the program, a 24/7 hotline, the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh flight, and bus tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap. International flights, drinks, tips, personal spending, and departure taxes remain yours to pay.

That bundle matters. A two-country trip can become expensive once you add hotels, airport transfers, entrance fees, and intercity transport. Here, the main costs are gathered in one booking. Still, value depends on what you want. If you prefer independent hotels, slower travel, and local trains or public buses, you may find the package restrictive. If you value convenience and a clear plan, the price is easier to justify.

Days 1 and 2: Hanoi streets and Hoa Lu temples

Your first day is deliberately light. A driver picks you up at the airport and takes you to your Hanoi hotel. After check-in, you have free time to walk through the Old Quarter. This is useful after a long flight because you can set your own pace rather than rushing into a full sightseeing day.

Use these hours to get your bearings. The Old Quarter gives you narrow streets, shops, food stalls, and the everyday noise of central Hanoi. The tour does not specify a guided Old Quarter walk, so you should treat this as independent time.

Day 2 takes you south toward Tam Coc and the Hoa Lu temples of the Dinh and Le dynasties. The drive passes through winding valleys, and the excursion lasts about six hours. The temples provide a look at Vietnam’s early royal period, while Tam Coc gives you the rural setting that makes this area so memorable.

The day is a good change from the city, but it also begins the tour’s pattern of long transfers followed by concentrated sightseeing. Wear shoes with a firm sole and keep water close. The exact Tam Coc activities are not fully detailed in the schedule, so confirm the day’s final program with the operator.

Days 3 and 4: Sleeping on Halong Bay

Halong Bay gets two days, including one night on a cruise. You leave Hanoi around 7:30 or 8 in the morning for the roughly three-hour drive to Halong Bay. At Tuan Chau Tourist Wharf, you transfer by tender to the cruise ship, usually around midday.

The first day includes a welcome drink, time on the water, and the limestone islands that make the bay famous. The cruise program is described as customizable, so the exact caves, beaches, or small-boat activities depend on the vessel and conditions.

The overnight stay is the payoff. At 6 in the morning, you can join Tai Chi on the sundeck. Breakfast follows while the boat continues through another part of the bay. You then return to the wharf and travel onward according to the cruise schedule.

I like this format more than a short day trip. A single day often feels dominated by the road to and from Hanoi. Sleeping aboard gives you quieter hours on the water and a chance to see the bay at different times of day.

The practical warning is weather. The experience requires good conditions, and bad weather can lead to a changed date or a full refund. Because the cruise program may change, ask which boat and cabin category are included before you pay. The schedule also lists long days, so do not expect a lazy resort stay.

Days 5 and 6: Hoi An, fishing villages, and free time

After Halong Bay, the tour shifts to central Vietnam. Day 5 includes a visit around An Hoi and the Hoi An area, with pickup available from your hotel on request between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning.

The route crosses Cua Dai Bridge, where you can see the Hoi An river system, mountains, and Cham Islands. You also visit a fishing village and see the working side of the coast, not only the old streets that appear in most photographs.

The excursion lasts about four hours, leaving you some room to enjoy Hoi An later in the day. Day 6 is fully free after breakfast. This is one of the smartest features of the schedule. Hoi An rewards wandering, and you can visit the Old Town without being hurried from one stop to another.

You should use the free day carefully. The program promises time to explore, but it does not include a separate list of entrance tickets or activities for that day. Budget for anything you choose to do independently.

For me, Hoi An is where the itinerary breathes. Hanoi and Halong Bay keep you moving, while Hoi An offers a calmer base and a chance to choose your own meals, walks, and sightseeing. It is also a useful pause before the flight south.

Days 7 to 9: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong, and Cu Chi

On Day 7, you fly from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight ticket is included, and a transfer takes you to your hotel. The schedule gives the day 12 hours, but the actual sightseeing plan is not specified, so much of the time may be used for travel and check-in.

That is worth clarifying before departure. You should not assume a full guided city tour is included simply because Ho Chi Minh City appears on the route. The strongest organized activities in this section come on Days 8 and 9.

Day 8 heads to My Tho through countryside bordered by rice fields. You visit Vinh Trang Pagoda, then take a boat along the river. The ride includes views of stilt houses, fruit plantations, and fishing villages. This is a slower, more local-feeling contrast to the large cities, though the day still lasts about eight hours including road travel.

The Mekong excursion is valuable because it shows how water shapes daily life and work. You are not only looking at scenery from a coach window. You get onto the river and see the homes, farms, and small communities connected to it.

Day 9 visits the Cu Chi Tunnels. A guide introduces the tunnel network and its wartime role, followed by a drive northwest toward the Cambodian border. The excursion lasts about five hours.

The tunnels are a serious historical site, and the visit can be physically close and uncomfortable in places. The supplied details do not specify how much tunnel walking is included, so ask your guide about the exact route if confined spaces concern you. Together, the Mekong and Cu Chi days give southern Vietnam more substance than a quick city stop.

Days 10 and 11: Crossing into Phnom Penh

Day 10 begins with breakfast and free time before a bus transfer to Phnom Penh. The ride is listed at about five hours. The bus ticket is included, but international border crossings can take longer than the posted travel time, so keep your schedule flexible.

This is one of the less glamorous parts of the trip, but it is also practical. You avoid arranging the cross-border journey yourself, and the bus connects the two countries without another flight. Pack your passport and important documents where you can reach them easily.

Day 11 is the main Phnom Penh sightseeing day. You visit the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, located within the palace grounds. The Silver Pagoda is known for its floor of 5,000 silver tiles and its valuable religious objects.

The six-hour program gives Phnom Penh more than a quick overnight glance. At the same time, two days is still brief for a capital city. The schedule does not list additional Phnom Penh attractions, so use your free time on arrival for a walk or ask your local guide what fits nearby.

Days 12 to 14: Siem Reap and the Angkor temples

Day 12 brings another bus ride, this time from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The journey takes about six hours, followed by hotel check-in. After two substantial road days, you may want a quiet evening.

Day 13 is the great archaeological day. The route begins at the South Gate of Angkor Thom, then continues to Bayon, the Royal Enclosure, Phimeanakas, the Elephant Terrace, and the Leper King Terrace. After lunch, you visit Ta Prohm, the jungle temple, followed by more Angkor sights.

This is a packed three-hour temple visit as written, so ask for the precise finish time and full list of included temples. Angkor is not one small monument. Distances between sites matter, and the heat can make a short schedule feel demanding.

Siem Reap also receives free time on the final day before your airport transfer. That gives you a chance to buy souvenirs, revisit a favorite area, or simply rest before your flight home. The package does not include your international flight, so your departure time should be shared with the operator when arranging the airport transfer.

Guides, group size, and how the package really operates

The official maximum is 15 people, which is a reasonable cap for transport and guided sightseeing. Yet the package is not necessarily one continuous group with one guide from Hanoi to Siem Reap. The trips may use different local teams for different cities and activities.

That arrangement has a clear benefit: local staff handle their own area and transfers. Jenny Pham is praised for staying in contact and resolving concerns. Alice is noted for adapting a trip to personal needs, while Jhenny Pham receives credit for organizing smooth transfers and arranging vegetarian food.

You should still expect some handoffs. Save hotel names, pickup times, driver details, and the 24/7 hotline in your phone. The package is designed to manage those moving parts, but a little personal organization makes the trip easier.

The overall rating is 4.7 from 11 reviews, with 91 percent recommending it. The positive themes are consistent: friendly guides, smooth transfers, strong organization, and help with food preferences. One negative experience questioned the value at a higher quoted price of $2,750, which is a useful reminder to confirm exactly what your $1,950 includes.

What is included, and what can raise the real cost

Included items are:

• Hotel accommodation
• Breakfast on 13 mornings
• Five lunches
• Dinner
• Sightseeing tickets
• All listed transportation
• Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City flight
• Bus tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap
• 24/7 hotline support

You pay separately for international flights and departure taxes, drinks, personal expenses, tips, and gratuities. The phrase all transportation refers to the listed route, not every taxi or independent ride you may choose.

The package is non-refundable and cannot be changed after booking. If poor weather cancels an activity, you are offered another date or a full refund. Since the cruise depends on conditions, this policy is especially relevant for Halong Bay.

Who should book this 14-day trip?

I would recommend it to you if this is your first visit to Vietnam and Cambodia and you want the main sights organized in one sweep. It suits solo visitors, couples, and families who value transfers and support more than complete independence.

The tour can also work well for older people who are reasonably mobile. A 63-year-old couple was able to keep up with the schedule, but age is not the main issue. The real test is your comfort with early departures, boat transfers, long bus rides, frequent hotel changes, and hot temple visits.

I would hesitate if you want slow travel. Hoi An has a free day, but Hanoi, Halong Bay, southern Vietnam, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap all arrive in quick succession. You should also think twice if you dislike group arrangements or want to choose every hotel and restaurant yourself.

Should you book it?

Book this tour if you want a well-covered two-country route at a fixed price, with Halong Bay, the Mekong, Cu Chi, Phnom Penh, and Angkor all on the same plan. Its best features are the practical transport arrangements, free time in Hoi An and Siem Reap, small maximum group size, and responsive contacts such as Jenny and Alice.

Before booking, ask for the hotel names, cruise name, exact Day 2 and Day 13 sightseeing details, and how local groups are handled. If those answers suit you, $1,950 is a fair starting value for a busy 14-day package. If you want more time in each place, build your own trip instead.

FAQ

How long is the Vietnam and Cambodia tour?

The tour lasts approximately 14 days, beginning with airport pickup in Hanoi and ending with an airport transfer from Siem Reap.

What cities does the tour visit?

The route includes Hanoi, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap.

Is Halong Bay an overnight cruise?

Yes. You travel to the cruise from Tuan Chau Tourist Wharf, spend the night aboard, and continue cruising the next morning before returning to shore.

Is the Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City flight included?

Yes. The domestic flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City is included in the package price.

Are buses included between Vietnam and Cambodia?

Yes. The package includes bus tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh and from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

Are meals included?

Breakfast is included for 13 mornings. The package also includes five lunches and dinner. Drinks and personal food expenses are not included.

How many people can join the tour?

The maximum group size is 15 people. Individual activities may use different local groups and guides.

Is airport pickup included at the start?

Yes. A driver picks you up at the airport in Hanoi and transfers you to your hotel.

Can the tour be canceled for a refund?

The experience is normally non-refundable and cannot be changed. If poor weather causes a cancellation, you are offered a different date or a full refund.