Pandaw Mekong Cruise Journey

FLY TO SAIGON

Fly from Auckland to Singapore with Singapore Airlines. (Other options are available).

Fly from Singapore to Saigon with Singapore Airlines.

On arrival in Saigon you will be met and transferred to your hotel by private car.

SAIGON - HALF DAY TOUR

Enjoy the morning at leisure.

This afternoon, meet with your local guide at your hotel and set off on an afternoon tour of Saigon.

Start with a visit to the city’s most iconic building: Reunification Hall. Formerly called the Presidential Palace, images of the building were seen around the world on 30 April 1975 when tanks stormed the gates as Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. Hear the echoes of time while walking through this historic downtown site.

Then take a stroll to Saigon’s colonial quarter, walking past scenes of everyday life on the way. Admire the beautiful architecture of the Opera House, City Hall, the old Saigon Post Office, Hear about the glory days of French Indochina and how that era continues to influence aspects of modern Vietnamese culture.

Step inside the War Remnants Museum for an insightful, yet sombre, look into Vietnam’s military history. See exhibitions displaying imagery from the French and American wars, learning more about the country’s struggle for independence and hearing tales of the resilience of the Vietnamese people.

Then step off the tourist trail for one last visit on this Saigon tour at a Vietnamese coffee shop, sit down and taste the coffee like locals.

After this insightful visit, return to your hotel.

EMBARK PANDAW CRUISE

Your journey begins in the heart of Saigon. Board your Pandaw vessel in central Saigon and find a spot on the spacious sundeck as the ship casts off - the skyline of Vietnam's great metropolis sliding past, towers and colonial facades giving way to the first reach of the river.

Lunch is served onboard, the crew are introduced, and the afternoon unfolds with local entertainment on deck as the city dissolves behind you and the Mekong Delta opens up ahead.

The ship moors overnight on the Vam Co River - quieter, darker, and already a world away from Saigon.

BEN TRE AND FERTILE WATERWAYS

An early start through the Cho Gao Canal - a working artery of the delta constructed by the French in 1876, still busy with the traffic of goods and lives moving between the interior and the city.

At Ben Tre, you leave the ship by sampan and thread through mangroves and bamboo forests into the fruit orchards of one of Vietnam's most productive farming regions.

Half of the country's rice comes from the Mekong Delta; you see why. A stop at a local artisan village shows another side of delta life - handicraft traditions passed through generations.

Back aboard, the ship sails deeper into the delta toward Chau Doc as the afternoon light softens over the water.

CHAU DOC - VIETNAM/CAMBODIA BORDER

A morning on Sam Mountain - minivans carry you to the Hang Pagoda (Phuoc Dien Tu), where the climb rewards with panoramic views across the Mekong floodplain that reframes everything you've seen from water level.

Those who prefer flat ground can explore the local market instead. Afterwards, a sampan excursion to the floating fish farms that cluster in the river here, followed by a private Lion dance performance in a local village.

Back on the ship, the route winds through a web of canals before dropping anchor at the Vietnam–Cambodia border for immigration formalities.

Two countries. One river. The mood shifts perceptibly as Cambodia begins.

PHNOM PENH

Cambodia's capital is a city that carries its history visibly - joyful and haunted in equal measure. The morning is a cyclo tour of the city centre, your own private three-wheeled rickshaw winding through the streets to the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda (its floor laid with five thousand silver tiles), and the National Museum with its remarkable collection of Angkorian sculpture.

In the afternoon, the optional excursion to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng (S-21) is included in your cruise - sombre, essential, and handled with great care by Pandaw's guides.

The ship docks overnight in Phnom Penh's city port. The evening is yours - the riverfront bars and restaurants of this increasingly vibrant city are on your doorstep.

LIFE ON THE TONLE SAP RIVER

An early departure from Phnom Penh, turning up the Tonle Sap River - narrower, quieter, and more intimate than the Mekong itself.

The destination is Kampong Tralach, reached by ox-cart through riverside villages, markets, and temples at a pace that matches the landscape perfectly.

This is rural Cambodia at its most unhurried. In the evening, cocktails are served around a fire pit at a small fishing village, where locals join the group to share stories and traditional dancing under open sky.

One of those unscripted evenings that becomes the one you talk about most.

OUDONG MEDITATIONS AND PAK RUSSEI SILK

A morning excursion by coach to Oudong - Cambodia's ancient capital before Phnom Penh - to visit the Vipassana Dhura Meditation Centre.

The complex is impressive in its Khmer architecture, and a short meditation class offers a genuine moment of stillness before the journey continues.

The ship is rejoined at Prek Kdam and sails back onto the Mekong proper over lunch. In the afternoon, the ship pulls into Pak Russei - a small, remote riverside village where silk is still woven by hand and noodles made by traditional methods.

You explore on foot, meet the craftspeople at work, and before leaving, watch a private performance of Bokator - an ancient Khmer martial art dating to the Angkor era, rarely seen outside Cambodia.

PEAM CHI KORNG POTTERY VILLAGE

A gentle start: morning Tai Chi on deck, or simply a coffee as the ship takes a sunrise cruise to Peam Chi Korng - an unhurried, little-visited village that has quietly been one of Cambodia's pottery centres for generations.

A short tuk-tuk ride from the river brings you into the village, where potters work at the wheel in open courtyards and the local fresh market offers a chance to practise whatever Khmer you've picked up along the way.

In the afternoon the ship makes its final run along the Mekong to Steung Trang.

The kitchen team prepares a farewell dinner; the crew provides one last evening of entertainment. The river has one more night to give.

SIEM REAP

Breakfast on board, then coach from Steung Trang through the Cambodian countryside to Siem Reap. Arrival at the FCC Angkor Hotel, beside the Royal Palace, between noon and 1pm.

Angkor Wat is twenty minutes away.

Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure.

SIEM REAP - ANGKOR TEMPLES

The Angkor Archaeological Park is one of those rare places that genuinely exceeds expectations, even for travellers who have seen the photographs a hundred times. At its peak between the 9th and 15th centuries, the Khmer Empire's capital was one of the largest cities on earth, and what remains across this vast forested plain is extraordinary by any measure.

A single day, done well with a knowledgeable private guide and an early start, is enough to see the essential temples without feeling rushed.

Your guide and driver will collect you from your hotel at around 5:00am. The early start is the single most important decision of the day: arriving at Angkor Wat before sunrise means you see the temple's reflection shimmer across the long reflecting pools in the half-light, and you'll be walking the inner galleries well before the larger tour groups arrive. It's an early start, but well worth it and you'll have the afternoon to relax and have a nap if you like.

Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century under King Suryavarman II and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Its westward orientation, unusual among Khmer temples, is thought by some scholars to carry funerary associations. The outer wall extends for over five kilometres, and the bas-relief galleries that line the interior are among the longest continuous stone carvings anywhere in the world. Allow a good two hours here, and don't rush the inner sanctuary.

From Angkor Wat, your guide will take you north into the ancient walled city of Angkor Thom, entering through the imposing South Gate with its long avenue of stone devas and asuras (gods and demons), each side gripping the body of a giant naga serpent.

The centrepiece of Angkor Thom is the Bayon, built under King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th century. Where Angkor Wat impresses with scale, the Bayon astonishes with intimacy: 54 towers, each carved with the same serene, faintly smiling stone faces, create the feeling of being watched from every angle. Your guide will help you understand the cosmological significance of the layout, which is far from immediately obvious.

Nearby, the Terrace of the Elephants, a 350-metre ceremonial platform used by the king to review his returning armies, and the Baphuon, a massive pyramid temple currently undergoing long-term restoration, are both well worth the time.

After lunch at a local restaurant near the park (your guide will make a good suggestion based on your preferences), the afternoon belongs to Ta Prohm. Left deliberately unrestored since its rediscovery in the 19th century, this is the temple that most vividly captures what the entire complex looked like before conservation began.

The roots of vast silk-cotton and strangler fig trees wind through the stonework, splitting walls and propping up collapsed galleries. The atmosphere, especially in the quieter reaches away from the main walkways, is genuinely memorable. Enter from the east gate to avoid the main group flow, and take your time in the more remote courtyards.

The optional final stop, Banteay Kdei, is a short tuk-tuk ride away and usually quiet by late afternoon. A Buddhist monastery temple also from the reign of Jayavarman VII, it lacks the grand scale of the earlier sites but rewards those who make the time with fine carved apsaras (celestial dancers) and a peaceful, uncrowded atmosphere as the day cools.

For a meal after returning to Siem Reap, Cuisine Wat Damnak on Taphul Road is one of the finest restaurants in Cambodia: a five-course tasting menu of Cambodian ingredients interpreted with real skill, set in a traditional wooden house. Book ahead. For something more casual but equally good, Mahob on the riverside serves excellent Khmer food in a relaxed setting that feels genuinely local rather than tourist-facing.

End the evening with a tuk-tuk ride through the lamp-lit streets around the old market, or a quiet drink on the rooftop terrace at Nest, a good spot to watch the town settle into the evening and reflect on the scale of what you've just seen.

TONLE SAP - FULL DAY TOUR

See what life is like on Southeast Asia’s largest lake. Take a boat trip on Tonle Sap Lake, cruising past mangrove forests and quiet waterways. Have lunch in a local house and learn about the traditional lifestyles of the people who call Tonle Sap their home.    

Take a break from temple touring to experience authentic rural lifestyles.

Drive to the outskirts of Siem Reap, past expansive rice fields and through local villages where rice and fish can frequently be spotted drying alongside the road. Next, board a private wooden vessel for a boat trip along a canal that leads to the Tonle Sap Lake. 

Cruise along the canal with houses on either side: depending on the time of the  visit, the houses will either have immediate access to the water or stand perched on stilts high above the ground, a phenomena caused by the annual rising and receding waters of the Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia’s largest lake.

Pass by the boats and nets used by local fishermen, some of whom will be fishing in the waters through which the boat passes. Nearing the lake, see floating houses that move location with the annual ebb and flow of the lake’s waters. 

Along the way, gain a better understanding of the local lifestyle with lunch in a family house. This is a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the way of life of the local people- sitting inside a stilted house while watching the boats pass outside. 

Return to Siem Reap in the afternoon.

FLY TO AUCKLAND

You will be collected from your hotel in Siem Reap and transferred to the airport by private car for your onward flight.

Fly from Siem Reap to Singapore with Singapore Airlines.

Fly from Singapore to Auckland with Singapore Airlines.

ARRIVE AUCKLAND

Arrive back in Auckland.