Aqua Expeditions Cruise

FLY TO SAIGON

Fly from Auckland to Singapore with Singapore Airlines. (Other flight options are available - just ask us).

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 - MORNING WALKING TOUR - EVENING STREET FOOD TOUR

This morning you will be collected from your hotel at 8 am.

Meet with a local guide and set off, transferring to a buzzing local market for the start of this insightful and walking tour. Browse the stalls, watching the vendors peddle their wares and shoppers bargain for the freshest goods. The cacophony of noises, colours and smells is invigorating! 

Walk onwards, stepping into the narrow yet safe alleys off the tourist trail. See family-run businesses lining the street, learning how the city’s residents live - using their ground floors as shops or food stalls and residing upstairs. See vendors cooking up fresh morning treats and locals queuing up to buy their breakfast. 

Continue through neighborhood alleys into a small temple honoring Vietnam’s five ‘mother goddesses’ and hear more about this unique belief. 

Following this insight to the city’s spiritual side, wander onto wide streets lined with charming French-era villas and toering mahogany trees. Then step back onto the main boulevards to soak up the city’s contrasts of old and new before returning to your hotel. 

Enjoy the afternoon to explore on your own.

This evening you'll be collected at 6 pm from your hotel.

Enjoy an authentic night out, wandering through hidden streets tasting some of  the best food the city has to offer; sample regional delicacies and immerse yourself in the local culture.

Start with a stroll along the small alleys at a local market. As you wander through the narrow pathways, be greeted by the bustling sounds of vendors selling a variety of goods. 

Carry on to discover the area’s contrasting architectural styles. Tucked away is an unassuming stall selling delicious bot chien, or pan fried rice cakes with green papaya salad, a street food staple. Whilst tasting the flavourful dish, the guide explains its origins. 

Continue through the backstreets and venture to a vibrant residential complex to witness the daily lives of locals. You’ll see small apartments where three generations may reside under one roof, while neighbors converse and share stories of their day. 

Lively, colourful and vibrant, sit down for a seafood dinner, a well-loved meal among Saigonese. If fortunate, catch a glimpse of the charismatic owner. 

Afterwards, walk down back streets to the city’s main  flower market where a demonstration on the art of the lotus flower will be given.

Continue to a lively night market where the city’s young people gather. Sit alongside the locals and order some savoury treats or a dessert if you fancy, before returning to your hotel where the tour ends.

AQUA MEKONG - MY THO

You will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the welcome lounge meeting point in Saigon before midday. From here you will be transferred to My Tho in the Mekong Delta where you will board the Aqua Mekong.

Settle into your floating retreat, with its window wall conferring an endlessly captivating panorama.

Enjoy these private Mekong moments on your California king bed, terrace or daybed.

BINH THANH - SA DEC

Begin the day at Binh Thanh mat weaving village or opt to visit Sa Dec where we will peruse the vibrant market and see the famous house of Marguerite Duras' legendary lover, Mr. Huynh Thuy Le.

In the afternoon, visit a typical Mekong Delta village called My An Hung where we will walk through verdant plantations.

We will be invited to a local's home to taste local fruits while hearing traditional folk songs performed by villagers followed by a unique unicorn dance. A 17-km biking option is also available.

CHAU DOC - VINH XUONG - KA-OM SAMNRO BORDER

Travel by skiff along the Bassac Canal to Chau Doc floating market then head off by van to Long Son Pagoda atop Sam Mountain.

Ask the monks about their age-old Buddhist practices. Return via the bustling morning market.

Optional 18 km bike ride on Long Khanh Island or take a rickshaw ride to visit Tan Chau Market with chef.

After lunch, relax by the pool, try traditional Khmer massage or learn to cook Mekong inspired dishes while we cross the border.

MEKONG RIVER - KOH OKHNA TEY - PREAH PROSOP

On this river of time we admire dexterous Khmer artisans dyeing and weaving kroma, the ubiquitous item no Khmer lives without.

Explore the riverbank on two wheels if you wish, past Buddhist temples and thatch houses perched on spindly wooden stilts while white oxen wade just offshore.

After lunch, we board our marine-grade aluminum skiffs and head towards the tamarind trees of Preah Prosop, a remote village little changed over several lifetimes.

PHNOM PENH

We show off the Cambodian capital to our passengers by motorized tuk-tuk, the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum of Cambodia, home to the world’s largest collection of Khmer art.

For those who wish, we visit the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide and the Killing Fields or shopping at Russian Market.

Enjoy sundowners like the Salted Watermelon Crush with Thai basil. Together we celebrate the onward journey towards the heart of this mighty river with a Khmer Apsara performance, an indigenous tradition memorialized on the temple walls at Angkor Wat.

TONLE SAP RIVER - KOH CHEN - KAMPONG PRASAT

In the silversmith village of Koh Chen, we watch artisans producing the magnificent silverware favored by Khmer royalty.

We continue to Udong, the royal capital from the 17-19th centuries, where we learn about a uniquely challenging Buddhist practice at the Vipassana Dhura Mandala, a meditation centre.

In the afternoon, a walking tour of Kampong Prasat offers a close up perspective on local lives and their riverside environment.

TONLE SAP RIVER - KAMPONG CHHNANG - KAMPONG TRALACH

In the cooler hours, we head into the lush countryside to visit traditional potters and palm-sugar producers, astride mountain bikes or chauffeured by shaded tuk-tuk. Into the rice paddies we pedal to watch wizened masters scale sky-piercing palms towering over us.

Cruise across the glassy water and disembark among the lotuses for an ox-cart ride along the Tonle Sap riverbanks, past lacquered wooden houses where during these dry months residents take refuge in the relative cool of these outdoor impromptu living rooms.

FLY TO SIEM REAP - ANGKOR WAT

Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport by private car for your flight to Siem Reap.

Fly from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.

On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel in Siem Reap.

In the afternoon you will be collected for an excursion to Angkor Wat.

Begin your exploration of the Angkorian temples by visiting Angkor Wat by ‘remork’ (similar to the Thai ‘tuk tuk’).

Built during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat was constructed following the model of the temple mountain symbolizing Mount Meru, the home of the gods.

Inside the temple, the walls are covered with stone carvings depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign.

Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple. Construction is thought to have taken around thirty years of intensive labor.

Today, Angkor Wat is featured on Cambodia's national flag as the temple symbolizes the soul of the Khmer people. You will be there just before sunset, when Angkor Wat is less visited and the Apsaras will shine in the most beautiful light.

This evening you will have a welcome dinner at the beautiful Mahob restaurant. “Mahob”, the Cambodian word for ‘food’, is a culinary hotspot that takes traditional Khmer cuisine to a new level.

Using only locally-produced ingredients, this beautiful restaurant serves up some of the best local delicacies that Siem Reap has to offer.

Located in a traditional Khmer wooden house in a peaceful cosy garden setting, and away from busy Pub Street area, Mahob provides you with a truly genuine Khmer experience.

SIEM REAP

Start your day with a tour to the temples of the Small Circuit.

The most famous among these is Ta Prohm temple, built in the mid 12th to early 13th centuries. Ta Prohm is unique in that it has been left largely as it was found: overgrown by jungle trees and vines, with many parts of the temple crumbling to the ground.

This makes Ta Prohm one of the most picturesque and memorable of the Angkor temples. Your visit will also include Banteay Kdei, a Buddhist monastery from the late 12th Century, and Srah Srang, also known as the “pool of ablutions”.

Return to Siem Reap for lunch at the Square 24 restaurant to sample some of the more modern Khmer fusion food set in a contemporary setting.

Later today, visit the ancient city of Angkor Thom by ‘remork’ (similar to the Thai ‘tuk tuk’). Angkor Thom was the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII.

This city is surrounded by an 8 m high wall, drawing a perfect square. Enter the city through the ancient South Gate, an impressive stone gate carved with Elephants and four giant faces. On each side of the entrance path a row of 54 gods or demons is holding the sacred Naga snake.

From here, continue to Bayon Temple in the exact center of the city. This 12th century masterpiece is a study in grandeur and is well-known for its 52 towers with enigmatic faces looking out towards the provinces of the vast and great Khmer Empire.

The nearby Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate relief carvings. Return to your hotel in the afternoon.

SIEM REAP

Enjoy the day at leisure in Siem Reap.

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 New Zealand.