VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA, CULTURE AND BEACH BREAK

This itinerary is designed to ensure unique and unrepeatable days, so interesting and important destinations that will leave you open-mouthed, you will experience unique beauties and places.
The journey is made to dream and we want you to daydream, we will move in harmony and never force the stages, it is a smooth itinerary that will show you something unique and never seen every day. You will be the protagonists of your days, you will fall in love with these two countries so close but so different.

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ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Day 2: Visit the city and the Cu Chi tunnels
Day 3: Ho Chi Minh – Mekong Delta
Day 4: Today we go to the sea, from Saigon to Koh Rong in a short time
Day 5: Koh Rong Samloem
Day 6: Koh Rong Samloem
Day 7: Koh Rong Samloem
Day 8: Transfer Koh Rong Samloem – Sihanouk- Siem Reap
Day 9: Angkor Wat, the largest religious structure in the world
Day 10: Today you will visit others great temples
Day 11: Visit Battambang
Day 12: Flight to Bangkok

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN VIETNAM, HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON)

Afternoon to relax and then in the evening you can get on the Vespa for the coolest dining experience you can do in the city.

Arrival in Ho Chi Minh city, taxi to the hotel

SHUTTLE TO HOTEL

Afternoon of well-deserved rest in hotel or walking around the city.

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Culinary evening tour with the Vespa (optional but recommended)

6.30pm to 10.30pm

This night tour of Saigon is partly a night-time excursion.

partly an adventure of street food. You will then discover life

Saigon night as the locals live it, everything from the

back of a vintage Vespa scooter.

To start this night tour of Saigon, enjoy a drink in the

our Vespa themed café, the Zoom Café, to see “how the world is

pass “(as mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide)

A wide variety of food and drink at 2 local restaurants and samples of the

best authentic local food in Saigon.

You will also go to a Vietnamese style café with music from

I live, and then end the evening in an exciting music bar where the

new generation of Vietnamese relaxes and flaunts their styles

unique.

Guests will take a seat behind our drivers to enjoy and

experience Vietnamese nightlife with friends.

This tour includes free drinks and everything you can

eat, so come with your appetite!

*** Everything is included with nothing excluded, you can eat and drink as much

You want.

Have kids? No problem! We can change this

tour to be more suitable for children.

+ optional tour, this tour is not included: US $ 90.00 per person

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DAY 2: HOCHIMINH CITY TOUR AND CU CHI TUNNEL

It starts with the visit of the city in the morning and then the famous tunnels where the Vietcong gave the right welcome to the US soldiers, a visit very interesting and well exposed

-Independence Palace

Formerly known as the presidential palace. The place symbolizes the end of the Vietnam war when a cart armed with the army of North Vietnam crossed his doors

-Notre Dame Cathedral Saigon

Founded between 1863 and 1880 by French colonists, the Notre Cathedral

Dame of Saigon is one of the most famous monuments of Ho Chi Minh

City, thanks to its special architecture, its rich spirituality and to its oozing history.

General Post Office

The central post office in Ho Chi Minh is a residue

beautifully preserved in French colonial times and it is perhaps

the largest post office in all of Southeast Asia. Located

next to the Notre Dame Cathedral, the two cultural sites can

be visited together and offer visitors the chance to

imagine life in Vietnam during the times of the Empire

Indochina. The building was designed by Alfred Foulhoux e

It has arched windows and wooden shutters, just as it was in the

its maximum splendor at the end of the nineteenth century.

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IN THE AFTERNOON You will visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels located 70 km from the center of Ho Chi Minh, to the northwest, legendary place for its tunnel network, popular destination for both Vietnamese and foreign visitors.

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DAY 3: HO CHI MINH -DELTA OF MEKONG

You can not miss a visit to the Mekong Delta, a world apart, another way of life.

A day on their canals and to visit the nature of the place. You will visit a couple of quaint villages and then you will see commerce on these waters in this part of the world that is still moving along the flow of nature.

You will end with a bicycle ride an unforgettable visit.

Transportation with private minivan (driver + private english speaking guide)

08.00 to 19.00

A trip to the Mekong delta to immerse yourself in the natural beauties and in the rich culture of the vibrant region of the Southern Delta.

By boat along the river to experience local life, ports of fishing, houseboats, local folk music and fresh fruit of season.

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Leaving the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City you will start your own

journey in the direction of My Tho, the city is on the left side of the Mekong river.

Boarding on the sampan (typical Vietnamese boat) and sailing along the river around the four beautiful islands known as the islands Dragon, Unicorn, Phoenix and Tortoise.

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You will stop at Unicorn Island, you will go for a walk in the countryside and visit the orchards of the area, enjoy the tropical fruits, the popular music sung by local people.

– Fruit plantation visit.

You will take a sampan by hand (typical Vietnamese boat) through the Thoi Son canal and treat yourself to the luxury of the countryside, visit the family business, visit the bee farm, enjoy tea at

honey and the coconut candy workshop.

Lunch at Thoi Son

In the afternoon there will be time to cycle around the Tan Thach village, meet local villagers for

experience local daily life in the Mekong delta.

For those tired there will be a comfortable hammock for try how is Vietnamese relax around here 😉

Return to Ho Chi Minh City.

DAY 4: TODAY GOES TO THE BEACH, FROM SAIGON TO KOH RONG THE PASSAGE IS NOT DIFFICULT

From the city to the tropical paradise in a short time, you fly on Sihanoukville and you move with the motorboat and you get to

Koh Rong Samloem, your destination.

06.00 to 07.00

Shuttle to the airport

Flight Ho Chi Minh – Sihanoukville

08:30 to 09:45

Transfer to Sihanoukville

09.45 to 10.30

Two steps to Sihanoukville and then sea, desired sea …..

At the beach, time to eat something

15.00 to 15:45

Motorboat to Koh Rong Samloem

Accommodation in a resort on the island, upon your arrival you will be taken to your resort

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DAY 5 to DAY 7 : KOH RONG SAMLOEM

Relax and baths.

Leisure in Koh Rong….the beach front resort, the white beach, you are in Koh Rong Samloem, a very quiete island

Leisure in Koh Rong

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DAY 8: KOH RONG SAMLOEM – SIHANOUKVILLE – SIEM REAP

Flight to the North Cambodia to visit The Angkor Wat complex, today an evocative visit to the Tonle Sap Lake, the most extended Asia and the village on stilts.

Speedboat for Sihanoukville

Transfer to Sihanoukville airport

10:30 to 11:30

A private vehicle will take you to Sihanoukville airport

Sihanoukville-Siem Reap flight and hotel check-in

Transportation with private minivan (driver + Italian speaking guide)

Visit Tonle Sap Lake with a private english speaking guide

14:00 to 16:30

Once in Kampong Phluk, you will go through the extraordinary boat authentic village on stilts where you can observe local life and the ancient traditions of fish processing.

You will also go to see the “submerged forest”, a very area suggestive, a real forest flooded by a meter or more water .

Afterwards, always on the boat you will continue to sail until the canal

you will immerse yourself in the Tonle Sap Lake and you will find yourself on the open sea

, so much is the extension of this lake in fact, it will seem a sea, the Tonle Sap Lake is an efficient natural basin of compensation for the Mekong, the great river, as it is able to contain the huge increase in water due to rains monsoon and the imposing reach of the Mekong during the

season of melting glaciers in Tibet.

At this time of the year the basin extends from 3,000 to about 10,000 square kilometers, and the water level increases by 3 meters. This exceptional phenomenon means that as the water level decreases of the lake at the end of the rainy season, the land previously flooded they are now rich in silt and then extraordinarily fertile, thus giving huge benefits to local agriculture.

Then transfer to Beang Melea.

Visit the remote Beang Melea temple built by Suyavaraman II in the twelfth century probably as a technical test in preparation of the construction of the great temple of Angkor Wat.

The visit is one of a kind because the temple, largely in ruin, it is completely wrapped in vegetation and offers a unique experience and excellent photographic opportunities. Return to the city at

end of visits.

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DAY 9: ANGKOR WAT – THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS STRUCTURE IN THE WORLD

Polish your eyes and cameras because what you will see has no equal in the world, our tour guide will unveil her secrets, Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex of the world, and it is above all incredibly sculpted and full of details and details that do not seem possible:

Angkor Wat, Angkot Thom and Ta Prohm Temple will be the three “sacred pearls” you will know today.

Angkor, in the northern province of Siem Reap, Cambodia, is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. Yes it covers about 400 square kilometers and consists of tens of temples, hydraulic structures (basins, dams, canals, canals) and communication.

For several centuries Angkor was the center of the kingdom of gods Khmer. With impressive monuments, different urban plans ancient and large reservoirs, the site is a unique concentration of characteristics that testify to an exceptional civilization.

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Temples such as Angkor Wat, Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm, specimens of Khmer architecture, are closely related to their context geographic and are imbued with symbolic meaning.

The architecture and layout of the later capitals testify to a high level of social order and classification within the Khmer Empire.

Angkor is therefore an important site that exemplifies cultural values, religious and symbolic, as well as containing a high architectural value, archaeological and artistic.

Bayon is known for its huge bodhisattva stone faces Avalokiteshvara, with one facing outwards and observing each cardinal point. The curious smiling image, thought by many as a portrait of Jayavarman himself, he has been nicknamed by some the “Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia”.

There are more than 50 small towers that surround Bayon, each with four sides of its own.

The Bayon Temple is located in the center of the ancient Angkor Thom capital of Angkor and is surrounded by two long walls that they host an extraordinary collection of bas-relief scenes of

legendary and historical events. In total, there are more than 11,000 in total figures carved on 1.2 km of wall.

They were probably originally painted and gilded, but this has long since vanished.

Ta Prohm Temple

14:00 to 16:00

One of the most famous temples in Angkor, the Ta Prohm is known for huge trees and roots that grow out of its walls. This temple has become more famous than others in our time thanks too

to the adventure film “The tomb raider”; many scenes have been shot  right in Ta Prohm.

The temple was intentionally left in the same way when Henri Marchal, curator and conservator of EFEO had carried out some basic cleaning work in the 1920s. Only the most jobs necessary have been performed to prevent further deterioration and collapse.

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The attractive setting in the jungle and the original state of the temple have made it one of the most visited temples in Angkor.

Lately, things have changed at Ta Prohm. We try to

protect the temple from the growing roots that damage the

structure and danger of falling trees that would destroy

the monument, many trees were removed and were made

major restoration work.

DAY 10: OTHER BEAUTIES

Today you will visit less “conventional” and less visited temples than those on the first day, but certainly not less interesting, in fact each temple has unique characteristics: Banteay Srei is built in

pink sandstone giving it a different appearance from the others, the Preah Khan Temple is one of the biggest, the Neak Pean is erected on an artificial island and the Phnom Bakheng is a temple dedicated to Shiva from which you can admire Angkor Wat complex.

Banteay Srei Temple, “The Temple of Women”, “the little temple”, “the pink temple”; the

Banteay Srei has many nicknames, an indication of the particularity of this little gem, which feels so different from the imposing grandeur of the main Angkorian complex.

Originally called Tribhuvanamahesvara, the name Banteay Srei is a modern name, which means “citadel of women” or “citadel of beauty”.

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Carved arch – Banteay Srey – Lady Temple

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People assume this is due to its miniature scale, at pink limestone and the elaborate decorative sculptures of many devata (minor female deities) that decorate the walls.

This temple has a characteristic that distinguishes it from all other temples: decorations.

They are so beautiful and accurate that they leave without words.

Banteay Srei is just over 20 km from the main complex

Angkor is just over 30 km from the center of Siem Reap. It’s a nice ride through villages and rice fields and takes about 30 minutes from temples of Angkor. On the way to the temple you will pass in front of the

superb Museum of Landmine; an information center and an NGO specializing in rescue activities for mine victims anti-man who deserves a brief visit.

The ideal time to visit Banteay Srei is early in the morning or the late afternoon. The site is very sunny and there is little shade, so be sure to go there immediately in the morning.

-The Preah Khan temple complex, on the other hand, is located at the end

northern of the archaeological park of Angkor, it is one of the buildings

most significant erected during the ancient Khmer empire.

Dedicated by the great king Jayavarman VII to his father in 1191, Preah Khan serves today as an outstanding example of a great one complex of linear temples in a dense setting in the

jungle.

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Rectangular and occupying “only” half a kilometer square, the boundaries of Preah Khan are defined by a most protective and fortified walls adorned by divine beings in stone carved in the shape of an eagle. The temple complex includes entrances, towers, ceremonial spaces, courtyards, shrines and a variety of connection bulls.

Other special features of Preah Khan include his own two-storey pavilion, the bronze-plated sancta sanctorum and the his Sala delle Ballerine.

-Neak Pean, “the interwoven snakes” is a small temple located on an island in the middle of Jayayataka Baray, now dry, a reservoir of water 3,500 meters long and 900 meters wide.

Initially dedicated to the Buddha, the temple was rededicated to Lokeshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion.

Much of the temple area is flooded during the season rains. A wooden walkway over the waters leads to the sanctuary central, which is fenced to protect it from further decay.

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DAY 11: VISIT BATTAMBANG, a province full of surprises

Unmissable excursion to Battambang, a province not far from Siem reap that preserves beauties, history and high quality settings. Bamboo train, Banan Temple, Killing Cave and millions of bats are characteristics unique here in the province of Battambang. Now Cambodia will have entered your heart.

Private transport with professional driver

Bamboo Train – Battambang

10:00 – 12:00

Memorable day, the word of those who are excited …

Early in the morning, breakfast and then departure for Battambang, one province a couple of hours drive from Siem Reap where we will see different things from the usual and very interesting:

the first stop will be for the Bamboo Train, a fun and picturesque ride on abandoned rails with unlikely trains used by the locals also as a tourist attraction.

You will come to a very colorful market and where they will try to sell you something but with a lot of respect.

Prasat Banan

12:30 – 14:00

Wat Prasat Banan (pronounced, Banon) sits atop one hill, the setting is suggestive, the temples are very

unsafe but kept stubbornly together with steel shirts and tips created with art. The arrangement of the five towers of the Prasat

Banan remember the arrangement of Angkor Wat … even the local people are convinced that it is the Angkor Wat that has been inspired.

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This beautiful PRASAT (meaning Temple or Monument) was built in the eleventh century by King Udayadityavarman II (son of the famous Suryavarman I); the location and serenity of this place,

besides the beautiful views of the surrounding countryside they do forget the fatigue of the 358 steps made to reach it.

Of particular interest are the architraves carved on the portals of each tower, as well as beautiful bas-reliefs. The most sculptures important have been transferred to the Battambang Museum.

Phnom Sampov

2.45pm – 5.00pm

Phnom Sampov, a sacred and very interesting place, you will see Sampeau Hill, the sad place where Kmer killed people common and opponents by literally throwing it down on the rocks (the killing cave), you will see a shrine with many skulls in this temple in the excavated rock.

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Above, on the surface, there are simple and also awkward statues that show the violence of that terrible historical moment so nefarious. Below the plain extends, paddies as far as the eye can see.

Not far away we find another temple in the rock … the entrance of the descent of the staircase forms an image of the Buddha, very curious.

Bat Caves – Battambang

17:45 -18: 45

It is time to try an experience that you will hardly do again, at sunset you will find yourself in front of an opening of the rock, the cave of the bats, from which you will see about 2 million bats coming out in less than 30 minutes to go their dinner, a river uninterrupted bats that are so useful for the area and for the health of the inhabitants.

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The massive presence of bats in this area makes use unnecessary

pesticide for rice that is guarded here by bats that in

natural way they defend the crop from the hordes of other insects

harmful. The bat here is protected and a source of tourism

sustenance for local populations.

After these beautiful experiences you can go to your hotel for a

deserved rest and we are sure that at this point Cambodia there

it will have entered the heart.

You stay at the remarkable RaVorn Villa Boutique

19:00 check-in, 1 night, Dinner included at RaVorn Villa Boutique

You will be tired and a dinner at the hotel is what it takes, not

you would find a lot in Battambang in the evening

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DAY 12: FLIGHT to BANGKOK

Transfer to Siem Reap airport for flight on Bangkok, international hub for your return flight in

Italy or for other destinations.

Transfer to Siem Reap airport, 11:00 to 14:30

FLIGHT SIEM REAP – BANGKOK

16:00 to 17:15

END OF TOUR