Halong Bay & Five-Star Vietnam River Cruise

Fly from the UK, via Singapore, to the Vietnamese capital.

Meet your tour manager and transfer to elegant, romantic Hanoi, for an overnight stay. Enjoy an introductory walking tour of the Vietnamese capital, with its colonial architecture, labyrinthine old quarter, tranquil Hoan Kiem Lake and island Ngoc Son Temple. After the opportunity to rest and relax, enjoy your first taste of Vietnamese cuisine, dining in the hotel or nearby at your leisure.

After breakfast, board the coach to journey through a landscape of timeless paddies dotted with remote villages, to stunning, UNESCO-listed Halong Bay. The smiling crew of RV Angkor Pandaw, your luxurious, exclusively chartered floating home-from-home, will be waiting to welcome you aboard. Settle into your teak-lined cabin and, as you begin an evening cruise through the bay’s astonishing limestone scenery, enjoy a complimentary welcome cocktail before your first dinner is served. Later, retire to your cabin as the ship drops anchor in a sheltered bay.

Wake in dramatic Halong Bay, and cruise through its spectacular seascape, where countless limestone pillars and cone-shaped islands rise out of the water, as breakfast is served. A shore call brings the opportunity to head to the ancient village of Viet Hai aboard one of the ship’s bicycles or by motorised buggy. This jungle oasis draws visitors from across the globe to its pristine, verdant setting. Wander the village vegetable garden, and perhaps taste local produce, before returning to the ship to cruise further into beautiful Lan Ha Bay. Weather permitting, cocktails will be served on the beach (bring your swimwear) before dinner is served on board once again.

Another morning's cruise through beautiful Halong Bay gives you the chance to visit the spectacular Dark and Bright Cave, a vast chasm boasting giant stalactites and a bat colony, reached either by kayak or on a traditional fisherman’s leg-rowed basket boat. The rest of the day passes lazily by as you head into the Red River Delta to drop anchor near bustling Hai Phong. Enjoy a fruit-carving demonstration from the chef, who will also unveil the secrets of the famous Vietnamese spring roll, before another dinner is served.

Stretch out in the shade on a deck lounger, as your ship passes through the Kinh Thay River, North Vietnam’s key commercial waterway. Enjoy an entertaining on-board talk from your guide, and after lunch on board, join an afternoon excursion to the idyllic village of Thanh Ha. Here, as well as meeting the locals, you will be treated to a traditional water-puppet show. Return to the ship and enjoy dinner as she continues upstream.

Another relaxing day sees you sailing towards Hanoi, pausing en route to visit Bat Trang, an ancient pottery-making village. Here you will see craftsmen at work and be treated to the colourful sight of a lion and unicorn dance, an ages-old tradition dating back to the period when the Chinese controlled the region.

Today you'll arrive once more in teeming, fascinating Hanoi. Highlights here include visits to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, the former leader’s traditional house, the Imperial Citadel and the fascinating Temple of Literature where Confucius once sat, thinking. Take in the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison and enjoy a (less sombre) guided visit to a coffee shop to learn about Vietnam’s coffee industry. Your ship will moor overnight in the city, enabling you to dine aboard or ashore at your leisure.

Cruise inland into a pastoral landscape occasionally punctuated by bustling, commercialised towns. Step ashore to journey through paddy fields studded with startling limestone outcrops – a classic North Vietnamese scene unchanged in centuries – and visit two of Vietnam’s most important Buddhist pagodas, at Thay and Tay Phuong. Your memorable day of exploration will finish with a visit to a traditional carpenter’s workshop where some remarkable artefacts are exquisitely fashioned.

This evening, you’ll arrive in Viet Tri, gateway to the Vietnamese Highlands.

Another morning’s cruise sees you enter the Lo River, which flows south from China and through Vietnam's northern mountain ranges. Head to the busy ferry station at Tien Du for the short drive to traditional village Gia Thanh, where iconic, conical Vietnamese hats are fashioned by hand, from palm leaves and bamboo, to a 3,000-year-old design. Another drive brings you to the Hung Lo Temple at Viet Tri, where traditional stories are still passed from generation to generation through the medium of Xoan singing – yet another example of how daily life remains unchanged in rural Vietnam.

Enjoy a relaxing morning’s cruise through the verdant, mountainous landscape of Ba Vi National Park, with its tropical flora, before arriving in Hoa Binh, at the southern edge of the Highlands and the last port of call for Angkor Pandaw, this afternoon. Another fascinating included excursion brings you to ancient Duong Lam village, birthplace of two Vietnamese kings and where the houses still are fashioned from mud and clay. Back on board, you'll also have the chance to enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour that will include the galley and engine room.

Your last full day on board brings the opportunity to explore Hoa Binh, home to the Muong ethnic group and site of a fierce battle during the Indochina War of 1951-52. Take a morning boat ride to South East Asia’s largest hydroelectric dam and, this evening, round off your wonderful tour of this unspoilt part of Vietnam with a visit to a rural village to enjoy a traditional dance demonstration. A last dinner on board offers opportunities to reflect on the wonders of the past few days with fellow guests.

Disembark Angkor Pandaw after breakfast, bidding farewell to the crew and guides, and board the coach for a morning visit to another local village untouched by the modern world. After a stop for lunch, the final highlights of your tour will be visits to the 1,000-year-old Soc Son temple, with its hill-top pagoda and giant bronze Buddha, and to beautiful Thanh Chuong Palace to see its exquisite art collection.

A final drive through the Vietnamese landscape brings you back to Hanoi airport where you'll check in for your overnight flight home via Singapore.

Arrive back in the UK, early this morning, at the end of a wonderful Vietnamese adventure.