Highlights of Indochina

Begin in style with premium-lounge access before your overnight flight.

With its myriad of gilded temples and serene riverside setting, Luang Prabang is an idyllic start. Staying in the French-colonial buildings that formed the old governor’s residence, you’ll be welcomed with a traditional Baci ceremony and introduced to the region’s fragrant flavours on an included dinner and lunch.

In between, you’ll explore its golden, hilltop temples, tour bright-green rice paddies and visit the Kuang Si Falls where perfectly turquoise waters tumble in dramatic tiers and a sanctuary hosts Asiatic black bears. 

On your last day in Luang Prabang, you’ll wake at dawn to witness the city’s famous Tak Bat ritual, where hundreds of saffron-robed monks move silently through the streets to collect alms. Then, after a market visit, cruise along the Mekong passing riverside villages, local fishermen and mountains thick with forests to reach Pak Ou – a collection of waterside caves filled with Buddhas.

On your return, you’ll gain an insight into rural Laotian life with a visit to a weaving village before capping your stay with a sunset cocktail on the Mekong’s banks.

Your first flight hop will bring you east to the Vietnamese capital. You’ll stay in its historic French Quarter, the luxury of your neoclassic hotel exemplifying the best of the city’s colonial architecture. Discover the foundations of modern Vietnam with a visit to Ho Chi Minh’s stilted house, his mausoleum and the ornate Presidential Palace before an indulgent local lunch and trip to the garden-lined Temple of Literature, a Confucianist temple once Vietnam’s first university.

You’ll then experience a different side to the city’s past in the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ – a prison, now museum, which housed downed American pilots. It’s an eerie contrast to the city centre’s tranquil lakes and the fading colonial charm of the Old Quarter’s vibrant, twisting alleyways, explored on a cyclo ride. 

Drive out to Halong Bay – Vietnam’s greatest natural wonder where cerulean waters are peppered with forested limestone islands. Boarding your boutique ship, Paradise Elegance, you’ll be treated to a welcome drink before setting off. Each cabin comes with its own private balcony, so you can admire the ever-changing scenery from the comfort of your accommodation. You’ll cruise between floating villages and secluded bays, sailing in and out of hidden caves on skiffs and bamboo boats. In the evening, enjoy canapés and cocktails on the sundeck or in the piano lounge before a delicious dinner at Le Marin restaurant. 

Stay: Paradise Elegance

Begin your day with a Tai Chi session on the sundeck before making a stop at Sung Sot cave, the largest and most spectacular cave in Halong Bay. Breakfast will be served before returning to the marina. Then, flying via Hanoi and Danang, your next private transfer will bring you to Hoi An, an ancient port town where Chinese temples, Japanese merchant houses and a beautiful riverside position evidence a rich trading history. Its diverse influences are perhaps best experienced with its cuisine, which you’ll sample on an included lunch and cooking course.

A walking tour will then bring you through its narrow streets, discovering centuries-old residences, covered bridges and historic craft workshops. You’ll even try your hand at making the traditional paper lanterns that cast a multi-coloured glow throughout the town.

Fly south to Vietnam’s largest city to discover old Saigon in its beautiful French-colonial architecture – your hotel is a luxurious example. You’ll then experience its more recent past in the imposing former US embassy, the chilling War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace whose control-centre basement and grand, Art Deco rooms tell a country-defining history. On your second day here, turn out into the city’s rural surrounds.

Fed by the Mekong’s delta, lush rice paddies and fertile fruit farms characterise your wooden boat rides and cycle trips down narrow village lanes. Taste your way through orchards, stop at cottage industries, enjoy a home-hosted lunch and be paddled down tropical canals in a traditional sampan boat.

Take a speedboat to dip down into the jungle-cloaked Cu Chi Tunnels – a mazing network that extends across three levels and 250km. It’s a chance to step back in time to the Vietnam War’s bloody Tet Offensive. Your next flight will bring you to the Cambodian capital – Phnom Penh – where a pair of dinners and the Art Deco elegance of your hotel will introduce you to the city’s contrasting influences.

The next day, take in the skyward curves of its golden Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda on a private tour. You'll also visit the superb National Museum before turning to the country’s more chequered past. Pol Pot’s murderous regime is brought to life as you visit the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng – a high school turned executioner’s prison.

Your last flight hop will bring you to Siem Reap and your luxurious accommodation, the contemporary Park Hyatt – sited at the town’s most prestigious address. It’s also the gateway to the Cambodia’s Angkor Wat world wonder. Hidden among the country’s northern jungles, it’s a complex of giant temple colossi that form the remnants of a forgotten civilisation.

You’ll start with a tour of its eponymous centre, with your guide leading you down twisting corridors and hidden chambers lined with bas-reliefs to reach a spectacular sunset viewpoint. You’ll return the next day for a sunrise breakfast with a view before taking in outlying temples, some overrun with tree roots, others watched over by giant, smiling faces and all enveloped in thick, misty forests.

Transfer to the airport for your overnight flight home.