Discover Vietnam – Cambodia – Thailand in 22 Days

Angkor Wat at sunset, a quiet boat through the Mekong Delta, royal tombs in Hue, and two lazy beach days in Phuket: this trip packs three very different countries into one long sweep. You move from Vietnam’s food and city energy to Cambodia’s temples and difficult modern past, then finish in Thailand with time to slow down.

I like the small maximum group of 15, which should make airport pickups, guided visits, and long road transfers easier to manage. I also like the strong support system, with private transfers, a 24/7 hotline, and staff such as Thang, Jennifer, and Linh singled out for careful planning and personal help.

The catch is the pace. You cover a lot of ground in 22 days, with flights, buses, early starts, and several long touring days. If you want a slow, local holiday, this is too busy. If you want a broad first look at mainland Southeast Asia, it offers a lot for the price.

Key points to know before booking

• Halong Bay includes an overnight cruise: You get karst islands, a cave visit, sunrise, breakfast, and a Tai Chi class on the sun deck.
• Hue gets a full cultural day: The Imperial City, Thien Mu Pagoda, Dong Ba Market, and two royal tombs give you a strong introduction to Vietnam’s former imperial capital.
• Hoi An has both structure and breathing room: A market tour is followed by a full free day to explore on your own.
• The Mekong stay is more personal: You spend a night at Mekong Home in Ben Tre, with cycling and village scenery among coconut palms.
• Cambodia’s past is treated seriously: Phnom Penh includes Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek before the temples of Siem Reap.
• The package covers major transport: Flights within Southeast Asia, the Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh bus, sightseeing tickets, 21 breakfasts, eight lunches, and two dinners are included.

Hanoi arrival and a countryside welcome

Your trip begins at Noi Bai International Airport, where a private driver meets you with a sign bearing your name. That first transfer matters after a long international flight. You go directly to your accommodation in the center of Hanoi rather than trying to find a taxi or work out local transport while tired.

Day two leaves the main city behind for Ba Vi, about a 1.5-hour drive from Hanoi. The focus is village life and a visit with Mr. Duo. This is a useful early change of pace. Hanoi can feel fast and noisy, while Ba Vi gives you a look at the countryside and everyday life beyond the city center.

The seven-hour outing is not just a quick photo stop. You should expect a full day away from Hanoi, with road time included. Wear shoes that can handle uneven ground, and do not treat the word countryside as a promise of a completely quiet day. Roads and village visits still require time in the vehicle.

Halong Bay on an overnight boat

On day three, you leave Hanoi for Halong Bay by air-conditioned bus. The route crosses the Red River Delta, with rice paddies stretching along the way. Once at the pier, you board the cruise and eat lunch while the limestone formations come into view.

The boat is the centerpiece here. You have time on the sundeck, views of karst rocks and grottoes, a seafood lunch, and an overnight stay on the water. The next morning begins early with sunrise, breakfast, and Tai Chi on deck before a cave visit.

This is one of the trip’s most scenic sections, but it is also weather-sensitive. The tour requires good weather, and poor conditions can lead to a different date or a full refund. You should also expect a compact schedule on the boat, with the included activities organized around the cruise departure and return times.

After the cave visit, you return to Hanoi for another overnight. That back-and-forth makes sense because the next major excursion also leaves from Hanoi, but it means you are not simply continuing onward each day.

Hoa Lu and Tam Coc in one long day

Day five heads south to Hoa Lu, roughly 2.5 hours from Hanoi. The old capital’s temples dedicated to the Le and Dinh dynasties provide a first look at Vietnam’s early political past.

After lunch, you take a boat through Tam Coc. Limestone formations rise around the water, and the route passes through caves carved into the rock. An hour of cycling on quiet roads adds movement after the boat ride.

I like this pairing because it combines monuments, rural scenery, and a slow boat trip in one day. The drawback is the long return drive to Hanoi, with arrival around 6 p.m. You will want an early night, since the following day includes a hotel checkout, airport transfer, and flight to Hue.

Hue’s emperors, pagodas, and market food

The flight from Hanoi to Hue includes 20 kilograms of checked luggage per person. On arrival, you check into your Hue accommodation and have time before the major sightseeing day.

Day seven is one of the tour’s fullest cultural days. You begin with a dragon boat ride along the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, one of Hue’s best-known religious sites. Then you enter the Imperial City, the former home of Vietnam’s Nguyen dynasty. Halls, gardens, and antiques help put the royal period into context.

The day continues at Dong Ba Market, where you can see food, household goods, and local buying and selling. This is a good place to pay attention to what people actually eat and use, rather than viewing Hue only through royal monuments.

In the afternoon, you visit Khai Dinh’s tomb, known for its mix of Western and Vietnamese design, then Minh Mang’s tomb, praised in the program for its setting and balanced architecture. A complimentary herbal foot bath offers some relief after the walking and sightseeing.

There is a lot here: five major stops and about eight hours of activity. If you prefer to study each site slowly, the schedule may feel rushed. If you want a strong overview of Hue in one day, it makes good use of your time.

Hoi An, market tastes, and free time

A private car takes you from Hue to Hoi An on day eight. The drive is about three hours, followed by hotel check-in. This transfer gives you a change from Vietnam’s imperial center to a smaller old town known for Japanese merchant houses, pagodas, temples, and old warehouses.

The next morning begins at Hoi An’s central market. You arrive by boat with an English-speaking guide and look at noodles, fish, spices, herbs, rice, and grains. The market visit is especially useful if you like food, because it explains ingredients before you encounter them in meals.

Day ten is completely free. That is an important pause in a tightly arranged journey. You can walk through the old town, visit the buildings that interest you, sit in a café, or simply rest. I would use this day to avoid scheduling another major excursion. The trip already gives you plenty of guided sightseeing, and Hoi An is a place where wandering without a checklist has real value.

The Mekong Delta, with a night in Ben Tre

A flight from Da Nang, serving the Hoi An area, takes you to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight includes 20 kilograms of checked luggage per person, and a transfer takes you to your hotel.

The next morning you travel to Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta. The stay at Mekong Home is different from a standard city hotel: it is a family house with bungalows in a tropical garden beside the river. This is one of the more personal parts of the trip and gives you a better sense of life outside the major urban centers.

The following day includes a two to 2.5-hour cycling trip to Oc Island on a concrete track lined with fruit and coconut trees. You pass a local market and see ingredients used in the area. The cycling route is not described as difficult, but you should be comfortable riding for several hours in warm conditions.

You return to Ho Chi Minh City around the following afternoon. The two-night delta section breaks up the city sightseeing and adds a rural stay, though the transfers mean you spend a fair amount of time on the road.

Ho Chi Minh City and the Cu Chi Tunnels

The program gives you arrival time in Ho Chi Minh City and then a full day for the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnel system stretches for more than 220 kilometers and played a major role during the Vietnam War.

The drive to Cu Chi takes about 1.5 hours each way, with roughly six hours allocated to the excursion. This is not a light historical attraction. The tunnels require attention to the realities of underground warfare and the people who lived and fought there. Anyone who dislikes confined spaces should keep that in mind.

The site is most valuable when you focus on how the tunnel network functioned and what it reveals about the war, rather than treating it as a simple adventure stop. Admission is included, as are the major sightseeing tickets throughout the trip.

Crossing into Cambodia by bus

Day fifteen takes you from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh by bus, a journey of about six hours. It is a long border-crossing day, so keep essential items, water, and documents easy to reach. An e-visa is not included, and visa requirements are your responsibility. The operator can provide a visa invitation letter for obtaining a visa on arrival, but you must confirm current requirements before departure.

In Phnom Penh, the Royal Palace introduces Cambodia’s royal traditions. The nearby Silver Pagoda is home to notable cultural treasures, including a 90-kilogram gold Buddha decorated with 2,086 diamonds. Wat Phnom, built in 1373 on an artificial hill, finishes the afternoon.

This first Phnom Penh day mixes royal ceremony, religious art, and the city’s older foundations. After the bus ride, the schedule is fairly full, but the stops are close enough to make the afternoon useful.

Cambodia’s difficult history in Phnom Penh

The next day shifts tone. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, once a school used as the S-21 prison, documents the Khmer Rouge period. Choeung Ek, commonly called the Killing Fields, records the murder of men, women, children, and infants between 1975 and 1978.

You should not plan this day as casual sightseeing. Give yourself time to absorb what you see, and expect emotionally difficult material. The sites are essential for understanding modern Cambodia, but they can be hard for children or anyone who prefers a lighter trip.

The afternoon at the Russian Market provides a different setting, with clothing, woodcarvings, Buddha images, silk, silver jewelry, and other goods. You can browse for souvenirs, though shopping is secondary to the morning’s historical visits.

Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor

A six-hour bus ride brings you to Siem Reap on day seventeen. In the afternoon, Wat Thmey includes a glass-walled stupa containing bones of Khmer Rouge victims. This continues the modern-history thread before the trip turns to Cambodia’s ancient temples.

The next day is dedicated to Angkor. You visit Angkor Thom’s South Gate and Bayon, with its carved face towers, then Ta Prohm, where jungle growth covers parts of the temple. Ta Prohm is familiar from the film Tomb Raider, but its appeal goes beyond the movie connection. The combination of stone and trees gives the site a different feel from the more formal Angkor monuments.

Angkor Wat follows, covering about 200 hectares and surrounded by a moat and exterior wall. The visit is scheduled toward early evening, giving you a chance to see the temple in softer light. Two hours at Angkor Wat is enough for a clear first visit, though not enough to examine every corner.

This is another demanding sightseeing day. Bring water, protect yourself from the sun, and expect substantial walking. The reward is one of the world’s great architectural sites, presented alongside Bayon and Ta Prohm rather than as an isolated stop.

Phuket’s two free days

On day nineteen, you fly from Siem Reap to Phuket, with 20 kilograms of checked luggage included. A private driver meets you at Phuket International Airport and takes you to your hotel.

Days twenty and twenty-one are free. The suggested Kata Beach has soft sand, palm shade, water sports, and a relaxed setting. No organized beach excursion is included, which is actually useful after three weeks of scheduled touring. You can choose a quiet beach day, explore local markets, or rest at your own pace.

Two free days give the trip a proper finish instead of sending you straight from the temples to an airport. Still, Phuket is more of a beach conclusion than a carefully guided introduction to Thailand. If Thailand is your main goal, you may want extra time beyond this package.

On day twenty-two, you check out, can visit local markets for souvenirs, and transfer to Phuket International Airport. Plan your international departure around that transfer, since the tour ends at the airport rather than returning you to a hotel.

What the $2,481 price really covers

At $2,481 per person, the value depends on how much independent planning you want to avoid. The price includes three internal flights, the Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh bus, airport and hotel transfers, guided sightseeing, admission tickets, breakfasts every day, eight lunches, two dinners, and transport for excursions.

That is a substantial bundle across three countries. The included flights are especially useful because they save long overland journeys between Hanoi and Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, and Siem Reap and Phuket.

You still pay for international flights, insurance, drinks, tips, personal expenses, e-visa costs, and some holiday surcharges. Early check-in and late checkout are not included unless specifically arranged. Compulsory gala dinners may also apply on certain Christmas, New Year, and Tet dates.

The tour is non-refundable and cannot be changed after cancellation. That makes travel insurance particularly important, since insurance is not part of the price.

Who will enjoy this trip most

I would choose this for a first major visit to mainland Southeast Asia, especially if you want the key sights without arranging every transfer yourself. It suits people who like a clear daily plan, cultural sites, organized transport, and a mix of cities, villages, temples, and beaches.

The maximum group size is 15, and the package includes private car pickups and drop-offs. That should feel more manageable than a large coach tour, while still giving you the structure of a group journey.

The trip may not suit you if you want long stays in each place, independent hotel selection, or a relaxed beach holiday. You should also be ready for early starts, long road journeys, frequent hotel changes, and serious historical sites.

Support is one of the strongest practical features. Thang is praised for being available and helpful throughout a trip, while Jennifer and Linh are noted for careful organization and personal communication. If you book, keep those names handy when discussing arrangements with the operator.

Should you book it?

Book this 22-day trip if you want a broad, well-supported introduction to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, and you are comfortable with a brisk pace. The combination of Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An, the Mekong Delta, Phnom Penh, Angkor, and Phuket is hard to match in one organized package at this price.

I would think twice if your ideal holiday means settling into one place for a week or avoiding difficult history. Before paying, confirm visa rules, hotel category, holiday surcharges, flight times, and the exact cancellation terms. For an active first trip with strong logistical support, it is a practical and unusually full choice.

FAQ

Where does the tour begin?

The tour begins at Noi Bai International Airport in Phu Minh, Soc Son, Hanoi, Vietnam.

Where does the tour end?

The tour ends with a transfer to Phuket International Airport in Thailand for your flight home.

How long is the experience?

The tour lasts approximately 22 days.

What is the maximum group size?

The maximum group size is 15 people.

Are internal flights included?

Yes. The package includes flights from Hanoi to Hue, from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, and from Siem Reap to Phuket. Each listed flight includes 20 kilograms of checked luggage per person.

Is the bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh included?

Yes. The air-conditioned bus transfer from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh is included.

Are meals included?

The package includes 21 breakfasts, eight lunches, and two dinners. Drinks and personal expenses are not included.

Do I need a visa?

You must confirm and obtain all visa requirements before crossing borders. E-visa costs are not included, and the operator can provide a visa invitation letter for obtaining a visa on arrival.

Is travel insurance included?

No. Travel insurance is not included in the tour price.