Jewels of Northern Vietnam and Cambodia

The Trip

Please join us on this historic and exceptionally beautiful trip to explore the natural wonders of northern Viet Nam and Cambodia. Their beauty alone is sufficient reason to visit both countries, but when combined with their compelling histories, enchanting cultures, and gracious people, a trip to Southeast Asia is transformed into the experience of a lifetime. 

Brilliant green rice paddies, isolated ethnic communities, towering mountains, colorful local markets, graceful pagodas, ancient temples, vivid and intricate folk art, mouthwatering cuisine -- these are just some of the enchanting images that come to mind when one thinks of northern Viet Nam and Cambodia. From the elegant Vietnam capital city, Ha Noi, to the limestone karst islands of Ha Long Bay and Ninh Binh province, to the monuments of Angkor Wat and the floating villages of Cambodia, we will sample the best of Southeast Asia’s vibrant and historical highlights.

With an abundance of natural beauty to see, a culture to experience, a history to uncover, and people to meet, it’s difficult to know where to start. We’ve conducted the research, hired extraordinary local guides, traveled throughout the countries and created an itinerary that will allow us to enjoy the best that northern Viet Nam and Cambodia have to offer.

This trip is planned for anyone who wants to experience the very best of Vietnam and Cambodia in a single trip. All of the physical activities are optional, so if you just want to sightsee, you are welcome to join us. We'll have two moderate day hikes in national parks (two to three hours each) and a bicycle ride around Siem Reap. We'll be on a large boat overnight in Ha Long Bay with comfortable accommodations and delicious food.

We will overnight in a rural village and be entertained with traditional Vietnamese music and dance, including (in Hanoi) the famous water puppet theater. It is our goal to honor the spirit of sustainable tourism by hiring local vendors; patronizing smaller, locally owned hotels; eating locally sourced food; and following good environmental practices.

Most of our meals will feature delicious local cuisine. Two of the meals will be on your own, in case you want to taste some of the other international cuisine available. We'll also have the opportunity to savor a meal prepared and served in a local person’s home.

Please note that we will make every effort to follow this itinerary. We may have to alter, change, or delete some activities due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather or other things beyond our control.

Day 1: Arrival day in Ha Noi. You will be met at the airport and transferred to our hotel in the Old Quarter of Ha Noi. When planning your flights, be aware that if you are flying west from the U.S., you'll lose a day as you cross the International Date Line. You should plan to arrive no later than mid-afternoon on day one. We'll gather for a late-afternoon orientation meeting at our hotel and then enjoy our delicious Vietnamese welcome dinner. Overnight in our Ha Noi hotel.

Day 2: Today we depart for the Ninh Binh province where we will sightsee in the ancient capital. We'll visit the Dinh & Le Kings Temples, hike up to Mua Cave for a gorgeous panoramic view of the area, and end the afternoon on a relaxing boat ride to Trang An to visit the Hollywood film location of King Kong, released in 2017. Overnight in hotel.

Day 3: After breakfast we go on an easy two-hour scenic walk to the Bich Dong Pagoda. Afterward we board our bus and travel to the Van Long Nature preserve to enjoy bird watching while being paddled on a boat. We will then transfer by bus to the Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam's first national park. In the evening we listen to a local naturalist describe how Vietnam is trying to protect its wildlife. Overnight in national park cabins.

Day 4: Before breakfast we have an optional bird walk. After breakfast we'll tour the Endangered Primate Rescue Center, which not only rescues injured primates, but provides an opportunity to see these rare and endangered mammals. After breakfast the bus will take us to our trailhead for our first hike to a thousand-year-old tree. A park guide/naturalist will describe the different plants/trees and explain the complex ecosystem. Depending on participants' interest, we can also hike to the Cave of Prehistoric Man, where remains dating back 7,500 years were found. After lunch, we'll bus over to the Muong village of Ban Khanh, where we'll stay with the villagers and experience Vietnamese rural village life, including a performance of traditional Vietnamese music and dance. Overnight in one of the villagers’ homes.

Day 5: After breakfast in the village we'll head for Ba Vi National Park. There we can hike in one of the highest mountain ranges of the country. In the late afternoon we have the opportunity to visit the vestiges of the former French colony and visit the Ho Chi Minh temple. We enjoy evening entertainment and overnight in the park.

Day 6: Culture and History Day. Today we will visit some of the finest museums in the country, including the Ethnology Museum. Here you will find a terrific collection of well-presented tribal art, artifacts and everyday objects gathered from across the nation. On the grounds are examples of traditional village houses -- a Tay stilt house, an impressive Bahnar communal structure, a Yao home, and a soaring, thatch-roofed Giarai tomb. We'll see the Ho Chi Minh Complex and the infamous Hanoi Hilton Prison. The Water Puppet Theater is famous for its musical stories that portray historical legends and folk tales. These ever-popular performances are given in a large pool of water by a troupe of talented actors and accompanied by a traditional Viet Namese pit orchestra. Wandering through the joyful chaos of Old Ha Noi is fascinating. Our lodging is just a block away from shops and markets where you can find silk in every shape and form, native handicrafts, fine art, and unusual foods. There will be time today for you to explore at your own pace. Overnight in hotel.

Day 7: After breakfast, we'll board our bus and travel through the vast Red River delta to Ha Long Bay, one of Vietnam's greatest natural wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Bay, part of the Gulf of Tonkin, is filled with limestone/karst islands and caverns, which we will explore this afternoon and tomorrow morning. We'll then board our large boat and navigate out into Ha Long Bay among thousands of islands. At one island, we’ll disembark and hike through an impressive, huge cave. Then, depending on weather/water conditions, we'll likely have an afternoon kayaking adventure (optional). We'll have lunch and dinner, and overnight aboard our boat.

Day 8: We awake onboard our boat on beautiful Ha Long Bay. After breakfast we will continue our tour, visiting one of the bay's large caves. We’ll enjoy lunch on the boat before disembarking to the mainland and bussing back to Hanoi for a dinner at our guide's home. Overnight at our hotel in Ha Noi.

Day 9: This morning we visit either the Temple of Literature & the Fine Art Museum or the Vietnamese Women Museum. After lunch at our hotel we say goodbye to Vietnam and head to the airport for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Dinner and overnight at our hotel in Siem Reap. Overnight in our hotel.

Day 10: Today we will be visiting the temple complex of Angkor Wat, our second UNESCO World Heritage site, and experience the tuk tuk rides between other popular temples. In the afternoon we will go on local food tour enjoying and tasting the delicious Cambodian cuisine. Overnight in our hotel.

Day 11: After breakfast we board our bus and drive to the Phnom Kulen National Park and waterfall. We’ll explore multiple, easily accessible temples on this sacred site, including the Thousand Lingas at Kbal Spean and Preah Ang Thom pagoda with its giant reclining Buddha. Our local guide will tell us about the linga cult; once we hike at the highest point of the area, we will know why the ancient Khmer King built it on top of the mountain. We will have lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon we will visit the Landmine Museum. Dinner on your own. Overnight in our hotel. 

Day 12: Today we bicycle for about seven miles through the countryside around Siem Reap, past the Angkor temples, and through villages and rice paddies -- stopping along the way to meet the locals. We will have lunch with a local family, then return to town for dinner and an Apsara Dance performance. Overnight in our hotel.

Day 13: This morning we travel to the Tonle Sap Lake. There we board a local boat and cruise past the floating village to observe their traditional way of life. We will have the opportunity to visit a local village and a sacred Buddhist Monastery before heading back to the hotel in Siem Reap for our farewell dinner. 

Day 14: With some sadness and many wonderful memories, our Sierra Club Vietnam-Cambodia adventure ends. Unless you choose to extend your stay in Cambodia/Siem Reap, you will be transported from our hotel to the airport for your return flight back home.

Getting There

Our trip officially begins with your arrival in Ha Noi on day one, where you will be greeted at the airport by our local guides and transferred to our hotel. In order to be met at the airport, it is necessary that you send your flight itineraries to the trip leader as soon as you have them.

You will need to get a Viet Nam visa in advance. Allow yourself plenty of time to get the visa and be sure your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the conclusion of our trip. You may apply for the visa no more than six months in advance of your departure date. Normally the embassy is quick and efficient with processing applications. If you submit your application three months in advance, it should be sufficient. If you plan to visit another country after entering Viet Nam and you plan on returning via Viet Nam, you’ll need a multiple-entry visa. Cambodia also requires a visa but it can be obtained online. 

You will receive at least three pre-trip newsletters prior to departure. These newsletters will contain detailed information about obtaining your visa, packing lists, health and medical information, and more.

If you would like to arrive earlier than the beginning of our trip, or extend your stay after our trip, our local guides can assist in making arrangements for you. If you need this additional travel planning assistance, the trip leader will put you in contact with the local guide company.

Please do not pay for any non-refundable travel arrangements, such as airfare, until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

We'll be staying in a variety of accommodations -- during most of our trip we'll be in cities with very nice and comfortable hotels, and in Ha Long Bay we'll have rooms on our boat. Our overnight stay in Vietnamese national parks will be in cozy, but more rustic, rooms/cabins. In the rural village of Ban Khanh we will likely be with local families in their simple homes, sleeping on the floor on padded mats with comforters and blankets.

Accommodations will be two people per room. Couples will room together and singles will be paired up according to gender and (as much as possible) age. Once on the trip, singles can change roommates if they'd like, and if it's agreeable to all those making changes. If there's an odd number of single participants of either/both genders, we'll rotate the single room so everyone gets a turn. If you want to request a single supplement for the whole trip, please let the trip leader know and we will see if this is possible and what the charge will be.

Trip Difficulty

This trip involves a lot of walking around towns, museums, and special sights that involve climbing up and down many stairs, so you should be prepared for this type of activity.  Our two moderate hikes in national parks last approximately two to three hours.

All of the special physical activities (swimming, biking, kayaking) are optional, so you can still join us even if you don’t want to participate in those activities. 

For the biking, we will use normal street bikes for a couple of hours on flat roads or paths. Kayaking in Ha Long Bay will be in double-seated kayaks as we follow our guides on a course through sheltered waters for about an hour and a half.

Because Vietnam and Cambodia are developing countries, medical care is not as available or convenient as in the United States, making medical emergencies potentially more hazardous than they might be at home. Please take care of any potential medical problems before leaving home and bring adequate amounts of all medications you might need. If you have any questions about the medical form included in your trip application packet, or about whether or not our trip will be appropriate for you, please contact the leader. Your safety and that of our group depends on your candid responses on the medical form.

Equipment and Clothing

The Northern Vietnam mountainous regions enjoy a temperate climate, while Cambodia is tropical, so you should bring a variety of clothing for different temperatures. The easiest/lightest way to do this is dress in layers. You'll want to have well broken-in footwear -- sturdy tennis shoes or light hiking boots. Our trip leader will provide you with a list of recommended clothing/equipment and welcomes questions about what to/not to bring.

References

Probably the best place to begin is one of the popular tour guide publishers: Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, etc. You can check your local library or bookstore, or online. Internet resources are so prolific that if you're comfortable with that format you can obtain lots of information and ideas there. If you find something interesting/helpful, please let the trip leader know so it can be shared with others. The leader will bring along some guidebooks and share pre-trip information with you to enhance the in-country experience. Here are a few other resources:

Movies:

• Indochine (1992)

Books:

• Soli, Tatjana, The Lotus Eaters.
• Ninh, Bao, The Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam.
• Ngor, Haing, Survival in the Killing Fields.
• Burgess, John, A Woman of Angkor.

Websites:

• Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) (an NGO specializing in increasing young people's awareness of environment concerns; mainly active in Ha Noi): http://www.envietnam.org
• Fauna and Flora International (FFI): http://www.fauna-flora.org
• Ecotourism map of Vietnam: http://www.fauna-flora.org/explore/vietnam
• Open Development Cambodia: https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/topics/pollution-and-waste/

Current events in English:

• http://english.vietnamnet.vn
• http://www.thanhniennews.com
• http://www.countryreports.org/country/Cambodia/news.htm
• https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/16/asia/cambodia-khmer-rouge-anniversary/index.html

Conservation

One of the benefits and unique aspects of Sierra Club Outings is our focus on the environment and conservation issues. Pre-trip literature will highlight some of the environmental challenges and accomplishments of Vietnam and Cambodia. The leader and our local tour guide will discuss environmental issues during the trip. If possible, a presentation by a Vietnamese environmental NGO will be included to provide their perspective on these important issues.

The International Climate Program mission supports global efforts to halt climate disruption while ensuring access to clean energy, family planning, and other climate solutions for all.

In addition, we'll reflect on the common dilemma in a developing country: the conflict between meeting basic human needs and the related damage to the environment. For example, protected rain forests inside national parks are being destroyed to create farmland.

Evacuation and Travel Insurance

The Sierra Club provides evacuation insurance to all participants on international trips. Since this coverage does not include any trip cancellation or interruption insurance, we suggest you purchase another policy separately to provide coverage for your trip and other travel costs. This policy also does not cover pre-trip and post-trip travel. Please note the evacuation insurance provided does not cover claims resulting from any pre-existing condition that occurs within 60 days of the trip departure. If you have specific questions about this exclusion, please review the insurance brochure. For information on purchasing a separate policy, please see our travel insurance page.