Jayavarman

Pearl of the Orient Upstream Cruise - Saigon to Phnom Penh (4 Days)

The Jayavarman is a boutique hotel-style river cruise ship - the first of its kind in Indochina. Designed with both French colonial and Indochina influences, she has 27 spacious staterooms and suites furnished to a high standard of luxury, as well as a generous 800 square metres of public space, making her one of the most comfortable boats for cruising along the waterways of the Mekong Delta.

Info

Embark

Meet at 12 noon at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, Atrium Lounge at 5th Floor, 8 – 15 Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, for a transfer to the ship which will be docked at My Tho. The coach departs from the hotel at 1pm.

Day 1: Saigon to Cai Be

You join the Jayavarman in the busy port of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and enjoy a welcome cocktail reception in the Funnel Bar. The cruise takes you along the waterways of the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO listed site. Dinner is served on the Sun Deck. The ship moors near Cai Be for the night.

Day 2: Cai Be to Chau Doc

The day’s tour begins with a visit to the bustling and colourful floating market at Cai Be on a local sampan. During the ride you will witness breathtaking landscapes and rustic life on the river. The cruise will stop so that you can observe how coconut cookies, rice pasta and rice cookies are made. On the way back to the Jayavarman you will stop at an ancient house, surrounded by fruit orchards. In the afternoon, cruise to Sa Dec and take a sampan tour to Binh Thanh Island and its man-made canals. Here you can observe the villagers at work, growing and processing water hyacinths into natural fibre mats and baskets. In the evening, the Jayavarman sets off for Chau Doc and will moor mid-stream overnight.

Day 3: Chau Doc to the Border with Cambodia

If you are an early riser then try Thai Chi exercises on the Sun Deck. After breakfast there is a boat excursion to floating villages and catfish farms and a shore excursion to the village of the local Muslim Cham community. Take time to explore Chau Doc, a fascinating town with French colonial buildings and a market full of tropical fruits where you can also see colourful textiles being woven on traditional wooden looms. In the afternoon, the ship makes its way to the border with Cambodia on the way to Phnom Penh. Border formalities can take some time and the ship moors for the night at the border crossing.

Day 4: Phnom Penh

You reach Phnom Penh in the early morning. It is worth being up early to see the approach to the river promenade. After breakfast on board you disembark and the rest of the day is yours to explore the city known as the Pearl of the East. Don't miss the dazzling white and gold architecture of the Royal Palace, the displays of Khmer crafts at the National Museum and Wat Phnom, a hill-top temple.

Disembark

Disembark in Phnom Penh at 9am.

Includes

3 Nights' accommodation on the Jayavarman
Transfer between the ship and the city centre in Saigon
Full board
Mineral water, coffee and tea available all day
Sightseeing as detailed in the itinerary
Phnom Penh port taxes (shown separately on the website and charged when you make your booking)