Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand

16 Days

Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand

KEN BURNS AMERICAN JOURNEYS

TIME OF YEAR – Jan – Mar, Sep – Dec

Discover golden Buddhas, ancient kingdoms, inspiring temples and lush landscapes, and experience the unique cultures and traditions of this fascinating area of the world for yourself… from a water puppet performance to ornate pagodas and soaring temple spires to gilded palaces and bamboo stilt houses. Explore Chiang Mai and cruise on the klongs of Bangkok. Discover poignant reminders of war in Vietnam like the Cu Chi Tunnels and notorious Hoa Lo Prison, and see the legacy of peace as you visit a kindergarten in Da Nang. Experience the grandeur and archaeological significance of UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Angkor, Hoi An and Hué, and stay at the finest city hotels and word-class resorts.

Only With Tauck

TAUCK EXCLUSIVE – Stories by Ken Burns” are filmed narratives featuring insights by award-winning filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein based their upcoming PBS documentary series The Vietnam War.

Tour prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All hotel accommodations, entertainment, special dinners, motor coach transportation, sightseeing, porterage, admissions, the services of the Tauck Director, local guides and drivers are included. A representative of Tauck will meet you at Hanoi (Noi Bai) International Airport and provide transportation to Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, regardless of the time you check in to the hotel, provided you have furnished us with accurate flight arrival information at least three weeks prior to the start of your tour. Transportation is also provided from Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, to Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi Airport when you check out of the hotel. Transfers to and from airports may be shared with other Tauck guests.

Rates and schedules are not guaranteed until booked and will vary based on departure date.

Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi. Welcome to Hanoi! A transfer is included from Noi Bai International Airport to the landmark Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi, your home for the next two nights, close to the historic Old Quarter and other notable attractions in Vietnam’s capital city. Meet your Tauck Director and your fellow adventurers at our welcome cocktail reception and dinner at Le Beaulieu this evening.

Meals – Dinner

Begin your Vietnam tour with a day including a memorable buggy ride through the back streets of Old Hanoi; a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum; the colonial Presidential Palace that Ho Chi Minh refused to live in, along with his “house on stilts”; the famous One-Pillar Pagoda, constructed in 1049 to resemble a lotus blossom; and a visit to the infamous Hoa Lo Prison, known as the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. Sample Vietnamese specialties for lunch, then spend the afternoon as you wish. An art form that is unique to Vietnam and popular since the 18th century entertains you this evening during an enchanting water puppet performance. Please note: the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex is closed each year for annual renovations from September to December; Ho Chi Minh’s stilt house and the One-Pillar Pagoda are still open for viewing.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch

No Vietnam travel experience would be complete without a visit to Hué, Vietnam’s most beautiful city, and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you’ll arrive this morning following a flight to Da Nang. Upon arrival, visit the tomb of 19th-century emperor Tu Duc. After lunch, ride your private, pedal-powered cyclo to explore Hué’s Citadel – which housed the Imperial City for the emperor’s official functions, and the Forbidden Purple City for his personal time – then settle in to your riverfront accommodations along the Perfume River.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This morning, explore Hué’s tranquil setting as you admire Thien Mu (“Heavenly Lady”) Pagoda, a seven-story octagonal tower built in 1844, and cruise along the Perfume River; view the boats that continue to serve as complete family homes for many residents of Hué. Then take in the scenery along the Vietnamese coast and Hai Van Mountain during a drive to Da Nang and the 18-mile-long “China Beach” – made famous by the 1980s TV show of the same name and now a popular Vietnam travel destination. You’ll spend the next two nights at one of the most prestigious beachfront resorts in Vietnam, the Furama Resort Da Nang, set right on the shores of the South China Sea.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lodging – Furama Resort Da Nang

Pay a delightful visit to a local kindergarten in Da Nang this morning, then continue your Vietnam travel by journeying to historic Hoi An, a key South China Sea trading port in the 15th through 19th centuries, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore its shop-lined streets via cyclo and tour the 200-year-old “Phung Hung” house, noted for its unique architecture. What you’ll see there will reveal much about the lives of Hoi An merchants long ago. Enjoy some time on your own in the afternoon, and have dinner at your leisure tonight.

Meals – Breakfast, Dinner

Lodging – Furama Resort Da Nang

Take a morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam’s second-largest city; set off to the battlefield memorial site of Ben Duoc, northwest of the city, where you’ll explore an underground world of tunnels and chambers three stories deep at Cu Chi Tunnels with your local guides. Used during the Vietnam War, the 120-mile tunnel network housed kitchens, dormitories, munitions factories, hospitals, and schoolrooms. Sample Vietnam’s diverse culinary heritage tonight with an elegant dinner at a local restaurant offering French, Vietnamese, and international specialties within a sumptuously restored villa setting.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Explore Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) with your local expert today, visiting the former Presidential Palace, now called Reunification Hall (after negotiations rejoined the North and South in 1975). See the former U.S. Embassy, the Saigon River, 19th-century Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, and the stately Central Post Office designed by Paris’ Gustave Eiffel. Enjoy the afternoon and evening as you please.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch

This morning, your journey continues on to Cambodia as you fly to Siem Reap for a two-night stay at the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor, the closest hotel to the treasures of the fabled archaeological site at Angkor, covering an area twice the size of Manhattan. You’ll be dazzled by what you see this afternoon at the vast, 12th-century Angkor Wat temple; the bas-reliefs and many devatas (guardian spirits) that cover its walls inspire awe and admiration. This example of classical Khmer architecture has been a significant religious center for Hindus and then Buddhists through the ages. Tonight’s dinner is à la carte at your hotel.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lodging – Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor

Enveloped by jungle roots, fascinating Ta Prohm Temple almost seems to be a part of the dense rainforest that surrounds it. A legacy of Cambodia’s Khmer civilization dating from 1186, it was originally built as a Buddhist university and monastery and continues to captivate today, as you’ll see on your visit. The last capital of the Khmer empire, the walled city of Angkor Thom is home to the richly decorated Bayon Temple, known for its eerily smiling carved faces. When you see the Elephant Terrace in Angkor Thom, which was the foundation of the pavilion in which the king held audiences, you’ll understand how it got its name! Later, you may wish to join us for a cruise on Tonle Sap Lake, revealing fascinating floating villages.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lodging – Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor

Fly via Bangkok to charming Chiang Mai, Thailand, the “Rose of the North,” established in the 13th century, and known for its artistic and cultural heritage. Enter another world when you arrive at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai, where your richly appointed accommodations feature a Lanna-style sala (pavilion) looking out over gardens, terraced rice paddies, and mountains. Take a scenic drive to Doi Suthep National Park, home to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep – a temple perched at the top of a peak more than 3,500 feet above sea level – before enjoying dinner at your choice of restaurants back at the resort.

Meals – Breakfast, Dinner

Lodging – Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai

Elephants – Thailand’s national animal – are an integral part of Chiang Mai’s economy and culture. Visit an elephant camp today to see how these marvelous animals are trained to work in a teak forest; you’ll have a chance to feed them bananas and sugar cane, see them demonstrate various skills, and see baby elephants in the nursery before you return to your Mae Rim Valley resort where the remainder of the day is spent as you please.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lodging – Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai

Take an unforgettable excursion to the hill tribe villages of Chiang Mai today to meet the people of the Palong, Padong and Karen tribes, who live peacefully there as small farmers, observing and honoring their traditional ways of life. They’ll share their crafts and folkways with you… you’ll even get to try on the traditional neck rings worn by members of the “long-necked” Karen tribe! Then return to your resort for time as you choose and dinner à la carte this evening.

Meals – Breakfast, Dinner

Lodging – Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai

A morning flight takes you to bustling Bangkok in time for lunch at a local restaurant and some time spent exploring on your own in Thailand’s capital – kicking off a three-night stay at the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, with accommodations in the deluxe Krungthep Wing. Enjoy dinner tonight at your choice of restaurants at your hotel.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Lodging – Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

An express boat whisks you from the hotel for a morning of sightseeing in Bangkok, an intriguing mix of ancient and modern. Walk to the 18th-century Grand Palace for an “audience” with the Emerald Buddha, while the giant Reclining Buddha awaits your admiration at Wat Pho, the oldest and largest temple in the city. Following a traditional Thai lunch, a motorboat ride returns you to the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok for an evening at leisure and dinner on your own in Bangkok.

Meals – Breakfast, Lunch

Lodging – Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Cruise up the Chao Phraya River and through a network of canals, called klongs, which lace the city. These often-bustling “city streets,” lined with homes and small businesses, are where much of “real life” in Bangkok is found, as you’ll witness firsthand; stop at Wat Arun (the Temple of Dawn) along the way. Then journey from the riverside to the Jim Thompson House & Museum, where you’ll join a local guide to tour the art- and artifact-filled Bangkok home of the expatriate American architect, OSS officer and postwar Thai silk entrepreneur who mysteriously disappeared in the 1960s. Following a free afternoon, cap your extraordinary Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam travel with a farewell reception and dinner this evening.

Meals – Breakfast, Dinner

Lodgin – Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Tour ends: Bangkok. A transfer from the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok to Bangkok International Airport is included. Please

allow 3 hours for airport check-in formalities. We wish you a safe and pleasant journey home.

Meals – Breakfast

What's Included

  • On-Tour Air (5 flights)
  • A buggy ride through the Old Quarter of Hanoi, a cyclo ride through the remains of Imperial Hué
  • Guided visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites including Angkor, Hué and Hoi An
  • See Bangkok’s golden Reclining Buddha, Hué’s Imperial Citadel on the Perfume River, and the Cu Chi Tunnels of Vietnam
  • Discover Southeast Asian life on the water on a cruise along the Perfume River in Hué, through the klongs of Bangkok, and on Siem Reap’s Tonle Sap Lake
  • A private tour of the Jim Thompson House, the art-filled home of an American-born silk entrepreneur and legendary figure in Bangkok
  • A scenic drive to the hilltop, 14th-century temple of Wat Doi Suthep, overlooking the verdant landscape of Chiang Mai Hill tribe village visits to meet people of the Padong, Palong and Karen tribes of Chiang Mai
  • A two-night resort stay on Vietnam’s “new” China Beach, one of the finest beaches in Asia
  • Airport transfers upon arrival and departure as noted
  • 37 meals; service charges, taxes, gratuities to local guides and porterage

Nights 1-2 Hanoi, Vietnam

Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi

Located in the heart of downtown Hanoi close to the famed Opera House, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi has been hosting discerning travelers since 1901. Comfortable guest rooms welcome you with LCD and DVD player, air conditioning, in-room safe deposit box, satellite and cable color TV and minibar and a bathroom with separate shower and tub, hair dryer and telephone extension. After a busy day, take a dip in the outdoor swimming pool, work out the kinks in the Fitness Center or enjoy a pampering treatment in the full-service spa. Rub elbows with Hanoi’s elite at Angelina – Italian Steak House, sample the best French cuisine in town at Le Beaulieu Restaurant or enjoy Vietnamese fare with an exotic twist at the Spices Garden Restaurant. Enjoy your favorite cocktail – or ice cream, fruit juices or something exotic from the exclusive Metropole tea collection – at the Bamboo Bar.

Night 3
Hué, Vietnam

La Résidence Hôtel & Spa

Built in the early 1920s, the historic La Résidence Hôtel & Spa was originally the residence of French governors during the French colonial era in Vietnam. Situated on the banks of the Perfume River in the city center, this charming boutique hotel is convenient to many notable attractions in Hué, the cultural heart of Vietnam and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. La Résidence Hôtel & Spa retains its colonial charm while offering modern facilities and amenities and great care has been taken to maintain the comforts and atmosphere of a classic colonial villa. Ride a bike, swim in the huge saltwater pool overlooking Hué’s ancient Citadel, visit the fully equipped gym or play tennis on the hard-surface court during leisure time. Or, unwind and immerse yourself in a pampering treatment at the Comfort Zone Spa. Hué is arguably the home of Vietnam’s finest cuisine and dining at La Résidence Hôtel & Spa is a delight, and admiring the spectacular fresco by French artist Roland Renauc while sipping your favorite beverage in the Bar “Le Gouverneur” is one of life’s true pleasures.

Nights 4-5
Da Nang, Vietnam

Furama Resort Da Nang

The luxurious Furama Resort Da Nang is set in a stunning location on Vietnam’s famed “China Beach.” Renowned as Vietnam’s most prestigious resort, it counts celebrities, international business leaders, heads of state and royalty among its guests. Welcoming guest rooms feature luxurious marble baths, direct-dial telephone, satellite color TV, minibar, hairdryer, air conditioning, coffee and tea maker and safety deposit box. Opportunities for enjoyable recreational activities, from diving to tennis to a fully equipped Fitness Center to a casino abound. The graceful combination of French colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture and style is sure to impress. Dine at the resort’s signature restaurant, Café Indochine, or enjoy the view of the beach from the Ocean Terrace.

Nights 6-7
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Park Hyatt Siagon

Discover urban luxury with a combination of sophisticated design, handcrafted details, and modern-day comforts at Park Hyatt Saigon. Experience the most sumptuous and seamless of stays at one of the leading accommodations in Saigon District 1, which recently underwent a complete renovation of décor, facilities and furnishings. Today, the upgraded French-colonial style rooms combine elegant, traditional comfort with the latest technology, including in-room mini iPads, Nespresso machines and sensor lighting systems. Indulge in a well-rounded dining experience at Park Hyatt Saigon. The hotel’s signature restaurant, Square One, features authentic Vietnamese and French cuisine, while Opera offers traditional Italian dishes prepared in a large open kitchen and served in a cosy trattoria setting. Or for a great night out, head to 2 Lam Son, the liveliest nightspot in Ho Chi Minh City. Park Hyatt Saigon looks forward to welcoming you with warm and dignified service for the ultimate personalized luxury experience.

Tauck Guests enjoy complimentary Internet access in guest rooms!

Nights 8-9
Siem Reap, Cambodia

Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor

Most conveniently located right in the middle of town, the luxurious Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor is a memorable place from which to explore the ancient wonders in the area. Guest rooms, each beautifully appointed with Art-Deco, country-style furnishings and Cambodian objets d’art, feature air conditioning, international direct-dial telephones, in-room safe, hairdryer, remote-control color TV with satellite and in-house movie channels, and minibar / refrigerator. During leisure time, stroll through the 60,000 square meters of landscaped gardens, swim in the 35-meter lap pool, visit the fully equipped gymnasium or rejuvenate yourself in the Raffles Amrita Spa. Ranging from the formal Restaurant Le Grand to the Café d’Angkor to the wide selection of cocktails at the famous Elephant Bar, the culinary delights are as varied and exotic as the temples themselves. Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor has won numerous prestigious awards, to include the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List’s “World’s Best Places to Stay” and Travel + Leisure’s “Top 50 Hotels in Asia.”

Nights 10 – 12

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai

Located deep within Thailand’s beautiful Mae Rim Valley, and yet just minutes from Thailand’s cultural and artistic treasures, the five-star Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai provides a luxurious ambiance that is perfectly in tune with its surroundings. Lovely accommodations in elegantly appointed pavilions feature duvets, down pillows, hairdryer, in-room safe, robes and slippers, coffee and tea maker, satellite TV and DVD player. Cool off in one of the swimming pools, warm up in the sauna / steam rooms, or play tennis during free time. A wealth of recreational activities and facilities, superb dining and distinguished service have inspired the readers of Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure to select it as one of the world’s finest hotels.

Nights 13 – 15
Bangkok, Thailand

Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok

Located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok, is set in beautiful tropical gardens. Guest rooms, designed to provide maximum comfort and relaxation, feature cable / satellite TV, in-house movie channels, coffee and tea making facilities and electronic safe. During leisure time, take advantage of the outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, squash court, fitness center and both indoor and outdoor Jacuzzis or pamper yourself at the CHI Spa. Choose between restaurants offering Thai, Chinese, and Italian cuisine and celebrate teatime or the cocktail hour while enjoying the views from the Riverside Lounge.

You can send your enquiry via the form below.

Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand