CAD $3,510
8 days / 7 nights
Itinerary
SIEM REAP
Embark on your Pandaw at Kampong Cham following a road transfer from Siem Reap (Angkor). The vessel will proceed upstream to moor midstream for cocktails and to meet key crew.
KRATIE AND THE DOLPHIN GROUNDS
Morning visit to Koh Trong Island which can be explored by bicycle or ox cart with a real immersion into Khmer rural life and visit a reforestation site where personal trees may be planted. After lunch, moor off Kratie and continue to the dolphin grounds by local boat.
SILK ISLAND
Sailing downstream all morning, with lectures and film presentations, past Phnom Penh and up the Tonle River to board our expedition vessel, the Pandaw Explorer, to visit Koh Okhna Tey, or ‘silk island’ to study the entire silk making process from worms to weavers. There will be a demonstration of the ancient Khmer martial art of Bokator. Return to ship and return down the Tonle River to turn up the Mekong at the confluence. Evening lecture on Angkor and Khmer culture.
PHNOM PENH
Morning orientation of Phnom Penh by cyclo visiting the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda followed by the National Museum with its marvellous collection of Angkorian statuary. Afternoon optional visit to the Killing Fields and Genocide museum or take a tuk-tuk to explore the riverfront and finish with High Tea at Raffles Hotel. Overnight in Phnom Penh city port with its lively bars, restaurants and night life.
VIETNAM BORDER
Early sailing to the Vietnam border for formalities and during this stationary period there is an optional tour of the working ship and fruit carving classes on deck. Afternoon, explore the labyrinthine canal system around Tan Chau to visit a Taoist temple where the monks will read fortunes. Continue through local villages by Xi Loi stopping off to help locals tend their fields before stopping off to visit a fish farm and earn merit by releasing fish back into the Mekong.
CON PHUOC ISLAND
In the morning sail up a small canal to moor off Con Phuoc Island and go ashore to explore the island by tuk-tuk seeing basket production and visiting a 100-year old Catholic Church and local woodworking artisans.
After a short cruise downstream in the afternoon we take a short coach trip where we visit Gao Giong ‘green oasis’ with its bird sanctuary. Here a diverse selection of water birds and egrets that gather in the tens of thousands across the Duong Tharp Muoi or ‘Plain of Reeds’. Rowing boats traverse the canals to take us to see the principal nesting areas.
After a short cruise downstream in the afternoon we take a short coach trip where we visit Gao Giong ‘green oasis’ with its bird sanctuary. Here a diverse selection of water birds and egrets that gather in the tens of thousands across the Duong Tharp Muoi or ‘Plain of Reeds’. Rowing boats traverse the canals to take us to see the principal nesting areas.
BEN TRE
After breakfast the ship moors off Cho Lach island for pot making and further glimpses of Delta life, agriculture and local Viet hospitality including a culinary lesson in making traditional Banh Xeo. Upon return to the boat we take a cruise downstream to Ben Tre. Where we travel by sampans through mangroves and bamboo groves to the fruit orchards of Ben Tre. In these local artisans are at work and are invite visitors into their homes for tea, fruit and honey products made from their own honey. This is an area rich in bird life and on our return journey we travel by horse cart through the lush countryside.
MY THO TO HO CHI MINH CITY
Moor at My Tho for road transfer to Ho Chi Minh City.
Dates & Prices
Sailing Season | Price per person |
---|---|
November 2018 - April 2019 July - December 2019 January - December 2020 | Main Deck* From $3,510 |
November 2018 - April 2019 July - December 2019 January - December 2020 | Upper Deck* From $4,310 |
*Port charge of $88 is excluded
* Price per person based on double occupancy. Due to the dynamic nature of availability and pricing, please click here to contact us directly for sailing schedule and full pricing |
Featured Inclusions
Entrance fees
English-speaking guides
Gratuities to crew
Main meals
A variety of drinks
Transfers to ship
Ship Information
RV Mekong Pandaw
Built in Rangoon in 2002 she was sailed round to Saigon under her own power and many a drama described in Paul Strachan’s Pandaw Story.
RV Tonle Pandaw
With her gorgeous upper deck saloon, observation decks and formal dining room, this ship is an old favourite and has a rich ambience. In 2013 she was fully refitted and the number of cabins reduced to just twenty-eight in order to create a professional spa and library on the lower deck. She is not a small ship but despite her size she has a shallow draft and can usually get up river into low water areas when other vessels are stuck well below.