Hanoi to Angkor: A Family Adventure

Arrive in Hanoi, a city of contrasts, modern and traditional, chaotic and serene. Meet your guide and transfer by private vehicle to central Hanoi, then spend the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, drive thirty minutes outside Hanoi to Bat Trang, a historic porcelain and pottery village. Walk the old alleys, step into a local house to learn the steps of ceramic-making, then roll up your sleeves for a hands-on pottery session using time-tested local techniques, finishing with a stroll through the village's ceramics market. Return to Hanoi for lunch. In the afternoon, tour Hanoi's highlights, beginning with the Temple of Literature, Vietnam's first university, established in 1076 to educate royalty, mandarins and the elite for 800 years. Continue with a stroll through the Old Quarter's maze of alleyways and historic '36 guilds', concluding the day at the Water Puppet Theatre for a performance of this 11th-century art form. Overnight in Hanoi.

After breakfast, leave Hanoi at 09:00 for the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Halong City, arriving at the pier around noon for check-in. Board the boat for the welcome and cabin check-in, with lunch served while cruising the UNESCO-listed waters of Halong and Lan Ha Bay, where thousands of limestone islands rise from the emerald sea. Enjoy visits or activities in the afternoon depending on the boat's set itinerary, before anchoring for the night among the karst formations, with sunset on deck followed by dinner. Overnight on Halong Bay.

Wake to breakfast amid the bay's spectacular rock formations, then check out as the boat cruises toward port. Disembark and transfer to Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport for the flight south to Danang. On arrival, your private guide and driver transfer you to Hoi An, one of Vietnam's most picturesque towns and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once a major Asian trading port in the 17th and 18th centuries. The rest of the day is at leisure. Overnight in Hoi An.

Leave the town centre at 08:00 and pedal along quiet laneways and country roads, passing rice paddies and vegetable farms, greeting friendly locals and spotting water buffalo along the way (an electric buggy is available for children not comfortable cycling). Reach the pier and board a motorised boat to a fishing village, then climb into a small, round bamboo basket boat to cast a fishing net the traditional way, with locals on hand to help. Continue through a region of water palms and coconut trees, then enjoy a fresh seafood lunch back on the main boat before returning to the hotel. In the evening, join a Vespa experience at 17:30, starting with a briefing at a rooftop bar over the Thu Bon River, then riding to Cam Nam Island for a fresh seafood feast at a local riverside restaurant. Afterwards, learn to make two of Hoi An's iconic dishes, white rose dumplings and fried wontons, under local experts' guidance, followed by a banh can snack stop (rice cakes with quail eggs, pork roll, green papaya and fish sauce) and a final stop at a Vietnamese restaurant nestled amid the rice paddies, before returning to the hotel around 21:00. Overnight in Hoi An.

A free day at leisure to explore Hoi An independently. Overnight in Hoi An.

Enjoy the morning at leisure before transferring to Danang Airport for the flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the charming gateway to the temples of Angkor. On arrival, your local English-speaking guide welcomes you and transfers you to the hotel. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Starting at 08:00, meet your guide for a photography scavenger hunt through Angkor Thom. Armed with a map, clues and a camera, set off to capture a dozen unique photos, beginning at the South Gate, lined with statues of mythological demons and gods, then continuing past the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King into ancient Bayon Temple, admiring the enigmatic faces covering its 52 towers, and finishing at the forested temple complex of Preah Pithu in search of hidden statues and chambers. Discuss the clues with the group and receive a prize for completing the hunt. In the afternoon, visit the APOPO Visitor Center to learn about the "HeroRATs" that help clear landmines from Cambodia's countryside, see a simulated minefield training, meet the rats and join a Q&A with a mine action professional. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Meet your guide at 08:00 and drive to the outskirts of Siem Reap to board a local wooden boat for a private journey through a canal to Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia's largest lake, cruising past quiet waterways and stilt houses for a first-hand look at local life. Continue to the Angkor Wildlife and Aquarium for a closer look at the lake's marine ecosystems, meeting a marine biologist for a behind-the-scenes tour and learning about the environmental threats facing Tonle Sap, including habitat destruction and illegal fishing; the visit includes a donation supporting the centre's conservation work. Time at leisure in the afternoon, then in the evening attend Phare, the Cambodian Circus, a show blending modern and traditional Khmer theatre. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Starting at 07:30, visit Ta Brak village to learn about rural Cambodian life. Sit down with a local family for a take-away breakfast while observing the morning bustle, then walk the local market's colourful displays of vegetables and herbs. Continue through the village, stopping to chat with locals going about planting rice, weaving thatch or harvesting vegetables, before visiting a Khmer smokehouse to learn the process of smoking fish over a fresh coconut juice. The morning concludes with a Buddhist blessing ceremony from local monks. In the afternoon, around 13:30, visit WAT Chocolate, Cambodia's first bean-to-bar factory, learning the journey from cocoa bean to chocolate bar and sampling the results, with a treat to take home, made with ethically sourced Cambodian cacao from Mondulkiri. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Depart the hotel at 07:00 for the one-hour drive to the plains surrounding Kulen Mountain, birthplace of the Angkorian civilization. After an introductory briefing, meet the elephants at the pond, feed them treats, and follow them as they wander and snack on leaves, learning along the way how indigenous flora is used by the local population. After the roughly 2-kilometre trek, watch the elephants splash in the pond over some shaded snacks, then retire to base camp for a traditional Khmer meal, family-style. Return to Siem Reap in the afternoon, free at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities. Overnight in Siem Reap.

Enjoy some time at leisure until transferring to the airport for the onward departure flight.