From the Mountains to the Sea in Style

📍 Luang Prabang Airport – Luang Prabang (4 km): 15 min

Upon arrival Luang Prabang, the guide and driver will be waiting to provide transport to the hotel for check in. 

Just prior to sunset, climb the 328 steps leading to the top of Mount Phousi in the centre of the city. Upon reaching the peak, enjoy stunning panoramic views over the city and surrounding hills. After sunset, descend the steps and pay a visit to the nearby evening market, filled with beautiful hill tribe souvenirs and handicrafts. 

For dinner this evening, proceed to l’Elephant, one of the finest restaurants in Luang Prabang, before transport is provided back to the hotel. 

Overnight in Luang Prabang at Rosewood Luang Prabang. 
 

Inclusions:

🍗 Dinner

For early risers, there is a very special dawn visit to watch the monks collecting alms. As the sun begins to rise, long lines of orange-robed monks leave their pagodas and walk barefoot down the streets collecting offerings from Luang Prabang residents. 

Return to the hotel for breakfast.

After breakfast, transfer from the hotel to the historical old town where the tour begins at the fresh market. Accompanied by the guide, walk through rows of stalls selling everything from fresh produce to local specialties. Next, visit the former Royal Palace. Today housing the National Museum, this site is filled with art, artifacts, and jewels offering some insight into the history and rich culture of the country.

After this, continue the tour of Luang Prabang by visiting some of the city’s most important temples. Start at Wat Visoun, home to the famous ‘watermelon’ stupa, before visiting Wat Aham, housing an altar dedicated to the 2 guardian spirits of Luang Prabang.
 
Enjoy lunch in town at Tamarind, one of the top local restaurants in Luang Prabang (Note: closed on Sundays).
    
This afternoon head to Ock Pop Tok to discover more about textiles in Laos- including their history, production, and cultural significance.

Overnight in Luang Prabang at Rosewood Luang Prabang. 
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Luang Prabang – Oudomxay (193 km): 4 hours

Begin the journey north with a departure from Luang Prabang heading towards the remote province of Oudomxay. Total journey time will be approximately 6 hours, including stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. This northern region of Laos is known for its verdant mountains, rice paddies and areas of thick jungle. Various ethnic villages will be encountered during the journey, some of which sit precariously perched on steep mountainsides, while others sit in valleys carved out by ancient rivers.
 
Pass through the provincial capital of Oudomxay. Once a sleepy town, Oudomxay has become an important trading hub, reflecting the changes which are happening rapidly in the region. This bustling town makes the final leg of the journey (a stark contrast of jungles and wilderness) all the more exciting.
 
Arrive at Nam Kat YORLAPA in the late afternoon. Check in, relax and enjoy the views. Facilities include a spa, sauna and steam room (evenings get cold November – March). The resort is built next to a natural hot spring; staff fills a small pool every evening with water from the spring. In the evening, enjoy a five-course set menu combining Asian and European influences.
 
Dinner and overnight in Oudomxay at Nam Kat YORLAPA Resort. 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

This full day tour includes no ‘real trekking’, only walking through and between villages. Travelling by 4x4 is the only way to cover enough ground and climb the steep mountains in order to reach the most untouched and fascinating villages in the region.
 
Set off after breakfast to visit an entirely isolated Ikhos village. This ethnic group originates from Tibet and Yunnan and these villagers have seen very few foreigners. The guide will help to convey the daily life of the villagers and how they still follow ancient customs passed down through the centuries.
 
Sitting at 1,000m above sea level, this village makes the ideal location for a picnic lunch.
 
After lunch, leave the village walk for approximately 45 minutes to the Hmong village of Ban Tauser. The remote route to the village opens to a viewpoint with a stunning 360° panorama.
 
Return to the resort at the end of the day.

Dinner and overnight in Oudomxay at Nam Kat YORLAPA Resort. 
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Muang La – Luang Prabang (220 km): 5-6 hours

After breakfast, drive from Oudomxay to Luang Prabang. Enjoy a picnic lunch along the way.  After arrival the remainder of the day is free at leisure for additional sight-seeing or relaxing in this charming city. 

OPTIONAL ACTIVITY: Attend an evening performance at the Royal Ballet Theater.

An optional activity for the evening is attending a performance at the Royal Ballet Theatre. The Ballet works to preserve Laos’ cultural heritage and features spectacular performances including scenes from the Lao-Ramayana and traditional folk/tribal dances. (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.)

Overnight in Luang Prabang at Rosewood Luang Prabang. 
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🥘 Lunch

📍 Siem Reap Angkor Airport - Siem Reap (52 km): 60 mins Siem Reap – Rolous (15km): 30mins Siem Reap – Temples (06 km): 10 mins

After breakfast at the hotel, enjoy the morning at leisure before transport (provided) to the airport for the onward flight. 

Welcomed to Cambodia! Upon arrival in Siem Reap, be welcomed by a local English speaking guide and be accompanied to the hotel for check-in. After relaxing at the hotel, head out in the afternoon to the temples of Angkor.

Begin exploring the crown jewel of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Wat, travelling in a vintage car. Built during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat was constructed following the model of the temple mountain symbolising Mount Meru, the home of the gods. Inside, the temple walls are covered with stone carvings depicting Hindu mythology and the wars Suryavarman II fought during his reign. Angkor Wat is well known for the more than 2,000 Apsara dancers decorating the temple. Construction is thought to have taken around thirty five years of intensive labour. Today, Angkor Wat is featured on Cambodia's national flag as the temple symbolizes the soul of the Khmer people. Be there just before sunset, when Angkor Wat is less visited and the Apsaras will shine in the most beautiful light.

This evening go for dinner at The Embassy, an exclusive fine dining experience headed by executive chefs Pol & Sok: ‘the Kimsan Twins’. Having trained under Michelin starred chefs, they have created one of the most unique culinary experiences in Siem Reap. With a constantly changing menu based around seasonality, guests can savour skillfully prepared masterpieces from multiple-course set menus paired with a selection of fine wines.

Overnight in Siem Reap at Phum Baitang.         
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast, 🍗 Dinner

📍 Siem Reap – Rolous (15km): 30mins Siem Reap – Kampong Khleang (51 km): 60mins

This morning visit the Roluos group, the site of an ancient center of Khmer civilization known as Hariharalaya. It was the first town built by the Angkorian kings in the 8th and 9th century and consists of three main temples: Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko, two of which will be visited along the way. The surrounding countryside with its paddy fields and sugar palm trees is very typical for Cambodia – enjoy the natural beauty on an ox cart ride, a fun way to get in touch with rural Cambodia and its friendly people. The destination is Roluos Pagoda, where Buddhist monks await to celebrate a private blessing ceremony, be blessed with health and a safe journey – a memorable experience!

After, head to the Tonlé Sap Lake and have the opportunity to learn about life on the lake with a visit to Kompong Khleang Village. Drive past expansive rice fields and through local villages where rice and fish can frequently be spotted drying alongside the road. Next, board a private wooden vessel for a boat trip along a canal that leads to the Tonle Sap Lake. 

Cruise along the canal with houses on either side: depending on the time of the visit, the houses will either have immediate access to the water or stand perched on stilts high above the ground, a phenomena caused by the annual rising and receding waters of the Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia’s largest lake. Pass by the boats and nets used by local fishermen, some of whom can be spotted fishing in the waters through which the boat passes. Near the lake, see floating houses that move location with the annual ebb and flow of the lake’s waters. 

Along the way, gain a better understanding of the local lifestyle with lunch in a family house. This is a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the way of life of the local people- sitting inside a stilted house while watching the boats pass outside. (Note: Due to fluctuating water levels on the lake and canals, the village visited will depend on the date and water levels at that time).

This evening attend a performance of ‘Phare, the Cambodian Circus’. Starting at 8pm, professional artists of Phare Ponleu Selpak (PPS) will perform a show choreographed by themselves. Set up in Battambang in 1994 by young returnee Cambodians from the refugee camps who learned about using art as a means of coping with trauma, PPS has played an influential role in promoting and developing Khmer culture over the years after the Khmer Rouge genocide. The hour long show mixes traditional and modern theater, music, dance, acrobatics, juggling and contortion performed in a story about Cambodian lives and society. 

Overnight in Siem Reap at Phum Baitang.  
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Siem Reap – Temples (06 km): 10 mins

Start the morning temple exploration by adventure Jeep to the most illustrious of the Small Circuit Temples, Ta Prohm. Depart the hotel in an army-style jeep at 7am, arriving at Ta Prohm just before 7:30am in order to be the first in the temple as it opens. Built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries during the reign of Jayavarman VII, Ta Prohm is unique in that it remains largely overgrown by jungle. With many parts crumbling to the ground, it is one of the most picturesque Angkor temples. 

Next, visit another temple complex built during the reign of Jayavarman VII, Preah Khan. While Ta Prohm was built to honour the king’s mother, Preah Khan was built for his father. Although the Angelina Jolie film was shot at the former temple, Preah Khan is less-visited and more unrestored, and therefore offers more of a “Tomb Raider” experience. 

Return to Siem Reap for a midday break, escaping the heat in the hotel room, pool, or spa with lunch at leisure. Get some rest before returning to the temples in the cooler afternoon hours. 

Departing around 3pm, head into the ancient city of Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Great Khmer Empire under the reign of Jayavarman VII. This city is surrounded by an 8m-high wall, drawing a perfect square. Pass over the city moat causeway that is flanked on either side by a row of 54 gods and demons, each holding a sacred naga snake, and through a towering entry gate decorated with three-headed elephants and capped with four smiling faces of the Buddha. 

Continue to Bayon temple in the exact center of the city. This 12th century masterpiece is a study in grandeur and is well-known for its 52 towers with enigmatic faces looking out over the vast provinces of the Great Khmer Empire. The nearby Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King are also must-visits as they are both known for their intricate and unique carvings.

Overnight in Siem Reap at Phum Baitang.  
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Siem Reap - Siem Reap Angkor Airport (52 km): 60 mins Sihanouk Ville Airport - Koh Krabey (5 km): mins Sihanouk Ville Airport - Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (23km): 40mins

Day 9: Siem Reap - Southern Islands
B/-/-

After breakfast enjoy some free time to visit the Old market independently. The riverside market has dozens of souvenir stalls offering a fairly wide range of souvenirs. The opposite side of the market carries items of interest primarily to locals, and also harbors dozens of small food stalls serving various inexpensive local foods that hygienically and gastronomically adventurous visitors may find inviting. The central aisle, where fruits, vegetables and meat are sold, is colourful and very photogenic. The Old Market is also an important landmark as several restaurants, hotels, bars and shops are in the area.

Transfer to the airport for the afternoon flight to the islands of Sihanoukville province. Upon arrival, direct transfer to the pier of Song Saa Private Island. Transfer directly to the Port then take a shared-speedboat to Song Saa Resort. 

*Departures schedule to Song Saa Island (Mainland time)
13:30 & 16:30
(Others than schedules will be additional charged with prior notify & reservation)

On arrival at Paradise Island, enjoy your own leisure time. 
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel.

Enjoy the day at leisure, perhaps with an optional activity, such as diving, snorkeling, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and island-hopping boat trips. Contact our Travel Consultant for more details, including supplemental charges.

Overnight on Song Saa Privarte Island.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel.

Enjoy the day at leisure, perhaps participating in various optional activities, such as a Cooking Class, which introduces the art of preparing Khmer dishes with local ingredients, or a signature treatment at the resort’s spa. Contact our Travel Consultant for more details, including supplemental charges.

Overnight on Song Saa Privarte Island.
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast

📍 Sihanoukville – Phnom Penh (230 km): 3 hrs

Breakfast at the hotel.

Enjoy some time at leisure until the transfer back to the mainland pier and then onto Phnom Penh or the next destination with driver only.
 
(Note: For a morning departure by land transfer to Phnom Penh, a supplementary charge will apply).

Recommend: Evening flight departure. 
 

Inclusions:

☕ Breakfast