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Mekong Expedition Cruise: A Historical Expedition
Mekong Expedition Cruise during the high water season experience will let you experience the full history of Mekong life. From Saigon to Siem Reap, you’ll meet Khmer farmers and Buddhist monks. You’ll also encounter our entrepreneurial friends in Vietnam’s kaleidoscopic wet markets along the way.
You can also sail in the opposite direction from Phnom Penh to Saigon for a leisure travel back in time. Here you’ll have see colonial chic architectures and the legendary Angkorian heritage landscape.
A Luxurious Mekong River Cruise
The Mekong Expedition Cruise takes guests on a journey into Aqua Expeditions next frontier. At 62.4 meter (205 feet), the Aqua Mekong was designed by Saigon-based architects at Noor to embody the aesthetic of a sophisticated five star hotel. They use local sustainable materials and artisanal touches of the Mekong’s multifaceted cultures. It also features generous interior spaces designed to welcome guests in the utmost comforts between on and off shore excursions.
The Aqua Mekong’s lounging and dining areas incorporates a relaxing and yet refined atmosphere. It is spacious and indulgent, yet intimate enough to feel entirely exclusive, and can accommodate a maximum of 40 guests plus crew. Modern navigation technologies and the highest cruise ship standards, as well as our experienced river pilot and crew ensure smooth travel and safety on the water.
About The Mekong Itineraries
Aqua Expeditions’ Mekong River Cruises are specifically designed to adjust to the seasonal changes. Whether you choose the high water or the low water season on the Mekong for your cruise, traveling aboard the Aqua Mekong extends your options from the very limited dry season in Cambodia and Vietnam (November to February) to almost any time of the year. The Aqua Mekong is also available for private charter cruises.
During high-water season (mid August – November), traveling up the river to Siem Reap and experience the Tonle Sap lake, a spectacular freshwater lake that has more than three million of population inhabited by its bank. During low-water season (December – mid August), experience life further inland by exploring the stilted villages that line the river via kayaking, or bicycling across lush green paddy fields. It is by far the most peaceful and intimate way to travel to these distant lands and meet their people.
Thanks for your enquiry about Mekong Expedition Cruise by Aqua Expeditions: from Saigon to Phnom Penh (Dec to Aug)
Please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch soon
Thanks for your enquiry about Mekong Expedition Cruise by Aqua Expeditions: from Saigon to Phnom Penh (Dec to Aug)
Please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch soon
MEKONG RIVER - MY THO - HO CHI MINH - VIETNAM
We will collect you at the Ho Chi Minh meeting point and transfer you by air-conditioned coach to My Tho dock where we will welcome you aboard the Aqua Mekong. Settle into your floating retreat, with its window wall conferring an endlessly captivating panorama. Enjoy these private Mekong moments on your California king bed, terrace or daybed.
MEKONG RIVER - BINH THANH/SA DEC - MY AN HUNG
Begin the day at Binh Thanh mat weaving village or opt to visit Sa Dec where we will peruse the vibrant market and see the famous house of Marguerite Duras’ legendary lover, Mr. Huynh Thuy Le. In the afternoon, visit a typical Mekong Delta village called My An Hung where we will walk through verdant plantations. We will be invited to a local’s home to taste local fruits while hearing traditional folk songs performed by villagers followed by a unique unicorn dance. A 17-kilometer Biking option is also available.
MEKONG RIVER – CHAU DOC - VINH XUONG – KA’OM SAMNOR BORDER
Travel by skiff along Bassac Canal to Chau Doc floating market then head off by van to Long Son Pagoda atop Sam Mountain. Ask the monks about their age-old Buddhist practices. Return via the bustling morning market. Optional 18 kilometers bike ride on Long Khanh Island or take a rickshaw ride to visit Tan Chau Market with chef. After lunch, relax by the pool, try traditional Khmer massage or learn to cook Mekong inspired dishes while we cross the border.
MEKONG RIVER - KOH OKNHA TEY - PREAH PROSOP
On this river of time we admire dexterous Khmer artisans dyeing and weaving kroma, the ubiquitous item no Khmer lives without. Explore the riverbank on two wheels if you wish, past Buddhist temples and thatch houses perched on spindly wooden stilts while white oxen wade just offshore. After lunch, we board our marine-grade aluminum skiffs and head towards the tamarind trees of Preah Prosop, a remote village little changed over several lifetimes.
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA
We show off the Cambodian capital to our passengers by motorized tuk-tuk, the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and the National Museum of Cambodia, home to the world’s largest collection of Khmer art. For those who wish, we visit the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide and the Killing Field or shopping at Russian Market. We bid farewell to 4-night guests who are disembarking in Phnom Penh.
Return to welcome our 3-night passengers over custom sundowners like the Salted Watermelon Crush with Thai basil. Together we celebrate the onward journey towards the heart of this mighty river with a Khmer Apsara performance, an indigenous tradition memorialized on the temple walls at Angkor Wat.
TONLE SAP RIVER - KOH CHEN - KAMPONG PRASAT - CAMBODIA
In the silversmith village of Koh Chen, we watch artisans producing the magnificent silverware favored by Khmer royalty. We continue to Udong, the royal capital from the 17-19th centuries, where we learn about a uniquely challenging Buddhist practice at the Vipassana Dhura Mandala, a meditation center. In the afternoon, a walking tour of Kampong Prasat offers a close up perspective on local lives and their riverside environment.
TONLE SAP RIVER - KAMPONG CHHNANG – KAMPONG TRALACH - CAMBODIA
In the cooler hours, we head into the lush countryside to visit traditional potters and palm-sugar producers, astride mountain bikes or chauffeured by shaded tuk-tuk. Into the rice paddies we pedal to watch wizened masters scale sky-piercing palms towering over us. Cruise across the glassy water and disembark among the lotuses for an ox-cart ride along the Tonle Sap riverbanks, past lacquered wooden houses where during these dry months residents take refuge in the relative cool of these outdoor impromptu living rooms.
PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA
Customized exploration of Phnom Penh and disembarkation.
Included
Not Included
Thanks for your enquiry about Mekong Expedition Cruise by Aqua Expeditions: from Saigon to Phnom Penh (Dec to Aug)
Please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch soon
Thanks for your enquiry about Mekong Expedition Cruise by Aqua Expeditions: from Saigon to Phnom Penh (Dec to Aug)
Please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch soon
Accommodation: At the 62.4 meter (205 feet) Aqua Mekong embodying the aesthetic of a sophisticated five star hotel