Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos: The Indochina Trail

Your flight arrives in Hanoi, where our representative meets you and transfers you to your boutique hotel in the Old Quarter. The evening is free to rest, or to take a first gentle stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake as the city lights come on.

A full day in Vietnam's thousand-year-old capital. The Temple of Literature, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and the One Pillar Pagoda in the morning; a cyclo ride through the thirty-six trading streets of the Old Quarter and a traditional water-puppet show in the afternoon. Dinner introduces the city's celebrated street food in a comfortable setting.

A morning flight south to Danang and a short transfer to the riverside town of Hoi An. After lunch, a walking tour of the UNESCO old town — the Japanese Covered Bridge, the old merchant houses, and the assembly halls of the Chinese trading guilds — ending as the lanterns are lit at dusk.

A free day in Hoi An — perhaps a visit to a tailor for a made-to-measure garment, a Vietnamese cooking class, a cycle through the surrounding rice paddies, or simply time by the hotel pool. An optional excursion to the My Son Hindu temple ruins can be arranged for the keen.

A transfer to Danang and a flight (via a short connection) to Siem Reap, gateway to the temples of Angkor. Our Cambodia representative meets you and transfers you to your hotel. A free evening to settle in, perhaps with a stroll through the old French quarter and night market.

The heart of the journey. A cool early start for Angkor Wat — the largest religious monument on earth — and its 800 metres of bas-relief galleries. After a midday rest at the hotel, the walled city of Angkor Thom in the late afternoon: the 216 serene stone faces of the Bayon, the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King.

A morning at Ta Prohm — the jungle temple of the Tomb Raider films, its towers gripped by giant strangler figs — and the exquisite pink-sandstone carvings of Banteay Srei, the "Citadel of the Women", an hour into the countryside. The afternoon is free for the hotel pool or the markets of Siem Reap.

A morning boat trip on the Tonlé Sap, Southeast Asia's largest lake, to see the stilted and floating villages and their extraordinary way of life on the water. The afternoon is free — a Khmer cooking class, a spa treatment, or simply rest before the journey to Laos.

A flight north to Luang Prabang, the serene former royal capital of Laos, cradled between the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. Our representative transfers you to your hotel. A gentle late-afternoon introduction with the climb (or a slow stroll) up Mount Phousi for sunset over the rivers and the surrounding hills.

An optional dawn visit to witness the tak bat — the silent procession of hundreds of saffron-robed monks collecting alms, one of Southeast Asia's most moving sights. After breakfast, the royal temples of Wat Xieng Thong and the former Royal Palace, then the morning market. The afternoon is free.

A drive into the hills to the Kuang Si waterfalls — turquoise pools cascading through the forest, with a bear-rescue sanctuary alongside. The route passes Hmong and Khmu villages. A relaxed picnic lunch by the falls, with time to swim in the lower pools, before returning to town.

A morning Mekong river cruise upstream to the Pak Ou Caves, two riverside grottoes filled with thousands of Buddha statues left by pilgrims over the centuries, stopping at a riverside whisky-making village en route. The afternoon is free to enjoy Luang Prabang's cafés and temples at your own pace.

A final, unstructured day in the most restful town in Southeast Asia. Browse the textile boutiques and the UXO information centre, take a slow lunch over the river, or treat yourself to a Lao herbal spa. The evening night market is a gentle, hassle-free pleasure.

A transfer to Luang Prabang airport for your onward flight, with the assistance of our representative. The end of the Indochina trail — three countries, three civilisations, one journey.