Avalon Waterways

Daily Itinerary

1. Day 1

   Ho Chi Minh City

   Vietnam

   

   Still whispered as Saigon by its ten million residents, Ho Chi Minh City pulses with an energy that outlasted every empire and every war. The French colonial grandeur of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Gustave Eiffel's Central Post Office stands in vivid counterpoint to the city's kinetic street life — an endless river of motorbikes, fragrant with pho broth and charcoal-grilled meats. Do not miss the Reunification Palace, a time capsule of Cold War modernism, or a dawn bowl of bánh mì from a sidewalk vendor. The dry season, November through April, offers the most comfortable conditions for exploration.

2. Day 1

   Ho Chi Minh City

   Vietnam

   

   Still whispered as Saigon by its ten million residents, Ho Chi Minh City pulses with an energy that outlasted every empire and every war. The French colonial grandeur of Notre-Dame Cathedral and Gustave Eiffel's Central Post Office stands in vivid counterpoint to the city's kinetic street life — an endless river of motorbikes, fragrant with pho broth and charcoal-grilled meats. Do not miss the Reunification Palace, a time capsule of Cold War modernism, or a dawn bowl of bánh mì from a sidewalk vendor. The dry season, November through April, offers the most comfortable conditions for exploration.

3. Day 2

   Vinh Long

   Vietnam

   

   Vinh Long is a river town at the heart of Vietnam's Mekong Delta, renowned for its bustling Cai Be floating market, lush fruit orchards on river islands, and the delta's distinctive cuisine. Must-dos include a dawn sampan visit to the floating market, tasting crispy elephant ear fish wrapped in rice paper, and visiting island orchards and coconut candy workshops. November through April's dry season offers the best weather for delta exploration.

4. Day 2

   Vinh Long

   Vietnam

   

   Vinh Long is a river town at the heart of Vietnam's Mekong Delta, renowned for its bustling Cai Be floating market, lush fruit orchards on river islands, and the delta's distinctive cuisine. Must-dos include a dawn sampan visit to the floating market, tasting crispy elephant ear fish wrapped in rice paper, and visiting island orchards and coconut candy workshops. November through April's dry season offers the best weather for delta exploration.

5. Day 2

   Vinh Long

   Vietnam

   

   Vinh Long is a river town at the heart of Vietnam's Mekong Delta, renowned for its bustling Cai Be floating market, lush fruit orchards on river islands, and the delta's distinctive cuisine. Must-dos include a dawn sampan visit to the floating market, tasting crispy elephant ear fish wrapped in rice paper, and visiting island orchards and coconut candy workshops. November through April's dry season offers the best weather for delta exploration.

6. Day 3

   Chau Doc

   Vietnam

   

   Châu Đốc is a mystical border town where the Mekong meets Cambodia, combining Vietnamese, Cham Muslim, and Khmer Buddhist cultures around the pilgrimage mountain of Sam (Núi Sam). Must-do experiences include visiting Sam Mountain's pagodas, touring floating fish farms, and tasting the town's famous bún cá turmeric fish noodle soup. November through April's dry season is most comfortable; the flood season reveals the delta's full hydraulic drama.

7. Day 3

   Long Khanh

   Vietnam

   

   Long Khánh is southern Vietnam's tropical fruit capital, set in volcanic red-earth highlands known for durian, rambutan, and mangosteen orchards. Essential experiences include visiting pick-your-own fruit farms, tasting bún riêu noodle soup, and excursions to Cát Tiên National Park's ancient forests. May through August is peak fruit season for the most spectacular tastings.

8. Day 3

   Chau Doc

   Vietnam

   

   Châu Đốc is a mystical border town where the Mekong meets Cambodia, combining Vietnamese, Cham Muslim, and Khmer Buddhist cultures around the pilgrimage mountain of Sam (Núi Sam). Must-do experiences include visiting Sam Mountain's pagodas, touring floating fish farms, and tasting the town's famous bún cá turmeric fish noodle soup. November through April's dry season is most comfortable; the flood season reveals the delta's full hydraulic drama.

9. Day 3

   At Sea

   

10. Day 4

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

11. Day 4

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

12. Day 5

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

13. Day 5

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

14. Day 6

    Angkor

    Cambodia

    

    Angkor is the monumental capital of the medieval Khmer Empire in Cambodia, home to Angkor Wat — the world's largest religious monument — and hundreds of temples spanning five centuries of artistic achievement. Must-dos include a dawn visit to Angkor Wat, exploring the tree-entwined ruins of Ta Prohm, and sampling amok fish curry in Siem Reap. Visit November through March for cooler temperatures and clear skies after the monsoon.

15. Day 6

    My Tho

    Vietnam

    

    My Tho offers the most accessible gateway into the Mekong Delta, where the great river fractures into a web of channels, floating markets, orchid gardens, and coconut-palm islands that feel entirely removed from the pace of Ho Chi Minh City, just 70 kilometres north. A sampan journey through Thới Sơn Island's narrow waterways, past honey-bee farms and cottage workshops pressing coconut candy, captures the unhurried rhythms of delta life with immediacy no museum could replicate. The city is at its most photogenic in the dry season from November to April, when clear skies illuminate the jade-green water hyacinth drifting on the current.

16. Day 7

    Kampong Cham

    Cambodia

    

    Kampong Cham unfolds along the Mekong's western bank in a languid rhythm far removed from Cambodia's tourist circuit — a provincial capital where saffron-robed monks cross bamboo bridges at dawn and French colonial villas drowse behind frangipani trees. The highlight is Wat Nokor, a twelfth-century Angkorian temple whose moss-covered sandstone galleries envelop a functioning Buddhist sanctuary in a haunting conversation between centuries. The nearby rubber plantations, a legacy of French Indochina, offer a window into the region's complex history. Kampong Cham is best visited November through February, when the dry season transforms the Mekong into a serene silver expanse.

17. Day 7

    Kampong Tralach

    Cambodia

    

    Kampong Tralach, Cambodia is a distinctive port city where deep cultural heritage meets authentic local atmosphere, featured on itineraries by AmaWaterways. Must-do experiences include exploring the vibrant local markets for regional specialties and fresh seafood, and discovering the waterfront quarter where maritime heritage meets contemporary energy. The optimal time to visit is November through April, when dry season brings clear skies and calm seas.

18. Day 7

    Kampong Tralach

    Cambodia

    

    Kampong Tralach, Cambodia is a distinctive port city where deep cultural heritage meets authentic local atmosphere, featured on itineraries by AmaWaterways. Must-do experiences include exploring the vibrant local markets for regional specialties and fresh seafood, and discovering the waterfront quarter where maritime heritage meets contemporary energy. The optimal time to visit is November through April, when dry season brings clear skies and calm seas.

19. Day 8

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

20. Day 8

    Phnom Penh

    Cambodia

    

    Phnom Penh rises from the confluence of the Mekong, Tonlé Sap, and Bassac rivers with a resilience that makes it one of Southeast Asia's most affecting capitals — a city that endured the Khmer Rouge's "Year Zero" and has re-emerged as a place of broad riverfront boulevards, excellent Khmer cuisine, and a cultural energy that feels earned rather than manufactured. The Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda, housing a life-size gold Buddha studded with 9,584 diamonds, is the city's architectural centrepiece; the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a former high school converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge, is sobering but essential history. November through February offers the most comfortable climate for extended exploration.

Cabin Categories

Panorama Suite

Suite

245 sq ftMax 2A

Stateroom Features: Comfort Collection Beds Egyptian super-combed cotton linens Soft & firm pillows Choice of bed configuration Nightly turn-down service Bedside tables with reading lamps 14' Wall-to-Wall Panoramic window measuring that opens to create a large Open-Air Balcony Large private bathroom featuring full shower with glass door, hairdryer, and premium L'Occitane bath amenities Spacious closets with shelves for ample storage Easy under-bed luggage storage Alarm clock Writing desk/vanity with mirror & comfortable chair In-house telephone Bathrobes & slippers Complimentary filtered water In-room safe Individual climate control One King-Sized Bed or Two Twins USB Ports

King or Twin ConfigurationShowerToiletries ProvidedRoom Service AvailableMini Bar (Additional Cost)TV+3

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Panorama Suite

Suite

245 sq ftMax 2B

Stateroom Features: Comfort Collection Beds Egyptian super-combed cotton linens Soft & firm pillows Choice of bed configuration Nightly turn-down service Bedside tables with reading lamps 14' Wall-to-Wall Panoramic window measuring that opens to create a large Open-Air Balcony Large private bathroom featuring full shower with glass door, hairdryer, and premium L'Occitane bath amenities Spacious closets with shelves for ample storage Easy under-bed luggage storage Alarm clock Writing desk/vanity with mirror & comfortable chair In-house telephone Bathrobes & slippers Complimentary filtered water In-room safe Individual climate control One King-Sized Bed or Two Twins USB Ports

King or Twin ConfigurationShowerToiletries ProvidedRoom Service AvailableMini Bar (Additional Cost)Safe+2

View Details ›