Cruising Saigon to Phnom Penh by RV Toum Tiou 6 Days

07:45 Toum Tiou is open for embarking.
08:00 Clearance of departure formalities. Security briefing.
08:30 Departure for My Tho
Lunch and leisure on board during navigation.
17:30 Arrival at My Tho - Toum Tiou drops anchor on river in the proximity of Thoi Son Island.
Local musician band embarks to play traditional music for 45 minutes.
19:00 Welcome drink and info meeting about cruise, crew introduction.
Welcome dinner. Overnight on board.

07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Local boats come alongside Toum Tiou to pick up passengers and transfer to the mainland.
Departure for Vinh Trang Pagoda by car - Short panoramic tour of My Tho town on the way. Contin for Dong Tam Snake Farm and My Tho Market.
On the banks of a northern arm of the Mekong, My Tho, which translates as "fragrant herb", where tourists come to discover the beauty of the delta. It's a quiet, prosperous city of about 100,000 inhabitants, famous for its many fruit orchards, gardens and the huge rice fields that surround it. The climate is warm and pleasant year round.
The surrounding countryside is home to one of the most luxuriant gardens of Vietnam, with its coconut palms, banana and mango trees.
10:45 Return at the pier - you cruise on the river to Thoi Son Island by local boat to visit the island, explore local people’s daily life and enjoy locally seasonal fruits.
13:00 You re-embark Toum Tiou that leaves My Tho for Cai Be
Lunch and leisure on board.
18:00 Toum Tiou at anchor on river on the proximity of Cai Be.
19:30 Dinner and overnight on board.

07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Locals boat come alongside Toum Tiou, pick up pax and cruise around Cai Be Floating Market Continuing for Vinh Long - a brick and pottery factory, the Binh Hoa Phuoc Islet Nursery of Fruit Trees as well a typical house and a show room of traditional farming tools.
Vinh Long, which translates as "Majestic Dragon", is right in the middle of the delta, between two arms of the Mekong. The soil of Vinh Long is enriched by silt deposits, making it ideal for growing mandarins and other citrus fruits. Life is organized around the water. Houses on stilts, hawkers in boats, hundreds of small craft crisscross in all directions. The hospitality of the locals makes it a tourist destination par excellence.
12:30 Return on the Toum Tiou, departure for Sa Dec. Lunch on board during the navigation.
15:00 Arrival at Sa Dec - Short panoramic tour of Sa Dec and transfer to Trung Vuong primary school.
Continuing to Kien An Cung Pagoda.
Stroll around Sa Dec Market along Sa Dec River bank. This small city of 30,000 inhabitants is fascinating in its unspoiled authenticity and undisturbed by tourists. It provides a glimpse of the delta where a few colonial houses still remain, including the "Chinaman's house" (from Duras' novel "The Lover", also made into a movie).
17:00 Return to the boat with stopover at a nursery of flower and bonsai trees. Famous for its horticulture (it has many varieties of fabulously exotic flowers) Sa Dec was known as the "Garden of Cochin Chine" during colonial times.
18:30 Re-embarking, Toum Tiou leaves Sa Dec port and drop anchor few miles away.
Dinner and overnight on the river.

06:30 Early departure for Chau Doc.
07:00 Breakfast during navigation. Leisure and relax onboard.
13:30 Arrival after lunch at Victoria Hotel Chau Doc jetty.
Located to the north at the beginning of Mekong's famous delta, Chau Doc straddles both banks of the Mekong which fans out to the dimensions of a river mouth here. Floating fish farms have sprung up everywhere. Bamboo fish drying racks are set up a meter above the water's surface. The bourgeoning downtown area features some charmingly rustic colonial buildings, squeezed in by the marketplace - the colorful, vibrant heart of the city. As always, these busy parts of town, despite their sometimes strong odors, offer wonderful photo opportunities...
14:30 Departure for fish raising rafts and Cham minority village by local boat.
Return to the Victoria hotel for a walk to Chau Doc market. Visit of Sam Mountain which peaks at 237 meters. Its well-known Buddhist sanctuaries offer an unobstructed view over the mosaic of glistening rice paddies below. To the left is Cambodia, and the flow of the Mekong on the horizon breaks into an infinity of silver ribbons. Visit on the way of the Lady Chua Xu temple and Tay An Pagoda.
18:30 Return to the boat after sunset.
19:00 Dinner at the Victoria Hotel’s restaurant.
Overnight onboard at the jetty of the hotel; you are free to enjoy the hotel facilities (swimming pool, billiards, bar, Internet) or stroll in Chau Doc.

07:00 Toum Tiou leaves for Vinh Xuong (Vietnamese border) Breakfast during navigation.
11.00 Arrival at Vinh Xuong check-point - Formalities clearance for Toum Tiou to cross the border.
13:00 Toum Tiou leaves Vinh Xuong check point for Cambodia. Lunch during the navigation.
14:00 Arrival at Kaam Samnaar check-point - Formalities clearance for crossing the border.
15:30 Toum Tiou leaves Kaam Samnaar check point for Kôh Dek Chau Island.
16.30 Arrival at Kôh Dek Chau island.
A short break along the way, it allows to get a fascinating, close-up look at daily life in Cambodia.
On the fringes of civilization, the 600 people who live on Kôh Dek Chau will receive your visit with some surprise. School children will escort you along your way. You will go through the village that occupies the full length of the island, walking along a trail shaded by date palms.
17:30 Toum Tiou leaves for Phnom Penh and drops anchor few miles away.
19:00 Farewell cocktail (1 glass of local liquor or juice) with Master of Ship & Cruise Manager.
Captain’s farewell dinner (Enriched menu + 1 glass of wine). Overnight on board.

07:00 Breakfast
08:00 Departure of Toum Tiou for Phnom Penh. Time to pack, leisure onboard.
13:00 Arrival at Phnom Penh after a last lunch onboard.

Tour cost in US$ per person
Hotel Class	Number of persons in group
	2	3	4	5
3 Star	Please contact us for best prices!
4 Star
5 Star

Fully-paneled in wood, with charm and comfort in mind, we designed it in keeping with the local style. Modestly sized and with the safety of a steel hull, its low draft makes possible an access to the smallest and remotest of villages. With the tasteful decoration of a bygone era, the Toum Tiou has 10 cozy double cabins with private shower, a large lounge area, a panoramic viewing space to the front, a half-covered bar-restaurant to the rear and a roof patio. Air conditioning, hi-fi system and library are provided.

The captain, ship hands, hostesses, cooks and purser are discreet and inconspicuous in the performance of their duties.

 

This traditional locally built boat started out as a freighter with a metal hull and a capacity of 150 tons, with two large but low-ceiling decks in order to maximize storage space. Like all ships of this type, it went up and down the Tonle Sap and Mekong, stopping at Siem Reap, Kompong Cham, Kratie and Stung Treng.

We stayed as close as we could to the original line of the ship, because we wanted to retain its slightly curved and elegant lines.

The Toum Tiou measures 38 meters long and 7 meters wide in the middle. It has 10 rooms in all (3.3m x 2.5m), 4 on the main deck and 6 on the upper deck, each air-conditioned and with a bathroom (2.5m x 1.4m) including toilet, shower and sink. The water on board is taken from the river, passed through a powerful filtration system and chlorinated in the final step of the treatment.

In order to make the best possible use of the common areas from the standpoint of both size and variety we have installed a library-reading room on the lower deck. There is also a covered space at the front of the middle deck, a restaurant to the rear anda half-covered sundeck on top.