A fascinating journey to countries where authenticity can still be felt: Vietnam, where green rice fields are cultivated by women in straw hats. Spectacular natural sites such as Ha Long Bay with limestone cliffs jutting out of the water. Fascinating cities like Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) – the most vibrant city in Vietnam. Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam, the beautiful city with heritage and the ancient imperial capital. Colorful minority tribes in the north and the Mekong River Delta in the south, where traditional daily life is still conducted, with markets floating on the water. The highlight in Cambodia is the visit to the famous ancient temples of Angkor, one of the most important temples in Southeast Asia, which are on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Arrival to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. Which was the capital of Vietnam until 1975, when the armies of the North defeated the armies of the South and unified the country. It is the largest city in Vietnam, the heart and soul of the country. A dynamic, vibrant city, which concentrates on commercial, economic and cultural activities. After landing, transfer to the hotel.
The 75 miles of Ko Chi Caves will be our main destination today. The name does not indicate the content – Ku Chi means the land of blooming gardens. We will leave Ho Chi Minh City towards the southeast to visit what was the hidden paradise of the Vietcong fighters and the surrounding villagers who hid and today it is one of a large number of battle sites that have become interesting tourist destinations.
READ MOREThe visit will include watching a film describing the Vietnam War in the area, the bombings of the American B52 planes, the attempts of the villagers to escape to hiding, the communist guerrilla war. At the end of the visit, we will continue to visit Tai Ninh, a city sacred to the believers of the “Kau Dai”, a unique Vietnamese religion that combines Buddhist, Confucian and Christian elements. In the evening we will go to a spectacular show at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House.
Close thisAfter breakfast we will go on a trip to the Mekong Delta. On the way we will see the locals in the flat rice fields. Upon arrival in Kai Ba, we will sail to the real and authentic floating market on the spot. We will see the locals exchanging goods, fruits and various groceries while sailing in their small boats.
READ MOREWe will stop in one of the villages to visit tropical fruit plantations. We will continue along the small canals and enjoy the sights of the upper Mekong Delta. We will visit places where the locals run small family businesses of making coconut sweets and rice popcorn. Later we will reach the village of Vin Long – the green pearl of the area where you can feel the wonderful integration with nature. Enjoying authentic Vietnamese music inside a bonsai garden. In the afternoon we will go back to Ho Chi Minh City.
Close thisToday we will go on a tour of the city that was the capital of South Vietnam. We will visit the War Museum, see the Union Palace, the Central Post Office and the Notre Dame Church. We will be impressed by the wide boulevards and the special architecture of the city. At the end of the tour we will go to the airport and fly to Danang. After landing, we will go to our hotel in Hoi An.
After breakfast we will go to visit Banna Hill. There we will take a cable car and visit the magnificent golden bridge that appears to be held by two giant hands made of huge stone. We will return to the hotel to prepare for Shabbat. Prayer and festive Shabbat night meal.
After the prayer and the Shabbat meal we will walk around the old city, the Japanese bridge and see the Phuoc Kien temple and the ancient houses of the city. We will continue and wander through the beautiful alleys of the city. On Saturday night, we can go to the night market.
After breakfast, we will travel to the pottery village of Tan Ha whose residents specialize in pottery and making household utensils from clay and ceramics. You will see some of them already on the way to the village, cutting wood to heat the oven into which the dishes prepared by the rest of the residents will go in the courtyards of the houses.
READ MOREYou can watch the preparation process in one of the houses of the friendly residents. At the end of the tour we will go to the airport and fly to Siem Reap, which is located near the city of temples – Angkor. The temples of Angkor, which number about 100 in number, are the sacred remains of a large governmental and religious center that were built in the 9th-13th centuries to glorify the names of the kings of the Kingdom of Khmer. In the 15th century, Angkor was largely abandoned, and the forest covered the temples. About 100 years ago, the French naturalist, Henri Mouot, rediscovered it and from then until today, efforts are being made to clear the jungle vegetation that threatens to completely destroy the remains of the buildings.
Close thisToday we will visit the king’s capital city, Angkor Thom. We will see the balcony of the elephants from which the king surveyed his victorious armies, returning from the battle. We will also see the balcony of the leper king, which was named so because of its faded and mossy color, which evoked the resemblance to leprosy and reminded of a Cambodian legend about the king of Bangkor who was afflicted with leprosy.
READ MOREWe will visit Bayon Temple, the last state temple built in Angkor at the end of the 12th century. The temple is known for its 200 peaceful and massive stone portraits, which are located on the 54 towers of the temple. The temple also has many reliefs, which present a unique variety of mythological and historical scenes alongside scenes from everyday life. We will visit the famous temple, the Angkor Temple, which is included in the list of UNESCO heritage sites. We will continue to the Bakhang Temple, which was built on top of a hill and from where we will watch the sunset. In the evening, we will enjoy a relaxing reflexology treatment.
Close thisToday we will go to visit the “Floating Village”, about half an hour’s drive from Siem Reap on a bumpy and typical Cambodian road. Most of the houses are built on stilts in the Tonle Sap River separated from Cambodia. We will go to the airport and fly to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. After landing, transfer to the hotel.
After breakfast we will visit the charming area of Mai Chao, immersed in rice fields and small authentic villages with houses made of wood and bamboo. We will visit some local villages and get to know the residents of the area who are Thais of tribal origin in the Thailand region and also a little bit from Laos and China. At the end of the tour we will return to Hanoi.
This morning we will go to one of the natural wonders of Vietnam, Long Bay. Its calm waters are dotted with thousands of small islands and towering cliffs jutting out of the water and creating a unique landscape. The name Long Bay means “the place where the dragon descends into the sea”.
READ MOREThe name is related to a legend about a dragon that created the bay and the islands with its flapping tail. We will go on an experiential cruise in the gulf between the thousands of islands, of different sizes and heights, all of them made of karst rocks, jutting out of the turquoise water and creating a one-of-a-kind landscape.
Close thisThis morning we will visit the local fish market. After the visit, we will make our way back to Hanoi. Upon arrival, we will visit the Museum of Ethnology, without a doubt the most fascinating museum to be found in Hanoi.
READ MOREVietnam is a culturally rich country housing almost 54 different ethnic groups in one place. The museum therefore gives insight into the cultural diversity of Vietnam and also helps promote socio-cultural harmony in the country. At the end of the tour we will return to the hotel for Shabbat preparations, Shabbat reception and Shabbat dinner.
Close thisAfter the prayer and Shabbat dinner, we will conduct a walking tour of the hotel area.
This morning we will go on a tour of the pleasant and calm Hanoi. We will walk in the ancient quarter, west of the Chuong Duong Bridge near Huan Kiem Lake and which is the fascinating focus of the capital, we will wander and be impressed by its narrow streets, the many artisans, shops and merchants that inhabit it.
READ MOREWe will see the mausoleum where the body of the leader Ho Chi Minh was embalmed, one of the most important sites of Hanoi and an example of personality cult. We will visit the house where Ho Chi Minh lived and a museum named after him, built in the shape of a lotus flower. We will also see the opera house which reflects the influence of France on the architecture of Hanoi. We will visit the one column pagoda, which is just like its name – a wooden pagoda built around a single stone column that represents the stem of the holy lotus. We will continue on to the Prison Museum where the freedom fighters against French occupation were imprisoned- also called the Hilton Hanoi. The prison reminds us of the Underground Prison in Jerusalem. We will then set off for a bicycle trip in the ancient city of Thom to finish off our most interesting tour of Vietnam and Cambodia. We will say good-bye to Vietnam and travel to the airport for our flight back home.
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Guide: Mrs. Rona Michelson
* Price per person in USD double or twin room
** Supplement Price for single room
Domestic Flights
Air-conditioned tourist coach
Half Board throughout plus supplies to make sandwiches for lunch
English-speaking local guides and a professional experienced guide from the staff of Shai Bar Ilan
Entrance to all sites mentioned in the itinerary
Tips for local service providers
4 &/or 5 star class hotels throughout
International flights
Private expenses (drinks laundry & dry cleaning shopping etc.)
Travel Insurance
Tip for our tour guide (Recommended: $5 per person per day)
Shows and evening entertainment not included in the itinerary
Visa for Vietnam (if necessary)
Visa for Cambodia: $40 (paid directly at Cambodia airport)
There may be changes to the order of places visited. We will make every effort to visit every place mentioned in the itinerary.
The tour organizers have no control over airline services such as seating, special meal requests, changes in departure times or delays. These remain the sole responsibility of the airline company.
Only strictly kosher food is provided to our travelers on all our tours. On some of our tours we are able to provide glatt meals. Kashrut is of utmost importance to us and we take special measures to ensure that everything served is kosher.
Breakfast is prepared using our utensils. We use local fresh fruits and vegetables, and we use milk products when they are permitted. We use kosher cereals, and bread. We usually serve hard boiled eggs and sometimes scrambled eggs or omelets. At breakfast, we prepare our lunches so that people have their choice as to what they eat for lunch. We bring food from Israel to supplement what is served in the hotel such as cheeses, peanut butter, tuna, etc.
For dinners, we serve either fish or meat (usually chicken) as our main course. In areas where meat is not available nor readily acquired, we will have fish. When possible, we acquire the meat locally from Chabad or other reliable kosher source, and in some cases we fly the meat in from Israel. We try to provide as many meat meals as possible. The main course at dinner is preceded by soup and salad and accompanied by freshly prepared vegetables. Dessert typically consists of fresh fruits.
We do not guarantee Pat Israel and Chalav Israel for all destinations.
In many destinations we have our own dishes and silverware. Where we don’t, we provide disposables at the meals. When we cook in hotel kitchens, we use our own knives, cutting boards, pots and pans, cooking implements and disposable metal trays. All food preparation is done on covered surfaces under the strict supervision of our trained staff/guides who function as our mashgichim.
We make great efforts to assure that our travelers will experience local foods first-hand, while maintaining stringent observance of Kashrut laws on all occasions.
On most of our tours, you will be accompanied by two of our staff members- one a guide for the tour who is knowledgeable about the places you are visiting and will accompany you throughout the day and the second, a person who will deal with the logistics of the tour and provide kashrut supervision in the kitchen.
It is our aim to provide the finest hotel possible in each area we visit. We require our hotels to allow us to work in the kitchen and to supervise the cooking and there are many hotels that are not willing to cooperate. They simply have no desire for us to be “meddling” in their cooking process nor are they happy about our bringing our equipment into their kitchens. We work very hard to find the best hotel in the area that will meet our requirements. Because we are not ready to compromise on kashrut, we may not always be able to use a five star hotel.
A $500 USD Deposit per person must be received at the time of booking in order to confirm your reservation. Payment in full is due 90 days before departure. A minimum number of participants are required to operate tour dates. If a minimum number has not been reached prior to tour departure and the tour is cancelled you will receive a FULL refund.
• 60 days before departure bookings are refundable less a $100 administration fee
• 59-30 days prior to departure: 25% of total.
• 29-15 days prior to departure: 50% of total
• Less than 14 working days prior to departure: 100% of total – no refund
• We strongly recommend purchasing Travel Insurance.
