Vietnam tours from Canada tend to get sold in pieces: a week in the north, a beach add-on, maybe Angkor Wat tacked on if you ask. What most itineraries don’t tell you upfront is that the country rewards the opposite approach. Hanoi’s old quarter, the karst islands of Ha Long Bay, the lantern-lit streets of Hoi An, the tunnels and markets of Ho Chi Minh City and the temples of Angkor connect into one long, coherent story if someone plans the whole route for you instead of stitching it together yourself.
Vietnam and Cambodia tours from Canada mean long flights, five internal connections, and a genuine logistics puzzle if you’re doing it independently: which regional flight to book, which town to sleep in the night before an early departure, which border crossing needs a visa arranged in advance. We built ours around solving exactly that. If Vietnam has been on your list, here is what an Approach Tours trip actually looks like, what it costs, and how we plan around the parts that catch first-time visitors off guard.
Key Takeaways
- Vietnam is only half the story, and we say so upfront. Our Vietnam & Angkor Wat Tour is 20 days, all-inclusive, and runs from Hanoi and Ha Long Bay down through Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta before crossing into Cambodia for Angkor Wat. See our full breakdown of Vietnam and Cambodia tour options.
- Two countries, one properly connected route. Most Vietnam-only itineraries stop at the border. Ours carries straight through to Siem Reap, so you see Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat itself as the natural closing chapter rather than a separate trip you’d have to plan and book twice.
- Capped at 30 travellers, all-inclusive from your private car to the airport at home right through to gratuities on the ground, with a 24/7 Group Guru alongside your dedicated tour guide and local guides throughout.
- This is rated High difficulty, and we say so plainly. Tunnel crawls at Cu Chi, an early wake-up for Ha Long Bay’s Tai Chi session, and a genuinely full 20-day itinerary across two countries make this a trip built for travellers who want the real thing and can keep pace with it.
- Not sure Vietnam and Cambodia belong in one trip? Our Vietnam and Cambodia tour planning guide for Canadians walks through how the pairing works.
Why Vietnam and Cambodia reward a guide who knows them
Everyone pictures Ha Long Bay first, understandably, its limestone islands rising straight out of the water like something from a folk tale. But some of the more memorable context on this trip comes a few days later, on a quiet stroll through Hoi An’s ancient town, and it starts with a small covered bridge most visitors photograph without ever asking why it’s there.
The Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An was built around 1593 by the town’s resident Japanese merchant community, who traded there for two centuries before Japan closed its borders to the outside world. [The bridge is one of the only structures from that era still standing anywhere in the country.] Local legend gives it a stranger purpose than simple river crossing: a monstrous creature called Con Cù was said to have its head in India, its body running underground through Vietnam, and its tail in Japan, and its restless movements were blamed for earthquakes felt in all three places. The bridge, according to that legend, was built directly over the point believed to be the creature’s spine, meant to pin it in place and keep the ground still.
That is the kind of detail a good guide hands you standing on the bridge itself, not read off a plaque you skim once and forget by lunch. It is also, honestly, why we think a small group with a dedicated Group Guru and local guides beats touring Vietnam on your own. You could cross that bridge without the story. You would not feel the same about a town that once sat at the crossroads of three trading empires.
What a typical Vietnam & Angkor Wat itinerary covers
Our Vietnam & Angkor Wat Tour runs 20 days and treats the whole route, Vietnam and Cambodia both, as one trip rather than two. The rough shape of it, without pretending to cover every stop:
Hanoi and the north first. You will land, meet your Group Guru and the rest of your small group, and settle into Hanoi’s Old Quarter with an evening water puppet show. A day trip out to Ninh Binh follows, sometimes called “Ha Long Bay on land” for its limestone towers rising out of rice paddies, before a fuller look at Hanoi itself: West Lake, the Tran Quoc Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and the former Hoa Lo prison. From there you board a boat for an overnight cruise through Ha Long Bay, rowing into Luon Cave, climbing Titop Island and waking to a Tai Chi class on deck before exploring the Sung Sot Cave.
From the bay, a flight carries you to Hue for the Imperial Citadel, Dong Ba Market and Emperor Tu Duc’s mausoleum, then the Ocean Cloud Pass on to Hoi An for four nights: the UNESCO-listed ancient town, a cooking lesson in the farming village of Tra Que and a street food tour through its lantern-lit lanes. A short flight south brings you to Ho Chi Minh City for Cho Lon’s markets, the Reunification Palace, the Cu Chi tunnel system and a Mekong Delta cruise to the island of Ben Tre. The tour closes in Cambodia: Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm’s tree-choked ruins, a sunrise visit to Angkor Wat itself and a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake, before a farewell dinner with Apsara dancers in Siem Reap.
Costs, timing and getting there from Canada
The Vietnam & Angkor Wat Tour runs from $10,995 CAD per person in double occupancy for 20 days, all-inclusive, from international flights with Air Canada and five regional flights right through to gratuities on the ground. Single travellers pay a $2,000 supplement, and departures in fall 2027 carry a further $200 supplement. If you would rather arrange your own international flights, the Land Only option saves $1,675. Deposits are $500 per person at time of booking, $1,000 per person 45 days later, with the balance due 90 days before departure.
Wondering when to actually go? We have a full seasonal breakdown for Vietnam and Cambodia that walks through the monsoon patterns in both countries, worth a read before you pick a date. If you’re weighing this trip against other options, our full cost breakdown for a Vietnam and Cambodia trip goes deeper into what’s included.
Radically All-Inclusive, applied to Vietnam and Cambodia specifically
“All-inclusive” gets used loosely by a lot of operators. For us it means a private car to and from your home airport, international and regional flights, 16 nights in first class hotels plus one night aboard the Ha Long Bay cruise, a dedicated tour guide alongside local guides in each region, entrance fees at every stop, luxury coach transfers and luggage porterage, and tips for every service provider along the way. You will not be sorting out which regional flight connects Hue to Da Nang or negotiating a tuk-tuk fare to Angkor Thom on your own. Your Group Guru handles it, and handles the small stuff too: the reservation nobody remembered to make, the traveller who wants a slower morning after the overnight cruise, the details that add up to a trip that actually feels connected rather than five separate stops stitched together.
Built for Travellers 55 and Up: difficulty, honestly addressed
We rate this itinerary High difficulty, and we are not going to soften that. Between the crouched crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels, an early-morning Tai Chi session on a rocking boat deck, and a genuinely full 20-day pace across two countries and five internal flights, this trip asks something of you physically. So here is the thing: we would rather tell you that upfront than have you find out mid-tunnel.
It still rewards the effort. Your Group Guru and local guides are there for every stop, not just the highlight-reel days, and nobody is required to go below ground at Cu Chi to enjoy the visit; there is ample opportunity to view the tunnel network from above instead. Our physical requirements FAQ covers what to expect in more detail, and our Vietnam and Angkor Wat guide for seniors is worth a read if pacing is your main concern.
How to choose the right Vietnam tour
A few things worth checking before you book with anyone, us included: does the itinerary actually carry through to Angkor Wat, or does it stop at the Cambodian border and call it a complete trip? Is the group genuinely capped, or does “small group” turn out to mean forty travellers on a coach? And does the operator handle the five internal flights and the Vietnam-to-Cambodia border crossing for you, given how easily a missed connection can unravel this kind of route?
We think our answer to all three holds up. A 30-traveller cap, a route that treats Vietnam and Cambodia as one trip instead of two, and a Group Guru who has done this exact itinerary before and knows which flight to build slack around.
Related Articles
- Best Cambodia & Vietnam Tours: Find Your Perfect Trip
- Small Group Tours Vietnam: A Guide for Mature Travellers
- Vietnam and Cambodia Tour Planning Guide for Canadians
- Vietnam and Angkor Wat Senior Tour: A Guide for Seniors
- How Much Does a Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia Cost from Canada?
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Approach Tours Vietnam itinerary?
Twenty days, all-inclusive, covering Hanoi, Ninh Binh and Ha Long Bay in the north, Hue and Hoi An in central Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta in the south, and finishing in Siem Reap, Cambodia for Angkor Wat.
How much does a Vietnam tour from Canada cost?
Our Vietnam & Angkor Wat Tour starts from $10,995 CAD per person in double occupancy, with a $2,000 single supplement, a $200 supplement on fall 2027 departures, and a $1,675 discount for travellers arranging their own international flights.
Is this itinerary difficult for travellers with mobility concerns?
We rate it High difficulty because of the Cu Chi tunnel visit, an early-morning Tai Chi session aboard the Ha Long Bay boat, and a full 20-day pace across two countries, and we would rather tell you that upfront. Nobody is required to descend into the tunnels themselves; there is ample opportunity to view the network from above. Our physical requirements FAQ is a good place to start.
What is the best time of year to visit Vietnam and Cambodia?
It depends on which regions you’re weighing against each other, since the north, central coast and south of Vietnam run on different monsoon patterns. Our seasonal guide to Vietnam and Cambodia breaks it down in detail.
Does the tour include both Vietnam and Cambodia?
Yes. This itinerary treats them as a single trip rather than choosing Vietnam’s coast or Angkor Wat on its own. Sixteen days through Vietnam lead into a flight to Siem Reap and a four-day close covering Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat itself.
