Saigon to Bangkok by Bicycle - 14 Days

Welcome to Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City)! After making your own way to the hotel you are free to explore the city at leisure, discovering the sights, smells and sounds of Vietnam’s former capital. This evening the group will get to know each other over dinner at one of the city's enchanting restaurants.

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Cycling Distance: 0km

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

After breakfast it's a two-hour transfer to Ben Tre, the gateway to the Mekong Delta. Today's ride down narrow roads and lanes will take you into the heart of the Mekong, past banana plantations and fields of sugarcane. The cycling surfaces will be mixed, with some gravel and dirt lanes weaving around hamlets, across rivers and through thick vegetation. A ferry crossing takes you to Tra Vinh, a pretty tree-lined town which is home to many ethnic Khmers.

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Cycling Distance: 65km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Guesthouse in Tra Vinh

Today's route is peaceful and scenic all the way to your destination of Can Tho. There will be plenty to see, from contrasting architectural styles of Khmer homes and temples to the rich and colourful river scenes as you cross the numerous small bridges.

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Cycling Distance: 92km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Can Tho

A morning visit to Cai Rang Floating market sets the mood for today’s Mekong Delta bike ride under Thot Not (toddy palms). After arriving in Thoi Lai you will be a transferred to the lunch stop where you can relax before a one hour transfer to Ba Chuc. Here you will have a sombre visit to the Killing Fields of Vietnam, where Pol Pot’s regime massacred over 3,000 Vietnamese in 1978. After looping around Ba Chuc along the Cambodian border you'll ride the rest of the way to Chau Doc along scenic country roads. Your ride finishes at Sam Mountain in time to see the sun setting over the rice fields before a final short transfer to the hotel.

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Cycling Distance: 70km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Chau Doc

You'll leave Chau Doc and Vietnam behind today with an early morning boat cruise up the Mekong River to the Cambodian Border. After stopping for immigration formalities you'll take a leisurely journey upstream to Phnom Penh. The 5-6 hour cruise will give you the opportunity to view daily life unfolding along the river and its banks. You will arrive in Cambodia's bustling capital in time for lunch and spend the afternoon sightseeing in the city. Your tour will include the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the interrogation centre where supposed enemies of the Khmer Rouge regime were held captive, tortured and prepared for execution. It's now a place of reflection for Cambodians and international visitors alike. You'll also visit the Royal Palace, the official residence of the King of Cambodia, with its treasure trove of splendid architecture and art.

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Cycling Distance: 0km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Phnom Penh

Today's ride starts in the suburbs of Phnom Penh after a transfer out of the busy city centre. You'll get a taste of Cambodia's rustic countryside as you cycle through farmland and many villages with their stilt houses. Of course you'll also encounter curious and friendly locals! The ride will end at Oudong where a sprawling complex of Buddhist stupas (commemorative monuments) sit on top of a ridge. This was once the site of Cambodia’s capital before it was moved further down river to Phnom Penh. The 400-plus steps to the top will get the legs working, but the views are well worth it! Then after lunch nearby, it's a 3 - 4 hour transfer to the sleepy backwater town of Kampong Thom where you'll spend the night.

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Cycling Distance: 27km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Kampong Thom

Rural Cambodia will be showcased today as you ride through quaint villages and farmland with expansive rice fields. For the first 8km you'll follow the meandering Stueng Saen River before crossing over on a small ferry (or by bridge depending on the water levels). Then you'll continue north along quiet country roads which dissect the river's fertile floodplain. After a total of 40km you'll arrive at the ancient site of Sambor Prei Kuk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which dates back to one of Cambodia’s earliest civilisations. Here, brick temples in various stages of restoration - many still entwined with tree roots - are scattered throughout a forested area connected by sandy paths. This makes for some fun riding! After visiting some of these temples it's time for lunch at a local restaurant before cycling the last 15 km to the main road. From here its a two hour transfer to Siem Reap, the “gateway to Angkor”, where you’ll spend the next three nights.

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Cycling Distance: 64km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor is home to the once-glorious capital cities of the Khmer Empire, whose powerful god-kings built lavish stone temples between the 9th and 15th centuries. Today, you'll discover Angkor’s most iconic sites as you cycle along the myriad of paths that lead to the temples and ruins scattered across the plain. At Ta Prohm, brought to fame by the film “Tomb Raider”, you'll stumble across a tumbling façade of laterite and sandstone blocks, draped by the massive roots of fig trees. At the Bayon, you can marvel at the rows of godly faces carved into the temple towers and peering sublimely in all cardinal directions. Then at Angkor Wat, the national symbol of Cambodia and the largest religious structure in the world, stroll through the inner and outer courtyards decorated with excellently conserved carvings and bas-reliefs depicting Hindu myths, wars, life and death. You'll return to Siem Reap in the afternoon.

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Cycling Distance: 48km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

Today’s focus is to keep away from the touristy parts of Angkor. On your bikes you'll be heading north, firstly on paved roads which soon transition to quiet dirt roads through rice fields and small villages. Along the way, you can visit local houses for a close up view of some rural cottage industries such as basket weaving and sugar palm production. Today's ride ends at the 10th-century temple of Banteay Srey, considered a jewel of Khmer artistry and known for its exquisite bas-reliefs carved into delicate, pink sandstone. After lunch at a local restaurant a transfer returns you to Siem Reap (or you can cycle back along the main road). Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool, having a massage or exploring the town of Siem Reap. Dinner tonight is own arrangements.

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Cycling Distance: 54km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation: Hotel in Siem Reap

No cycling today but there will be plenty to see and do! This morning we'll visit the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake and one of Cambodia’s most treasured life-sustaining natural resources. During a boat cruise to a floating village, you'll learn about this unique waterborne way of life. After returning to shore there will be a  2.5 - 3 hour transfer to the city of Battambang (the transfer may be by boat if the lake levels are high enough). While Battambang is Cambodia’s second largest city, it retains a laid-back vibe and is renowned for its well-preserved façade of French colonial architecture. After lunch and some free time you can particpate in two local experiences. First, a fun ride clattering along the tracks on the bamboo train, then as dusk draws in, you'll head over to Phnom Sampov. Here you'll experience a spectacular natural phenomenon that takes place every day - the mesmerizing exodus of millions of bats swirling into the twilight sky from the depths of a cave. You'll be getting around in  iconic Cambodian tuk-tuks this afternoon!

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Cycling Distance: 0km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Battambang

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This will be the longest ride of the tour, as you cycle west to the border down of Pailin. After an initial busy section out of the city it becomes quieter as you head into the heart of Battambang Province. This is one of Cambodia’s most fertile agricultural regions awash with farms, plantations and rice paddies. The paved roads are lined with traditional stilt houses, modern homes and buzzing market towns, which exposes an interesting cross section of rural living in Cambodia. Most of today's ride is flat except for some undulations over the last 30 km as you climb into the foothills of the jungle clad Cardamom Mountains. After nearly 100 km you’ll arrive at your hotel on the outskirts of Pailin town. Today, this part of Cambodia is a peaceful agrarian district but until the 1990's it was a stronghold for the Khmer Rouge. You’ll learn about this legacy as well as Pailin’s position as a hub for gemstone trading.

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Cycling Distance: 98km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Pailin

Today it's a short, easy ride on quiet scenic roads to the border crossing. This rural road used mainly by local traders makes for a pleasant stop while you complete all immigration formalities. Then you ride through the Thai countryside to the main road from where a transfer (after a change of guides, vehicle and bikes) takes you to the beach at Chantaburi in time for lunch.

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Cycling Distance: 44km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Chantaburi

Our last ride of the tour is a flat and easy cycle through mangroves, shrimp farms and along the coast to a local Thai beach where you'll stay tonight. The afternoon is free to spend swimming and relaxing.

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Cycling Distance: 65km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel in Laem Mae Phim

You have the final morning of the tour to relax at the beach before we leave for our three hour transfer to Bangkok. We arrive in the city around 3pm and say farewell.

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Cycling Distance: 0km

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: