Mekong River Cruise. 4 Key Things You Really Need To Know !
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2024
- Discover the 4 essential things you need to know about a Mekong River cruise through Vietnam and Cambodia. I was invited by CroisiEurope to cruise on the Indochine II between Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap on a classic Mekong River cruise itinerary. Along the way I discovered four things that I think anyone interested in, or considering doing, a Mekong River cruise needs to know. I explore what the river is, where it goes, best times to go, the main experiences and sights and what you can expect from a Mekong river cruise ship and on-board experience.
Note: CroisiEurope sponsored my Mekong River cruise and I travelled as their guest. Find out more about their Mekong River cruises at www.tipsfortravellers.com/Cro...
Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 77 cruises at time of making this video.
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The last time I was on the Mekong river I was I'm a swift boat and people were shooting at me
I did not have a good cruise.
It must be a wonderfully adventurous experience. BTW, what sort of weapon did you shoot in return?
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING !!!!!! You are the best Travel Agency on the Planet !!!! :) You missed your calling !!! THANK YOU !!!!
Thanks 😀😀😀
I have been to almost all of these places an an independant traveler but not by cruising this cruise is ideal for seeing the highlights along the Mekong River.
Thanks for watching! Great to hear you enjoyed the video
We travelled to independently to Cambodia and Vietnam a few years ago. Wonderful trip and it is definitely worth spending time in amongst the locals, before and after the cruise. Its worth noting that when we were in Cambodia, the Tonle Sap lake was almost dry. (We were there in the dry season, April) and it was not navigable by boat. We had to make our way to Phnom Penh by bus and the roads are not that good. It took about 5 hours by road. Just something to consider.
Being from Saigon myself, I always advise people not to spend too much time in Saigon. It's super busy, and it's so modernized nowadays that you really don't see any sort of culture at all. See the Notre Dame Church (which was still under renovation last year when I was there), the Post Office, and Nguyen Hue Walking Street if you want. Also the Independence Palace if you want to learn some history (that was where the Vietnam War officially ended, according to OUR history). But that's about it.
Cu Chi Tunnels is a must-do though. I am fascinated by it every time I go there. I am a history buff so I enjoy that kind of stuff.
Basically, get out of the city.
Thanks! Appreciate you adding this!
I agree I live in Binh Duong not much to see in SGN compared to other VN cities like Hanoi.
LY TAYLOR Most of us would not like to go in the tunnels due to claustrophobia plus they are too small for westerners. I really cannot understand any fascination with them.
@@chriswilliams6568 You don't have to actually go down into the tunnels if you don't want to. It adds to the experience and you'd see the ingenuity of the people. But regardless if you do go down to the tunnels or not, you'd learn a lot of history.
And no, the entrance to the tunnel is not that little hole in the ground in Gary's video. Yes that WAS one of the the entrances in war time, but now they have much bigger entrances for tourists.
Ly Taylor you don't like it but other people may like it.
This cruise is definitely on my "must do" wish list.
It is definitely one to have on the list!!
I just returned from a similar cruise with #AMAWaterways. We had a fantastic time but I'd suggest that older people, or anyone with mobility issues, take a good look at the embarkation and disembarkation situation. I watched a lot of videos before we went, including this one, and I noticed that we would have to climb up and down steep banks and stairs just to get on and off the ship. Now, we'd never taken a river cruise before, so maybe that is the case in Europe also. For those, like us, who'd only done ocean cruises where we always docked at an actual dock, not walking directly onto a pier can be very difficult. My husband and I actually hired a personal trainer for two months before our trip and it was a good thing we did. We always opted for the "Gentle" walks and were able to get on and off the boat. The other difference is that the ship is not handicapped accessible. Again, river cruisers might know this, but as a first-timer, it wouldn't have occurred to me that there was no elevator on board. I'm so glad your video and others were available for me to view before our trip. We were prepared.
Just started watching your video and I can't seem to make myself stop. They're all wonderful and informative....
Thanks Gary!!
Thanks! Great to hear you started and enjoying them. Hope it continues 😀
Just about to book, so your wonderful video has really confirmed my want to do this. Thank you.
Oh this is definitely one for us, such an interesting part of the world! Thanks for the insights, excellent video as always!
It is phenomenal! Definitely have it on the list! Thanks for watching
Very interesting video Gary. I didn't know there were river cruises through this part of Asia. It all looks so beautiful: the people, the vegetation, the buildings, the cities, the weather. Thank you for all of your entertaining and very informative videos.
Thanks for watching! Great to hear you found helpful!
I actually think this looks amazing. I'm glad you did such a thorough look.
Thanks! Appreciate you watching!
Thanks for another great video. We just finished the Siem Reap to Ho Chi Min on December 28th and loved it. Your video did an excellent job of showing the highlights. We spent 4 days in Phnom Penh pre-cruise and another 2 days in Saigon post-cruise. We preferred Phnom Penh, but both were interesting and accessible. The cruise is definitely the way to go. Croisieurope was an excellent tour, but unfortunately we were the only English speakers on the Indochine II. It was both good and bad as we had private tour guides and transport in most cases, but little interaction with the other guests. If you're an English speaker, it might be preferable to look at other ship options unless you're ready for a French immersion experience. Thanks again and keep up the wonderful and informative videos.
Oh, now I have a new trip for my bucket list! Thanks for sharing your experience and what to expect!
Thanks for watching. It’s definitely one to have on the list. It is fantastic
This looks wonderful. We’re very destination driven and loved our tours in India, Kerala, Peru and Galapagos. Absolutely want to go on this thank you Gary brilliant videos.
thanks for a great review, brings back some happy memories cruising on the toum tiou. A voyage to be remembered
Good stuff Gary, I live in Vietnam most of the year and have traveled extensively with my wife and son there. We have a nice place outside of Saigon and being able to travel around the country as well as Cambodia is just a plus. Lots of interesting things to do and see.
Thanks for watching. Great place to live I am sure
Excellent, thank you Garry
I have visited Cambodia a couple of time, been to PP, and actually traveled by Bus from Thailand all the way to PP this was about 14 years back when the place was not over run by the Chinese, I managed to visit Angkor Wat twice. I want to cruise down the Mekong from Vietnam to PP that is definitely going to be a exciting experience. Excellent Video Gary.
Thanks for your great videos and sharing tips for all of us. Am focused on cruising Asia ... so appreciate any info.
You're videos are so informative! Thank you so much!
Thanks. Great to hear. Appreciate you watching 😀
@@tipsfortravellers 😁😁😁😁😁
That bee farm looks very interesting
It was great! The products were delicious
Yes!!! This is our 2023 if not 2022 cruise on AMA Waterways, Thank you for this video. This is great and saved in my favorites
Glad it was helpful! This is such a great itinerary. The AmaWaterqays ships look great
Fascinating.
Thanks! Appreciate you watching!
I was born in Vietnam! I’m so tempted to go on it!
Jelly hater here! Lol! The trip looked gorgeous. This trip and Antartica are on my bucket list. Curious, was the humidity off the charts? It looked pretty hazy in some parts.
It was great! It was not too bad humidity wise
I would suggest at least 3 days pre and post cruise in the city's of Saigon and Siem Reap and to do a street food tour in both cities. always a great way to experience the local food.
My other suggestion is to learn a little Vietnamese and a little Khmer so when you are on the shore you can at least say hello thank you and to much or no.
Beware of temple scams in Cambodia if there after the cruise.
Best suggestion imbrace the local culture, food {even the Durian}, and smile and laugh with the local as they are all really friendly....
I love all your videos but these are my favorites: where we hear about your own personal experiences!
Thanks! Good to hear the feedback! Will try and do more
shut up
我住在泰国可是我说中文！谢谢monsieur Garry！
Very informative video always first
Thanks for watching! Loving the first comment on the video :-)
Yet another brilliant interesting video as all your others. Are these still operating due to the virus. I really hope you do another on P&O as I’m planning to go on Ventura early next year hopefully in an aft cabin. Worked 5 great years in the 70’s with them. Thanks Tony
Thanks. Appreciate you watching. I think they still operating as many people fly in direct internationally so don’t go via cities and countries where flights affected. But sure it will be fluid and changing
I really recommend Indochine. I booked with them for Halong Bay many years ago. The service was flawless and the food was just amazing!
I also thought it was very reasonably priced for what you were getting!
Agree!
This is fascinating and beautiful. I have difficulty with heat and humidity, though, so is there a time of year that would be more comfortable?
could you do a video when where to travel by land tour, independent package, train, bus tour, river cruises, ocean cruises from a sightseeing, economic efficient.....? thanks, enjoy the videos
Thank you. we are looking at that very boat/cruise for 2025. How was the food? Did you have to have any special vaccines for those countries? Thanks.
Good to know Gary. Not for me, I could not eat the food on the ship or on land and have just been to Saigon, Danang and Nha Trang in Vietnam while on an Ocean cruise and would not go again. I do see however that a river cruise is the best way to go if one is interested in the area.
Lived in a house in Chau Doc, Vietnam for 3 months in 1972 and did not see that pagoda.
This looks great. Have had my heart set on the uniworld ganges voyager cruise but this has thrown a spanner in the works. Uniworld will be around £25k for 2, how much would this be on average?
thanks for a good video, where can I book this and where do it start?
Hi Gary, thanks for another informative review xxx As a person with mobility issues, I really appreciate that you do talk about accessibility...and I was wondering if you could do a video on cruises with good excursions for people who can’t do lots of walking? I have been wanting to cruise to Japan, but just about all the shore excursions involve lots of walking/ steps/ hiking activities... so where can I cruise that has good shore trips for the less able or energetic? Cheers from Cheryl
Cheryl Walsh I did an11 day Celebrity cruise on the Millennium in April 2018 for our 50 th anniversary to go around Japan and back to back with a 15 day that did 3 more Japanese cities plus Petropavlovsk Russia and back to Vancouver, where we live. I use a walker and most of the time I was able to manage. I did. it go ashore in Nagasaki though as the excursion said there was a lot of walking and my husband said it was a good job that I did not. We took the Shinkansen to Osaka from Kobe which was great, Kf there was a p,a e that I had enough walking, i would just hang around and wait for my husband. Japan is so safe there are no worries. I cannot walk too far. In a castle there was an elevator, and staff everywhere were very helpful and polite. In fact in Japan there is an over abundance of staff in these touristy sites. good luck, go for it once the Coronavirus abates.
Chris Williams thanks so much for taking the time to let me know your experience, Chris. I really appreciate it🥰
Nice video! You got cut off in the end and didn't say, "right now". :)
Very informative. Stupid question: were the cabins air conditioned?
Yes definitely as it was hot so needs it!
have you done any videos on ganges and does it enable you to visit taj mahal, red fort.....? yangtze? do you know any river cruises which visit leipzig, bergamo, busseto, eisenach, pesaro, or other classical music sights? if not, do you know any bus, train land tours or packages which do visit them? i would avoid visiting foreign sites instead visit local places.
Could you review Nile River cruises? India river cruises, as well, would be most interesting. Thank you!
I definitely want to do both of those!!
@@tipsfortravellers can't wait for Nile and India. Loved the Mekong.
are asian , south american, african river cruising much smaller and therefore much more expensive than a european say danube, elbe, main, rhine cruise?
We will be cruising the Mekong in 2024. What is it like to cruise with indochine team and not speak any French, only English? Thanks!
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 To each his own! But with all the places, this is not even on my list.
how about burma, thailand?
Myanmar vs mekong, thoughts?
Excellent video Gary! First question is where to do you embark and disembark so that I can try to figure out what airports to fly in and out of. Second question is how is the food selection onboard the cruise?. I'm not a "foodie", so even on a Euro cruise, I always like to know that I can get a hamburger or BLT sandwich if nothing that's local looks appealing. Thank you.
Thanks! The cruises go between Ho Chi Minh and Siem Reap, so those are the 2 airports. There is limited options on food with some choices but sure if ask they would do
Is there a best season/time for doing this cruise? I mean is there times when there is too much flooding or the water levels are too low?
The rainy season which is middle of the year is popular as the scenery is very green as all the rice fields are growing and the river and Tonle Sap Lake is full and so easy navigation. But any time is good
don't go during coronavirus season
Hello Gary, we want to do a Mekong river cruise, which company do you recommend? Thank you.
I did mine on CroisiEurope that were great but not to everyone's taste as most guests will be French. AmaWaterways and Avalon I have heard very good reports on there
Thank you.
Sounds like Meconium.
Hi Gary - did you pay for this fare or was the cruise complementary?
Do you have to be very fit for the excursions I have a bad ankle so can’t walk for hours a day.
They were not very strenuous no!
Tips For Travellers can you tell me who you booked with I think this looks wonderful my golden wedding anniversary was a year ago but we have waited to do something special.
n n thank you 😊
Lots of people know about Angkor Wat, but they don't know that Cambodia is probably the poorest country in Asia. The communists killed 1/5 (or 1.5 - 2 million) of the population during Khmer Rouge. It pains me to see the extravagant museums and palaces in the capital city, while people in other parts of the country live in houses made of dirt and roof with straws, with no utilities and access to basic health care. Not to mention the extremely corrupt government. This is all despite large amount of foreign tourists and foreign aids.
Because people stupid
All good but leave it until 2021. Joining a cruise before the CV-19 virus is eradicated is just too much of a risk, specially in that part of Asia because Vietnam and Cambodia have very poor medical facilities and limited capacity to quarantine.
Siem Reap is not on the Mekong.
i see nobody is paying attention to the virus traveling around the world..oh and yes 4 cruise ships are infected...why would anyone think of cruising right now?? or flying out of their own country?? or anything in crowds?? im sure it used to be lovely..but is anyone clued into the rest of the world and whats happening??? im wondering?????
Mayyyyybe cruising in Southeast Asia is not THAT great of an advise right now ;)
Thanks, but no thanks. I can still see the snakes in and around that place...
I only want to know who they feel about americans????
As a Vietnamese myself, I can say with absolute confidence: we LOVE Americans. Or any foreigners in general. There is absolutely no ill-will regarding the Vietnam War at all (most people have forgotten it or just don't care). We care much more about your tourist money.
@@lytaylor1204 Same every where Do any US war veterans ever tour Vietnam?
@@michaelvoisey8458 Oh, that I don't know. I can tell you there are many American vacationing as well as living in Vietnam permanently (it has become a popular place for retirement). I don't really know if any of them are US veterans. It's hard to tell cuz nobody asks and Americans don't go around in their uniforms.
No problem at all. I saw many ex-servicemen from Australia living and visiting. The allied forces, esp. USA, accepted no or little responsibility for Agent Orange, unexploded ordnance, and other atrocities from the war. However, many individuals and ex-service groups are doing great work that their governments refuse to do.
I spent a memorable evening getting roaring drunk with a former North Vietnam army officer, who loved to demonstrate how he shot down B52s, and he sang war songs in Russian. The Russians supplied and trained the NVA with anti-aircraft weapons to protect Hanoi and other cities.
There are absolutely no signs of animosity for what happened. The Vietnamese are an extraordinarily gracious and welcoming nation. As Ly Taylor says above, one of the best ways we can help Vietnam to visit, do it respectfully, and maybe visit some of the war sites that are incredibly moving and emotional, even after all this time.
Also visit one of the Agent Orange affected places - now, that truly is gut-wrenching. A less emotional site is to see the B52 that is still sitting in a Hanoi lake.
I am so disappointed. I've been thinking of a Mekong cruise and hoping it wasn't a shopping expedition for so-called native crafts or watching inauthentic dance and ritual routines. Shoot.
Ist you have to be nuts 2 you need to be stupid 3 you have to be blind to what's going on 4 don't go
Tip #1 - DON’T GO!
Martin Shaer why?