The Magical Mekong Cruise & Beach Stay in Phu Quoc with Wendy Wu Tours

Heather, one of our seasoned travel agents, recently embarked on a dream holiday that combined the serenity of a Mekong River cruise with the idyllic beaches of Phu Quoc, Vietnam. Her journey, alongside her husband Norry, began on May 13th, 2024, marking the start of an unforgettable adventure across Southeast Asia. The couple flew from Manchester to Siem Reap with Emirates, finding comfort and excellent service in economy class. They arrived safely and smoothly, ready to dive into the wonders that awaited them.

Heather’s Mekong River Cruise and Phu Quoc Adventure Blog

Myself and husband Norry have just returned from our bucket-list holiday to South East Asia 

We flew with Emirates from Manchester via Dubai & Bangkok to Siem Reap. We found the flights with Emirates in economy comfortable, the seats and seat pitch were very good and there were plenty of films to watch to keep us entertained. 

The flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap took just over an hour and upon first view of the aircraft we were a little daunted as the aircraft had propellers, not to worry though we arrived safe and sound! (Visa’s are included as part of the package with Wendy Wu, however, you do need to complete an Immigration card upon arrival at Siem. Once checked in for the night we jumped straight into the pool to relax and get acclimatised! 

We decided to have an early night after the long journey, our hotel was only 20 minutes from Angkor Wat, we were so close we had to get up early 04:00hrs and visit for sunrise, we booked the trip independently, and the hotel assisted us with booking a return taxi. Tickets for Angkor Wat are £37.00 per person, our taxi driver assisted us with the ticket purchase and took us to the entry side East of Angkor Wat, he was a really good tour guide! Unfortunately for us, it was cloudy, however, this did not detract from such a magical experience and would highly recommend a visit if you are in Siem Reap.

Back to the hotel for breakfast and for our 0800hrs pickup to take us to the Victoria Mekong, once checked in at the holding hotel down the road from us we met up with our fellow travellers (24 of us in total a mix of Brits and Australians) we boarded the coach for our journey to Kampong Cham. The journey took around 6 hours with comfort breaks and lunch on route. The drive was interesting and some of the terrain was questionable but we were excited and looking forward to our first glimpse of the Victoria Mekong. 

Upon arrival, we were met by the crew onboard, luggage was taken from us and we settled into our balcony cabin and were ready to embark on our journey along the mighty Mekong from Cambodia to Vietnam. 

As part of the Wendy Wu tour, we were on Victoria Mekong, one of the region's newest ships with only 35 cabins, launched in 2019.

We were located on Deck 2 outside deluxe balcony cabin (all cabins are balcony) 25m2

The size of the cabins are one of the largest on the River and include mini-bar (chargeable) bathrobes, slippers, Netflix on TV, etc - Very comfortable, the bed was huge! Separate rainfall shower area to the toilet which was located on the other side of the cabin so plenty of room. The infinity pool at the back was great, with plenty of areas to relax with or without shade, and the Sun Deck again had plenty of loungers and mini golf, a cinema onboard, and a library. 

Meals were in the Claypot restaurant, really cute. They went along the public areas with a gong once meals were ready to let us know the restaurant was open, buffet breakfast, lunch, and dinner off a set menu with just one choice and we also had two BBQ's whilst onboard. Top Tip, use the laundry if you are extending your holiday, the cost of washing and pressing your clothes is so cheap and a super quick service!

We found the Victoria Mekong to be very good, drinks during mealtimes are included, however, you could always grab a soft drink and a beer which is included outside of mealtimes, would we travel on the Victoria Mekong again? Yes, we had a fantastic time onboard and the staff and Tour Director onboard were very friendly and attentive.

Day 1 - Angkor Ban and Silk Island 

Our tour guide was called Mooney, he stayed with us during our time in Cambodia. Our first excursion took us to visit Angkor Ban and Silk Island, we enjoyed a morning excursion to explore the village of Angkor Ban with its wooden stilt houses and local vibe. After having lunch on the ship, we travelled by three-wheeled tuk-tuk to Silk Island where we learnt about the process of silk weaving, from worm to loom, with the chance to observe local families weaving the iconic Cambodian krama. We were also blessed by a local Monk. 

Day 2 - Oudong and Phnom Penh 

We enjoyed a walking tour of the village of Koh Chen where the highlight was meeting a local copper and silversmith, we then travelled by coach to Oudong, the ancient capital of Cambodia. 

After lunch on board we arrived in Phnom Penh and experienced a peddled powered cyclo to the elegant Raffles Hotel Le Royal for a signature cocktail at the famed Elephant Bar, the journey on the cyclo was so much fun, and our skilled drivers expertly weaved all 24 of us in and out of the traffic with ease.

Day 3 - Phnom Penh 

Today we explored the majestic Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda complex and walked to the nearby National Museum, which is a beautiful sandstone building which showcases the world’s largest collection of Khmer art. 

We paid our respects at Choeung Ek, one of the mass grave sites of the Killing Fields which was both insightful and informative we were all extremely touched by the recent history of the Killing Fields, and we then returned to the Victoria Mekong to enjoy a lively Apsara dance performance before dinner and to say goodbye to our tour guide Mooney. 

Day 4 - Into Vietnam 

We met our new tour guide Nam, who affectionately named us his ‘Sticky Rice Family’. The ship began cruising towards the Cambodia-Vietnam border. This section of the Mekong is so interesting. We relaxed in the Infinity Pool and watched the changing scenery. 

We anchored up and awaited customs clearance, the traffic on the Mekong is incredible and just watching the daily life is something we will never forget. Upon arrival in Vietnam, we boarded a tender sampan which took us ashore to visit a local temple, fish farms and stilt houses and offered us our first glimpse of the Vietnamese countryside. We returned onboard for a traditional lion dance before dinner. 

Day 5 - Phu Tan & Tiger Island 

We were tendered ashore at Phu Tan to visit a craft village famed for handmaking Ca Rang clay stoves. After lunch on board, we headed ashore by our sampan and explored Tiger Island by a 3-wheeled xe loi and learnt about cottage industries such as plant pot and incense making, we also met a VE veteran of 93 years young who invited us into his home, we had our own UK Veteran David travelling with us 92 years young and it was lovely to see them greet each other. We visited a site locally known as “Mr Tiger’s Temple” to hear the story that won the island its name. 

Day 6 - Long Xuyen and Dinh Yen 

This was such a great experience we travelled by tender to the Long Xuyen floating market where the local people who live on the boats sell their wares on the water boat by boat, it was more like a floating warehouse as everything is bought in bulk. 

We then toured the An Glang Museum, which offered exhibits of Kinh Chinese, Khmer and Cham cultures in the region, lunch onboard as we cruised towards the village of Dinh Yeh where we observed colourful straw mats being woven om mechanised looms, this evening we enjoyed a traditional southern Vietnamese folk music performance known as Don ca tai tu followed by a final farewell dinner. 

Day 7 -

We said goodbye to our fellow travel companions, some were stopping in Ho Chi Minh, others travelling to Hanoi and 12 of us had opted for the Island extension in Phu Quoc. 

We boarded our coach and travelled from Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh Airport. The journey took approximately 3 hours. We flew with Vietnam Airlines to Phu Quoc and found the airline to be very good, the flight was just under one hour.

We checked in to our hotel for the next 7 nights Bed & Breakfast, Vietnam is very cheap to eat out so no need to worry about staying in the hotel for dinner, there are so many restaurants offering different cuisines, Phu Quoc is a relatively young tourist resort and has one long road containing several bars and restaurants, there is a night Market, and numerous Spa & Massage facilities. 

We enjoyed our time in Phu Quoc, our hotel was directly on the beach which was a stone's throw from the pool area. Here offered plenty of shade underneath the palm trees, traditionally. May is not the ideal time to travel due to humidity and is classed as out of season, the weather was very hot and humid, we experienced around 15 minutes of rain during our 7-day stay, and were very lucky and really could not complain. 

During our stay we visited Star Fish Island which is situated in the North of the Island. We booked our trip via a local taxi driver and also visited the waterfalls. What a fantastic day out we thoroughly enjoyed it, the cost was £24 for the two of us for over 4 hours.

Such great value for money, we enjoyed a couple of massages during our stay, again very reasonably priced, after our week sightseeing on the Mekong we just wanted to relax and enjoy our time chilling out by the pool and Phu Quoc ticked that box for us. 

Day 15 -

We packed up and took our Vietnam Airlines evening flight from Phu Quoc, grabbed our luggage and headed from the domestic terminal in Ho Chi Minh and checked in for our flight via Dubai to Manchester 

This was a bucket list holiday for us, we would recommend Wendy Wu Tours should you wish to enjoy a cruise along the lower Mekong, all the excursions, entrance fees and visas are included with the price of the cruise, Full Board including wine, beer and soft drinks during meal times, you can choose a variety of extensions once you cruise comes to the end, or fly home the choice is yours. 

Would we recommend it? YES! Although you need to be aware that some of the terrain is rough and ready, disembarking the Victoria Mekong in some of the villages can be via a steep gangplank and the tender sampans again may not accessible for the less mobile. 

When you're next looking for an amazing adventure, think about the Mekong River Cruise and Phu Quoc adventure.