spruce1984

The days meals were not included on the tour were the first day in Hanoi when lunch and dinner were on your own, the day we arrived in Siem Reap dinner was not included, the two full days in Siem Reap lunch was on your own, the day we arrived in Saigon dinner was on your own and the last full day in Saigon lunch and dinner were on your own. While on the cruise all meals were provided.

Regarding the carry-on luggage, a good amount of people had roll-ons and no one was checking the weight. We flew Vietnam Air which was not bad

Hope this is helpful.

We just returned from the AMAWaterways cruise in Vietnam and Cambodia three weeks ago and had a wonderful time. It was one of the best trips we have taken and everyone we met enjoyed it immensely.

As for luggage you should be fine with what you are planning to take. My partner and I also had two checked suit cases that weighed around 40 lbs and two carry-ons (we also have not learned the art of packing light). For the trip to Ha Long Bay we were fine with our carry-ons. For the flight from Hanoi to Siem Reap the carry-ons were also fine. The tour director explained that the checked luggage is weighed for the whole group so if some luggage is slightly over the weight limit it will be offset by other luggage that is under the maximum weight.

You will definitely need sun screen and mosquito repellent. We did not really need it for Hanoi but used it once we got to Cambodia. We used if for the temple excursions and then for the excursions on the Mekong. Each morning we applied the sun screen first, waited about 10 minutes, and then applied the mosquito repellent and this worked for the entire day. The guides also sometimes had mosquito repellent. Our travel doctor prescribed anti-malarial medication but we decided not use it because of the possible side effects. Also, make sure you bring enough hand sanitizer.

As for restaurants, we tried not to eat in the hotels since the meals were very expensive and we wanted to experience more of the local cuisine. We arrived in Hanoi two days before the land portion started and stayed at the La Siesta Hotel in the Old Quarter before transferring to the Metropole. The hotel was wonderful and we had three meals in their restaurant, the Red Bean Restaurant, since we were fighting jet lag and did not want to venture too far afield. The food in the restaurant was excellent and the pho there was the best we had in Hanoi. We also hired a private tour guide to show us around Hanoi before we started the AMAWaterways tour and he recommended Chim Sao, 65 Ngo Hue, for dinner. This is about a 15 minute walk from the Metropole or a short cab ride. The food here was also excellent and was definitely worth the trip. And another evening we ate at Nha Hang Ngon, Tran Hang Dao 26 which was recommended by the tour director and was also very good.

In Siem Reap we ate at MAHOB Khmer Cuisine which is very close to the Sofitel. The concierge recommended the restaurant and made the reservations for us. The restaurant will also send a tuk-tuk to pick you up at the hotel free of charge. We ate here for dinner one evening and lunch another day since it was so close and the food was excellent. The walk back to the hotel took about five minutes.

In Phnom Penh we ate at Romdeng which is a training restaurant where kids from very poor families or who live on the street are trained in cooking and restaurant work so they will have a skill. We went with a group of people we met on the cruise and everyone enjoyed the meal. The front desk on the ship made the reservation and gave us a print-out of the confirmation. We took tuk-tuks that were parked near where the ship was docked to the restaurant. And after the meal the restaurant called for tuk-tuks to take us back to the ship.

In Saigon we also ate in another training restaurant, Koto Kumbo near the Sofitel Hotel. This restaurant is in a shopping mall where the Saigon Hard Rock Café is also located. We went with the same group who went to Romdeng and everyone again really enjoyed the food. The hotel can make a reservation and give specific directions.

If you have any other questions about the trip let me know.

I believe you can only do the visa on arrival if you fly into Vietnam. If you are flying into Siem Reap and entering Vietnam while on the Mekong you will need to have your visa ahead of time. We are doing the Mekong cruise with Ama Waterways next January and flying into Hanoi where we can get the visa on arrival at the airport.

A question for those flying from the US to Hanoi or Saigon. Did you get your visa from a Vietnamese embassy or consulate before you left or did you use the Visa on Arrival program? From preliminary reading the Visa on Arrival seems a lot less time consuming.

Thanks.

Looking forward to your report. We are booked on the same trip in January 2017.

My partner and I are booked on the Roof of the World tour next June and I would like to thank everyone here for all the wonderful information. It was very helpful in deciding to book this tour since we have never done a river cruise before.

We already booked our flights ourselves since we wanted direct flights and were able to get bulkhead seats.

I do have a few questions I am hoping someone can help out with. We booked our travel insurance through Viking (which I will not do again after reading some posts about this) and discovered that our airfare is not covered since it was not booked with Viking. Is it worthwhile getting insurance coverage for our flights so flight delays or lost luggage will be covered.

Also, we will be arriving in Beijing two days early and would like to book our hotel reservations at the same hotel where we will be staying with Viking. How soon does Viking make the hotel assignments? I believe we will also need this information for our visas.

Finally, how far ahead can you book a reservation at Black Sesame Kitchen? We would like to dine there the Wednesday before our tour begins.

Thanks.

My partner and I are going on Viking's Rooftop of the World tour in June. I have been to Beijing before but my partner has not and has always wanted to see the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the terra cotta warriors in Xian. And since we are traveling this far we thought we would add Tibet and a Yangtze River cruise.