Suggest an Asian river cruise

We've done European river cruises and would like to try Asia next.

What were your favorite itineraries- and cruise lines ?

I have done a Mekong River cruise twice. Once with Pandaw and once with Jahan Cruises. Both fantastic and i would recommend either company.

We did the Yangtze and Mekong river cruises with Viking. Both were excellent. We are doing the Irrawaddy in Jan with Vantage...have only read good reviews about this one so we are very excited. Both the Yangtze and Mekong are well cruised rivers and really any company you chose based on your personal preferences and budget should be fine.

I haven't gone on either yet, but I am doing the Mekong with Ama in November, and the Irrawaddy with Avalon in November 2018.

For the Irrawaddy, I really want to do the Upper Irrawaddy, which is only cruised by Pandaw and Avalon. There are a number of reasons that I chose Avalon. Pandaw is priced in US dollars, which for me as a Canadian is a risk. They also want a 25% non-refundable deposit, while Avalon only wanted a CAD$250 deposit. Since I booked at the beginning of 2017 (almost 2 years before departure) the deposit issue is huge. I didn't bother insuring the $250 deposit, because the cost of cancellation insurance would be more than the deposit. For the Pandaw, I would have to insure immediately, and cancel for any reason doesn't pay back everything, which makes for a lot at risk. Both require final payment 90 days out.

I also prefer the cabin on Avalon. I like the interior hallway rather than having people promenading outside my window.

We did the Yangtze and the Mekong. Both were great trips, very different.

The Yangtze was a three day cruise as part of a month long trip through China with a San Francisco based company called ChinaFocus. It was one of the best trips we ever did. When you choose the Yangtze, pay close attention to the other places the tour takes you. I would recommend to select one that includes a Li River day cruise from Guilin in Southern China. Both rivers are surrounded by dramatic scenery. We traveled in May with pleasant weather.

Our Mekong trip was with APT and part of a longer trip with a start in Hanoi and a two night cruise on Halong Bay. I highly recommend more than one night on Halong Bay. We then flew to Ho Chi Min City, spent two nights and started our Mekong River cruise on the AmaLotus in a port which was a bus ride out of town.

The guides were excellent, the ship was pleasant, the scenery is a flat landscape. The included excursions are short and go to river side towns, villages, temples, all of them highly interesting to me. Our cruise ended in a village north of Phnom Penh. From there a bus took us to Angkor Wat. This trip was in February. North Vietnam was relatively cool, a bit like Florida winters, Ho Chi Minh City was just right . The Mekong was warm and Angkor Wat was humid and hot.

We cruised the Mekong with Avalon--ship capacity 32 pax. We sailed with 19. Three years ago they were the only ones sailing right from HCMC. The trip ended in Bangkok. We stayed an extra week and the joined GCT for a trip on the Irriwaddy--a fantastic trip. There were only 19 of us on this trip also. Pat

We did the Irrawaddy and the Mekong with Vantage. Each was a great trip. Mekong includes Ankor Wat if that is important. Irrawaddy was my favorite...longer time on the ship and a little less naive to tourists. Evaluate what ship your cruise company of choice is using they do make a difference and sometimes the company swaps ships from year to year. Our ships were lovely with GREAT staff and the inside corridors made our cabins bright and airy and kept bugs out (unless we opened our balcony door with the light on)!!! Some of the ships have a small pool and that would have been nice on these hot humid itineraries. I am not sure Vantage is using the same ship on the Mekong as when we traveled with them (fall 2016).

We did the Mekong (+ Siem Reap, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, and Saigon) with Uniworld. Described in detail on my blog (link in the signature). Loved the trip, and we're going to Egypt with Uniworld next year.

We did Shanghai to Beijing on Viking--it was excellent--still one of our favorite trips and Vietnam/Halong Bay/Cambodia on AMA and it was also, excellent!!!

Recently we've done, the Yangtze, the Mekong and the Nile (yes I know the Nile is in Africa, not Asia :) )

I'd say it is worth deciding on just how much 'river' you want as these three cruises are in ascending order of river content.

Most of the China tours will have an extensive land portion and only 3-5 days actually on the river.

The Mekong tends to flip that around with a few days on land and the majority of time on the river.

The Nile cruise we went on was the traditional but hard to find 'long Nile' cruise from Cairo to Aswan with the entire 15 days spent on the river, no hotels on land were involved.

You can opt for a more land based Egyptian cruise if you prefer of course.

We loved all three, but on balance we prefer more river and less land as it saves you from spending too long living out of a suitcase as you will tend to do on the Yangtze 'cruises'.

We were very pleased to have been to China though as it was an unmissable adventure, but probably not one to think of as a 'cruise'.

India was a pretty cool trip, but a bit of a whirlwind. With Uniworld we did half land, half cruise. They took great care of us and lodging, food were top notch.

You could spend less time on the river, but that week on the boat was very relaxing. And it was very welcome after the frenetic week of land touring which preceded it. A nice first visit.

Second the Egypt recommendations. Wow. What a trip that was.

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Our Mekong trip was with APT and part of a longer trip with a start in Hanoi and a two night cruise on Halong Bay. I highly recommend more than one night on Halong Bay. We then flew to Ho Chi Min City, spent two nights and started our Mekong River cruise on the AmaLotus in a port which was a bus ride out of town.

 

I searched for APT and I came up with this tour:

https://www.globaljourneys.com/coach_tours/asia/south_east/apt/vem17.php

Is this the company you used? And the tour you were on?

And if yes, did you book directly with the company or use a travel agent? Any problems being in the US and working/booking with an Australian company?

Appreciate any help you can give me. Looks like a great itinerary.

gnome 12- How was your trip? Any feedback?

On the Mekong-Were you in Vietnam ? I see it also goes through China, Laos, Thailand Cambodia and Myanmar.

gnome 12- How was your trip? Any feedback?

 

On the Mekong-Were you in Vietnam ? I see it also goes through China, Laos, Thailand Cambodia and Myanmar.

I really enjoyed my trip. The Mekong part of the trip was in Vietnam and Cambodia, from Prek Dam (about 5 hours from Siem Reap) to My Tho (near Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC). Ama did a really good job. The staff on board were very helpful. I enjoyed most of the guides except the one on the bus from My Tho to HCMC. I also did the extensions at both ends, 3 nights in Hanoi and a night on Halong Bay, 3 nights in Siem Reap and 2 nights in HCMC.

For some reason, Ama didn't tell us in advance that there were excursions scheduled on the free day in HCMC. I had already made plans from home before I left, so I did my own excursions.

On the Mekong in Vietnam, the stops are small towns; it isn't so much scenery that you look at, but rather learning about the way that people live.

We had 24 people with us from Hanoi, and mostly stayed together. Part of the reason for that is that on board the ship, half of the people were part of a single group that mostly stayed together, and didn't mix with others on board. It isn't really my preference.

The entire trip gives you a chance to try out all sorts of different means of transportation; we travelled by tuk tuk, sampan, ox cart, and trishaw. (Most of these are really no longer used by the locals; they do it for the tourists.) On my own, both before the group got together in Hanoi and in HCMC, I also travelled by motorbike, vespa, and speed boat. I think that I experienced a lot of very different things.

I can't wait for you to do your Myanmar trip! I wish ours was in Nov...the wait is killing me. Are you planning on bringing school supplies with you?

I really enjoyed my trip. The Mekong part of the trip was in Vietnam and Cambodia, from Prek Dam (about 5 hours from Siem Reap) to My Tho (near Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC). Ama did a really good job. The staff on board were very helpful. I enjoyed most of the guides except the one on the bus from My Tho to HCMC. I also did the extensions at both ends, 3 nights in Hanoi and a night on Halong Bay, 3 nights in Siem Reap and 2 nights in HCMC.

For some reason, Ama didn't tell us in advance that there were excursions scheduled on the free day in HCMC. I had already made plans from home before I left, so I did my own excursions.

On the Mekong in Vietnam, the stops are small towns; it isn't so much scenery that you look at, but rather learning about the way that people live.

We had 24 people with us from Hanoi, and mostly stayed together. Part of the reason for that is that on board the ship, half of the people were part of a single group that mostly stayed together, and didn't mix with others on board. It isn't really my preference.

The entire trip gives you a chance to try out all sorts of different means of transportation; we travelled by tuk tuk, sampan, ox cart, and trishaw. (Most of these are really no longer used by the locals; they do it for the tourists.) On my own, both before the group got together in Hanoi and in HCMC, I also travelled by motorbike, vespa, and speed boat. I think that I experienced a lot of very different things.

Rebel, my honest opinion - if you want to leave a donation buy your goods locally at the market (more folk will benefit). We made an impromtu school visit and I purchased one vendors entire stock of toilet paper (24 rolls). Whats the worst that can happen it is back for sale the next day

Rebel, my honest opinion - if you want to leave a donation buy your goods locally at the market (more folk will benefit). We made an impromtu school visit and I purchased one vendors entire stock of toilet paper (24 rolls). Whats the worst that can happen it is back for sale the next day

That is a good idea. I was thinking since I have a year I could stock up on the after school sales for the basics and take them with me. Since we are limited on luggage for this trip, I was planning to check a fold up duffel filled with goodies

As noted and connected below, we just got back from our first river boat and Avalon sailing. It was for the Mekong River!!

Well-pleased with Avalon, the ship, staff, food, tours, etc. On my live/blog, there are dozens of pictures and many details to document these fun adventures and travels. Happy on the live/blog to answer any and all questions, share more info/background, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

Here are just a few visuals samples from what we saw and did with Avalon while sailing along the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Many, many more photos and details on the full live/blog.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

We saw many temples, palaces, markets and samples of daily life/work, including at this below spectacular Royal structure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.:

I searched for APT and I came up with this tour:

 

https://www.globaljourneys.com/coach_tours/asia/south_east/apt/vem17.php

 

 

Is this the company you used? And the tour you were on?

 

And if yes, did you book directly with the company or use a travel agent? Any problems being in the US and working/booking with an Australian company?

 

Appreciate any help you can give me. Looks like a great itinerary.

This is the same trip and ship but in the reverse as AMAWaterways Mekong, so if you're struggling to find an APT itinerary try AMA. The APT folk do it northbound, and AMA takes it southbound, or at least that's how it worked when we did it a couple of years ago. I know that AMA has a new ship (but identical I think) and not sure if APT is using that one as well or if the two sister companies have just each taken a ship. It was an amazing, amazing trip with AMA.

We did the Yangtze trip with Uniworld and it was wonderful. We didn't get to the Li River, and would like to go back. We took the Vantage trip on the Ganges Voyager and are looking now at the Upper Irrawaddy with Avalon.

If I could only do one again, it would be the Mekong and would add days in Hanoi to the front of the trip.

We did the trip along the Mekong with The MV Jahan (about 42 passengers), started a short bus ride out of Ho Chi Minh. I personally would stay away from the larger boats and boats that have rooms off a promenade. Also the larger boats can not make the trip all the way to Siem Reap due to the low bridge before Tonel Sap Lake and shallow water and a long bus trip is involved. This can also happen due to the seasons - high and low water. We were fortunate to be able to travel all the way across the lake - was one of the many highlights of our trip - took most of the day and was so calm and serene. The cruise line provided supplies for the schools on our behalf, though I had purchased some items at home and they gave them to the teachers. Check what your cruise line policy is. Enjoy your trip whoever you go with - Vietnam & Cambodia are beautiful countries and the local people are wonderful despite what they have endured over the years.

This is the same trip and ship but in the reverse as AMAWaterways Mekong, so if you're struggling to find an APT itinerary try AMA. The APT folk do it northbound, and AMA takes it southbound, or at least that's how it worked when we did it a couple of years ago. I know that AMA has a new ship (but identical I think) and not sure if APT is using that one as well or if the two sister companies have just each taken a ship. It was an amazing, amazing trip with AMA.

Thank you!