Cambodia Family Holiday with Teenagers

Xin chao! Welcome to Vietnam. Your adventure begins in Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll have a welcome meeting at 5 pm tonight to meet your trip leader and the other families you’ll be travelling with. If you arrive early, why not get out and about in Vietnam’s largest city, formerly known as Saigon. Go for a stroll to see some of the city’s most iconic landmarks like the People’s Committee Building, the Opera House and the French-era Central Post Office, or head to a cafe to try the famous Saigon ca phe sua da (iced coffee with condensed milk). After the meeting, get to know your fellow travellers over a welcome dinner of delicious southern Vietnamese cuisine.

Have a leisurely morning before taking a private bus to the Spice Garden in Cu Chi for a farm-to-table cooking class. See how the organic produce is grown and harvested at this community-run garden, then head into the kitchen and learn to prepare some authentic local dishes like Vietnamese pizza (a crispy rice paper base topped with egg, spring onion and sausage), banh xeo (crispy, savoury pancakes filled with meat, seafood or mung beans and served with a tangy sauce) or fresh spring rolls. The kids will love getting their hands dirty in the kitchen, and you’ll go home with a new recipe to cook together. Tuck into your freshly prepared feast for lunch, then hop back into the bus, headed to the Cu Chi Tunnels for a guided tour. This extensive underground network was initially dug by the Viet Minh and later expanded by the Viet Cong, spanning about 200 km (124 mi). They were used to house hospitals, dwellings and schools and were extensively used for refuge, storage and as a military base. After, travel to Tay Ninh – this mountainous province is known for the ornate Cao Dai Temple and the Black Virgin Mountain, the highest peak in southern Vietnam.

Today is a long travel day, so make sure you and the kids are set up with plenty of good books or playlists for the drive. Travel to the Xa Mat Border and cross through the Trapang Phlong border into Cambodia. Continue the drive to your hotel, stopping for lunch on the way. When you arrive in Sen Monorom, you’ll join your leader for an orientation walk through the city. Sen Monorom is the capital of Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province and is filled with picturesque waterfalls, hills and forests. After the walk, head out for dinner with your leader and the other families.

Spend a full day coming face-to-face with gentle giants at the Elephant Valley Project. This was the first elephant sanctuary established in Cambodia and is the region’s largest, providing more than 1500 hectares of forest, grassland, rivers and bamboo groves for the seven elephants in the sanctuary’s care to roam. You’ll have an early start, kicking off your day with a guided hike where you’ll learn about elephant welfare as well as the traditions and culture of the local Indigenous Bunong people. Observe these incredible creatures as they go about their daily activities – these elephants have all either suffered from injuries or were former working elephants and are in the process of rehabilitation. Your hike will finish up at the forest basecamp, set in a valley with a view over the neighbouring 300,000-hectare Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. Tuck into a buffet lunch prepared by local Bunong cooks, then enjoy some time to lounge in a hammock and really soak up your surroundings. In the afternoon, you’ll play your part by doing some volunteering. Depending on the season, you might help with reforestation or small building projects.

Go on a coffee farm tour this morning. Walk through the coffee nursery, plantation and processing facilities as you learn about growing, harvesting and processing coffee from bean to cup. Taste a fresh brew for yourself while sitting on the mountains, taking in views of the landscape below. You might also spot some of the farm’s wildlife like the endangered, black-shanked douc. After your tour, transfer to the province of Kratie. When you arrive, you’ll take a boat trip on the Mekong River to see the endangered Irrawaddy dolphins. It's estimated that only 92 of these dolphins still remain here in the Mekong and they are considered a sacred animal by both Khmer and Lao people. Later this afternoon, take a ferry across the Mekong River to reach Koh Trong Island. When you arrive, hop onto a bike and explore the island on two wheels – this island is completely vehicle-free. Tonight, sit down to a home-cooked dinner and get to know your hosts who you’ll be spending the night with.

Have a home-cooked breakfast, then say goodbye to your host family. Hop back on a bike for the short ride to the pier, where you’ll catch a ferry back to the mainland, then travel on to Siem Reap. When you arrive, follow your leader on an orientation walk to get the lay of the land. Siem Reap is known for the incredible Angkor temple complex, which you’ll spend a full day exploring tomorrow. For dinner tonight, why not take the kids out for some street food – try num poum (coconut waffles), prahok ktis (a rich minced pork dipping sauce, typically eaten with fresh veggies) or num pang, which is similar to a Vietnamese banh mi.

After breakfast, set off to discover the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Angkor temple complex. Hop onto a tuk-tuk for a guided tour with a social enterprise that provides sustainable employment opportunities for local women. Follow the Small Circuit to see the mighty Angkor Wat, the grand Bayon and the jungle-covered Ta Prohm. Some of the buildings in the complex are more than a thousand years old, dating back to the Khmer Empire. Make plenty of stops to take family photos and keep an eye out for the monkeys that gather on the temple ruins. Tonight, you’ll head to Phare, the Cambodian Circus. Combining music, theatre and dance with acrobatics, juggling, aerial acts and contortion, this circus is made up of young performers from vulnerable backgrounds and is sure to be a highlight of the trip.