Aqua Expeditions

River Cruises

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Asia River

Asia

Excellent

Aqua Mekong

Mekong River from HCMC to Siem Reap in World-class Comfort with a Wonderful Crew

New York (Manhattan)

What a delightful surprise from start to finish! Everything went smoothly.  

The boat was well appointed. The food was top-notch offering wonderful Asian cuisine (plenty of western food options available for the selective eaters). The dining staff from Chef Davet to each and every server made all meals enjoyable.

Excursions: Getting around the Mekong on a skiff departing from your river boat is the absolute best experience. We saw floating markets from kayaks, we saw small towns from bikes (Cannondale hybrids with good shocks), we learned a lot and we were greeted with smiles and hello everywhere we went.   

The staff on the boat also put together sundowners (sunset viewings) from a beach one night and another from the skiffs themselves as a floating barge bar. Sunsets were spectacular and improved by laughing and aperol spritzes. 

Free daily laundry service was a HUGE help when you are biking or kayaking each day and need fresh clothes! 

Special callout to the teams that made our days better: Salet, Vandeth, Chetra, and our guides Vuthy, Houme, Cheriya, Narethe and Smiley. I am sure there are others I am forgetting or misspelling their names!  They all went above and beyond to make this experience.

We booked this cruise directly with Aqua Expeditions, and the reservation team was very reactive and helpful.

For the two hour transfer from Ho Chi Minh to the ship, we had opted for a Mercedes S-class transfer, which was excellent. 

The ship is gorgeous, with plenty of indoor and outdoor space. We had chosen a double cabin, which means that one cabin was set up as a living room and the other one as a bedroom. Consequently, we also had two bathrooms, which was extremely convenient. We were very happy to have chosen the double cabin, as the cabin otherwise would feel very small. However, other guests seemed perfectly happy with their cabins. The gym is obviously small and only offers some cardio equipment, but it was sufficient for a few days. I had three massages during the cruise, which were excellent. The free laundry service was great.

There were only 18 guests (+38 staff) on this cruise, and we quickly got to know each other and it almost felt like travelling with a group of friends. 

Excursions are offered in the morning and afternoon, and there are often different options to choose from. The excursions were extremely well organised. We particularly enjoyed the bike rides, which was a great way to explore the country side. The biking was pretty easy as it always took place on a flat solid surface, and the bikes are well maintained. 

There are not really any big sights to be seen. The excursions are all about exploring the local life and people, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. 

The food was really great with a variation between Asian and western dishes, sometimes served on the outside deck. The free flow of good wine and beer was a great feature. The service was truly outstanding. The wait staff quickly learned our names, and it was a very warm and personal service. 

Wifi is only available in public areas, and the speed varies a lot. We had asked to reservation team to provide local SIM cards for us, and it worked very well.

It was an unforgettable experience, which I highly recommend.

Sensational experience

Our travel agent said the Aqua Mekong Explorer was the best of the ships on the Mekong River. We saw some other vessels that were good-looking on the outside at least. Whatever, the cruise we experienced was wonderful. It's a very modern ship. Good-size rooms, decent-size bathroom, air conditioning worked well, which was very important, and the food was excellent. Good maintenance. One criticism: the air conditioning in the bar/meeting room wasn't working. Very uncomfortable. The ship carries about 40 passengers, but we had only 16. There was a Vietnamese and a Cambodia guide. Both spoke good English and were very helpful. We had only a four-night cruise, as the ship cannot go all the way to Siem Reap during low-water season. Each day there were one or two trips in the ship's skiff, which would take us along the shore of side streams and adjacent waters and sometimes into villages and towns. The guides were very informative, and considerate of my physical limitations. My only regret was that we didn't have a full week on the cruise.

Great Trip

I wanted to understand some of the history...as a child who grew up in the Vietnam era. So special to spend time in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos - beautiful and unique countries. The people there are largely open to foreigners, the children cry out - hello! what is your name? press gifts of woven reeds upon us.

Motorbikes!

On the boat - What a relaxing and fasciniating  way to spend a week

Service was amazing, the staff learned our names right away so we worked to learn theirs. Laundry service every day - what a luxury!

Guides excellent - we started in Vietnam with Vietnamese guides and as we crossed into Cambodia another guide, a local Cambodian, was introduced. Very educational and moving.

The food was excellent and varied. At breakfast an array of fruit, yogurts and breads - or you could order custom made eggs.

Lunch was always a feast - wine pored liberally guaranteed a nap before the afternoon excursion.

Dinner also a feast!

The vistas amazing....just amazing.

I am now exploring dates for an Amazon cruise.

Aqua Mekong is perfect in every way

Mekong Delta cruise

Aqua Expedition Mekong delta is outstanding. Delivers everything it promises. The guides are extremely smart and knowledgeable about history, nature, politics, geography and more. All the staff are wonderfully obliging and sweet. 

We booked the 7 day upriver cruise  (from Vietnam to Cambodia) and we were glad we did as Cambodia is much less populated and more unspoiled than the Vietnam section of the delta so this way the trip just got better and better. It ended at Siem Reap (a few minutes from Angkor Wat) which is a highlight in itself. The 7 day cruises can only be taken for the few months that the water is high enough to reach Siem Reap. Early October seems to be the safest and best time. Note that the weather is very hot and humid so wear extremely light clothes. Also note though that you will need to have your shoulders covered and have shorts to your knees when visiting temples.

If you only want to do a 3 or 4 day cruise we suggest  the 4 day section from Phnom Peng to Siem Reap.

The South East Asian food was totally delicious and the chef very approachable. He took us on a tour of a Mekong Delta village food market where he bought the fresh vegetables and fruits for that night’s dinner and described what he was buying and how he would prepare them.

 Our only criticism of the trip was that smoking was allowed in the swimming pool area and should be limited to one side only.

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