Vietnam and Cambodia in one sailing — Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap, with the ship docked in Phnom Penh for the capital days and Angkor Wat as the closer. AmaDara at 124 guests. AmaMaya doubling the fleet since August 2026.
The Mekong is the river that holds Vietnam and Cambodia in one sailing. A standard AmaWaterways Mekong itinerary runs seven river-nights between Ho Chi Minh City and Siem Reap. The ship docks in Phnom Penh — the Royal Palace and the Killing Fields days run from your own cabin, not a hotel — and the overland leg comes at the Cambodian end, a coach transfer between Kampong Cham and Siem Reap where the river shallows out. Most travelers pair the sailing with a pre-cruise hold in Ho Chi Minh City (Reunification Palace, the Củ Chi tunnels, Saigon street food) and a post-cruise Angkor Wat extension (three nights minimum — the temples need time).
The sailing itself is slower, hotter, and more cultural than the European rivers. Village landings at small Vietnamese towns. Sa Đéc and Châu Đốc river-town stops. Buddhist temple visits. The school-supplies program in Cambodia that AmaWaterways has been running for years. Floating village calls. A different register of river cruising than the Mittelrhein-castle version of the same brand.
What you're booking
The shape of an AmaWaterways Mekong sailing.
124
Guests on AmaDara
7 nights
HCMC ↔︎ Siem Reap typical
Two ships
AmaMaya joined August 2026
Angkor Wat
Overland extension at the end
The ships
AmaDara, 124 guests, custom-built for the Mekong's depth profile. Two restaurants, a Sun Deck pool, a Vietnamese-and-Khmer culinary program woven through the sailing. AmaMaya — a sister ship to AmaDara — made her first Mekong sailing August 3, 2026, doubling the fleet's deployment on the river: 22 sailings in what remains of 2026, and as many as 38 in 2027. Two ships means real optionality on dates from this fall onward.
Who I send to the Mekong
Experienced travelers ready for further afield.
You've done European rivers. You've done Caribbean. The Mekong is the next-river trip when you're ready for Southeast Asia and you want the ship to do the logistics for you.
Honeymooners with appetite for more than a resort week.
The pairing — Vietnam and Cambodia together, finishing at Angkor Wat — is one of the strongest honeymoon trips in our rolodex. Twelve-to-sixteen nights total when you build the pre and post stays around the seven-night sailing.
Asian-heritage travelers and culture-deep clients.
The river runs through the heart of Vietnamese and Khmer culture in a way no other regional product does. Buddhist temple stops, village landings, the cuisine onboard that respects the country it's in. Better than a tour bus.
Photography enthusiasts and active travelers.
The light on the Mekong is unlike anything in Europe — early-morning mist, late-afternoon gold, the village-life shots that don't exist anywhere else. Active programming runs alongside the cultural — cycling stops, walking village tours.
A 30-minute discovery call. We'll figure out the right departure window, the pre-cruise Ho Chi Minh City stay, the post-cruise Angkor Wat extension, and whether AmaDara or the new AmaMaya fits your dates now that both ships are on the river.
