Vietnam and Cambodia in one sailing — Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap with the overland connection at Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat as the closer. AmaDara at 124 guests. AmaMaya doubling the fleet in 2027.
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, with a road transfer around the Phnom Penh stretch where the river isn't navigable for the ship. 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 joins in 2027
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 joins the Mekong in 2027 — a second ship that doubles the fleet's deployment on the river. For most clients the AmaDara experience is the right one through the rest of 2026 and into early 2027; the AmaMaya buildup gives 2027 + 2028 travelers two-ship optionality on date selection.
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 to wait for the AmaMaya 2027 fleet expansion or go on AmaDara now.
