Thailand’s SpiceRoads Cycle Tours Launches Saigon to Angkor Wat Adventure

Thailand-based SpiceRoads Cycle Tours has launched a 13-day tour from Vietnam’s Saigon to Cambodia's Angkor Wat in Siem Reap.

It is the first road cycling tour outside of Thailand for SpiceRoads and has been developed due to the increased popularity of the sport worldwide.

The adventure, named On the Road from Vietnam to Cambodia by SpciceRoads, starts in Saigon (more formally known as Ho Chi Minh) with a tour of this historical area including Reunification Hall (formally the Presidential Palace); where Saigon officially surrendered to the North Vietnamese, and the fashionable Dong Khoi Street with its French colonial buildings including the old Gothic-styled Saigon Post Office decorated with French colonial maps and a portrait of Ho Chi Minh.

The following day the cycling begins with a delightful ride down the coastal road to Phan Thiet. This quiet flat road runs between sand dunes, pine forests and ends at one of the best beaches in Vietnam.

The tour then heads inland towards Dalat, a colonial hill station town at more than 1,500 meters surrounded by dense pine forests. There is an ascent of 2,641 meters to get there, but there are lots of breaks, and the support vehicle is never too far behind with drinks and snacks.

Other highlights include a visit to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels, a vast network of interconnecting underground tunnels constructed by the Vietnamese resistance fighters (the Viet Cong) during both the French and American wars and a day exploring the magnificent city of Phnom Penh.

The tour ends at the spectacular Angkor Wat. There is a visit to Ta Prohm (made famous by the film Tomb Raider where the ruins are overgrown by strangler fig and silk-cotton tresses), Angkor Thom, Bayon temple and the Terrace of the Elephants.

On the Road from Vietnam to Cambodia covers a total of 1,130 kilometers in 10 cycling days on smooth tarmac roads and  is fully supported with knowledgeable guides, ensuring you always know what is coming up in terms of distance, terrain and sights.

Patricia Weismantel, Product Manager of SpiceRoads Cycle Tours, said, “This tour was set up as our customers were asking for a road bike tour that took in two countries. Vietnam's diversity, from the sea to the mountains, and Cambodia's history make these two appealing landscapes to cycle through. When you factor in fresh local flavors, charming accommodation and two cultures, this tour hits all the right notes for road riders.”

The tour costs US$2,750 with an additional $195 if bicycle rental is required. Accommodation, all meals (except on the rest day), drinks and snacks on route are all included. SpiceRoads is offering US$200 off on its first two tours (25 January and 22 February, both in 2015), use promo code VIETNAM-CAMBODIA when booking.