Culture & History holidays

As the home of the world’s oldest continuous civilisation, Asia’s culture and history is deep, rich, and infinitely interconnected.

So, where to begin? It all depends on how you like your history. You could do it Indiana Jones-style, weaving through vine-strangled temple complexes in Cambodia’s ancient Angkor Wat temple complex at dawn – or if you’re interested in more modern history, you could learn about the darker moments in Southeast Asia’s recent past with a visit to the Bridge on the River Kwai. Looking for a more multisensory cultural experience? Then why not see how Vietnam really says “good morning” with a coffee tour of Saigon?

In a nutshell: if you're looking for an Asian holiday rich in culture, look no further. Here are our best Asian culture and history itineraries, top cultural destinations and the best cultural tours and excursions, all tried and tested by our country experts.

Laos & Cambodia Entwined

From A$5,340 per person

Take your time to soak up the culture and scenery, travelling slow from Luang Prabang to Phnom Penh.

Vietnam & Cambodia Uncovered

From A$5,220 per person

Pho noodles and amok curry, merchant houses and temples, villages and karst islands. Discover the highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia.

World Heritage Indochina

From A$4,015 per person

Compare and contrast Vietnam’s great cities with the temples of Angkor and spiritual Luang Prabang on a whistle-stop journey around Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Vietnam's Landscapes

From A$5,100 per person

If you prefer country to city, we made this for you: packed with outdoors adventures in Vietnam’s most stunning scenery.

Vietnam's Greatest Hits

From A$4,355 per person

Don’t know where to begin with Vietnam? This trip combines cultural, scenic and historical highlights for a perfectly balanced introduction.

Kingdoms of Thailand

From A$3,935 per person

How did Thailand become Thailand? Follow the threads of history back to the kingdoms and cultures that shaped Thailand today.

Malacca

Malaysia

With a history stretching back through colonial rule and the Age of Exploration, Malacca’s Portuguese fortress and lantern-strung Chinese temples make it one of the best places to get a sense of Malaysia’s long and turbulent past.

Penang

Malaysia

World Heritage architecture, 130-million-year-old rainforest, world-class street art and a countryside peppered with spice gardens and durian groves: the island of Penang is an intoxicating medley of natural and cultural treasures.

Kuching

Borneo

A wide variety of indigenous and immigrant cultures combine to form Kuching’s unmistakable cultural mélange, expressed not only in its historic architecture and ethnic diversity, but in its legendary laksa, multicoloured cakes and freshly blended gourmet coffee.

Siem Reap

Cambodia

The laid-back, low-rise town of Siem Reap is the gateway to one of the most spectacular man-made sights on the planet: the sprawling, root-strangled ruins of Angkor.

Ho Chi Minh City

Southern Vietnam

The yin to Hanoi’s yang, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon to its friends) offers a more internationally minded counterpoint to that northern bastion of tradition — not to mention an exciting base from which to explore Vietnam’s most interesting war sites.

Phnom Penh

Cambodia

Phnom Penh may no longer be the “Pearl of the Orient”, but don’t judge a book by its cover: beneath this chaotic exterior is a city alive with energy, art, and youthful verve.

Hanoi

Northern Vietnam

Combining canary-yellow French palaces with colourful and chaotic market streets dating back to the imperial dynasties, Hanoi is the place to soak up the atmosphere of old Vietnam.

Luang Prabang

Laos

Luang Prabang is Laos’s Shangri-La: sweeping golden roofs and colonial shophouses against a lush backdrop of jungle-covered mountains, and a laid-back atmosphere of peace and serenity.

Chiang Mai

In contrast to the mile-a-minute chaos of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a breath of fresh air. Here, leafy boulevards and European architecture survive alongside temples dating back to the twelfth century.

Bangkok

Thailand

Bangkok is an assault on the senses. Clouds of aromatic steam battle with exhaust fumes, neon signs blink jarringly alongside confection-like temples, and 30-degree heat and humidity heightens the sensation that you’re simmering in a heady, spice-laden stew.

Authentic Life of Hanoi

Hanoi

Hanoi is a maze of streets, a hotch-potch of eras, a tangle of stories.

Kings & khlongs: Half-day tour of the canals of old Bangkok

Bangkok

Before Bangkok became famous for its busy nightlife and glitzy malls, it was known as the “Venice of the East”: threaded through with hundreds of canals (or khlongs) and lined with teakwood homes and shrines.

Half-day tour of sacred Chiang Mai

Discover Chiang Mai’s spiritual side on a half-day tour of the city’s sacred sites, from hidden jungle temples to sacred mountaintops.

Aerial view of the bridge over the River Kwai

Visit the Bridge on the River Kwai

Kanchanaburi

Learn about one of the darkest periods in Thai history: the construction of the “Death Railway” and the Bridge on the River Kwai.

Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields

Phnom Penh

Between 1975 and 1979, as many as two million Cambodians — a quarter of the country’s population — were persecuted and killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Introduction to Little India

Kuala Lumpur

When South Indian immigrants came to Malaysia during British colonial rule, they brought their delicious roti, spicy curries and colourful gopura towers with them.