Culture & History vacations

As the home of the world’s oldest continuous civilization, 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 vacation 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 $3,640 per person

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

Vietnam & Cambodia Uncovered

From $3,565 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 $2,740 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 $3,490 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 $2,980 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 $2,685 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.

Ipoh

Malaysia

Once a tin-mining boom town known for its seedy nightlife, Ipoh has remade itself. Stellar street-art, Western-Malay fusion cuisine, and a clutch of elegantly dilapidated galleries and cafes make this one of Malaysia’s trendiest cities.

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, multicolored 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.

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 colorful gopura towers with them.