A new river cruising brand in Asia has been established by All Leisure Holidays.
The company that operates Discover Egypt, Swan Hellenic, Voyages of Discovery and Hebridean Island Cruises is offering a choice of Mekong river cruises in Laos, as well as tailor-made holiday options in Laos, Cambodia, northern Thailand and Vietnam.
Under the Cruise Mekong brand, All Leisure is to use specially adapted boats to cope with the Mekong from Lao-German joint venture company, Mekong River Cruises.
These long distance river voyages were launched in 2009 and Cruise Mekong joins a handful of operators selling them in the UK.
The company is using three vessels ranging in capacity from 11 to 16 cabins – Mekong Islands, Mekong Sun and Mekong Explorer.
The programme is being launched with three itineraries, which will be expanded in the future.
All Leisure director Philip Breckner said: “We wanted to offer a different cruise experience to the UK market and the Upper Mekong River in Laos and northern Thailand is not heavily featured by operators.
“We saw this as a great opportunity for an established operator like ourselves to offer the trade something new, exciting and very sellable – as this region is fast becoming a very popular part of the world for long-haul adventure travellers.
Cruises are combined with pre and post visits to Siem Reap in Cambodia to visit the temples of Angkor Wat and the Unesco World Heritage Listed Laung Prabang in Laos.
“Travellers can also add on Hanoi and a cruise in Halong Bay in Vietnam to their itinerary,” Breckner added.
Prices lead in at £2,399 for 10 night including a five-night cruise and flights from the UK.