Contiki is expanding its Asia portfolio with two new small-group adventures – all on Vespas, motorbikes and tuk tuks.
According to the social travel brand for 18–35-year-olds, Ride Vietnam and Ride Cambodia will offer a more immersive way to experience Southeast Asia, taking travellers through “cities, coastlines, and countryside with expert local drivers and every detail handled along the way”.
"Young travellers are moving beyond the Instagram ‘greatest hits’ and looking for trips that connect and immerse them in destinations," says Tom O'Hara, head of brand at Contiki.
This could mean sharing meals with locals, staying in family-run accommodation and discovering off-the-beaten-track towns and villages, O’Hara adds.
Ride Vietnam will take travellers across central Vietnam on Vespa and motorbike over six days. Trip highlights include an evening Vespa food tour through the lantern-lit streets of Hoi An, a countryside ride past rice paddies and artisan villages, a motorbike tour of Da Nang's street food scene, and a full-day ride across the iconic Hai Van Pass with stops at freshwater springs along the way.
Groups are capped at 16, with prices starting from US$1,200 per person.
Ride Cambodia will transport travellers by tuk tuk over an eight-day exploration, down dirt roads, across rice fields and into communities well off the beaten path.
Key experiences include sunrise at UNESCO World Heritage site Angkor Wat, overnight homestays in Kampong Khleang on Tonle Sap lake and Sambor Prei Kuk, and visits to Tuol Sleng Prison and Choeng Ek in Phnom Penh.
Groups are capped at 14, with prices starting from US$1,600 per person.
First looks of both itineraries can be found at Contiki’s “Vibes on Overdrive” campaign, featuring six content creators' experience of the rides.