3 Week Trip to Southeast Asia

Old Dec 6th, 2016, 08:57 AM
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3 Week Trip to Southeast Asia

Hello there!

My boyfriend and I are traveling to Southeast Asia in late January/February and are looking for advice around our potential itinerary/travel between locations/excursions. We have both been to Asia (India and China) but this is our first time without more seasoned companions.
A few things we'd love your advice on:

1. Given the short nature of our trip, we'd like to take cheap flights between destinations where possible, but if other transport (Bus, Cab, etc.) is reliable/quick between locations, we're definitely open to that as well.

2. We've heard a lot that we should hire guides/tours given language barriers/wanting to see as much as we can, but not sure which cities would be best for that or if there are guides/tours that would span multiple cities/transport etc.

3. If there are any key sites/ excursions we should be doing in any of these places or if you'd recommend other destinations in lieu of those we have listed.

Thanks in advance for your insights!!
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Flight from US to Tokyo
Day 2: Land in Narita, Train to Downtown Tokyo, 9 hr layover, fly out of Haneda
Day 3: Arrive in Chiang Mai around 9am
Day 4: Chiang Mai; Travel to Luang Prabang
Day 5: Luang Prabang, Laos
Day 6: Luang Prabang, Laos; Travel to Vientiane
Day 7: Vientiane, Laos
Day 8: Vientiane, Laos; Travel to Hoi Ann
Day 9: Hoi Ann, Vietnam
Day 10: Hoi Ann, Vietnam; Travel to Hanoi
Day 11: Hanoi, Vietnam
Day 12: Hanoi, Vietnam
Day 13: Hanoi, Vietnam; Travel to Phnom Penh
Day 14: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Day 15: Travel to Siem Reap; Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day 16: Siem Reap, Cambodia travel to Bangkok

For the last 10 days, we have a tour booked around Southern Thailand that starts in Bangkok, so we'll meet back up with the group for a planning-free trip at the end of our independent jaunt.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 09:05 AM
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"We've heard a lot that we should hire guides/tours given language barriers/wanting to see as much as we can, but not sure which cities would be best for that or if there are guides/tours that would span multiple cities/transport etc. "

Absolutely not true. You write English very well, if you also speak and understand English, you'll be fine in all of these places. I'd also nix the tour around Southern Thailand. Why would you need a tour to visit beaches? If you want a guide somewhere, you can hire one on the spot, but the only place you might want a guide would be at Angkor. You have less than a full day at Angkor. If you have so little interest, why bother? It takes three full days (four nights) just to visit the major temples.

You are covering a lot of places in very little time. You have a day or so in each location, not nearly enough to do any of them justice. I'd highly recommend that you choose the places you most want to see and cut at least half of your destinations. Remember that it takes three nights in a place to get two full days to see/do/experience. I'd suggest you choose two countries and devote your time to them.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 09:13 AM
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Before looking for advice on what to do in these places, guides, tours etc. I would suggest you take a long hard look at your itinerary.

Key questions are;
- How long does it take to get from a to b?
- Are there direct flights, timings etc? In some cases above there are no direct flights - take a look at kayak or Skyscanner.

IMO you are packing in way too many locations into your itinerary. You will have barely any time to see the places you are visiting. Stick to two countries max, preferably one and enjoy taking your time.

In most of those places, a guide will be a waste of money and add little to your experience. Do some in depth research on what you want to see and start with a decent guide book. Rough guides are good.
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 10:40 AM
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Oops I believe I copied and pasted my travel incorrectly in Cambodia. We absolutely wanted a full day for Angkor Wat. Also, I know the itinerary is very ambitious and that all of these sites have unique and great things about them; however, if you had to remove any of the locations, which would you recommend we skip?

Thanks!
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Old Dec 6th, 2016, 11:32 AM
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Where to go, where to leave out is entirely up to you, of course. But here are some things to consider:

Why are you choosing to have 9 hour layover in Tokyo? You won't have time to see/do anything anyway. And it will be an exhausting stop in your long travels to SE Asia. Fly into Narita, change planes and be on your way. No wasted time that way.

Have you priced what it would cost you to do this itinerary? All that moving around is expensive and it wastes your valuable vacation time. Figure that it will use up anywhere from half a day to most of a day each time you change locations when you consider from the time you check out of your lodgings in one place until you are checked in at the next..

Layout your itinerary day by day. Any day that is a travel day should be considered just that. You may have time to do/see something before you leave or after you arrive, but don't count on it.

Since you have just one day in Siem Reap and one in Phnom Penh, I'd cut out Cambodia entirely. You aren't giving yourselves enough time there to even get a sense of it. So save it for next trip. When you are ready to think about Angkor, pick up a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples to help you prepare.

Also, consider visa costs. VN has recently increased visa prices for people traveling on US passports.

You only think that taking a tour your last 10 days is a good idea because you haven't known how to plan your trip. A group tour means you will spend a lot of time waiting for other people, making shopping stops and every place you go will be crowded with other travelers. (Do you really have 10 days after you arrive in Bangkok? If so, then you have closer to a month.)

Study up on these places and choose the ones that speak to you most. Come back when you have some priorities.
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 09:40 AM
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So after some thinking, and depending on the best way to travel between locations, I think we're going to stick to Vietnam only and maybe Siem Reap for a few days ( if the dates work out ) before our tour departing from Bangkok (which is already booked and with a travel group based out of our home city, so hopefully won't be too much waiting around; we also have a lot of free time to choose our own excursions).

As for the layover in Japan, it was the cheapest way to get to Chiang Mai, and we figured, why not grab dinner since we'll be there

Given those revisions, we were looking at some potential tours down Vietnam, as travel between cities seems like it could be challenging.

Now we're planning to devote 10-12 days just in Vietnam going to
Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi Ann, HCMC. We're also both scuba divers if anyone has recommendations for good dive sites.

Would you all recommend booking a tour once we arrive in Hanoi or in advance from the US? Would you recommend booking a tour at all? If not, how easy/timely is it to travel between cities?

In addition, is it more economical to book flights in advance from the US or locally in country?

Thank you again for your help!
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Old Dec 12th, 2016, 10:08 AM
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I think your new plan makes more sense, though you are still trying to cram too much into your limited time.

You have listed 5 places in VN for your 10-12 days, meaning you'll be spending far too much of your time in transit. I'd suggest that you make a judicious cut or two. Decide how important Halong Bay is to you, as it will be cold and misty at that time of the year, and you will spend a good part of two days driving to/from Halong Bay just to get your overnight on a junk. While I love the temples of Angkor and consider it one of the wonders of the world, frankly you don't have the time for it. Your previous idea that a day there was enough is deluded. So wait until you have enough time to enjoy it (minimum of three full days - 4 nights).

No need for any tours, and especially no need to book tours in advance. Travel between cities is easy and efficient - you can fly or take the train (though, obviously, the train takes longer). Just make sure you aren't traveling during Tet.
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Old Dec 13th, 2016, 09:13 AM
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I agree with Kathie that you are still trying to cram too much in to the time you have allocated. It is easy to travel between cities in Vietnam independently and there is no need for a package tour to see what you are likely to want to see. An agent or TO will generally add little but cost. You just need to do a little research and planning in advance. Spend the cas you save on some of the fantastic food on offer!

Flights between the major cities (and some smaller ones) are frequent and generally cheap. Vietjet, Vietnam Airlines and Air Asia cover all the routes you will need and can be booked online. Fares are yeh same if booked in or out of Vietnam.

Taxis are cheap and plentiful to get from airport to hotel. Vietnamese hotels are used to organising tours for their guests.

I too would be inclined to forget about Halong Bay (for the reasons Kathie has given) and probably Hoi An too simply because of the time restraints. A couple of nights in Hue, which is easier transportwise.

If it were me and I had to plan a trip of 12 days I would almost certainly split the time roughly equally between Hanoi and Saigon and spend maybe half that time in side trips out of those cities. The Mekong Delta from Saigon and Ninh Binh, Mai Chau and the Black River valley from Hanoi. But those are my interests yours may well be different.

You can find some photos and more detail of these places on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/

The diving is good from Nha Trang but I think it is not the best time. Con Dao is supposed to have some good diving and it is reachable from Saigon so maybe worth a look. Rainbow Divers are a good, professional outfit.
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