barbarasa

Hi - We are starting to plan a 6-week, post-retirement trip to SE Asia for next November and I would love some feedback on my initial ideas. I know that there are so, so many wonderful places to go there. But, this is our first (though, hopefully not our last) trip to that part of the world. We are most interested in hiking, photography and great food. We are not too interested in spending lots of times in cities. With those caveats, please comment on the following:

Arrive in Hanoi - spend 3 nights there
Halong Bay - 3 days/2nights cruise
Arrange transport from Halong directly to Ninh Binh and spend 3 nights there
Back in Hanoi for 1 night, then a 5 day/4night tour of NE Vietnam (Ha Giang area)
Return for 1 night in Hanoi, then fly to Siem Reap
5 nights in Siem Reap
Fly to Luang Prabang and spend 4 nights there
Take a mini-bus to Nong Kiaow, spend 3 nights there, then return by boat to Luang Prabang for one night.
Take the Shompoo Cruise to Huay Xai (2 days/1 night) then take private transport to Chiang Saen
Spend 5 nights in Northern Thailand (I've heard wonderful things about the Viang Yonek Hotel), then spend an additional 4 nights in Chiang Mai.
Finally, we would fly home from Chiang Mai.

This comes out to a 42 night trip. I've tried to limit the number of places so that we can spend more time doing, rather than traveling. Am I cutting out too much? Do you have any suggestions on how to add/subtract or generally re-arrange this?

Thanks so much.

Kathie

I think your plan is pretty good for an all small-town/rural itinerary. I am an advocate of fewer stops giving you more time to experience places. As a person who loves cities, I would spend at least some time in my favorite city in the world, Bangkok. But if you really want to avoid cities (other than Hanoi), this itinerery does that.

I had never heard of the Viang Yonok Hotel in Chiang Saen, but it looks good on the website.

I'm sure you will have a wonderful trip. Do report back to us.

rhkkmk

check you flt schedule as i think some things are not possible, like LP from SR or visa versa

Marija

We're flying Siem Reap to Luang Prabang on Lao Air.

yestravel

Sounds like a great trip. Not sure what the weather is like in Nov but we did a similar cruise to the Shompoo Cruise to Huay Xa in the beginning of January and it was very cold in the am until the fog burned off and the sun came out.
We also flew from SR to Luang Prabang this past January.
Congrats on your retirement!

Kathie

The weather in Nov is lovely in Luang Prabang, Chiang Sean, etc. It is beginning to get "crisp" at night, but the days are usually clear and hot in the afternoon. It will be hot in Siem Reap, though not as hot as other times of the year. We also had good weather in Hanoi - warm and sunny.

barbarasa

Thank you all for your encouragement and feedback. I'm glad to hear that our plans make sense.
@yestravel - I would love to hear more about your experience with the Shompoo Cruise. How did you arrange it? What level of hotel did you stay in? And, what arrangements did you have for pick-up/continuation when you got the Huay Xai?
Thanks again.

yestravel

Our cruise was the Luang Say Mekong River cruise, not the Shompoo Cruise. We booked it online from the US, but could have booked it in Luang Prabang as it turns out. This was a two day trip up the river to Houei Say, Laos (not sure of the correct spelling of the border town). The cruise company made arrangements for us to cross the border from Houei Say, Laos to Chiang Khong, Thailand. We went by a small, 6 seater boat for the 5-10 minute crossing. We spent one night there and left the next day for Chiang Rai. The Mekong cruise was not one of my favorite parts of our 9 week trip to SEAsia.
U can scroll down in our TR to the section, Rolling on the River: Mekong Cruise and read about the cruise. TR is here
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ia-odyssey.cfm

cavalierfish

We have only been to Thailand, but for your interests, the north is the best place to go! For more information, fell free to check out my mom's trip report under the username virginiafish. Feel free to contact either of us with questions!