glsebs

We are in the process of organizing a trip to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for next winter. My flights are set, the itinerary is almost finalized, and now I am selecting hotels.

I am trying to decide between 2 different hotels in Luang Prabang and Hoi An.

I want to stay at the Residence Phou Vao in Luang Prabang, but the tour agency is trying to talk me into the Maison Souvhanaphoma, saying that it is a former palace, a historic property and closer to town that the Residence. Also, it is less expensive than the Residence.

Likewise, I wanted to stay at the Nam Hai in Hoi An, and the tour agent is trying to talk me into the Life Resort because it is better value and better location than the Nam Hai.

I want to stay in a luxury property, although the location is a factor. I am willing to spend extra to get a deluxe hotel.

I hope this tour agent has our best interest at heart and hot his financial "relationship" with the two hotels he is recommending.

The tour agent is very experienced and highly recommended, and he is in agreement with my other hotel choices.

Any thoughts or opinions on these hotel choices would be appreciated.

Kathie

My first thought is why are you using a tour agency - especially one that does not listen to what you want? If you book everything independently, you'll save a substantial amount of money.

I can't help with Hoi An, but if you want luxury in Luang Prabang, you want La Residence Phou Vao. It's on the edge of town (so not way out of town like several others), but it is not right in town. While that is a slight disadvantage, the hotel more than makes up for it with beautiful, huge rooms, a glorious view, great service and some of the best food in town, as well as a wonderful pool. To refer to Maison Souvhanaphom as a "palace" is somewhat deceptive. It was teh residence of a member of the former royal family, but is not what you might think of as a Palace. The accommodations are acceptable, but not luxurious.

rhkkmk

kathie is 100% correct.....the only thing we felt was wrong with our stay at PV was that we could not just roll out of bed and see the monks in the morning....

MS is well located just outside the main part of town... its a nice hotel but not the same as PV....

the dining room at PV is excellent and its lovely to eat dinner or breakfast overlooking the lovely pool and the decorations around the pool area....

i agree that you probably can book rooms cheaper on your own...i never use an agent, but for PV for some reason i used someone in nyc to book for me and got a fabulous rate about 3 years ago...

the ride into town from PV is $1 per person last time i checked or you can use the free shuttle from the hotel...

rhkkmk

if you haven't worked on bkk hotels yet, we have tons to suggest to you....i prefer the marriott resort and spa or the peninsula on the river....others have other favorites...

btw, take a look at this discount hotel site for all your hotels:

www.asiarooms.com
www.agoda.com
www.huahin.20m.com thailand only for this one

ask us tons more questions, we love to help

Robbietravels

I agree with Bob and Kathie, the PV in LP. Besides everything stated above, I had the best massage ever during my stay there (they made a heated polstice of herbs and placed it on my aches before the massage, amazing). The in town hotel is a great place for one in town dinner, good food and outdoor dining. It may have been owned by a member of the royal family but as you will learn when you're there, nearly everyone (who wasn't hauled off) is a member of the "extended" royal family; not the same as staying at one of the maharaja's palaces in southern India.
Before you sign on with this travel agent, call La Residence on Skype and see what they can/will offer you. Sorry I can't recall where I stayed in Hai An.

glsebs

Thnaks for all you feedback. It validated my thinking that I need to use a tour operator that will "listen to what I want".
Thanks Kathie. You are so right.

As far as using a tour operator or booking this independently, I know it would be cheaper doing this on my own. I have no problem with booking the hotels myself. I am not comforatble with the transfers, the flights within Indochina, and finding excellent guides with comfortable vehicles in each city. Our tentative itinerary is fairly ambitious....17 days and four countries. I think there are too many logistics for me to do independently and that a tour operator would be able to make it more "efficient". I know I am paying extra for that.

Here is my tentative itinerary. Bob, Kathie, and Robbietravels, I would love some opinions of what I have come up with.

I needed to plan the trip to do Viet Nam the first week before Tet and the second week do Laos, Cambodia and and Chiang Mai. I have been able to do this by flying into Saigon from Tokyo and starting our trip there. We can end with one night in Bangkok for our international flight home. (we have been in Bangkok previously).

Here is a tentative itinerary I have come up with.

3 Feb. Wed. Depart Home
4 Feb. Thur. Arrive Saigon at 10:30 pm for 3 nights at Park Hyatt (or 2 nights)
5 Feb. Fri. Explore and Relax Saigon (get over jet lag)
6 Feb. Sat. Saigon
7 Feb. Sun.Fly to Hoi An for 2 nights (Nam Hai Resort)
8 Feb.Mon. Explore Hoi An
9 Feb.Tue. Drive to Hue, explore and fly to Hanoi for 2 nights. at Sofitel Metropole
10 Feb. Wed Explore Hanoi
11 Feb Thur overnight cruise Halong Bay (or skip this)
12 Feb. Fri. Fly to Seam Reap for 2 nights Amansara or Hotel de la Paix
13 Feb. Sat. explore Angkor Wat
14 Feb Sun.fly to Luang Prabang for 3 nights at Residence Phouvao
15 Feb, Mon Luang Prabang
16 Feb. Tues. Luang Prabang
17 Feb. Wed. Fly to Chiang Mai for 3 nights, (Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental)
18 Feb.Thur.Explore Chiang Mai
19 Feb Friday Chiang Mai
20 Feb. Sat. fly to Bangkok 1 night before international flight (Hotel?)
21 Feb. Sunday, International flight home at 11:55 am

Are we trying to go to too many places in 17 days? If so, I would be willing to skip the cruise and perhaps one night in Saigon as we have previously visited the city for a couple days on a cruise. This would free 2 nights to add to another city. Also, someone on another travel forum suggested doing Hue as a day trip before flying to Hanoi to save time so I planned it that way.

The order works in order to avoid Tet as we leave Vietnam on Friday, Feb. 12 and go to Cambodia, Laos and Thailand during Tet.

Thanks again for any help. I don't know what I would do without you Fodorites!

jodo

where are you staying in Siem Reap? We stayed at an absolutely gorgeous hotel in town...French owned Hotel de la Paix....loved it

glsebs

Jodo,
We are thinking of either Hotel de la Paix or Amansara depending on how expensive Amansara is and whether it is worth the money. We stayed at the Aman properties in Bali and love each one. But I appreciate the recommendation for Hotel de la Paix...good to know you loved it.

jodo

one suggetion: some rooms are better than others. We were supposed to be in one of the less desirable (and cheaper) rooms...but the hotel mistakingly put us in a room reserved for a travel agent touring the property. Once we were situated in there, polite protocal dictated that they keep us there...even though we told them that the welcome card in the room didn't match our name. ( we didn't know it was an upgraded room until we met the travel guy, who was grumbling that his room wasn't as nice as others he'd seen in the hotel.)...So ask for a view of the gardens/flowers etc. (Or pretend you're a travel reviewer!)
p.s. check out some photos....this hotel isn't "big", but the design is artful and beautiful. Also, be aware that when you step out of the hotel, you are smack dab in the middle of town...not pictureque by any means. If that juxtapositioning would bother you, you might look elsewhere

gailmo

Are we trying to go to too many places in 17 days?

in a nutshell.....YES!

You will be spending much of your time shuttling back and forth to airports/hotels. I don't see much opportunity for you to really enjoy any of these wonderful locations. Why not knock off a place or two and focus on fewer sites? Take time to "smell the roses" rather than running for 17 daze.

Kathie

Whether to use an agent or not is entirely up to you. But this is not a very complex itinerary. You might want someone to book the air for you, though it's pretty easy to do on the web. And there is really only one place where you need a guide or a dedicated car and driver and that is Siem Reap. There is no need for a guide in any of the other places. And charges for drivers, guides, and airport transfers are grossly inflated (often 10x as much). Airport transfers at these places are also not a big deal. You can always have your hotel send a car, which will be expensive, but not as bad as the agent's charges.

Yes, you are trying to do too much. It takes time to get from place to place and you need time to experience a place. Remember that two nights somewhere is really one full day. Travel in Asia is best done at a slower pace. A few cuts in this itinerary and you will have a trip you can enjoy.

Pause and decide what is really important to you about this trip. Right now, I'd say that in many places, your experience will be a "drive by." Hue, for example - you are staying in Hoi An, driving to Hue and flying to Hanoi all in the same day? If you want to see Hue, take the time to do so. If you aren't that interested, skip it.

Are you really interested in the temples at Angkor? It take three full days just to see the "major" temples. There are dozens of accessible temples, and even in a week, we only saw a couple dozen. With two nights in Siem Reap, you'll see just three or four temples max. I'd highly recommend that you add at least one night, and preferably two nights to Siem Reap. Do your research first - Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor is the best guide to the temples. Get the 2006 edition. You are also welcome to take a look at our photos at www.marlandc.com

If it were me (and it isn't), I'd cut Halong Bay. If you don't feel you need time in HCMC, go straight to Hoi An.

Have you been to Chiang Mai before? In terms of interest, it doesn't hold a candle to your other destinations. A stay out in the country at the Four Season would be lovely. The Mandarin Oriental has been termed "Disney-esque" by a number of well-respected posters here. I'm not find of Chiang Mai, and if it were me (again, it isn't) I'd cut Chiang Mai to be able to spend more time in the other places.

In Bangkok, the two best (and very different from each other) hotels are the Pen and the Oriental.

Kathie

gailmo, we were posting at the same time. I love your "17 daze" - glsebs, you really would be in a daze if you did this itinerary! For 17 days, my rule of thumb would be three destinations, or an absolute maximum of four destinations.

glsebs

All your points are well taken. I am going to take a night off of Saigon and only stay two nights (we get in at 11 pm and will use the next day and night to get over our jet lag and see a bit of Saigon. I could add on one more night in Hoi An and skip Hue.

Also, I am fine with skipping the cruise on Halong Bay and adding one more night in Siam Reap.

This will still be 4 countries in 17 days, but it does not seem as rushed as before. What do you think?

The reason we are going to Chiang Mai is that several years ago we were supposed to go to Thailand including Chiang Mai and a couple of weeks before our trip I needed emergency surgery so we had to cancel that trip and thought we would like to visit it now.

I am not fond of Disney World (we live in Florida and have made our annual pilgrimage with our kids and now our grand kids) so the Four Seasons sounds more to our liking.

I would love to plan this trip myself. We travel quite a bit and I always do all my own planning and reservations, but usually in the US and Europe and in Asia if we are only going to one or two countries. Since we are moving around so much, I thought maybe I should use a travel agent with offices in the area. But, if you are saying that I can get my own guides and transfers through the hotels, then I think I can do my own trip. Can you make all the flights on the internet?


I certainly appreciate all your help and advice. I am definitely thinking of doing my own trip, especially with the wonderful help of the experts on these boards.

jodo

Another vote for the 4 seasons Chiang Mai....and if you're interested, we stay at a private residence there that is at least half the cost...with a private butler (can use the pools, but not the shuttle into town....which is an expensive cab ride.) We have stayed there 3 times already...last year I only went into town once in 4 days. Mae Rim is so pretty. (and there is a elephant rescue center about an hour away that we love.)

ekscrunchy

I stayed at the Life Resort. The location is excellent. But it is not a 5-star luxury property.

I would stay there again for the location. Where is the Nam Hai--out at the beach?

I loved the Phou Vau in LP!

Kathie

Cutting one day from HCMC and adding it to Hoi An is fine, if Hoi An is where you want more time. But you end up with just one day in Hanoi... I think Hanoi is worth more time than that (we spent a week, but most people say 4 or 5 days is enough). Instead of just one day (two nights) somewhere, I'd cut it entirely. You are spending far too much of your vacation transferring from one place to another. Remember, the time taken away from your vacation includes checking out of one hotel, transport to the airport, waiting at the airport for your flight, the flight itself, more airport time going though customs and immigration getting your luggage. etc., transport to your next hotel, checking in... if it's a short one-hop flight it will "only" take half a day away from your vacation. If it's a more complex connection, you'll lose most of a day. That's why I recommend cutting at least one destination, not just moving days around.

It's even more difficult for you as you have both your entry and exit city as places you aren't spending any time, but you still have all the travel and transport time. So, to have time to experience a bit of each location, you'd be wise to restrict your destinations to three plus your entry and exit cities. It's still more transport time than I would want, but it makes more sense than what you have right now. Your current itinerary calls for 5 locations plus entry and exit cities. You can push to four locations plus entry and exit, but you will be rushed and likely feel you didn't get the time you wanted at places.

You should be able to make all of your plane reservations online now (some are only recently available online). And really, the only place you need a guide is Siem Reap. If you can travel independently in Europe, you can travel independently in SE Asia.

marya_

glsebs,

When you are ready, can you post your revised itinerary (or draft itinerary) so we can see what it looks like now?

Your choice of hotels is glorious!

glsebs

Well I have now reconfigured my itinerary to give us fewer places and more time in each place. I did this by taking out Chiang Mai which will have to be postponed again.

This is what I have now.

Please note that the order has to do with not being in Vietnam during Tet which starts Feb. 14. I don't know how Tet will affect us as we arrive Feb. 4, the week before Tet and leave Vietnam go to Laos on Feb. 13. I had posted a question on a separate post about Tet and how it would affect our trip. Anyone?

Arrive Saigon Thur. Feb. 4 at 10:00 pm
Three nights Saigon

Feb. 7 Fly to Hoi An
Three nights Hoi An or two nights and go to Hue on Feb. 9 for one night???

Feb 10 Hanoi for three nights

Feb. 13 Luang Prabang for three nights

Feb. 16 Siam Reap for four nights

Feb. 20 Bangkok for one night

Feb. 21 Fly home from Bankok in the morning

I have checked flights between cities and the only difficult transfer is from Luang Prabang to Siam Reap. There are no non stops....you have to connect through Bangkok and it is a very expensive fare.

OK, that's the latest. I am trying to get this done by Monday as I have to book the flights or call and beg for some more "hold" time.

Thanks again for all your help.

Kathie

This looks like a much more reasonable itinerary. If your flight from LP to SR is through Bangkok, it means you are flying on Bangkok Air. They have a Discovery Pass which requires that you fly three legs on Bangkok air and will save you lots of money. You must buy the pass from Bangkok Air - you'll need to call their 800 number. Your three legs will all be international - LP to BKK, BKK to SR, SR to BKK.

glsebs

Kathie,

Thanks for the info about the Discovery Pass....that sounds like it will save us a lot of money.

Also, thanks for encouraging me to do this on my own. I think this itinerary will work out and allow us to see a lot without losing too much time with transfers.

With only 3 days allotted to central Vietnam, I wonder if it is worth it to go to Hue and Hoi An or just one or the other.
I have seen this discussed on earlier forums and it seems to be a personal decision....some like one more than the other. I don't know if it makes sense to do Hue for one day and Hoi An for two. Any opinions?

When this is finalized, I will post the itinerary with hotels and other details as Marya asked me to do.