Southeast Asia Itinerary Feedback

Old Apr 13th, 2013, 07:58 AM
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Southeast Asia Itinerary Feedback

I am planning a trip to Southeast Asia for later this year. In previous years we have spent a couple weeks in Thailand, and last year we visited Hong Kong, Central Vietnam (Da Nang, Hoi An) and Bali. For this year’s trip, we thought we would go back to Vietnam and cover a couple areas we missed (Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City), visit Angkor Wat, and Singapore. We are pretty easygoing travelers, and don’t feel the urge to see every museum or temple at the places we go. We do enjoy seeing the country, the people, and eating good food. We are bringing my son, who is a big fan of zoo’s and is also excited by the prospect of street food - as he is an adventurous eater, so Singapore is a must on this trip.
I’m trying to make this a nice but affordable trip, so I am maximizing the use of airline and hotel points, which somewhat restricts my travel flexibility. Thus far, I have been able to secure some business class seats on flights arriving into Saigon in mid-November and Departing out of Ho Chi Minh City in early December (16 nights/17 full days on the ground). We know this is not the ideal season to travel here, but hopefully the heavier rains are over with. Thus far, this is what I have:
3 Nights Hanoi/Ha Long Bay – Includes an overnight cruise
3 Nights Angkor Wat – Would have liked another day or two here, but the award flights going on to Singapore Air are somewhat limited.
7 nights Singapore - seems like a long time here, but maybe we could do an overnight or two in the area.
3 nights Ho Chi Minh City
I was wondering from a practical standpoint if this sounds reasonable to anyone who has travelled to these destinations. Any feedback appreciated.
Also, while we usually travel independently, it seems that the logistics of the Hanoi/Ha Long Bay portion might benefit from a tour organizer given the land connections needed, so any recent experience/recommendations appreciated.
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Old Apr 13th, 2013, 09:22 AM
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I agree that 7 nights in Singapore is a long time. It is also (by far) the most expensive place you are visiting.

I'd recommend 4 nights in Siem Reap and 5 in Hanoi/Halong Bay, 3 is probably fine for HCMC and 3 or 4 is fine for Singapore. If street food is your goal, I'd recommend Georgetown Penang over Singapore.

Note that the way you have organized your itinerary, you need a multiple entry visa for VN.

You can use a travel agent in VN to arrange your Halong Bay cruise. All cruises include transport from Hanoi to the boat and return. Tonkin gets good reviews. Make sure you "hold the line" on what you want the agent to do for you, as they will likely try to sell you guides and tours for all of your time in VN, which you do not need (as you probably know).
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Old Apr 13th, 2013, 04:30 PM
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I agree with Kathie. However, if you are stuck with seven days in/around Singapore you could take a train or bus to Melaka and/or Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 06:15 AM
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I used Tonkin Travel for much of our time in VN and highly recommend them. I found then to be responsive and efficient. They consistently got lower prices than I could find on my own for hotels and were very flexible in terms of changes we made. I did not find that they tried to sell me more than I needed. They were very responsive to what I said I wanted. They made suggestions when asked, otherwise they followed my directions in terms of our preferences offering options. For example for Halong Bay they provided prices for three different boats. The prices were in line with what the various boats websites offered, some Of Tonkin's prices were with a very small discount. We were there in February 2012 and some of the people on our junk had purchased their tickets in Hanoi and paid a reduced price I imagine because they waited for the last minute. In terms of transportation to Halong Bay, the junks provide shuttles that will pick you up and return you to your hotel. We decided to use a private driver arranged thru Tonkin. We stayed at one of the Elegance Hotels and they also offered to make arrangements for Halong Bay. So depending upon the hotel you choose in Hanoi that is another option.

I have not been to Singapore, but I agree that more time is needed in Hanoi esp since one of your nights will be at Halong Bay. When you go to HB you get picked up early 7:30-8am, drive 3-4 hours to HB, board and depart on the junk noonish and return the next day to Hanoi arriving back 4ish.

As mentioned by Kathie, you will need to get a multiple entry visa for VN which will cost more than a single entry visa.
Have a great trip!
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 10:45 AM
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Thanks for the advice, it looks like I can adjust my flight from Siem Reap to Singapore to allow 4 nights in Singapore, adding 3 more to the Vietnam/Cambodia side of the trip, which given some jet lag coming over from the states, will probably make it seemed less rushed.

I have heard good things about Tonkin, so I will probably look into them.

I had good luck with the Visa on Arrival last year, so I will look back into the requirements for two entries. Thanks for the info.
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Old Apr 14th, 2013, 11:22 AM
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I think you will appreciate the additional time in VN and Cambodia.
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Old Apr 15th, 2013, 10:02 AM
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Have you thought about including Sapa in your trip to Vietnam. It's amazing. It's an overnight train journey (8.5 hours) from Hanoi, but well worth it. You would need at least 2 days there though.
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Old Jun 1st, 2013, 12:00 PM
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Hi! Great info from everyone. I need your help. A friend and I are going to Thailand and Cambodia in mid October. We will be there 14 nights. Only thing booked so far is our flights - we will be flying from JFK to Bangkok and the return is Bangkok to JFK. How does this itinerary sound:

3 days in Bangkok including a day trip to Ayatthaya
4 days in Chiang Mai with a day trip to Chiang Rai
4 days in Cambodia (Siem Reap) - we have a guide for this
2 days in Bangkok including a day trip to Kanchanaburi

I have a list of sites, most of which are mentioned on everyone's itinery, but this is the first part.

Also, I would love to book Tong (or one of her agents) as well as Jermsak. How do I go about contacting them?

To get to our various destinations, is the best way to go from Bangkok to Chiang Mai by plane? Then from Chaing Mai to Siem Reap - bus or train? I don't think there is a plane connecting the two. We prefer a train, but it seems to take a lot longer with no added benefit. Seems we can fly from Siem Reap back to Bangkok.

Any suggestions for hotels? We prefer smaller guest houses/bed and breakfasts/boutique hotels. Location is key.

Looking forward to receiving suggestions.
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Old Jun 1st, 2013, 12:58 PM
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cos8mati, please start a thread of your own rather than adding to this thread. You'll get more responses.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2013, 07:48 AM
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cos--- I agree with Kathie

no sense in going to ayatthaya if you are going to siem reap..

CR from CM is about 6 hours by car r.t.... no time to see anything..

bkk hotels: there are some small hotels/inns, but the best located places are the large hotels.. I prefer places on the river: anantara riverside/chatrium riverside/peninsula/royal orxhid Sheraton/Shangri-La/ibis
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Old Jun 2nd, 2013, 10:26 AM
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Best to just fly from Chaing Mai to Siem Reap with a layover in BKK. Bus or train would be very long.

Tong has a website with all of her contact info. www.TourWithTong.com.

Agree that CM to CR is too far for a daytrip.

We did a very similar trip a few years ago (though we did Chiang Rai instead of Chiang Mai). Here is a link to my trip report with lots of details and pictures, you may find helpful:
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/catego...land-cambodia/
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Old Jun 2nd, 2013, 10:31 AM
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There is no train from Thailand to Cambodia. Buses require that you change to taxis or local minibus after crossing the border. www.talesofasia.com has good info on traveling overland.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2013, 04:38 PM
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Just a question for rhkkmk--why is Ayatthaya not worth it if you're going to Siem Reap? Just another temple?
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Old Jun 3rd, 2013, 06:55 AM
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The ruins at Ayutthaya are interesting, but don't hold a candle to Angkor. If you are a ruins fanatic, you might want to see both, if not, it's an easy decision to cut Ayutthaya.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 09:54 AM
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Hmm, interesting. On a related topic, how many days do you think are ideal for exploring the Siem Reap ruins? I like that sort of thing a lot, but I'm worried about being "ruined out", so to speak.
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Old Jun 5th, 2013, 11:10 AM
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Do you have a copy of Dawn Rooney's book yet? Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples

She thinks that three days is the minimum for seeing the major temples. We spent a week. I'd guess that most people who are fairly interested will want 4 or 5 days. But read Dawn Rooney and see what you think.
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Old Jun 6th, 2013, 01:35 PM
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Not yet--I've waited to see how the itinerary gels first before getting books. But guess I should read this one, thanks!
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Old Mar 24th, 2016, 05:01 PM
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My family (6 people total) and I are planning a trip to Southeast Asia in December of 2016 and are struggling to pick which countries to travel to. We have a little over 2 weeks (December 17-January 1 including travel days) and don't want to feel rushed but would still like to experience much of the region. Currently we are considering starting off the trip with 4-5 days in Luang Prabang and then flying into Siem Reap for 4 days and then heading to Koh Rong or another island in the Gluf of Thailand. We also considered spending the entirety of our trip just in Thailand (hitting Bangkok, the north for 4-5 days and then heading south to some beaches) or Vietnam (starting in Hanoi, heading to Sapa, Hoi Ann, and then maybe south if time allows?)

We would love to see some authentic culture, colorful street and floating markets, palaces and temple ruins, rice terraces, elephants and other wildlife, mountains with excellent treks, waterfalls, karst scenery, streets at night lit with lanterns, and just experience real Southeast Asia. I know we have a long wish list but hopefully we can find a few places that can somewhat accommodate all these wants! I would love to avoid places that are overrun with tourism or massive amounts of tourists that is, however I do know that, traveling in peak season, we may experience some of that in some places. We would also like to dedicate at least 5 days to and island or beach.

Please...we need suggestions!! At this point we are open to any and all places! I am worried that in some places we won't be able to find accommodations for 6 without blowing our budget as well as paying for safe intercontinental flights with international flights tacked on to that. Any ideas or suggestied itineraries would be much appreciated!! Thank you!!
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Old Mar 28th, 2016, 07:55 AM
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Where are you flying from? That's an awfully short time when it includes flying from North America or even Europe--Australia perhaps?

Your first itinerary sounds great. There are many things on your list available in and around Luang Prabang--it is magical just by itself. There are plenty of day tours that will take you places like waterfalls, elephant treks, boat rides to caves, etc. The city itself is full of beautiful temples.

We never made it to Siem Reap because of illness, but I would say go for it. Just try to be prepared for the crowds, and try to get to the ruins as early in the morning as possible, then take some time off in mid-afternoon during the heat of the day.
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