lorib1

We are planning a trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietname in late November for 2.5 weeks. Here is our planned itinerary - would love to hear feedback!

Thurs - arrive BKK and fly onto Siem Reap
Fri, Sat, Sun - Siem Reap
Mon - fly to Da Nang and drive to Hoi An
Tues, Wed - Hoi An
Thurs - drive to Hue, sightsee for the day and then fly up to Hanoi
Fri, Sat - Hanoi
Sun - fly to Bangkok in morning
Mon - Bangkok
Tues - fly to Phuket in afternoon
Wed, Thurs, Fri - Phuket
Fly back to Bangkok late Friday night for midnight flight back to US.

What do you think? We plan to have a driver/guide everywhere, but I want to figure out the itinerary & hotels where we'd like to go/stay before doing that.

Hotels we are looking at:
Siem Reap - Hotel de la Paix
Hoi An - Life Resort
Hanoi - Sofitel Metropole
Bangkok - Sukhothai
Phuket - Banyan Tree, Trisara, Amanpuri

Hotel comments are welcome too. Thanks in advance!

Kathie

I think you are trying to go WAY too much in your limited time.

Pause and consider whether you really want to visit DaNang-Hue-HoiAn in November. This is the rainiest time of the year there, and they have serious flooding with loss of life one out of every three years in November.

In a mere 2.5 weeks, you'd be best offf choosing just Bangkok, Siem Reap and Phuket. Save VN for another trip.

PS You do not need a driver/guide everywhere. Really, you only need one in Siem Reap.

jodo

I'm with Kathie....an awful lot packed in....That being said, we like to do more than one country on a trip. I do think you need two nights and one full day in Hue to get a feel of that city...it's wonderful, but not on a fly-by. One of our best moments was just strolling through this cool sculpture park they have. Hanoi deserves at least 3-more days. I'd forget Phuket, but that's cause I'm not that crazy about the beach (except for the cave kayaking.) Good luck.

LeighTravelClub

For 2.5 weeks, why not miss Vietnam this time. Leaving everything else in, it's still a lot, but do-able.
Kathie would say spend two weeks in Bangkok, I would say spend two weeks in Phi Phi and there might be someone who would say two weeks in Cambodia. But from my experience.....Thailand and Cambodia is plenty for 2.5 weeks.

rhkkmk

i agree with kathie....depending on where you are coming from (home), you will be quite tired upon arrival and going directly to SR will be a mistake imo...its hotter than thailand there and a bit active...you may be too dead to enjoy it.....i would drop VN..

now i see its usa that you live...chop some things off...spent at least two days in bkk upon arrival and then move on...i might go to phuket next and then SR...bag VN..

lorib1

Wow - thanks for all of the replies. We are going to be flying business class direct to BKK, and hope that this will help to alleviate some of our jet lag on the way there.

I didn't realize that Hue/Hoi An were still in heavy rainy season, and as such, we are considering altering that part of the trip.

We really want to go to Vietnam, and with the weather concerns (who wants to be at the beach in Hoi An if it is raining) we are considering a couple days in Ho Chi Minh and adding a day to Bangkok instead.

We like to end our longer vacations at a luxurious beach spot - which is why we'd like to finish with Phuket.

So a revised itinerary would be
4nts Siem Reap (1st night getting there in the evening), 3 nts each in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Bangkok, Phuket.

We are fine with all of the moving around - have done the same thing on recent trips to Africa and Greece. We are planning to fly between all of the cities. We appreciate any further comments....

Kathie

Do know that Asia lends itself better to slow travel. It isn't that you can't move around so much, but that by hopping from place to place, you won't have the time to experience the unique culture of each spot.

A while back, someone started a thread asking for people's most memorable travle expereinces. What was striking was that not one of them was "planned." All were the kind of things that happen when you spend some time in a place.

You lose most of a day each time you change locations, so three nights in Hanoi becomes two days... not enough to scratch the surface.

So, I'd recommend that your second itinerary is much better, but I'd cut HCMC, and visit just one VN city. Hanoi is charming (except for the traffic) and there is lots to do, see and expereince. You might have 5 nights there and add one more night to Bangkok.