nicolos1

My wife and I are planning visiting S.E Asia next March for 3-4 weeks.This is our first visit to Asia. We are in the first stages of our plan. We enjoy beaches, cities, food and culture, history, and being independent with our travel plans. We are in our early 70's, but in good physical health that allows us to walk, hike, and bicycle. My early thoughts are flying to Bangkok from Boston, then fly to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, back to Bangkok. We have not decided on the number of days in each city and area, but would like to visit beach areas in southeast Thailand when we get back to Bangkok. Any thoughts in spending the number of days in each area would be appreciated. Thank you

needmorevacation

Are you planning on visiting Siem Reap while in Cambodia? I would highly suggest you add that to your itinerary- Angkor is not to be missed! You could easily spend a week there - I recommend temples in the morning and town/pool in the afternoon due to heat and higher tourist numbers!

I spent 3 days in PP and thought that was sufficient. Lovely town, I recommend dinner at the Foreign Correspondents Club- great atmosphere and 'people watching'- try for a window seat (it's open air). I will mention it is about 2 flights of stairs up, with no elevator. My Dad had wished he'd known that before we made reservations!

I preferred Hanoi to HCMC, mostly because of the insufferable traffic. But there is a lot of history in HCMC, which of course meant far more to my parents who lived through Vietnam, than it did to me. The War Remnants Museum is interesting and gruesome, albeit very anti-American (understandably).

I loved Bangkok, I highly recommend the Krungthep wing of the Shangri-La, it's right next to a river boat landing and a Sky Train station making most of Bangkok very easily accessible. Plus, the service is top notch.

Happy Planning!

crellston

In terms of time in each place I would look something like the following:

5 Hanoi
3 Saigon
3 Phnom Penh
5 Thai Beach
4 Bangkok

That would take 20 days, excluding travel time to and from Asia and from place to place ( you should allow half to a full day to get from place to place). Although not on your wish list , I would consider spending a little time out in the countryside or smaller towns. Maybe Ninh Binh or the Mai Chau valley in Vietnam or Kampot and Kep in Cambodia, easily reached from Phnom Penh. Both of these areas offer fantastic opportunities for bicycle rides!


Some photos of our time in these places on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com just click on the destination tab and go to the appropriate country.

Another thought is to include the Mekong delta. Again, a great palm efor cycling. This could be done as a side trip from Saigon or as a means of getting from Saigon to Phnom Penh via Can Tho for the floating markets and Chau Doc.

Fortunately, march is one of the best months to visit Vietnam in terms of the weather.

nicolos1

Thank you very much needmorevacation and crellston for your excellent information. I also enjoyed your photos and blog crellston.

rhkkmk

We fly from Boston too. Good options: japan air, emerites, Qatar, Luftansa thru Munich, Swiss...

Good bangkok hotels: Anantara riverside, peninsula, Conrad, Hyatt (2), Renaissance club rooms and many more

Thai beach: jw Marriott Khao lak--- our fav

Hanoi is my choice too in van.

RM67

My TR and photos in case they might be of help planning:-

http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...m-171305-3.cfm

nicolos1

Thank you rhkkmk and RM67. I haven't checked responses for a while.