2 weeks in Vietnam/Cambodia
 

My friend and I are planning a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia for 2 weeks. Have no idea where to start or go. We are a looking to hit the key cities (and sites) and maybe a beach or two. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Well I am quite sure you will be hitting Siem Reap, however please don't skip Phnom Penh. The city has a great charm all its own.

Visit Toul Sleng and the Genocidal Center.

If you're going for two weeks a good guidebook will be a small but very wise investment. We used Lonely Planet, but other posters may have other preferences. You'll get a lot if useful advice here, but Fodors can't replace in-depth research. Having said that I strongly suggest that you also run a search on this forum and pick up the accumulated wisdom of the ages, or sages :)

In Vietnam the tourist trail is pretty well-worn by now, with good reason - Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) and the Mekong Delta, Dalat and the central highlands, the central coast (Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue) and the North -Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa. My personal favourites, Hanoi and Hoi An.

You could also check sites of tour companies to get an idea of where they take their customers - start with the very experienced Australian operator Travel Indochina. Definitely come back here for further advice.

You'll soon nut out a good itinerary. Two weeks for both countries, though, is to me a terrible rush and certainly won't go near doing Vietnam justice.

Hi - I really think you will regret going to those two countries for only two weeks. You need a week in Cambodia to enjoy Siem Reap and Phonom Penh and a week will drive you mad in Vietnam. It's so fantastic you will hardly leave your first stop! We spent 2 1/2 weeks travelling from Ho Chi Minh up to Hanoi (train for the first half and then flew from Hue to Hanoi, and would have loved at least another week. We could only stick to the coast and missed out on so many more fabulous places. Good luck!

If you don't know where you want to go - how on earth do you know that you want to go there? I would just love to know.

Why are you going?

Thank you so much for your advice. We have decided to travel to only Vietnam. We are now trying to figure out whether we should go to Hue/Hoi An or Nha Trang? We are thinking our itenerary is:
-3 Days in Saigon (This also includes the delta)
- 4 Days in Hanoi (also see Halong Bay)
- 4 days in Nha Trang or Hue/Hoi An (relax at the beach)
How far is Nha Trang from Hue/Hoi An? Could we do a day trip?
Again thank you so much for your help, we greatly appreciate it!!

fuzzylogic- My friend and I pick a random new country every year, this year we decided Vietnam (I am also doing a vounteer program there before hand, so it makes sense to travel around there)

We did 2 weeks in Vietnam and Siem Reap last year and while we could have spent more time in both, I thought we had enough time in each place to get a flavor.
We did 3 days in Hanoi (with a 1 day trip to Halong Bay), 1 day in Hue, 4 days in Danang/Hoi An at the beach, 1.5 days in Saigon, and 3 days in Siem Reap (we skipped the MeKong Delta).
I regretted skipping Siem Reap when we visited Thailand the year before, and I didn't want to miss it again. Unless you are sure you'll be visiting Southeast Asia again soon, I'd do a few days in Siem Reap.
We did not make it to Nha Trang, but I believe it is a 12 hour train ride from Danang/Hoi An to Nha Trang, so would be even further from Nha Trang to Hue