BKK/SR/LP in 8 Days?
 

After planning 5 nights/4days BKK, 3/4 days SR, we just got word that we can in fact get hotel reservations in Luang Prabang. We're a family of four with 2 well-traveled teen boys. Trip now would be:
2 nights/2 days BKK,
3 nights/2 days STR,
2 nights/2 days LP,
1 night, 1 day BKK (then on to Tokyo for 3 nights/4 days - can't change that part)
Although it involves way more traveling around, I feel as if we should try to do all three because I would like my kids to get a glimpse of unspoiled rural Asia because who knows when we will get back. Opinions, please.

Forgive my bluntness but you are nuts to try and do all of that. If your goal is to see "unspoiled rural Asia", skip Bangkok, save it for another time and add an extra day to Siem Reap and Luang Prabang. Don't forget to take travel time into account. Last time I checked there is only one flight per day to LPQ and it consumes 1/2 day each way from BKK. REP is easier as there are flights all day long - we took the first flight out of BKK and were touring Angkor by 9:30 AM. You will have to use Bangkok as a base even if you don't spend much time there.

I do appreciate your bluntness. Your suggestion would be my first choice, but unfortunately we can only get air reservations to LP for 48 hrs.

Well, either way you will be using lots of your time traveling from place to place - can you add another day to Siem Reap? I don't think you need any more than 3 full days in Siem Reap - you can probably hit all of the major temples in 2 but you should take time to visit the Vietnamese floating village, donate to a rural school (have you arranged a guide?) and do the tethered balloon ride (awesome view of Angkor Wat).

We have booked Ponheary. I know my kids and they will not want to spend 3 days visiting temples, so I have already spoken to her about the school visit and a trip to a waterfall. Following the suggestion of another Fodorite, I just spoke to a travel agent who books family bike tours in the Mekong Delta and we are now considering 2 days BKK, 3 days Mekong bike tour from Saigon which ends in Phnom Pehn, then 3 nights Angkor. My husband is enthusiastic about that, but it might be just as hectic as the Luang Prabang trip. The travel agent (who used to be a guide at Angkor) says 5 nights in Bkk is way too much.

As others have said, you keep trying to do WAY too much. Slow down, stop ruminating, and you'll all have more fun.

I've been to Bangkok 20 some times. I typically spend at least 5 days there each trip and I've never run out of new things to do. Still, you are the only person who knows what you will enjoy. Part of the problem here is that each person tells you something slightly different, and you worry that the last person's opinion "must be right." You've done lots of reading you've gathered endless opinions, now pause and consider what you and your family want.

Thanks, Kathie. I really appreciate your input, especially during your trip. We usually don't have these issues, but we started late and can't arrange internal flights. No matter what, it will be a great trip, but my gut tells me that if we stick with the 5 nights BKK/3 nights SR/3nights Tokyo plan, we are going from a huge city to a touristy spot to another huge city, and we usually like more off-the-beaten-track adventures. (Maybe because we live in a huge, polluted city and travel often to other huge cities for business.) I also just found out there is a Korean cross-cultural expo when we're there, and that will make SR
even more crowded...Will sit down with my Lonely Planets tonight and ponder all this.

Hello, we have just returned from BKK and Siem Reap. We were not sure if we would like BKK but ended up loving it! There was so much to see and do and getting around was easy. We were not that impressed with the Vietnamese floating village, we much preferred the Klong trip in BKK with a stop at the vegetable and flower market. I would skip the floating village. Visiting the school was great, the children wonderful. We had 3 days at the temples and felt that was enough. Hope this helps!

Thanks, it does help. It looks as if we have decided to spend 3 nights in BKK, then go to Kanchanaburi overnight (with a driver) for an "elephant night safari", return to BKK by public bus for some local flavor, then go to Siem Reap for 3 nights. Because we don't care about seeing all the temples, we'll have some down time there before heading to Tokyo.