final stages of itinerary SE Asia
 

Hi there
We are from South Africa and are going to be in SE Asia for 5 weeks over December and January. After much research and planning, and working with a tour company in SE Asia, we have come up with the following intinerary. Please would you have a look at it and add any comments. My main concerns are the amount of flights and the price (about $7000 each) though i am very aware that we are travelling in peak season and staying in 4 and 5* resorts/ hotels. The price includes all our hotels and flights from HK and throughout each country, and a guide where necessary.

day1 depart SA overnight flight
day2 - 4 Hong Kong Langham Place
day 5- 7 Hanoi Sofitel met
day 8 Ha Long Emeraude boat
day 9-10 Hue La Residence
day 11-15 Hoi An Life resort
day16-18 HCMC Caravelle
day19-20 Siem Reap Angkor vill res
day21-23 Chiang Mai Yaang Come
day24-25 Bangkok Peninsula
day26-33 Krabi Pimalai
day34 Hong Kong Langham Place
day35 Hong Kong overnight flight

I hope this is not too squashed to read!
I will no doubt have lots of specific questions, but I thought I would start here. We are 2 adults, 1 grandma, 1 teenager, 1 12 year old.

many thanks

It would be well worth your while I think to factor out the flights if they are included and investigate the price of the hotels yourself and see if it's a lot cheaper..I'm guessing it is unless you are booking suites. It would also be a good idea to check the various air passes available.

The Vietnam part sounds good. But the Angkor Wat and Bangkok time is too short. 2 days in Siem Reap, whether 1 or 2 nights, is too short, and hardly makes the cost of flying in and out worthwhile. Bangkok is also worth more than 2 days, especially if you stay in a nice hotel that should be enjoyed as well as the city sights. You could easily take some of your 8 days in Krabi and add them to Angkor and Bangkok.

While overall it sounds like a nice trip, I'd make those couple of changes and investigate the pricing, as it seems very high to me, even for 5 people in peak season. Since it's a tour company in SE Asia, I'm assuming now international air is not included?

Kim is right, you don't have enough time in either Siem Reap or Bangkok. And frankly, you'll be spending much too much time in airports. I would cut a couple of days from the beach, but I'd also cut one stop: HCMC. That will give a bit more flex to your schedule. It takes three full days just to see the major temples at Angkor, so make sure you have at least that much time there. And give yourself a minimum of 4 days in Bangkok. You could also cut a day from Hoi An, if you needed to.

If you can slow it down a bit by eliminating a stop (or even two), you'll enjoy it a lot more.

I agree with Kathie. Considering cutting HCMC or a day or two from the beach or Hoi An and adding the time to Bangkok and Siem Reap.

Even though you're travelling at peak season, I think you should be able to do better than $7000 per person.
I can recommend Vietnamstay.com for the Vietnam portion and then Thailand portion is easy to organize yourself.

i would cut halong bay...saigon... and chiang mai....

you need more time in hong kong, siem reap and bangkok..

i also would get a different hotel in siem reap...i have stayed at angkor village and the beds are uncomfortable and there are now much better places to stay....sofitel comes to mind for one....de las paix in the lux category and many others written about here...

kim and kathie have given great ideas

Oops, I didn't realize your price of $7000 was per person. That is very high. You could probably do it for half the price booking it yourself!

You have all given me much to think about and work around - 6pm here now so will go through these ideas in deatil with the family
A couple of things to keep in mind - we would like to be in Hoi An for the lunar festival and we don't want to be travelling on Christmas eve - that's when we are there
The Krabi part - all the resorts we have looked at seem to insist on a 7 night booking for that 1st week january period
With the children, I do need stretches of down time - I moved them through Forida too much last December and they do get tired of too much sightseeing, so i thought a week of snorkelling and beachtime might be good.
I don't want to cut Hanoi as it's a place i have dreamed of going for years, also 1 night is spent on the Emeraude on Halong bay, however HCMC could perhaps go and either bangkok or Siem Reap and certailnly cut Krabi to 7 nights or less if possible

Also, the $7000 is actually $6530, broken down as:
HK hotels - 285 - 2 rooms
Flight HK to Hanoi - 375 approx
Vietnam 1880
Vietnam flights - 280
siem reap 295 - hotel and guide/ car
siem reap to BKK flight - 140
Thailand - 2465
Thailand flights - 410
BKK - HK flight - 400
Total - 6530
International flights Cape Town, HK return not included
I do not begrudge paying a tourist office their fees, the whole deal must just be fair.

thanks for your input - this is much food for thought