It appears that the argumentative Larsay is having trouble with reading comprehension. crellston did indeed mention Mount Sam, and he explained that he was talking about three nights, not three days. Three nights gives you two days. It would also help if he would proof read his posts.

@yestravel - I agree that the night train between Hanoi and Sapa (I did it both ways) is terrible, but I think crellston was referring to the Reunification Express - the main line between Hanoi and Saigon. I have ridden that the whole way, plus sections, and while hard sleeper is certainly hard is was a lot better than the Sapa train.

I am not as enamored of the delta as crellston, but I didn't spend as long there. I did find the floating villages neither picturesque nor very interesting.

I would spend minimal time in Hoi An, which was already overrun back in 2004. I am also not a fan of Bangkok, which I find too hot and too crowded, although staying on the river and using river transport does help. On the other hand I found three nights for Siem Reap insufficient and had to go back for more, but people's appetite for temples does vary. Time on the river whether getting from Vietnam to Cambodia or to Luang Prabang is very worthwhile.

I would use crellston's itinerary in post 30 as the starting point.

Amazing that, since years, Hoi An is classified as the most pleasant town in the world to live in ! Yes, the Historic Center is crowded, but with superb houses, pagodas and temples, and you walk 100 m out of it and there is practically no tourists. Just bicycle alongside the river starting on the left of the big bridge and there are a lot of small hotels in a very quite environment; The excellent hotel Villa Loan is in the very peaceful countryside between Hoi An and An Bong Beach, and so are several others small ones like Osaka. Even better, 5 mn walk from the Center, across the small bridge one block behind the Esplanade, you have the 4-stars Emerald + several very good 2-stars such as the Ngo House Villa (with a pool !), void of crowds. Let's add bicycling in the countryside, An Bong Beach, the Cham ruins of My Son, delightful Cham Island + visits in and around Danang (Marble Mountain, Cham Museum and the ride to the top of Son Tra Peninsula (and/or Pass of the Clouds)

Pity I cannot find the web site about it ! Anyway, you are kindly requested to remain COURTEOUS, one is enough !!!!

OP. Mr. Zoom got back to me and asked what he can do for you so if interested please email him.

Like all places opinions will be widely divergent on pretty much every place. We had 3 days in Siam Reap and that was fine for us. We're really not into seeing a ton of temples and I didn't care for the town itself. But it's a major tourist attraction so plenty of people love it.

I enjoyed Hoi An thoroughly. It was touristy but not particularly crowded and charming at night. Having the beach nearby can be a plus. We also spent a morning at the nearby My Son. Food was great there. It is completely different from Hue which I also enjoyed. The contract between the two is striking.

I thought the Delta just okay, but I did not see all that Crellston mentioned. Our 2 day 1-night boat trip between Luang Prabang and Chiang Rai (can't recall the name of the city the boat docks.) was a major disappointment for me. I expected to love it and found it mildly interesting and cold.

Anyway, your trip and you certainly have lots of opinions to help make your choices.

Almost there--meaning having a plan!

I have chosen not to include Thailand for this trip. Hopefully we will be able to return one day and spend some time there. Instead I have selected: Laos ( Luang Prabang), Vietnam ( Hanoi, Halong, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Triang, Ho Chi Minh ), Cambodia Phnom Penh, Siem Reap! We will travel for a month and perhaps a few days more; depart from LAX and fly Cathay Pacific ( stopping off in Hong Kong) and fly round trip to Hanoi.

The Plan ( so far and not yet made as I await your suggestions!

Jan. 31 LAX- Hanoi
Feb. 2 , 3, 4 Arrive in Hanoi ( 3 nights)
Feb. 5, 6 Halong Bay 2 day cruise
Feb. 7 -12 Return to Hanoi and flight to Da Nang on way to Hue and Hoi An for 6 nights. **Not sure if we should spend 3
nights in each or 4 in Hoi An and 2 in Hue.
Feb. 13, 14, 15 Flight to Nha Triang 3 nights
Feb 16 -19 Flight to Ho Chi Minh( 4 nights which will include day trip along Melkong Delta )
Feb. 20, 21,22 Flight to Phnom Pen (3 nights)
Feb. 23,24,25 Siem Reap
Feb. Feb. 26,27,28 Flight to Luang Prabang ( 3-4 nights) ** not sure
Feb. 29 or March 1 Flight back to Hanoi for flight back home!

Please let me know if this sounds right regarding the itinerary, number of days spent there. I wasn't sure whether or not to travel to Luang Prabang from Hanoi and depart from Siem Reap.

thursdaysd: Thanks for your input. We aren't planning on visiting Hong Kong--just to use as a stopover for a few hours. The idea of finding a nice place to just relax for a few days is very enticing and that is why the idea of going to Nha Trang!

I haven't been to Nha Trang. From what I know, your plan sounds good. Is there any way you can avoid a stopover in HK? Airports haven't been closed of late, but you never know. I would avoid flying thru there if you can.

You fly first from Hanoi to HUE, not Danang whch is south of Hue. Take the day train to do Hue-Danang OR, much better, do by car with driver the superb programme Hue-Lang Co Lagoon-Pass of the Clouds (tell the driver you want the Pass, not the tunnel)-Danang Cham Museum-Marble Mountain-Hoi A,n ; around 60$ though
[email protected]

I would skip Nha Trang, a big Occidental-style beach resort full of noisy Russians and Chinese.

I would do in 3 days
Day 1 : Saigon-Can Tho
Day 2 : Cai Rang Floating Market + bus CT-CHAU DOC
Day 3 : Speed boat CD-Phnom Penh

2 full days in PP are enough. Better spend 1 more day in Siem reap
Definitely 4 nights in Luang Prabang

Nha Trang has some great beaches and excellent diving but it is very much a party town these days. If you are ok with that fine, if not I would skip it. Alternatively, choose an upmarket hotel and stay around the hotel where you can avoid some of the excesses. Maybe take a boat trip along the river. The beach is very nice but it does get very windy in the afternoons.

There are beaches outside of Hoi An but last time there, some were suffering from severe erosion. Maybe worth checking out options there rather than adding in another flight to NT.

Beach time notwithstanding, I would split HUE and HOI AN 3+3 which would give you two full days in each place. Time for the Citadel, Perfume river in Hue on one day and the tombs and markets on the other. Hoi An old town takes a day plus half a day for My Son and a wander in the countryside , maybe to some of the artisan villages.

If you did skip NT then I would still stick with my original recommendation re a slow wander through the delta.

Luang Prabang is a small town and only really needs the 3 nights, two full days. If you want to cover some of the outlying sights like Kuang Si, Pak Ou add the extra night. There used to be a few villages a few hours into the countryside that you could stay in. Not sure whether they are still there but may be worth investigating for a taste of rural Laos.

If we are to take the 3 d/2n boat trip from HCMC to PP--can anyone suggest a reputable company to use?

A few questions:
The flight I am interested in flies from LAX- Hong Kong (Cathay) for a stop over of 1:15 before the next flight to Hanoi. Will this be enough time? Do you have to go through customs once again?

If I obtain a 30 day Visa for Vietnam but actually end up staying 32 days what do I need to do?

Thanks!

DO NOT play with staying longer than the duration of the visa ; you could end up with a large fine. If you plan 32 days, then take a 3-month visa

i think I already did in a previous post in this thread. Mekong Eyes are good, as are Luangsay. I would check with both whether they still go all the way to PP or whether you have to switch to one of the fast boats like Blue Cruise or Hang Chau.

Vietnamese visa rules change regularly so check the current situation. I think it is still possible to overstay a 30 day visa by up to 3 days and then just pay a fine ( 500k dong) at the airport. Whether this applies to the Evisa as well as the "normal" VOA I am not sure. Any more than three days and you have to go to an immigration office - dealing with Vietnamese bureaucracy is no fun! It is also possible ( or at least it used to be) to extend a normal visa in country. If leaving via a land border, it may be more difficult. I certainly would not attempt it at the border crossing on the river near Chau Doc.

A three month, multi entry VOA letter may be the best option but not sure if that still just works for major airports or whether it is now ok for land borders too.

Quite frankly, I don’t think it is worth the hassle for a couple of days and would adjust your itinerary to spend less that the allowed 30 days in country. NB the 30 days includes the day of arrival and departure.

You are likely to get more current info on the Vietnam forum of TripAdvisor.

You can extend a visa once in Vitenam, but it costs a loit, 200$

NO VOA visa is valid for land crossings

I'm familiar with Eva and would use them again. They're not on par with Cathay or Singapore but they got the job done comfortably and at a good price from the US to Bangkok. I just didn't think of them as a (mainland) Chinese airline being based in Taipei. Thai airlines are even better

I appreciate the info on Hainan airlines and even on China Southern. Thanks for that. Since we relocated to Melbourne from the states, I've been seeing both of those come up on search results as they both fly here. but have been skimming past them. I'll have to re-think that!

The question first is - is it all on one ticket or are you thinking of buying one ticket to Hong Kong and another to Hanoi?

I've connected through HK to Hanoi in a similar amount of time and it was fine. You're just transiting, so no border control. And the HK airport is very efficient for the most part. However, that was on one ticket via a single company (Cathay to Dragonair, which is the local commuter branch of Cathay). So if something happened to delay the flight into HK, it would be on them to get us on to Hanoi.

If it's two separate tickets, I wouldn't do it, personally. Late due to weather or something and miss flight number 2 and you eat the cost of the 2nd leg.

Oh and yeah.... don't overstay that visa. That's not good.

Help me plan our first trip to southeast asia!
 

After a long time I have booked our initial flights and hotel reservations in Hanoi!
We depart from JFK and fly into Hanoi with a stopover in Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific Airlines and fly back to LAX after a month from Hanoi as well.

The final itinerary was chosen so that we would stay in locations no less than 3 days giving us ample time to recover from the 5 internal flights we will be taking while visiting Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

While I have already booked our hotel in Hanoi and our flight to Da Nang ( Vietnam Airlines), I still have to find hotels in: Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City,Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang. I also have to book our flights: Da Nang to HCM, HCM to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap to Luang Prabang, Luang.Prabang to Hanoi. So far I have reserved the La Siesta Premium Hang Be Hotel in Hanoi and booked the 3 day/2 night Ha Long Bay cruise on the Drago Legend. We will be celebrating both our wedding anniversary and my birthday during the time aboard the cruise!

Here is the itinerary:


1/24 Cathay Pacific JFK-HK-Hanoi arriving on 1/25

1/25-1/27 La Siesta Premium Hang Be Hotel (3 days))

1/28-1/30 Dragon Legend Cruise ( arriving back in Hanoi on 1/30

1/30 La Siesta Premium Hang Be Hotel (1 day)

1/31 Flight to Da Nang

1/31-2/2 Da Nang (3 days))

2/3-2/5 Hue (3 days)

2/6-2/9 Hoi An ( 4 days))

2/10 Flight Da Nang to HCM

2/10-2/13 HCM (4 days))

2/14 Flight HCM to Phnom Penh

2/14-2/16 PP ( 3 days)

2/172/19 Siem Reap (3 days))

2/20 Flight to Luang Prabang

2/20-23 Luang Prabang (4 days)

2/24 Flight LP back to Hanoi

2/24 Hanoi (1 day)

2/25 Flight to LAX




*** I am interested in the following:

Suggestions on where to stay in each location. Seaside or downtown in Da Nang? Same in Hoi An.

I have us flying into Da Nang and staying there for 3 nights before traveling to Hue and then onto Hoi An. Would you say this is a good plan?




Thanks!

Please stop typing in bold.

"I have us flying into Da Nang and staying there for 3 nights before traveling to Hue and then onto Hoi An. Would you say this is a good plan? "

Probably not. What, aside from visiting the museum, are you planning to do there?

Please consider helping the climate by dropping the flight from HCM to PP and taking the boat instead. It will be a lot more interesting, too. You might consider the train for Hanoi to Danang and/or Danang to HCM as well, maybe overnight,

thursdaysd: I appreciate your suggestions, however, from what I have read and viewed I do see the value of spending a few days in Da Nang. With regard to " helping the climate by dropping the flight from HCM to PP", I have looked into taking the boat. At this time while realizing it will be a lot more interesting, I will be content in doing a day trip to the Mekong rather than a 2 day trip on several boats to PP. Also the idea of traveling and sleeping on a train for multiple hours overnight doesn't appeal to both my wife and myself.

My question regarding Da Nang was not whether or not to stay there but to help form a decision as to which locations to see/stay in the right order. For instance: After flying into Da Nang should we travel first to Hoi An and then to Hue and last Da Nang ( since we will fly from Da Nang to HCM).

Sorry about typing in bold!

"I have us flying into Da Nang and staying there for 3 nights before traveling to Hue and then onto Hoi An. Would you say this is a good plan?"

No, not really. IMO Da Nang has little to commend it and little of interest for the tourist. But it is really down to what you want to do there. The main reason most go is to stay in one of the many, many mega hotels and apartment complexes strung out along the beach road 20 kms or so towards Hoi An. It really is a demonstration of the worst excesses of mass tourism.

As for sightseeing, there is the dragon bridge and a Cham Museum and I can think of little else. If you want som beach time in a lux hotel, fine. If not skip it and use the time elsewhere.

"Suggestions on where to stay in each location. Seaside or downtown in Da Nang? Same in Hoi An."

in Da Nang there is little point staying anywhere other than the beach. In Hoi An I would definitely stay in or close to, the Old Town. The beaches outside of the town are no great shakes.

if you do stick with Da Nang ( or evening if your dont) then I would suggest taking the train to Hue one way and a car via Hai Van Pass and the Marble Mountains the other. As to which way around you visit Hoi An and Hue, it really doesn’t matter. I suppose timing of your flights may have an influence in terms of convenience.

Here's a tip. Please don't go cheap on hotels. Spend money and get a room in a good one. The cheap ones are very dirty. And the company is very disturbing.

I agree with crellston and thursdaysd about DaNang - not much to it. We visited the museum there on our way from Hoi An to Hue. The beach with its ghastly highrises would be the best place to stay. Just out of curiosity what is your interest in DaNang?
Also second staying in town for HoiAn. We spent an afternoon checking out the beach but I wouldn't want to stay there. Which you see first Hue or Hoi An doesn't really matter.

allyboy, as I think I may have posted one of the most miserable nights on a trip was the train from Sapa back to Hanoi.

I am sure you thought of this but for my own information what's the VN visa situation for reentering the country? Can you get a multi entry visa?

Not that I have to justify where I choose to visit but I will share my thoughts on Danang.
Originally I was just going to use Danang as a hub flying into and immediately head for either Hue or Hoi An. Last Sunday an article in the New York Times in the Travel section caught my eye all about visiting Danang. It also mentioned that Danang is on this years' 52 Places to Go. The more I researched the area the more it appealed not only to me -because of the beaches, food and some iconic photo opportunities for my wife. Also rather than spend a rushed hour or so visiting Marble Mountain we could spend as much time as we wanted there ( we love to hike and explore), visit Ba Na Hill with its Golden Hand Bridge, Garden of Love at the end of the bridge, French Village. We also want to visit the Museum of Cham Sculpture and quite frankly with all of the travel we will have done and will continue to do it is nice to just relax for a bit!

jacketwatch. The hotel we are staying at in Hanoi is taking care of the documents needed for us. Since we will be entering twice during our stay in Vietnam at the start and end of the trip you need to have a multi entry visa. You pay extra for the document and rather than doing this online I chose to have them do it for me. We just need to bring 2 passport photos for each of us and the representative meeting us at the airport will take care of it and in a few days we will receive via email our initial entry visa.

Sorry if I sounded as if I was asking you to defend your choices. That was not my intent. I figured perhaps you knew something that I didnt.

Here's the latest updates: Reservations at the following hotels/locations:
Da Nang Brilliant Hotel
Hue- Holiday Diamond Hotel
Hoi An- Anantara Hotel
Luang Prabang- Satri House


Flights: Hanoi to Da Nang, Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, Luang Prabang to Hanoi

****Need suggestions for places to stay in : Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap

Staying in Danang to see what ?

Saigon : Continental Hotel
Phnom Penh : Villa Samnang
Siem Reap : Pavillon Indochine (garden and pool)
They are all 4 stars. If you want less expensive in excellent 3 stars, just ask

Not sure if you are looking for validation or not, but nice choices for LP and Hoi An - both nice hotels. Don’t know the Hue place, but certainly a good location close to lots of decent restaurants.

In Ho Chi Minh pick your location carefully. I like the Continental but there is a lot of building work re the subway going on in District 1 and that area was quite noisy and saw a lot of disruption when I was last there ( I doubt it is all finished) . The Majestic down by the river is a bit quieter and is very nice. I have fond memories of My first stay there some 25 years ago - a lot has changed! Along with the Continental, The Rex is another historic Saigon hotel but is in the same area.

For something a little different , have a look at the Hotel Des Arts Saigon McGallery Collection. I really like the Mc Gallery hotels and have stayed at quite a few now, all have been excellent.

in Phonm Penh and Siem Reap, the Foreign Correspondents Clubs are great places to stay. Siem Reap has a massive number of hotels, many catering to the Chinese tour groups and are strung out along the main road to Angkor. I would avoid those and try to stay somewhere closer to, but not right in, the centre. Not five star but run in a good cause by the Ponheary Ly foundation is Seven Candles Guesthouse. Also great for organising trips to the temples and elsewhere

Crellston: Thanks for your recommendations for both the Hotel Des Artes Saigon and the Foreign Correspondents Club in Siem Reap! I have booked both of these hotels and now need a recommendation for transportation from PP to Siem Reap. I think we prefer to travel by a taxi/private car rather than by air or bus.

You are welcome allboy. As far as transport is concerned, last time we went that way we used Mekong Express Limobus. They were very good but it wasn’t a private car but a six of us in a luxury minibus. If you really don’t want to fly (& personally I would) then your best bet is to source a private driver either through your PP accommodation or, preferably via FCC in Siem Reap - they are very good and do have a vested interest in making sure you have decent car and driver. Be aware that it is a long drive, maybe 6-7 hours. Not the worst roads in Cambodia but still not up to western standards, nor indeed are the driving skills in the country!

All our reservations have been made regarding hotels, flights and transportation . I am now looking for suggestions on restaurants in Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh city, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Luang Prabang. My wife is a vegetarian ( no meat, chicken or shell fish) so she will need places with options.

How do we NOT get sick while here? I know about the water, eating raw vegetables, ice cubes in drinks. Any other suggestions? We want to eat street food , however, we are a bit nervous. Also: has anyone experienced any trouble riding in Grab vehicles? Listened to a NPR segment about individuals attacking Grab cars with passengers inside. Apparently not happy with Grab taking away business from TukTuk drivers.

We consulted an advisor at a travel clinic recently. I think you have a basically good idea about preventions of food borne illnesses. I would add carrying hand sanitizers. The value of a travel clinic is getting meds appropriate to treat travelers diarrhea should you become ill. It’s best to have it with you and in addition to that she prescribed a medication to use before eating that can attach to diarrhea causing organisms should you injest any. It’s called travelan. Again always consult your health care professional first.

The main taxi companies like Vinasun and Mai Linh are very reasonable in Vietnam and we have always had good experiences so I have never felt the need or desire to use Grab or similar. Such incidences of cars being attacked are likely rare occurrences.

Despite travelling extensively throughout SE Asia, I have rarely experienced food borne illness despite eating in markets and small local restaurants. Street stalls are becoming less common these days. Our usual choice is to eat in small local restaurants usually specialising in a single dish or variations thereof. Anywhere that is busy and full of locals is usually going to be ok. All the usual provisos apply - freshly cooked piping hot food, clean looking restaurants, don’t eat unpeeled fruit. Ice is usually ok these days.

Much of SE Asia is Buddhist so you would think finding veggie food would be easy and it is getting easier, but the diet is still heavy on meat and the Vietnamese definition of vegetarian is likely different to your wife’s! E.g fish sauces is used in just about everything and Vietnamese friends tell me they consider fish, vegetarian! A good Vietnamese word to learn is Chay = vegetarian.

Thank you both jacketwatch and Crellston for your very helpful information!

I have just encountered a problem that I created for myself. Anticipating needing a visa for both my wife and I entering Cambodia I wanted to be proactive and apply online for our visas. Thinking I was dealing with the Cambodia Government I filled out a form, paid $99 and sent it to the Cambodia E Visa site. I didn't complete it as I needed passport photos. After corresponding with them I find they are NOT the government but an independent site and have charged a service fee. So here's my dilemma: I believe I have paid the $ 99 just for my visa and not my wife so that I will have to pay an additional $99. Should I do this or just cut my loss and get the visas upon arrival in Phnom Penh?

Easily done both for Cambodia and Vietnam! I would just cut your losses and get the visas on arrival in PP, there may be a bit of a queue but on the occasions I have done it, it wasn’t too long. Alternatively, here is the link to the official Cambodian Government site https://www.evisa.gov.kh

1. We are planning to spend the month in February in the region. Is this a good time to be there?
End of the cool dry in Thailand - the temp will be creeping over 30 C


4. Is it too ambitious for us to see all 4 locations in a month and if so which one would you cut out - 4 seems a lot - you will be spending so much time in Taxis to and from airports and check-in before every flight about 2 hours tc etc

6. Will we need specific Visas and/or vaccines before entering these locations?
Moist people e.g. US passport holders don't require visas for Thailand if the stay is under 30 days.

7. Would you suggest a Tour company, local guides and if so offer any suggestions?
​​​​​​​Thaiuland is quite a "soft" destination and you will find hotels etc will set you up with tours etc. You'll find this avoids being caught up in a schedule that you may not want when you and look around.arrive.

​​​​​​​laos is my favourite country in th region......still a bit behind the times but you'll be able to find drivers / tours etc when you ae there. Just do some advance research so you know a bit on arrival.