Help planning a trip
 

Hi! I came across this wonderful and helpful forum and thought you could help me improve my (draft) itinerary for this trip...It is a family trip (me, my wife and 4 young-adult children); going to Southeast Asia for the first time in July, and yes, I know it's rainy and monsoon season, but that doesn't discourage me as long as it won't ruin all our plans.
We have around 24 days to spend (not including flights to SE Asia and back home), and when it comes to which activities and tours we want to do, we'd like to include a little bit of everything: sightseeing, historical places, museums, shopping, free time, beaches. Right now, this is what we thought on doing (days = full days and nights):
Hong Kong 3 days
Singapore 1 day (as a gateway to Bali, cheaper airfare)
Bali 4 days
Phuket 3 days
Chiang Mai 3 days
Bangkok 4 days
Hanoi 3/4 days (including day-trip to Halong Bay)
Ho Chi Minh 3 days
I know this might look like a hectic schedule, but that's just how we all are in my family. We like to engage in many activities all the time and don't mind having to do things at a real fast pace. However, my main concern is: do you think we can do this? I mean, get to know each of these places and enjoy the trip spending that amount of days in each of them? I'm more than willing to make some changes if you think this is a crazy itinerary, so I'll be waiting for your suggestions and advices!
Thanks a lot!
Skol.

There is a difference between an active trip - one that is filled with activities - and a trip where you spend much of your time getting from one place to another. This trip looks like a tour of SE Asian airports. You have not considered travel time. Basically, figure that it will take you a day to get from one place to another (from check out at one hotel to check in at another). So when you say you have 3 days in Hong Kong, I'm guessing you actually have three nights which is a mere two days.

So, can you get to know these places in two days? No. Pause and consider what is most important to you to do/see/experience on this trip. Note that you are visiting 5 different countries, each with its own history and culture. You haven't given enough time to any of them to really have a feel for the country.

I'd suggest that three full days is an absolute minimum for a city - that's 4 nights. You might do ok with just two days in Chiang Mai if you don't plan to go into the countryside. For Bali, you would want to spend at least some time staying near Ubud and most people want a little time at a beach. I'd say a week is really a minimum for Bali unless you are content to skip the beach and spend all of your time near Ubud, in which case 4 nights would give you a taste.

If you cut Bali, you'd have 5 nights to add to the places you are going, with perhaps a side trip into the countryside somewhere. If you cut VN, you could have a week in Bali, plus some days to add elsewhere.

This trip is logistically possible, but would not give you a real flavor for these wonderful places.

Sounds like a great trip and I am very jealous. I just returned back from Vietnam and your decision to do a day trip might not be worth while. Its a 4 hour car ride from Hanoi to Halong Bay and back again, you wont get much time out on the bay to experience and enjoy the real beauty of the place. I would highly reccomend looking into a 1 night stay on the bay. If you havent booked accomodation in VN, please check my recent trip report for hints and tips! Have a wonderful trip!

I generally agree with the two posters above. I don't think u lose a day when u move from one city to another, but I still think your trip is too rushed. We were in several of these locations during Jan & Feb and it was hot. Rushing around is just nor something that I would want to do in the heat. Completely agree on the comment re Halong Bay -- u would be spending way too much travel time for just a couple hours(?) at haloing Bay. Also the ride to HB is not particularly interesting or scenic. An overnight is definitely needed.

I would skip Phuket as you could get a bit of beach in Bali. I also think a day trip to Halong is waaaay to far to go with no overnight. I would skip that too unless you can fit in an overnight. Make sure you can fly direct from each place to the next otherwise you will spend ages travelling, if you can do that then dropping one of the locations I do think it is do- able and you will have some time to see each place ( if not the ideal amount but hey sounds like you guys like to pack a lot in). Where are you flying from?

Thank you all for the suggestions! I appreciate them and will really consider cutting at least one destination in order to get to know the other places better. Thanks to AirAsia and JetStar I can arrange the itinerary so that pretty much every flight will be non-stop. Not really sure which location to remove though...I'm definitely going to stay overnight in Halong Bay, but what do you think is better, staying at a hotel or on a cruise ship?
We are flying from Argentina! Veeeery long trip, so want to make the most out of it lol. Besides, 2 of my children are really interested in foreign cultures and history, whereas the other 2 are more into night life, partying, beach time and shopping, so it's quite hard to balance this out in the itinerary.
Any other comment or feedback will be appreciated!

Oh you must stay on a Junk in Halong Bay, no question. That's kind of the point of going there. There are many tour operators so read some of the reports on here so you can choose wisely.
Although it pains me to say it, I would suggest dropping Bali then, it does make things a little easier could you not drop Singapore( I love Singapore but I really can't see the point in going for 1 day) that way you could then fly from HKG to BKK and the final leg could be HCM City back to Hong Kong.

Alternatively, if it were me ( and of course it isn't) I would want the culture of Bali, do a 2 centre stay say Ubud for culture and then stay at the beach ( maybe Seminyak) so again no need for Phuket, you have saved on a flight and a moving day. I would still drop Singapore.

On a junk boat for sure. I did some major research into the different companies. The best seem to be Oriental Sails, Halong Emotion & Indochina Sails. There is some dodgy boats out there and you wouldnt feel safe in the slightest. No point staying in Halong City as the scenery would be off in the distance and you wouldnt experience the beauty of it during the day and also at night.

If your heading to Singapore then Id definately do the breakfast at the Zoo. Probably the best thing about Singapore!

Just a note to say that I think your trip is too rushed to be able to even be able to see many sights...once you land, get setttled, work out locations, transportation, etc etc it will all be a big blur.

But I don't think you should skip Bali. The very unique culture of arts, music, temples and ceremonies is very attractive and very close to the surface so easy for a tourist to get at least a taste for. (more accessible than say Thailand or Vietnam IMHO) Also, July will be in the cool dry season for Bali.

In Vietnam, the trip up to Halong is a noisy 3 or 4 hour freeway trip each way, so you definitely want to stay at least one night on a boat. I did the Eco-Friendly boat which is a small private boat that goes around an area not toured by other companies....it was fantastic but simple.

If you would take out one country I would take out Vietnam and save it for another time...maybe switch it with Cambodia and see Angkor Wat Park while it's still there (just to confuse the issue)

I love Bangkok but you could get away with only doing 2 or 3 days there since you have 3 days in Chiang Mai..

I've been thinking about your suggestions and after doing some research, I think we could cut Ho Chi Minh and spend those 3 days elsewhere. But I'm still worried we'll be missing a wonderful city...if you had to choose either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, which one would you rather visit?

For me it would be Hanoi, I loved it there. ( although I liked HCMC too)

You are going to missing all kinds of things on this trip. There is no way to see it all. Choose what is most important to you and give yourself time to experience those things. You'll be back.

For me, between Hanoi and HCMC, I'd choose Hanoi.

HCMC & Hanoi are very different. I liked HCMC because I welcomed the modern, younger feel to the city. Lots of young people and bars and cafe that would fit into Buenos Aires or NYC. After traveling around for 9 weeks it was nice to be in that type of city. I don't know that I would have felt the same had I started in HCMC. We were in Hanoi in Feb and it was sunny and nice one day and dreary & misty the remaining days so that probably somewhat colored our experience there. Based on what the people told us while there I expect it will be VERY hot in July. I liked the hustle bustle-the life on the street scene-- of Hanoi and the old quarter was fun. Streets were pretty empty by 10 at night, but bustling early in the am. If u cut Hanoi u would also likely cut Halong Bay? I would not miss Halong Bay. It is very unique. All that said I think if I were u I would skip HCMC.

Alright! Seems like I'm definitely going to have to cut HCMC and leave it for a future trip...Now, where do you suggest I should add those extra 3 days? Hong Kong, Bali, Bangkok, Hanoi?
Another question:
Do you think we should go to Macau? I've done some research and it seems that we need to get visas, does anybody know if we can get visas on-arrival?
Thank you!

Visa on arrival in Macua and it's a simple day trip from Hong Kong.( you can get the ferry) if you are still including Singapore how about adding a day here 1 is not enough IMHO.

What country's passport do you travel on? For people from the US, Canada, UK, EU, you get stamped in (I think it's technically not a visa, but visa-free entry) upon arrival in Macau. It's very quick and easy.

If you have three days to re-allocate, I'd add one day to Hanoi so you can do an overnight on a junk in Halong bay, if you wish. I'd add two days to Bali.

Heey, I'm back to keep you updated on my schedule! I did some serious changes considering how fast-paced the itinerary was, as many of you made me realize. In order to focus on less cities, I decided to cut out Singapore and possibly Chiang Mai too (as much as I'd love to go there, I think we'd better spend these 3 days elsewhere, given that the schedule is pretty tight).
This is what I have right now (days = full days):
Hong Kong 4 days
Bali 5/6 days? To split between Ubud and Seminyak/Nusa dua
Phi Phi 4 days
Bangkok 4 days
Hanoi 4 days

Do you think this is more reasonable and feasible? I'm not quite sure about the 4 days in Phi Phi, maybe that's too much? I've been told it's a great island to kick back and just lie on the beach. Is there any excursions we could do other than that? Or we'd have to go all the way to Phuket for fun activities? Even though we love to spend time on the beach, I can't predict what the weather will be like when we arrive there (July, rainy season), and we'd also like to get an overview of Phuket.

ANY suggestions, recommendations or comments will be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Erick.

This is a much more reasonable plan.

Note that you have two beach stays, one at PhiPhi and one in Bali. Getting to PhiPhi requires either a ferry or a private boat transfer. Depending on your flight times, you may need to spend a night on Phuket. In Bali, I'd avoid Nusa Dua, as it is a purpose-built tourist enclave and won't give you a sense of Bali. Indeed, since you are going to the beach in Thailand, you might want to spend all of your time in Bali inland near Ubud.

I'm not sure what kinds of fun activities you are looking for in Phuket. You certainly can snorkel and do other water activities from PhiPhi. Parts of Phuket are known for wild night-life, which I don't expect you are looking for since you are traveling as a family. There are certainly beach restaurants and bars on PhiPhi.

BTW, did you consider a different beach in Thailand? Koh Samui would have much better weather in July, as would Hua Hin.

If you'd like visit Chiangmai, I suggest will be better on winter season (December-January)full of beautiful flowers or May-June is fruit season.
If you want to know all about Thai, during your stay in Bangkok, you can visit Ancient City, check to: www.ancientcity.com/en.
I agree to Kathie, Bali is a best place for a family holiday, and Ubud is very very peace place to stay. We can rent some bicycles and ride to go around the villages, very fresh air.
If you want to visit Halongbay, you must stay overnight there, please choose the full moon date.
Kathie is right, Koh Samui and Hua Hin are better rather than Phuket.... but you need extra time, since it is far away from Bangkok.
Have a nice long journey!

A flight to Koh Samui is about the same amount of time as a flight to Phuket. You drive to Hua Hin from Bangkok, about 2.5-3 hours, about the same amount of time it takes for a flight considering check-in time, etc.