help with planning a trip to Vietnam
 

Hi,
We are planning to go to Vietnam,Cambodia and Laos for 18 days at the end of August. Can you please advise the best way to fly from NYC? Also, do you think that this is enough time to visit all 3 countries?
We are somewhat concerned about the weather and wonder what your experiences have been at that time of the year? This forum has been so helpful in the past and we are looking forward to your responses.

Thank you

I'm one of those here always going on about slowing down. My best advice would be to use your 18 days, or however many there are after subtracting travel time, to see one country well. Alternatively, to see 2 countries in a hurry. That leaves seeing 3 countries poorly.

I assume you actually want to see some places in these countries, not necessarily the entire countries. If you chose 1 location in each, for instance, Hanoi, Luang Prabang and Angkor Wat, then there's hope. So narrow it down for us.

I've always been to Asia in the fall, I suspect for a reason, although after so many trips I don't remember why. I suspect for the weather.

You have to remember that travel in Asia is slow. This is not a criticism but part of the charm of Asian travel. Three countries in 18 days is far too much.

I have not been in Vietnam in August but in the other two it will rain heavily sometimes. You just keep out of the rain for an hour or so and continue afterwards. However, a few years ago, my wife was in Pakse (Laos) and there were sandbags to protect the town from flooding, then when they got to Siem Reap Pub Street had 6 inches of water in it. This was September and an abnormally wet year. She's been in Cambodia in September other years and its been fine.

What are your interests? This will help people to make informed suggestions. Personally I could fill up 18 days in any of your chosen countries but that's only me!

Also does your 18 days include flight times from NYC?

Thank you . We will let you know our interests so that you can advise. What is the best route from NYC? Shall we fly to Bangkok? or? One other thought-if 18 days is too short for our plans another choice of ours would be Thailand and perhaps Cambodia?
Again, concerned about the weather though.

Because you are travelling so far, you face a large variety of airlines and possible routes. Only you can decide on length of time spent (inevitably long), number and duration of the stop-overs (also inevitable), and of course price. From New York the common suggestion is westbound flights, but flying east through a European gateway such as London, Paris or Frankfurt can be considered.
I suggest you use agency sites such as Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia, Cheapoair or many others to research possibilities. Or look at www.itasoftware.com which provides information but does not sell tickets. Many sites have multi-destination search functions which can combine airlines and save time by routing you into one destination city and home from another. Trying to assemble an itinerary by searching for the individual fares to the airports en route will be troublesome and expensive.
Or you can hire a travel agent to do the research for you.

I would look at Korean air from jfk

Flying into Bangkok is usually the least expensive way to get to SE Asia. But there are other options, depending on your destination. Do you have ff miles on an airline? You will be flying a lot of miles - it is worth thinking about ff programs. If you start from there, you can look at the alliance your airline is a part of and choose your routing that way. BTW, always book on the airline's own website, not through an online agency such as orbitz or expedia or cheapoair. This should be a simple task - no need to pay an agent for this part.

It can make sense to use a local agent in VN (if you choose to spend time there) to get you better hotel rates. But beware - agents often try to cram in way too many places (as per the advertising that has now been deleted).

18 days would be fine for just VN. Or choose a combination of Thailand and a stop in Cambodia for Angkor. Or spend all 18 days in Thailand. Spend some time with guidebooks, and read some trip reports here.

Thailand and Siem Reap ( Angkor Wat) would would work. Its only about an hours flight from Bangkok. Similarly Thailand and Luang Prabang. (Laos) If you haven't been to South East Asia before you'll probably find Thailand easier than Vietnam. The traffic in the latter takes a bit of getting used to.

I can't advise on flights form NYC as I'm an Australian.