INTREPID Travel
 

Has anyone used this group? I've seen passing mentions of this group but didn't get an Idea of what the general feeling for the company was. I was thinking of taking their tour of SE Asia that includes bangkok and Seim Reep. Intrepid had a bus that takes people from Bangkok to Seim Reep in 9 hours. Is this crazy? I've also heard that some bus trips to Seim Reep is a scam so I got worried when I saw that Intrepid does a bus trip. Can anyone give me some advice? I don't need to use Intrepid but I wanted to go to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and see Angkor Wat at an affordable price so I thought they were an option.

I haven't used them but I'm planning a trip to Thailand and Angkor Wat and decided to do my own itenerary after considering Intrepid. Flights within a SE Asia country are usually dirt cheap ($20 one way or less), and BKK to Siem Riep are around $300rt on Bangkok Air including the $20 visa fee. Not sure what the trip to HCM city will run. Unless you really want the experience of driving to SR I would just fly. Overall, I feel like I can duplicate the Intrepid trip for a lot less than they're charging. Take the best ideas from their trips and search around on this forum and you'll get lots of good ideas about the costs and logistics.

Geez - yes, if you buy a bus trip to SR on Khao San Rd you might get ripped off somewhere - I have read the stories too. A bribe at the border equivalent perhaps to the cost of a lunch at home.

But it would be annoying! Intrepid though are a well respected company. And if you don't want to do it yourself (and from yr post it seems that that might be a step too far for you) then they would be a good bet.

Personally I flew one way and returned by road. It's really not difficult.

A couple of notes about the flight info... Your Bangkok Air flight does not include the cost of your Cambodian visa, which is now US$25. While there are some new budget airlines in SE Asia with incredible prices, I'm afraid that the idea that most "Flights within a SE Asia country are usually dirt cheap ($20 one way or less)" is merely a dream. Nonetheless, flights on VN Air can be purchased much more cheaply in SE Asia than elsewhere, and are very reasonably priced.

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that the visa was included with the ticket - only that both a ticket and visa can be had for around $300. As for the in-country flights, I apparently exaggerated the cost when I said $20 one-way, but I found lots of Thailand flights for around $30 when I did a quick internet search (AirAsia & Phuket Airlines seem to be the cheapest with online booking). If you do take Intrepid, I would love to read what you thought of them.

I'm actually using Intrepid for my HCMC to Bangkok via Siem Reap trip. They came highly recommended from a fellow traveller. I've traveled on my own in the past, but with a short period of time & not wanting to deal with the hassels of planning everything, they're taking care of everything. Don't worry about any bus trip scams with Intrepid, they do their research.