auntlisey

Hello - we are a couple in our late fifties and plan to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Thailand next February for about 2-3 weeks. We've been to China, Hong Kong & Taiwan but haven't been to these countries yet. We don't know if we should go on our own or with a tour group. We want to visit Bangkok, Hanoi, Saigon, Hoi An, Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh, and Luang Prabang. I've read how these countries are easy to do on your own but I'm concerned about the language barrier and getting around on our own without an actual tour guide, etc. I appreciate any suggestions!

crellston

All the places you mention are exceedingly easy to get around regardless of your language skills. Most people involved in the travel industry will have reasonable English language skills. research and planning is half of the pleasure of such a trip plus YOU get to decide exactly where you want to go and what to see. It is also usually cheaper to DIY. With a tour group you never know who your travelling companions might be! A private tour is possible but expensive but you could easily hire one en route on a per day basis.

Good guide books and forums such as this should provide all the information you need to plan sensibly.

rhkkmk

on your own for sure... we will help you with logistics as you plan... just keep posting questions

dgunbug

You can easily tour on your own, however, you will run yourself ragged and hardly see much if you plan to go to so many places in 2-3 weeks. We spent 3 1/2 weeks in Vietnam and 3 1/2 weeks in Thailand/siem reap. Transportation will kill the better part of a day each time you fly. I would suggest limiting the places you want to go. Remember too that the weather tends to be quite hot and you will have to take things more slowly in that part of the world.

Kathie

Yes, this is very easy to do on your own. I agree with dgunbug, though, in 2 - 3 weeks, you must limit the number of places you visit if you want any experience of the places. 2-3 weeks is a good amount of time for VN alone. Or it would be a good amount of time for Thailand Plus Angkor or Thailand plus Luang Prabang. While I have visited all of these places without guides, and felt no need for a guide, some people like to hire a guide for a limited time. That is always an option.

Also note that group tours typically cram too much into a limited time, so you never really get to see/do/experience what made you want to visit those places.

auntlisey

Thanks to each of you for responding so quickly! I know it sounds like a lot of places but we usually are ready to move on to the next place after a couple nights. We are foodies and love authentic Asian cuisine. I would love to eat at all the markets and food stalls but not sure if we would get sick. We also will get bored if we have to visit too many temples, museums, palaces, churches, etc. We do want to see the main attractions but our interests are primarily food and wildlife. We thought about visiting Chiang Mai and the elephants, but not sure how that would compare after seeing elephants in the wild in Africa last year. This is the itinerary I've planned so far (not in any order - perhaps you can suggest which order to visit):

Bangkok - 3 nights at Royal Orchid Sheraton or Peninsula?
Saigon 2 nights (recommend a nice, quiet hotel?)
Hoi An (1 or 2 nights?)
Hanoi 3 nights at Hotel Elegance Diamond
Siem Reap 3 nights
Phnom Penh 2 nights (mainly want to visit the Killing Fields)
Luang Prabang 2 nights

Again, thank you for all your help on this!

auntlisey

Kathie - I like your idea of hiring guides at each place and plan to do that - any guide suggestions? We will most likely eliminate some places after hearing back from everyone. Thanks!

auntlisey

rhkkmk: I believe I read a post from you somewhere that recommended the Hotel Elegance Diamond. Any other hotel recommendations at the other cities?

dgunbug: Will it be real hot in February? I picked this month because it may be cooler?

crellston: Will defnitely go on our own for this trip!

Kathie

It will take most of a day each time you change locations. So two nights somewhere is a mere one day. One night somewhere, and you'll maybe get dinner and breakfast in that location, but no time to explore.

So if you think Hoi An is only worth one night, I'd skip it. You'll spend a lot of time in transit and won't have time to see it. And two nights in Luang Prabang? LP is a place to slow down and absorb the atmosphere. If you can't spend four nights there (three days), I'd skip it. Three nights in Siem Reap gives you just two days to visit the temples.

Here is your itinerary if you count days rather than nights:
2 days in Bangkok
1 day in Saigon
0 days in Hoi An
2 days in Hanoi
2 days in Siem Reap
1 day in PP
1 days in LP

IMO, you need to cut at least three of your locations.

I don't believe you need a guide in any of these places. but it you want one you can hire one easily on the spot.

dgunbug

A friend of mine just did a whirl wind trip as you propose and reported back that they should have skipped Laos.

To answer your question, I believe February will be cooler although I seem to remember others having difficulty with cancelled flights die to inclement weather in vn. Not positive which month that wad, but you must realize that you can lose much time in traveling between cities. Airplanes may be delayed or cancelled and that can ruin such a tightly packed trip.

auntlisey

Kathie and dgunbug: You both make very good points. Do you think it's okay to skip Saigon? I'm really not interested in Saigon but feel we should see it since we're there. We'll also save Hoi An and Laos for next time if we go back. What do you think of the following:

Bangkok 4 nights
Hanoi 3 or 4 nights?
Siem Reap 4 nights
Phnom Penh 3 nights

Kathie

Much, much better. Yes, save those other places for next trip.

I'd suggest 4 nights for Hanoi, and I'd actually cut a night from PP, as it sounds like you can see what you want to see in a day.

You might have to fly back to Bangkok to catch your flight home.

Kathie

PS A rule I have for myself in travel is never to go somewhere because I think I "should." I only go places I want to go.

yestravel

I agree that you are trying to see too much in too short of time. However, I don't think you necessarily loose a whole day when you change destinations. Often you can take an early morning flight and arrive in the late morning early pm. Or take an evening flight and spend a whole day at your departure city.

We spent 3 days in Siem Reap and it was fine for us. We had 2 full days at the temples and pretty much were on overload after that. Didn't particularly care for SR, so more time there was not desired. We spent 5 days in Luang Prabang and loved every second of it. It's a small, lovely town and if you only have 3 days there I think its worth going to, but 2 days, not so sure. It was a respite from all the hectic places we visited. Same was true for Hoi An -- a nice small town, easy to get around and relatively peaceful compared to other places we visited. BKK is huge, but if you don't like big cities, 3 days would do it.

On the weather -- We were in VN for 3.5 weeks in February and had cool weather in Hanoi. Saigon was VERY hot. Hoi An was pleasant the days we were there -- cloudy with moderate weather. We were in Cambodia in January and it was very hot there as was Bangkok. Luang Prabang in January was nice. It was cool a couple days in the am, but warmed up as the the day went on, but never got uncomfortably hot. I agree that the weather can slow you down. By 2 pm or so, it was often so hot, that we tended to stop sightseeing or walking around and take respite in a cafe or go back to our hotel and stay out of the sun.

On hotels -- Loved the Elegance Diamond Hotel in Hanoi. They also opened a new one, Essence I think was the nam,e and we saw it. It was very nice. I preferred the look of the rooms and location of the Diamond, but the Essence would work if you can't get in the Diamond. I would also book a junior suite, really just a larger room at either place. In Luang Prabang we stayed at the Apsara and really liked it. I would get a room in the main bldg on the top floor. In Saigon we stayed at he Liberty and it was nice, but I wondered if we could have found another place on our own that would have been better for the same price.

I agree that its easy to do on your own, but we did use Tonkin Travels to book the VN portion of our trip. We tended to get better rates on our hotels and they supplied several guides for various portions of the trip. Since you love food as do I, I would do the BKK Food tour. It was fun, informative and had great food.

Happy planning!

yestravel

oops! meant to include the link to th epos I did on the BKK Food tour which gives specific info
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...mmendation.cfm

auntlisey

Kathie: You're right - I shouldn't visit places just because we're there! So now I want to add Luang Prabang back to the list especially after reading what yestravel wrote about it. We'll extend our trip if we have to.

yestravel: I actually don't care for big cities because they all seem to be alike after awhile. I've heard so much about BKK but maybe I should shorten it by a day. We are definitely taking the food tour - thanks for the link! Did you use any other travel agencies for Luang Prabang or Cambodia?

sf7307

Remember there's a big difference between using an agency to book hotels and air for (not necessary but can be convenient) and traveling with a tour group!

yestravel

No, we did not use any travel agencies for other portions of our trip, just in VN. I think Tonkin Travel will plan trips in Cambodia and Laos.

I didn't see your new plan when I pated my other post. I agree that
given that you don't like big cities, u should skip Saigon. U would appreciate Luang Prabang (& Hoi An) after being in the the other places which are very hectic, crowded and polluted. If you are not into temples, u don't need 4 nights in Siem Reap. BTW haven't been to Phnom Penh.

Also to illustrate my point about moving and not losing a whole day. We flew from Hanoi to Danag and on to Hoi An. We had an 8 am flight from Hanoi, got picked up at the airport in Danag and were at our hotel in Hoi An by 10 am. Had the rest of the day to sightsee in Hoi An. Same was true for BKK to Hanoi -- left BKK on a 7 am flight and were in our hotel in Hanoi by 10.

auntlisey

sf7307: I would like an agency to help book flights and hotels, especially if they can get a better rate.

yestravel: My new plan is (not in order):

Bangkok 3 nights
Hanoi 3 nights
Angkor 3 nights (two days at temples will be enough)
Phenom Penh 2 nights (mainly to see the Killing Fields)
Luang Prabang 2-3 nights (why did you love it so much!?)

We would love to visit Hoi An since this may be our only trip to Vietnam but it may be too ambitious?

We'll be flying out of San Francisco - what logistical itinerary do you suggest?

Thanks again.

Kathie

If you'd like to visit Hoi An, cut Luang Prabang. Three nights in Hoi An is a fine amount of time. I'd want more (of course, we spent a week there) in Luang Prabang. Also, the flight to Hoi An is a quick and easy one. If you add LP, you'll probably have a connecting flight (one of those transfers that can take all day) and you'll have another visa to purchase.

Are you sure you only want two days to see the temples at Angkor? Get a copy of Dawn Rooney's book, Angkor: A Guide to Cambodia's Wondrous Temples to study up and determine how much time you want there.

It's true that sometimes you can move from place to place without losing a whole day, but often, most of your travel day is lost. The Hanoi to Hoi An flight cited by yes is an example of getting most of the day in the new location. Still, it's an hour drive from Hanoi to the airport, they had to be there an hour in advance, and it's an hour drive from DaNang to Hoi An. It all went well, and it "only" took them 5+ hours from check out to check in. But we had a recent report from someone who had a delayed flight to DaNang, and ultimately spent all day at the airport and never flew at all.

In terms of getting to SEA from SFO - do you have a preferred airline alliance?