IMHO Hoi An was a good miss. I did not find it charming, or interesting, and very touristed. I loved our long daytrip to Halong Bay. I did not think an overnight on the boat was necessary.
SR is special. Well worth the time and money to get there.

Thanks Elainee. Can you say more about what you didn't like about Hoi An? I'm still leaning towards going there.

I've been lurking, and as an unseasoned traveler, have felt hesitant about jumping in. Anyway, here I go! I loved Hoi An. It is small, sweet and beautiful. There are many many shops there that are obviously geared to tourists, but I never felt anywhere near as hustled as I did in the markets in both Hanoi and Saigon. There a many more Caucasians on the streets in Hoi An than there are in the other places, so it might not feel as 'authentic', but we didn't just stay in the town proper, and went to other places up and down the beach outside Hoi An as well as a half day trip to My Son. We were there four eight days, and tired of milling around town. On the flip side, if we ever returned, we would seriously consider a home stay in the area as 'home base' and travel from there.

"There are many many shops there that are obviously geared to tourists"

"There a many more Caucasians on the streets in Hoi An than there are in the other places"

Which is why I don't care so much for it, but clearly YMMV, especially if you shop, which I don't. (Although even if you shop, I would think you would be better off doing so in Hanoi or Saigon, other than for clothes.)

YMMV?

I'm much more of a wanderer than shopper, but did buy clothes. And you're right, thursdaysd, other shopping was better in Hanoi and Saigon.

I would definitely fly from Hanoi to Luang Prabang instead of flying to Danang. You can probably get to Siem Reap quicker from Luang Prabang than from Danang.

YMMV = your mileage may vary

While I am an advocate of hoi an and while I have not been to Laos, I have read many wonderful things about Luang Prabang and if flights are available, you may want to consider taking the opportunity to go there. Keep in mind though that you may need additional visas which could add to the cost of your trip.

Why am I am at work without wifi when the ideas come pouring inn??!! And it takes more time to respond on my phone --that I have available??!! Anyway, now home at 9:30 PM PST. Thanks Sum, thursdaysd, Marija and dgunbug! I can see that I may be doing some changing of plans! I am intrigued by the idea of Laos now that we have a few extra days, but it would mean cutting out Hoi An or Halong Bay or both. Need to get out my books, notes and think and discuss with hubby. I do like the idea. I'm probably leaning more towards Hoi An right now than Halong Bay, but know that that could change. Guess the weather would make a big difference too. Much to mull over this weekend in DM. But I'll have the time! Thanks again.

Patty

At the risk of information overload, My opinions on the pros and cons re Hoi an

PROS

Great architecture
Exceptional food ( but expensive)
Photogenic, building market and riverside area
Full moon lantern festival
Good bicycle rides in surrounding countryside
Decent beaches nearby
IMO better choice than Halong
CONs

Heaving with tourists (for above reasons)
A long diversion for a short visit
Not a patch on Laos & LP ( even though LP is busy with tourists as well)

One way to mitigate the tourist issue is to stay at Ving hung Merchants House right in the centre. We stayed there ( in the room that Michael Caine used when filming The Quiet American) and found that we had the town to ourselves in the early am and late pm when everyone else seemed to be still in there hotels.

Som many places, so little time!

Thank you crellston for your careful pros and cons--very helpful. I will check out Ving hung.. This is sounding exciting. Photography is obviously a big draw for me. (Previous photos posted at www.pbase.com/pattyroth ) Thinking.....

Going to the bookstore this weekend for a book on Laos!

Does anyone else agonize over the logistics decisions besides me? What about Phnom Pehn? Is it worth a day? I actually booked our tickets home from there and then discovered I could have booked them from Siem Riep which seems simpler now. But our flight doesn't leave until 11:30 PM, so we could spend some time there. Any thoughts? I know there will be a charge to change them, but it might be worth it.

There is certainly enough to do in PP for a day. Even two, lol. My 2002 trip is a bit out of date, but the sites are still there:

http://wilhelmswords.com/asia2002/ - last post but one.

Pattyroth, We all agonise over logistics, otherwise we wouldn't be here!! I loved PP and have returned on several occasions over the years and it is one of my favourite cities in Asia. It is not to everyone's taste though. Some of the famous sights such as Tuol Sleng and the killing fields memorial are amongst the most moving places I have ever visited. The people are wonderful and, although you will witness some poverty on the streets, it has improved vastly over the years ( although that may just be because the authorities have cleared the street of the street kids etc. hire a tuk tuk for the day for around $15-20 and you can easily see most of the sites in a day.

There are some great restaurants around the town serving all manner of Khmer and other cuisine. The markets, including the Russian Market are definitely worth exploring. I much prefer PP to SR which has now become one giant tourist enclave serving Angkor.

crellston and thursdaysd--you are making my day! Especially since I don't think I can change my tickets to leave from Siem Reap. I tried but the seats just aren't available, so we'll just go and enjoy the day or days. I'm looking forward to reading all of your report thursdaysd! Just read about PP so far. Now my biggest issue is probably to decide whether to go to Hoi An or use those two days in Cambodia or Laos where we already have about 4 days apiece. Reading and thinking.... The above input helps immensely.

So now it looks like: 1 night Hanoi
4 nights: Hanoi to Sapa and back
2-3 nights Hanoi
2 nights Hoi An???
4 nights Luang Prabang
3 nights Siem Reap
all day in Phnom Penh
leave PP at 11:30 PM.

Unsure yet if we should cancel Hoi An and add the nights to Siem Reap and Luang Prabang. Will read more of trip reports this weekend.

I would add a night to Siem Reap and Hanoi.

Definitely add a night to SR. Three nights is a sunset and two days, whoch what I had the first time I went. It wasn't enough and I had to go back. Now it is so much more crowded (or so I hear) it will be evenmore important to have the time to visit some further out temples.

For the other day it's a toss-up. You could even add it to Hue. A few years back I would have said that you should add it to LP, but it's not the tranquil place it used to be. How are you getting to PP? If it is land tranport you should add that day to PP, probably should do that anyway.

Has anyone been to the Full Moon Festival in Hoi An? Was it worth it?