I am planning a trip to Bangkok in Feb. 2007
I would like to take side trips to other sites in Thailand - also to Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Does anyone know the best way to do this and/or guides they may be able to recommend? I will be flying from to Toronto to Bangkok. What is the best airline and route. Thanks

uhh... How much time do you have? You have listed 4 countries. Give us an idea of what you want to do/see/experience, what kind of budget you have, etc.

You may find that reading other's trip reports on this board will be helpful to you in figuring out exactly what you are interested in. This is far too general a question for us to be able to be helpful.

Lunar New Year will be mid-February next year so be sure to check out how that will effect your plans. It's very festive time, but can complicate travel considerably as so many local people are on the move.

Best route would probably be an open-jaw: outbound to Vietnam and returning from Bangkok.

air canada is the most logical through hong kong....

connect in detroit on northwest through tokyo

thai air through new york (jfk--non-stop)

a number of airlines through the usa west coast ports (la, sf, portland)

you have not answered so i assume you will have 2-3 weeks for the trip....you could spend all of that time easily in thailand, visiting bkk, chiang mai and maybe a beach area...

or go to bkk and siem reap cambodia and perhaps one other thai place...

i would skip VN until another trip--its a whole vacation in itself...

one good airline to investigate is bangkok air....they fly to most places in thailand internally and to cambodia and laos as well...

to kathie
I have 4-5 weeks. Budget is ample but not unlimited. I would like to visit temples, historic sites,
towns, villages - small hotels (4-5*)- perhaps short tours with small groups
Thanks, again

himelbee - Your trip sounds very much like the one I have planned for the end of this December. I am spending 4 weeks in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. I had planned to fly from MSP to Hanoi, then go Hanoi to Chiang Mai via Bangkok, Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang, Luang Prabang to Siem Reap, Siem Reap to Bangkok, and fly out of Bangkok back home. I would also look at the Bangkok Airways Discovery Pass http://www.bangkokair.com/discoveryairpass/ for your flights inside of SEA for discount flights.

With 4 - 5 weeks you have a lot of options. Remember that Asia lends itself best to slow travel. So spend some time getting to know each place and don't spend all your time getting from one place to another.

Pause and consider, do you want a "highlights" trip, choosing one or two places in each country or do you want to slow down and spend your time in just two countries? Either is feasiable.

My recomendations for a highlights tour (which are based on my interests, so don't know if they match yours):

Thailand: Bangkok (3 days at the beginning and another 3 days at the end) and The Golden Triangle (4 days) Here are two very different views of Thailand, one very urban the other rural

Cambodia: Siem Reap (Angkor) (at least 3 days) and Phonm Phen (2 days)

Laos: Luang Prabang (at least 4 days) and either Vientiene or the Plain of Jars (2 days, much of that may be travel time for the Plain of Jars, you only need one day there)

Vietnam: Hanoi (5 days) and Hue/Hoi An (5 days between the two)

You can supplement these locations with day trips as you wish. I have given what I consider to be minimum amounts of time to spend in each place... all are worth more time depending on your interests.

It will be a wonderful trip!