Hi there

We are plannng a trip to Vietman for three weeks at the end of May 2007 and would like to include a side trip to Angkor Wat if possible. We would really appreciate some advice regarding the benefits/costs of the various transportation options.Please feel welcome to offer any other advice for first time travellers to Vietnam. Thank you.

Hi Maggie,
check out www.pandaw.com for the river cruise option. Highly recommended - it's a great way to get from Saigon to Siem Reap and see a whole lot of Vietnam and Cambodia en route. Do a search in here - you'll find Mitch's trip report.
Be aware: it'll be HOT in May.

The quickest way, of course, is to fly. Given that you only have three weeks, you might be wise to utilize this option.

Thank you for reccommending the river cruise option. It looks fantastic but sadly outside our budget. Maybe there are cheaper river cruises?

We are thinking of maybe going by river from HCMC and then flying out of Siem Reap to Hanoi. I'm keen to know if others have travelled this way.

MaggieNZ,

I did not do the river option and it was my only regret about my Vietnam trip. While we spent several days in and around Saigon and the Mekong and loved it, I truly wish we would have gone deeper in the Mekong and stayed in Can Tho and Chau Doc, which we had considered, on the way to Phnom Penh. I really feel that you SEE Vietnam if you see the whole country. Try to spend at least one night in Phnom Penh on your way to Siem Reap. You will not be sorry. Maybe someday I will get to do it again and I will definately go by river.

It really would have taken us only one more day since we had done a day trip to Can Tho anyway. You can just continue on to Chau Doc, see the floating market, stay the night, and take a 7 hour deluxe rice barge on to PP. It takes a whole day by the time you count all of the travel to airport, airport time, etc. to fly.

We just returned from Thailand and traveled much of the country without flying hardly at all and that way we really did see Thailand, not just by air and major tourist cities, but the country.

Happy New Year Everyone (Its 10.20 am here in NZ)

Thanks for your response Connette. I will definitely explore river cruise options further.