aussiedreamer

Okay here I am again planning a trip , feels a bit weird 'cause I'm usually over on the Europe forum. We have the opportunity to go to Cambodia & Vietnam next year, as our good friends & travelling buddies are going and have asked us to join them. I've have so far only done some very basic research but what I've learnt so far is, going in April is not such a great idea! Unfortunately it has to be planned around the Easter holidays here in Australia but as Easter falls on the 8th April I'm hoping that we can make that the end part of the trip.

I'd love to hear any suggestions from like minded travellers to help with the planning. We are all in our late 40's and well travelled (but not so much in Asia), we obviously want to see as many of the highlights as possible without 'racing' around like lunatics. We will have 3 weeks maximum. We all enjoy new things, places and experience but we also all enjoy coming home at night to a nice level of accommodation , I guess 4*? We also like to travel fairly independently, so no 'organised' tours as such, but of course I know sometimes its better to do that. We'd all love to incorporate a river cruise as well.

So having said all that any recommendations for must see places, nice hotels, interesting places to eat (we are foodies so love to experience as much as we can) would be great.

Thanks as always.

rhkkmk

you will find that 3* hotels in vietnam offer a very nice level of comfort... i usually like 4 or 5* in asia but i was very pleased with what tonkin travel in hanoi offered me in various locations in vietnam... you might ask them for some help....they did my hotels and internal airfares and were reasonable and very good with excellent followup...

i have only been to siem reap in cambodia so i am little help there other than to say that there are some very nice hotels there... hotel de la paix gets excellent marks and i liked the sofitel when i visited there...

crellston

Not sure why you feel that April is "not such a great idea". If you are referring to the weather then it is towards the end of the dry season for Cambodia but is likely to be fine & dry although it will be hot. Weather patterns in Vietnam are more complex because of the topography but you will get good if varied weather there too. We have visited both countries several times at that time of year and loved it.

Getting around both countries independently is pretty simple both have reasonably efficient bus services for the shorter journeys and pretty good airline coverage for the longer journeys (albeit expensive) Vietnam also has the option of train travel which is a travel experience in itself.

Highlights in Cambodia obviously include Angkor Wat and Phonm Penh. I also like Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island) and Kratie, up near the Laos border.

In Vietnam, Hanoi, the Mai Chau Valley, Hue, Saigon, Sapa are all fascinating places with their own individual attraction. Food is excellent virtually everywhere and you will be spoilt for choice. My favourite food centres are in Hue, Hanoi and Phnom Penh. The best food in these places is often to be found in the small "hole in the wall" local restaurants, rather than the more well known places to be found in the guide books. if you are feeling adventurous then try the markets - the food really is superb.

Great places to stay abound at all levels. If you feel like splashing out then try La Residence in Hue, probably my favourite hotel in Asia.

aussiedreamer

Thank you both so much, that gives me a great start. Crellston, you're right it was the heat I was worried about. As for street/market food, that sounds wonderful, we had some amazing food experiences in Hong Kong but the street food was a highlight.

Thanks again, I'll be back...............

sf7307

aussie, please click on my name and read my trip report from March 2010 - we were also Asia first-timers and seem to have a similar travel style to you and your friends. (the only difference from the above posts is that we thought intra-Vietnam plane travel was very inexpensive, although flying vn-Siem Reap was quite high. )

aussiedreamer

will do, thanks.