To stopover or not? Where?
 

We're (DH, me, DS 8, DS8 and MIL) planning a trip to Vietnam next summer. Because we are traveling on Star Alliance FF miles, we want to be sure to book something relatively soon so that we can get the best choice. My DH and I have been debating whether to do a stopover and where.

We have 18-21 days for the whole vacation, inclusive of travel time. Should we squeeze VN into 14 days and have 4 days for a stopover? Or should we skip it all together and spend the full time in VN?

Stopover choices on Star Alliance will likely be Frankfurt, Zurich, BKK, HKG, NRT, SIN. DH doesn't want a huge metropolis. NRT is out b/c it will completely break our budget. Not too sure about the others. A reasonable stopover budget for us would be $300 for two hotel rooms, $100-125/day for food for all five of us. We'd rely heavily on public transportation, except maybe the trip to/from hotel and airpot. We're flexible on attraction fees since we'd rather spend the money to really see a place.

Can you help?

Of the places you mention, Bangkok will be the least expensive. (You think Narita would be expensive, think about Zurich!) Four days in Bangkok would be a good introduction. Bangkok has wonderful attractions, good public transport (stay somehwere close to the Skytrain) fabulous food and incredible shopping.

All of the places you list, are, of course, huge cities.

Summer is not the best time to visit Vietnam (or anywhere in SE Asia). It will be distressingly hot and humid.

Personally, I'd spend the whole time in Vietnam. If you look at the Vietnam itineraries people post here, you'll see they almost always come to realize they cannot do all they want in the time available. With 18-21 days you could do it.

A good plan is to fly into Saigon (e.g., via Hong Kong on United) and out of Hanoi (e.g., via Bangkok on Thai) or vice versa (the best direction depends on the time of year as N, S, and central Vietnam are in different climate zones). Internal flights on Vietnam airlines are cheap and convenient.

I would be fine with spending all of the time in Vietnam. However, Bangkok would be a great stopover. You should also look at flights into Hanoi or Saigon (HCMC) on Asiana via Seoul (not recommending a stopover there). I will be interested to hear if you can actually score ff seats for 5 people.

BTW. I don't know about other FF programs, but when using United miles on Star Alliance, you can do open jaw OR a stopover, but not both.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm really torn. So if we do a stopover, sounds like BKK is the clear winner, especially since it's the cheapest. I might even be able to score a timeshare trade so I don't have to book hotels. I've sketched out a rough itinerary and seems that we can see what we want to see in VN in 15 days at a reasonably leisurely pace. So a stopover there just might work.

Kathie, I know they're all big cities. Had to explain it to DH that big cities are where the international airports are! Well, he'll just have to bend a little. Or I'll just send him home early. :-)

Someotherguy, luckily, I'll be accessing the FF program via Continental which allows one stopover AND an open jaw. Unluckily, I can only go during the summer. That's the only time we can take three weeks off for travel due to school and work.

Fingers crossed that we can figure this out while I can still book something.

Thanks for your help!

molly2004 - you say you will be using Continental- but Continental does not fly to BKK or Vietnam so I'm guessing you will be using United or some other Star Alliance member?

molly, be cautious about timeshare trades in Bangkok. The people who have posted here about the options in Bangkok have had options I wouldn't recommend anyone take. Hotels in Bangkok are quite moderately priced, especially in the summer. I often tell people they can live in the lap of luxury in Bangkok for the price of a Holiday Inn in the US.

Bangkok is a good choice in combination with Vietnam, but there's no getting around that it's a "huge metropolis."

I'd also consider Singapore which although also urban is fairly low maintenance -- easy to get around, good cheap food, reasonable accommodations, lots of attractions for kids.

Alternately, if you don't mind some added air time you could fly from Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong to a beach destination, like one of Thailand's beaches or even Bali.

Vietnam is interesting, but it's demanding on the traveler so some chill time might be a good end to your trip.

I don't know Continental's rule, but many airlines that I do know about (American, Lufthansa, BA, and United if they haven't changed rules) do not allow you to route to Asia via Europe unless you fork over significantly more miles (compared to a trans-Pacific routing).

i agree about using bkk, but there are nice beach areas in VN where you might like to stay a few days...

a serviced apartment in bkk would be my choice for you: centre point silom would be good because it is right next to the skytrain...

i find taxis are often cheaper than public transport especially when there are 5 of you

But you won't find a taxi for 5 - you'll need two of them.

It's always hot and humid in South Vietnam, regardless of the time of year. Don't let that deter you.

If I was flying all the way to Vietnam and had 4 extra days, I spend them in Siem Reap and visit Angkor Wat.

I agree with spending the 4 extra days in Bangkok and the Centerpoint Silom is a perfect place. It is a serviced apartment with a kitchen and washer & dryer. The price is good, the rooms lovely and it is located a block from the sky train and river, making transportation a cinch.

Remember that it will be extremely hot in VN and Bangkok and you will need to rest during the day time to avoid the sun. It's impossible to see everything. Bangkok is a fabulous city with tons to see and do. Siem Reap would be another great spot, but it would likely be more expensive and difficult to get there.

I vote for HK as a stopover on the way to SGN as it would be a nice contrast with Vietnam, and also it is closer (assuming you are coming from the state) and you may be able to get a non-stop.

As far as relaxing spots, there are plenty of those in VN.

We're doing HK on the way back from VN-Siem Reap trip early next year. It's someplace we've never been, and the connections (using miles) were relatively easy (flying out SFO-Seattle-Seoul-Hanoi; Hong Kong-Tokyo-SFO return).

sf, you will love it!

Hong Kong is a wonderful city. But the OP would have difficulty finding hotel rooms in their price range (two rooms for US$300).

Actually, they could stay at the Salisbury YMCA, which is highly recommended, for about that price.

That was the one place I thought of, but a friend recently told me of paying over $200 a night there... though now that I think of it, it was likely a harbor view room. Still, Hong Kong is an expensive city.

Wow, thanks for all of the terrific responses! Yes, I definitely anticipate VN to be a very tiring trip. That's why I'm planning on building in some on the beach to just chill out. Aiming for everything to be pretty slow paced, considering the kiddos and their Gma will be with us. This site has really opened my eyes about what we are capable of doing given the heat. It's easy to forget when you plan a trip like this in an air conditioned office.

Kathie, I've checked on the timeshare exchange and it looks like it might be feasible for me to land a Marriott, which I'm very comfortable with, given their standards elsewhere. Being able to get lodging for all five of us for 4 days for a $200 exchange fee makes BKk a clear winner!

Rizutto, hmmm, I didn't think there'd be any problem with trying to get a route over Europe, as that would be the only way I could fly via Thai Air and land in BKK. Based on what I've read on flyertalk, it seems that if it's possible, they can generally get the flight for you. Has your experience been different? Guess the rule here is that I should have a backup plan.

Speaking of which, it sounds like Singapore and Hong Kong might be some great backups in case BKK doesn't come through if I can land some reasonable lodging at a fair price.

Thanks again everyone!

Molly, there are a number of Marriott properties in Bangkok, none of which are part of their time share program. The only Marriott timeshares in Thailand are at Phuket.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore and great cities, though both are much more expensive (especially for lodging) than Bangkok is.

You can fly Thai Air into Bangkok going trans-Pacific, as Thai flies from LA to Bangkok.

what alternatives have marriott offered you in bkk as they have none there??

also what would thai offer you at a realistic price flying east from usa??

flying east is almost always more expensive except on finn air...

Apparently, Marriott recently acquired some units in Empire Place. They have one, two and three bedroom units.

88 Naradhiwas Rajanagarindra Road
Sathorn
Yannawa
Bangkok 10120, Thailand
02-210-8000

rhkkmk, I'm planning on cashing in FF miles on Star Alliance and Thai Air has routes flying with Lufthansa or Swiss Air from Boston to the European gateway city. Then onwards to BKK. Looks like they also do the trans pacific route, which I'm okay with as well. Hanoi would be the final stop. They also have the same options in reverse.

Of course, I've never done this before, so I could be planning on something that won't ultimately work. However, based on the feedback I've gotten from people who have on flyertalk, I'm pretty confident that it will work.

Since I'm doing this with FF miles, hopefully, I'll have no problem and I could potentially have a choice between the trans Europe route or the trans pacific. Is one over the other preferred if travel time is similar? Is one less taxing jet lag wise than another?

Thanks again!

Very interesting abut the Marriott acquiring the condos at Empire Place. It looks like a good locations, though I can't tell exactly how far it is to the Skytrain. Thanks for the info.

Since you are using FF miles, make sure you get your reservations as soon as they become available, about 330 days in advance. Getting 5 tickets will be no easy feat. But I wish you the best.

It makes no difference which directions you fly, you'll have jetlag either way.

I had thought from your other posts that you had decided to rule out a stopover anywhere (Tokyo was originally on your list as well).

As I think I have mentioned before, as you only have 18-21 days, <i>including</i> travel days for the vacation, it may be best to just concentrate on Vietnam. You will have at least 3 calendar days of travel time for your international flights, so even with 21 days, that leaves you 18 days in Vietnam. That just barely more than 2 weeks. If you only have 18 days to start with, then you basically have 2 weeks in VN when you take out the flight time to and from the US. Vietnam is a very large country, relatively speaking, with many different areas to see. In addition, traveling between the different areas of VN will take some time. I am afraid that adding Bangkok will mean you have to cut things out in VN, which seems to be the purpose of the trip. Personally, I would just stick with Vietnam. If you want relaxation, then take 4 days at a beach resort like DaNang, Nha Trang, Qui Nhon, Hoi An or elsewhere. In the summer, most beaches have little rain (the odd typhoon notwithstanding). Ho Chi Minh in the far south and Hanoi in the far north will be on the rainy side in summer (as will Sapa), but I would not spend too much time in HCM anyway, and rain should not interfere with the sights you want to see in Hanoi, although it would affect enjoyment of Sapa most likely. If you can go in June, you should be able to avoid the heavier rain in these aras which takes place in July and August and into the fall.

I believe you have also ruled out trying to get to and from VN and Siem Reap in the middle of the trip as that was too much back and forth. If you want to fly from the US to Bangkok, then going to Siem Reap from there and then on to VN might be easier, and therefore includuing Ankor Wat could perhaps be done at the beginning or end of the trip. This would resolve your “big city” issue I think, as Siem Reap is quite small. (This of course would be in lieu of spending any time in Bangkok).

Thank you, Kathie!

Cicerone, you are right. Originally, I did have Tokyo on the list, as well as Hong Kong and Siem Reap. At the time, I had not done any research into the cost of touring in those countries. They were on the list because of sheer interest. Siem Reap is not expensive relative to the others but since I'm flying on FF miles, Siem Reap is not "on the way" somewhere so I can't add it as a free stopover. Tokyo and Hong Kong has since fallen off the short list because of cost. I had not known anything about BKK at the time so did not consider it.

As of right now, I think I can do VN in the 14 days. I'm planning on spending the least amount of time in HCMC (prob just a night or two), really only going there b/c I was born there and want to see where I came from. A few more days in Hanoi (not really interested in Sapa), one night on Halong Bay and spending the rest of the time at Hoi An on the beach.

Thanks for your input. It was really helpful. Now I just need to wait for the green light from DH to book.

Wow, Molly, that's great to hear about the Marriott in BKK. It shows up on Interval but not even on MVCI yet.