Travel Within Cambodia and Vietnam
 

Can anyone shed any insight into efficient travel both within Cambodia and between Cambodia and Vietnam? We are four well travelled folk heading to Hong Kong/Vietnam and Cambodia in November. We have all been to Vietnam before but not Cambodia.
We have concluded that to fly from Western Canada our best bet is to fly Air Canada to Hong Kong and then Vietnam Airlines to Phnom Penh or Siem Reip, PP being the cheaper fare at least on line. The issue is that once in Cambodia we had hoped to spend a few days at a Cambodian beach but it seems access is really only available by bus. One of our group gets car sick and so we're thinking this won't work.
Does anyone have any advice?
Any thoughts re great beaches in Vietnam as we didn't get a beach spot the last time we were there. Easy access is again important.
Also, does anyone have experience with the airline CambodiaAngkor? We cannot seem to find any information in regard to booking flights on their website.
And finally, should we just wait and book our flight on Vietnam Airlines in Vietnam when we get there or is that just crazy?

Thanks as always!

Although we were able to reschedule a couple of our VN Air flights while we were there in March, the flights we were on (Hanoi to Hue, Danang to Saigon and Saigon to SR on VN Air, and SR to Kuala Lumpur and KL to HKG on Air Asia. were all very full. If you know your itinerary and schedule, I'd reserve your VN Air flights in advance, especially since they do not charge a change fee ( and in one of the two cases, didn't charge us the small additional fare either).

Check out http://www.travelfish.org/ for good info on beaches in Cambodia and Vietnam. Also http://www.talesofasia.com/ for deatil on travel around Cambodia.

It has to be said that Cambodian buses generally are not great i.e. often overcrowded, frequently breaking down etc. although they are improving. The roads too are generally pretty rough (again improving), However, there is no alternative apart from a taxi (cheaper than you probably think)to get to the beaches, some of which are superb particularly some of the islands in the south - Koh Tonsay or Rabbit Island springs to mind.

As for Vietnamese beaches, Mui Ne, Phu Quoc are worth considering as are some of the less well known places like, con Dao and Doc Let. Nha Trang is very busy these days but has some great diving. There are a few "easy access" beaches around Hoi An.

As for booking flights in VN when there, in the past, I have generally not had too many problems and have been able to get next day flights quite easily, however, as there are 4 of you this could be more problematic. If travelling anywhere near Tet (23 Jan in 2012) then you really do need to book well in advance.

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Cambodia Travel Guide: 9133 real travel reviews, tips, and photos from real travelers and locals in Cambodia

Good tips for you flights generally preferred overland dodgy

Personally always set up when there to many touts scammers on line when last there some years ago went with Sok to Angkor.
GREAT guides.

Do book with airasia.com they are reliable.

November is getting to be high season, so I'd book all flights in advance. I haven't heard of n airline CambodiaAngkor, but it may be a resurrection of the old Royal Cambodian Air (there have been several efforts to resurrect this old airline). If so, it is very likely not bookable online and may not be flying by the time you get there.

Rather than taking a bus, you could hire a taxi to take you to a Cambodian beach. But in terms of ease of access, you would be better off going to a VN beach.

I'm not sure your exact route, so don't know if any of the legs you plan to fly are routes Air Asia flies. If you can use Air Asia, they are cheap, but as a budget airline, you have limited luggage allowance, no assigned seating, etc. You can buy those things ahead of time when you book, but make sure you don't end up paying more than you would for a full-service airline.

Also re Air Asia, on flights with two legs like we took from SR to HKG, we had to pay for luggage twice.

Thanks everyone; very helpful advice as always!

Can anyone comment on our proposed itinerary?
Vietnam Air, Hong Kong to Phnom Penh via Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 19th
Siem Reap to Phu Quoc via Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 25th
Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 29th
Ho Chi Ming city to Hong Kong, Dec 4

It seems Phu Quoc was the only beach type resort we could find that would enable us to fly into and out of close to HCM City. As we've been to Vietnam before the travelled the Mekong River we really didn't want to do that again.

I'm wondering if we're missing something in terms of ease of travel; would appreciate any comments from other travellers.
Thanks.

HoiAn is on a very nice beach (and there are lovely beach resorts) and you can fly from HCMC to Danang, about 25 miles from HoiAn. It has the added benefit of a really nice town.

Do you have to fly? There are beaches you can reach from Saigon by bus or car -Mui Ne, for starters.

I'll second the Hoi An idea. We hadn't really planned to do any beach time on our trip, but some nice folks we met at our little B&B in Hoi An told us how much they'd enjoyed a bike ride from town to beach! We took their advice and had a great day trip. In fact, we were sorry not to have known about it before. This little beach (don't know the name) was popular more with a few locals than tourists - most of whom apparently flock to a larger one further away. It wasn't more than a half hour very easy bike ride from town. It was a perfect day. You pay the owners of one of the little casual restaurants there a few bucks and for that you park your bike or car and get a nice lounge chair and umbrella (if I remember correctly). This was in mid to late February.

We were there in midMarch, and stayed at a hotel on the beach. The hotel had a shuttle so getting to town in the late afternoon evening was easy (10 minutes). Even if the shuttle wasn't there, a taxi was only $3.50. The beach we stayed on was broad white sand, and you could walk for miles in the sand.

Hi caesar,

November is season of travel. Better to book with Vietnam Airlines in advance. Look your proposal itinerary, and i think it is fine.

"Vietnam Air, Hong Kong to Phnom Penh via Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 19th
Siem Reap to Phu Quoc via Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 25th
Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh city, Nov 29th
Ho Chi Ming city to Hong Kong, Dec 4"

I have a idea, if you like to spend beach time in Cambodia, you can go to Shihanouk Ville from there you can crossing border to Ha Tien (Vietnam) the take 1.5hrs speed boat to Phu Quoc. This route is more tire but i love it. More adventure

There are some good resort I can recommend are Saigon Phu Quoc, Chenla Resort, Eden Resort, La Veranda

Other beach in Vietnam would recommend is beaches in Hoi An

Wish you have a good itinerary

Nancy