Hello,
I am traveling to SE Asia in December this year. Unfortunately I do not have much time and will need to cut out some things as well as take flights between countries to save time.Once in Bangkok I will have a solid 3 1/2 weeks.

I am flying to Bangkok and departing from bangkok.. I was planning on staying only a few days in thailand, down near phuket to do some diving, and then fly on to Siem Riep.I will end the trip flying from Hanoi back to Bankok.

Do any of you have any reccomendations as well as advice on the best ways to get around, stay ,things to see ect. I understand I wont be able to see everything and would like to spend most of the time in Vietnam.

Is it necessary to book things ahead?I have done lots of traveling other places and tend to do things loosely, but because of the short amount of time Im thinking I need to plan ahead?

An itenary would be helpful.

Thanks!!!

I don't have much time right now for a complete itinerary, but I guess this draft can help a little bit:
Day 1-4: Thailand
Day 5: flight BKK - REP
Day 6-9: REP: visit Angkor wat and the area around
Day 10. REP - SGN : Flight REp - SGN
Day 11. SGN - city tour
DAy 12. Sai Gon: Mekong Delta - O/N in Can Tho
Day 13. Mekong Delta / O/N in Sai Gon
Day 14. Sai Gon - free day
Day 15. Sai Gon - Hoi An: Flight SGN - Da Nang
Day 16-18. Hoi An
Day 19. Hoi AN - Ha Noi
Day 20. Ha Noi - city tour
Day 21. Ha Noi - Ha Long
Day 22. Ha Long - Ha Noi
Day 23. Ha Noi - free day
Day 24. Flight out HAN - BKK

This is just my idea, you will have lots of time for relaxing and get to know about the culture of Vietnam. Although to me, my time in Thailand is never enough, I keep coming back every year, but if you want to spend most of time in Vietnam, then this might work out. For further question, please feel free to email me. I would love to help for whatever I can. Ah, BTW, Dec is the peak season in Vietnam, you should prepare hotels, flights in advance.

Flying from Bangkok to Phuket, then to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) and then to Ho Chi Min city makes the most sense. After that, you can make your way north from HCMC to Hanoi and fly back to BKK. Bangkok Airways fly Phuket, Siem Reap, and HCMC and since you would have at least 3 legs, you should get their Discovery Pass to save money (I believe you can change dates once you have the tickets for free, but not the route). Air Asia flies Hanoi to BKK for around $80-110.

Frommer's has a good itinerary for 2 weeks in Vietnam at: http://frommers.com/destinations/vie...403020795.html

If you spend about 4 days in Bangkok, 3 in Angkor Wat, and 2-3 in Phuket in addition to those 2 weeks, so that would work out good for your plans.

Are you flying to Hanoi? It's quite a long way from siem Reap. I would suggest a minimum of three days in Siem Reap, up to three days in Phnom Penh. A week in Hanoi would be enough for side trips to Sapa and Halong Bay.

http://www.travelsinasia.com

air france has a flight from paris to bangkok daily....on alternative days it continues to hanoi and saigon....that may be of use to you??

you might try eddie at amex in bkk for discount flights:

[email protected]

he has done well by many of us pricewise for inter-asia flights...

prices from about dec 23 to jan 4 for hotels are at their highest of the year and sometimes reservations are hard to get....book now....

i would book everything in advance...

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if it is possible to fly phuket to hanoi? How about Bangkok to Ranong?

To get from Phuket to Hanoi you'd have to change planes in Bangkok.

Here's another idea: Since Bangkok Air has one flight that flies from Siem Reap through Bangkok to Phuket and counts as only one leg, it might be worthwhile to reverse your itinerary. Fly Bangkok to Hanoi, spend time in Hanoi and surrounding area, then to Hue/Hoi An area for a few days, then on to HCMC and the surrounding area for a few days. From HCMC you can fly to Siem Reap. You'll need three fulldays just to see the major temples. From there you can fly to Phuket and relax you last few days before going back to Bangkok and flying home. This gives you a route with no backtracking.

For BKK-Hanoi, you can use AirAsia. I got a one-way ticket for $93 for end of November of this year.

Thanks for the advice. Plans are changing again....Now I am thinking Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos.Do you have any reccomendations for laos?Whats the best route into Laos?

http://wikitravel.org/en/Discount_airlines_in_Asia

This site has a good overview of discounted airlines in Asia. In Vietnam, Pacific Airlines are your only cheap options. Vietnam Airlines is not cheap. Flying to Siem Reap is usually expensive. I would consider flying into Phnom Penh instead through one of the cheaper alternatives if you want to see that city anyway, or arranging to flying to Siem Reap from Bangkok. Also, Bangkok Airways Discovery Pass might make sense in your case. They fly to Laos and Cambodia, but not Vietnam.