Vietnam, Laos, Siem Reap, Chiang Rai - ? the right # days/order of travel??
 

Hello,

My husband and I are heading back to Vietnam and Siem Reap to revisit places we loved as we think this may be our last trip to Asia. We also want to visit a few new places so we're adding Laos (Luang Prabang and Vientiane) and Chiang Rai (already have traveled to Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Koh Samui).

We'd like your advice on the following:
1. Do we have the right number of days/nights in Luang Prabang, Vientiane and Chiang Rai? We can be flexible and would consider adjusting our final # of days in Hoi An/Saigon if we missed the mark.

2. Do we have our destinations in the right order based on flight/airport availability? Usually we only go to one - two countries so it's been pretty easy to arrange but feeling a bit overwhelmed with this trip.

Saigon to Siem Reap
Chiang Rai - 3.5 days/4 nights
Luang Prabang - 3.5 days/4 nights
Vientiane - 1.5 days/2 nights
Hoi An - 3.5 days/4 nights
Saigon - 2.5 days/3 nights.

Thank you all in advance! We already have so many great ideas from reading everyone's posts!

Nancy

You don't say what your plans are for transportation. But with most ways to get around in that part of the world, including flights, last minute tickets are usually available. I say this in anticipation of suggesting you play it as you go. One person's peace & quiet is another's deadly boring. SE Asia is the best part of the world I know for relaxed, seat-of-the-pants travel and once you get used to the idea, you may not want to do it any other way. It might include going someplace on a whim and excluding one already on the list.

Hanoi isn't on your list and, given the other choices, it seems to me it might be your kind of place.

Do you have particular things you want to do/see in these places? I ask because that will determine the time you need in each. Overall, this looks reasonable.

We loved Luang Prabang and spent a week there years ago. If you just want to hang around town, soaking up the atmosphere 3 days is fine. If you want to take some short out of town trips, I'd add a couple of days.

I'm confused about the beginning of your trip. It says Saigon to Siem Reap - are you starting with some time in Siem Reap? If so, getting to Chaing Rai is a long day - you'd have to fly to Bangkok then on to Chiang Rai. There are only a few flights each day to Chiang Rai. And depending on which airlines you fly, you might have to change airports in Bangkok.

From Chiang Rai to Luang Prabang, you can take a two-day boat, the Luang Say. If you want to fly, you'll need to fly back to Bangkok, then fly Bangkok to LP. Take a look at the Bangkok Air website, as their Discovery Pass may prove a good deal for you.

Some of the logistics of this trip are complicated and will take more time than you anticipate (many of those half days may get eaten up with getting from place to place).

Unless the visa rules have changed recently, if you are entering VN 2 times you would need the double entry visa which is more expensive.

We did the Luang Say boat trip from LP to Houei Sai (from there you go to Chiang Rai). I know that in her TR progol mentions another boat company that I believe is substantially less expensive then Luang Say.

For us LP was a welcome respite in a 7-8 week trip. It wasn't crowded, was cooler and enough to see to keep us buy for 4 nights. I really liked LP.

I would cut a night from Chiang Rai. We used a wonderful guide, Jermsak, for only a day. I highly recommend him.

You can read about our time in the places you are going in our TR
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ia-odyssey.cfm

Agreed with previous posters about transportation from Chiang Rai to Laos. I would recommend skipping a day or two in Chiang Rai. I did a one day guided van tour and felt like I saw everything I wanted to in Chiang Rai and surrounding area, including the Golden triangle.
Enjoy!

It is very difficult to say whether you have the right amount of time in each place as you omitted to mention what sort of things interest you ( e.g. Temples, scenery, food, rural life, cities etc. . I would help other to provide more focused opinions if you helped us with this info.

FWIW, much as I love Chiang Rai, there is little point in including it unless you intend taking tone of the boat trips to LP. Numerous ways to do it. The most expensive and luxurious is the Luang Say boat mentioned by yestravel, the cheapest is the public boat. In between is a charted of your own boat. We have done the last two and the private charter was more enjoyable. One thing I would mention is timing. I would avoid the north of Thailand and Northern Laos from about Feb onwards as the smoke for the burning of the fields can make it a very unpleasant experience. Before then, you should be fine.

If it were me, then I would forget about Vientiane and spend more time in the far north based in LP you could spend the time exploring the lesser visited places like Muang Ngoi, Muang Sing, Luan Namtha.

In Vietnam, I think you have a little too much time in Hoi An ( again a subjective view) - it is a very busy place these days and Hue is so close by, that it would be a shame to miss it as there is so much to see. Maybe include a couple of nights there to visit the imperial Citadel and the Imperial Tombs which are amazing. There are some recent photos of Hue on the Vietnam section our blog @ http://accidentalnomads.com/category/vietnam/

We recently did the trip from Saigon to Siem Reap by bus and boat which was a great experience ( but it does take time!). might be worth considering.

Thank you, responders! Sorry for the delay answering your great questions but we’ve been on vacation.

This will be our 5th visit to Vietnam where we’ve visited/enjoyed Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Saigon. This will likely be our last visit to Vietnam and our plan was to revisit a few of our favorite spots and include a few new places in Asia. We are starting from Saigon. We will visit Siem Reap for our 2nd visit to focus on photography (hopefully we’re better at it than in 2009!!).

Let me start with what we like to do. We enjoy visiting historical sites, temples, taking in the scenery, meeting local people without spending the night with them (no homestays). We like to hike but the idea of ‘trekking’ in Sapa leaves us cold. We like going to markets and most important, we LOVE to eat/cook so FOOD and restaurants are high on our list - the more authentic the better.

We especially liked the idea of taking the 2-day Luang Say boat trip out of Chiang Rai and staying a few days longer in Luang Prabang UNTIL we read about the fires burning in No. Thailand/Laos. Is it really so bad that we should avoid both Chiang Rai and Luang Prabang in March?? I’m inclined to take our chances vs. not going at all. Thoughts on that? I’m going to go back and look at March reviews to see how prevalent this is.

The reason for the extended stay in Hoi An . . . My husband served as a nurse in the US Army on the beach of Chu Lai in 1969 so we always take a day trip from Hoi An to visit the area and to meet with a few locals that we’ve met and to have a wonderful seafood lunch at their restaurant on the beach (hoping it is still there!). We also enjoy relaxing on the beach in Hoi An before we head to Saigon for our last days before heading home. We’ve seen Hoi An getting busier with each visit but we still enjoy going. I guess we have a soft spot for it because it was one of the first places we visited in 2004.

So this is what we are now thinking - does the order sound right?
USA >> Saigon for 1 night
Fly to Chiang Rai for 3 nights
Luang Say cruise x2 days/1 night to Luang Prabang. Leaves only on Monday-Thursday-Friday.
Luang Prabang for 5 nights/4 days
Fly to Siem Reap for 4 nights/3 days
Fly to Hoi An for 4 nights/3 days
Saigon for 2 nights/1 day

We know we have transit to arrange but feel this schedule is do-able. And know we have lots of homework on places to see, hotels, restaurants, guides . . .

Help is appreciated.

The order and amount of time in each place look good. Do you have any flexibility to change dates? March often does have burning of fields.

I researched the timing and issues with the burning of the fields fairly extensively for an aborted trip due to timing and the burning and the trip that we took a few years ago. Each year is different both in the exact timing and the intensity of the smoke in surrounding areas. On our last trip to SEAsia we saw evidence of the burning as early as January and late in February. On a flight from Nam to Chiang Mai we saw the heavy haze hanging over the sky practically the entire flight. Once we got to CM we felt the smoke, but it wasn't a problem. This was February. However that year we read the pollution resulting from the smoke in March was pretty bad.

On the Luang Say boat trip I chatted with the boatmen and guides about it. They said some years it was so thick visibility was down to nearly 0. The timing could vary but late Feb March were often the worse. I believe I read about crellston experiencing this.

"Is it really so bad that we should avoid both Chiang Rai and Luang Prabang in March?"

Yes it is but it doesn't happen every year to the same degree. In 2007 we were there at the end of March. The visibility was down to around 50 metre, the air quality awful, dangerous even. When we got on the boat for the two day trip to LP the air was full of smoke it was like sitting next to a bonfire for two days. At night the fields along the river banks were alight and in the morning we arose to ash every where. It was still bad in LP so we cut our stay short and flew to Bangkok for some clean air ( Bankok and clean air are words I never though I would use in the same sentence!)

This year we have been travelling around Asia we had to change our plans somewhat for a variety of reasons but ended up spending several weeks on a road trip in Northern Thailand from mid Feb mid March.. Started off ok in Chinag Rai but rapidly deteriorated over the coming weeks as we drove up to the Burmese border and down to Nan before our final destination of Ching Mai. Which is a huge area. The smoke was bad and got steadily worse as we traveled. When we reached CM, vis was less than 50 m and people were wearing gas mask!!

We have visited Northern Thailand many times over the years. It isn't the same every year and timings will vary with the ending of the rains. But it does seem to be happening with greater frequency and the Thai "government" seem unable/unwilling/ incapable of doing anything to combat this massive problem.If it were me, I would not entertain visiting the north any later than January and preferably in Nov or December which is the optimum time as far as weather is concerned. I certainly won't be returning in March.

"Bankok and clean air are words I never though I would use in the same sentence!"
so true & funny!

We visited northern Thailand and took the Luang Say cruise in late February 2014.

I didn't notice any burning or smoke, so as others have said, the years can vary.

The Luang Say cruise leaves from Chiang Kong quite early, so you might need a night there. It's about 90 minutes drive from Chiang Rai.

We also toured with Jermsak, highly recommended.

We stayed in CR for 4 nights, and had plenty to do. One day was spent with a lady called Tik, who runs " Cook Thai Yourself". It was a fantastic day, including a visit to the market, a discussion around what we wanted to cook, then back to her lovely home in the countryside, to pluck herbs from the garden, cook our menu and eat it.
As well with her, we visited a tea plantation, released a lucky lantern, and fed fish in a stream.

Don't miss the Black House in CR.

I visit and explore Chiang Rai as a quick side trip whenever I go to Chiang Mai. Amazing spas and night bazaars by the way! Well for me, 1-2 days is enough in Chiang Rai. It's best to gather the attractions that you want to visit on each place, and from there you can decide the duration and come up with an itinerary that would allow you to maximise your trip. Keep in mind that the smokiness which comes from the farming activities is to be expected during the months of February to April.

Hello and thank you again for your feedback. To avoid the March burning fields phenom, we are trying to change our flight dates to January/February but it all depends on availability using Delta miles.

We are intrigued by Laos and have now added Myanmar to the itinerary so we have lots to consider and may cut out our second visit to Siem Reap. A river cruise sounds like a nice way to travel -- do we do that in Laos or Myanmar?? Which tour group to go with for Myanmar? Where to go?? Yangon-Inle Lake-Mandalay-Sagaing-Ava-Bagan? Are we missing anything?

We have a lot of homework again to do -- just need time to do it!!

Regards,

Take a river cruise in Myanmar only if you have lots of time. The "big 4" are Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay. (Note that Sagaing and Ava are right outside Mandalay, not more stops on your trip.) You'll need a full two weeks to hit those. If you have the time Mrauk U is a great experience, but you need at least 5 days just to get 2 or three days in Mrauk U. I do NOT recommend going with a tour group to Myanmar. The encounters you have with locals, the temples you have to your selves, those are part of the magic of the country and you'll never get those on a group tour.

I have two long trip reports here on Myanmar - one from 2009, one from 2011. Ignore the beginning parts about money as that has changed for the better.

If you are really interested in a river cruise, take a look at www.pandaw.com We will be taking a Pandaw cruise in November up the Chidwin. Don't take one of the cruises offered by the companies that do European river cruises (Viking, AMA, etc) but choose a local company.