MPT

I will be traveling to Vietnam for three weeks, arriving in Hanoi and departing from Saigon. During my stay, I would also like to travel to Cambodia and explore Angkor Wat. What is the best way to get to Angkor Wat from Saigon and do I need to apply for a second Vietnam visa to re-enter the country even though I have one from when I arrived in Hanoi? Also, what company should I use to arrange my tour (driver/guide) and should I do it prior to leaving the states.

Thanks for helping out a novice!

rhkkmk

it all depends on where you live....different countries have different agreements and requirements for visas....

generally i think you will need a one entry cambodian visa and a two entry vietnam visa...

i would explore vietnam airline and cambodian airlines for flights to begin with...

Kathie

The best (easiest. quickest) was to get from Saigon to Siem Reap is to fly. You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival at the airport.

You will need to either buy a double entry VN visa before you go to VN, or you will need to get a new VN visa while you are in Siem Reap. Each visa is good for a single entry unless you get a special double entry visa.

I wouldn't use a company to arrange a driver/guide for Siem Reap. You might want to read others experiences with Ponheary Ly or her brother Dara (do a search here - there are dozens of posts). If you want one of them, you'll need to email them in advance. Otherwise, it is easy to arrange for a driver (and a guide if you want one) once you arrive in Siem Reap. The cost is US$20-25 a day for a driver (extra to go to the outlying temples) and US $20-25 a day for a guide.

Kathie

VN air has flights between HCMC and Siem Reap.

Mitch04

You can get a visa on arrival in Siem Reap. Think it is $20US. Make sure that if you leave Vietnam for Siem Reap, but plan to return to Vietnam after Siem reap, you get a multiple entry visa for Vietnam before you leave on your trip. Can't easily get a bvisa on arrival in Vietnam (though some agencies, such as vietnamstay.com can arrange it).

The flight from Saigon to Siem Reap is pretty cheap, and there are 2 flights a day.

I stayed at the Bopha Angkor in Siem Reap, and it was great. I stayed in five hotels during my indo china holiday, and while the Bopha Angkor was not the most luxurious, it was easily the best in terms of atmosphere and ambience.

If you have the money, the Foreign Correspondents Club in Siem Reap is superb. Google for it (it is the one listed at the Angkor location). It's restaurant is also wonderful. It actually reminded me of a cheap version of an Aman Resort, and has an excellent pool, and well designed and decorated rooms.

Kathie

Just to clarify Mitch's comment: Some travel agencies can arrange for you to pick up a pre-arranged VN visa when you arrive at the airport, but there is no "visa on arrival" for VN. You must have a visa in your passport or written confirmation of a pre-arranged visa in order to board your plane for VN.

(Mitch, I don't want to be picky, but "visa on arrival" means something very specific, and I wouldn't want there to be a misunderstanding about such an important matter.)

Mitch04

Being picky is good! You are 100 percent correct. Point taken *smiles*

paigeTN

We're also planning the same trip to VN and Angkor Wat from LAX in late Nov! We'll arrive in Ha Noi, work our way south, then leave Saigon for Cambodia. How do we fly home from Angkor Wat, without having to go back to Saigon? Thanks so much!

Kathie

Are you flying home from Hanoi? If so, you'll have to fly through Saigon to get back to Hanoi, as there are not non-stops between Hanoi and Siem Reap. Someone posted recently that there were new non-stops on VN Air, so check again, it may be a seasonal flight a couple of days a week.

Elainee

Be certain your passport has two empty facing pages for your Cambodian visa. They can refuse your entry if you don't! They can be very picky!

paigeTN

Kathie, we'd like to fly home after Siem Reap without having to reenter VN. Is this possible?
Elainee, thanks for the visa tip!

Kathie

paige, there are non-stop flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok. That's probably your best routing to get to a hub for an international flight home.

paigeTN

Thank you Kathie. We'll stop in Bangkok and enjoy the food and shopping.

mediakzar

We made a similar trip in November 05. We arrived in Saigon, did some touring there and then took an overnight trip with Delta Adventures up the Mekong. After spending the night near the Cambodian border at Chau Doc, we eventually arrived in Phnom Penh by water taxi the next day. It was kind of interesting to go through customs at the river bank.

We spent a night at the FCC in Phnom Penh, saw a few sights and then took a taxi to Seim Reap where we stayed at Peace Of Angkor Villa. I believe the Phnom Penh location is the original FCC and it's full of character. It's not as luxurious as the one in Seim Reap but a lot of fun.

Peace of Angkor is not fancy but it was very clean, friendly and offered wonderful tours.

From S.R. we then flew to Danang and continued our tour to the north of Vietnam.

To answer your question, the way you describe your plans, you will need a multiple entry visa into Vietnam, which is what we also did. It was very easy and quick to get our visas before our trip for both Vietnam and Cambodia. Just visit the web page for the two countries embassies and you can do it all by courier service.

However, if your plan is to fly out of Seim Reap back home and you can go through a Vietnam airport "in transit", you wouldn't need the multiple entry visas. But you wouldn't be able to leave the airport on your way back home. When we were working out the details of our trip we considered doing that but couldn't work out suitable connections so reworked the plan.

One suggestion - you really need to work out you plans so that you can visit Sapa in the northern mountains of Vietnam. Along with Angkor Wat, it was the highlight of our entire trip.