Hi there!

I am planning to visit Southeast Asia for 3 weeks this summer. I will be flying into Bangkok... and that is all I have figured out so far! I definitely want to go up to Chiang Mai, and then I think to Siem Reap and Ho Chi Minh City. I am wondering what the best way to travel between these places is, and the ease of border crossing. I looked into the AirAsia discovery pass, but it doesn't look like there are direct flights between a lot of these places, so everything would have to pass back through Bangkok pretty much. I've read some really awful accounts of border crossings, so am wondering if there are certain places to cross that are less stressful, or is it worth it to fly into different countries and deal with getting visas in airports? I will then be flying back to Boston, MA, and have not booked a return ticket yet, as it probably makes sense to just fly home from my last destination instead of going back to Bangkok.

In short, looking for advice on traveling between major cities, and getting visas. I am American, and don't plan on staying in any country for longer than a week.

Thank you!!

Flights are the easiest, most time-efficient way to get from city to city in SE Asia. Take a look at the Bangkok Air Discovery Pass as an option. The border crossing from Thailand into Cambodia at Poipet is renowned for scams. If you fly in, you can get a visa on arrival when you land in Siem Reap.

For VN, you must arrange a visa in advance. You can do so online with an evisa. Take a look at this thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...sa-service.cfm. Note that the correct address for the evisa is https://immigration.gov.vn If you google for an address, you will turn up dozens of agencies that can get you a pre-arranged visa.

For Thailand, you get visa-free entry for 30 days when you fly in, for 15 days if you enter overland.

Yes, do fly home form your last city in SE Asia. Get a ticket before you go, as technically, you need to have a return ticket when you enter Thailand.

I've put together a sample itinerary and am looking for some feedback. I am flying in and out of Bangkok June 19 - July 12. Some background info - I will be flying to Thailand after spending 2 weeks in Israel, so only adjusting to a 4 hour time difference, and the heat shouldn't be as much of an issue. I like outdoor activities, and also want to visit lots of temples and eat as much street food as possible. Looking to spend as little money on transportation between places, but it seems like flying isn't too pricey and traveling to Cambodia overland seems like a hassle. It also seems like the only overland travel to replace air would be from Siem Reap to Bangkok.


Fly in to Bangkok, arrive June 19 at 8:30 am

June 21 - Overnight train to Chiang Mai
In Chiang Mai - cooking class, elephant experience, sticky waterfall, maybe side trip to Chiang Rai, maybe jungle trek

June 30 - Fly to Krabi
In Krabi - rock climbing, beaches, maybe go out to some islands


July 5 - Fly Phuket to Siem Reap
Go to Angkor Wat - 3 day pass
July 10 - Fly back to Bangkok

Flight home July 12 1:40 am (like last day is July 11)

If you want to interact with elephants, please do your research. Most elephant camps treat the elephants horribly. You might want to visit the Elephant Nature Park (you can reserve online) as a facility that has the best interests of the elephants in mind - no riding, but lots of opportunities to interact.

You have chosen a very rainy time of year to visit Krabi. You might want to consider a different beach on the Gulf of Thailand side. Also, be aware that it isn't just rain that might interfere with your plans in Krabi - the monsoons bring rough waters and beaches are likely to be red-flagged. You might get lucky and not get a lot of rain with climate change, but you are much more likely to get rain than not. Take a look at one of the weather sites. I use www.weatherbase.com

I note that you have very little time in Bangkok, which is where you can visit many wonderful temples. It is also the place on your itinerary that has the most street food. Consider one of the street food tours in Bangkok.

Hi Kathie,

Thanks for your response. It does seem like going to the Andaman coast in June / July might not be the best idea. Can you recommend any islands to visit near Bangkok? Or with relatively inexpensive flights? I've also noticed flights to Kuala Lumpur from Chiang Mai are not too expensive, and maybe there is an island to visit on the way back to Bangkok.

KL is not close to any beaches - you would have to fly from KL to a beach.

You might consider Hua Hin, which is a 2.5-3 hour drive from Bangkok. It's easy to get a car and driver for the trip.

As Kathie has pointed out the wetaher in SE Asia is well into the rainy season in many parts of the region. For good weather at that time of year, you would need to head south to Indonesia or maybe to the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia or Borneo. The central region of Vietnam also has good , hot clear weather.

There can be a few scams at overland border crossing but these are easily dealt with. The poipet one Kathie mentions was a real pain when we did it years ago but, from recent accounts, is no longer as bad. It certainly wouldn't put me off going that way. A reslatively straightforward train ride from Bangkok to Aranyabprathet and on to Siem Reap.

Advantages of travelling in off season are that there are fewer crowds, it's cheaper and greener. About the only time I would dream of visiting Angkor wat these days.

If you could fly into KL, rather than Bangko, it is the Hub of Air Asia and would make flying around cheaper and easier if you are not going to be covering Thailand

We are returning to the region around the same of year and have chosen to spend June in Vietnam. Great sunny weather in the central region but expecting rain in the north and south. I find this website a good resource for a synopsis of the weather in SEA http://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam...s/weather/july just click on the country and month.

For islands and diving we are re going to Perhentian off the east coast of Malaysia. Takes a bit time of getting there but the diving is good. For your climbing fix you could consider ascending Mt Kinabalu - not so much rock climbing as a walk up a very beeping mountain!. At 4400m asl , reasonably challenging but well worth the experience. You need to book in advance these days i and told.

You can find some more info and photos of our time in Malaysia and elsewhere in our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com

As far as visas are concerned, with the exception of Vietnam, these can generally be arranged on arrival.

The border at Poipet entering Cambodia is only a problem for scams if you haven't done any homework. Leaving Cambodia at Poipet is straightforward.

Getting to Poipet by train from Bangkok is a true Thai experience, takes 6 hours and costs the princely sum of 48 baht. The train ends at Aranyaprahet, then a short tuk tuk ride to the border.

If you decide to go down the Thailand Gulf Coast, then instead of touristy Hua Hin, have a look at Prachuap Khiri Khan. It's about 70km further south than Hua Hin. On the southern edge of PKK is a fabulous beach called Ao Maneo, which is in a unique spot inside the Wing 5 Thai Royal Air Force Base. Avoid weekends as it'll be mobbed with Bangkok Weekenders.

Great way to get to PKK is on the 0805 No 43 train from Bangkok [Hualamphong], takes 4 hours, book in advance.

I guess I need to decide if beaches are an important part of my vacation.

One option right now that has really cheap flights on AirAsia would be:
start in Bangkok
fly to Siem Reap for 5 days (3 day pass to Angkor Wat)
fly to Kuala Lumpur for 5/6 days (spend some time in a national park)
fly to Chiang Mai for 8 days
train to Bangkok for a couple days before flying home

or, I would cut out Kuala LUmpur and replace it with a beach destination, maybe Koh Samui, or somewhere along the gulf closer to Bangkok.

Can anyone speak to Koh Samet, Koh Lan or Koh Sichang? These all seem like islands easily reached by Bangkok, and that staying overnight during the weekdays will have smaller crowds.

Hi,
We went to Thailand, Hanoi, Laos and Siem Reap for 3 weeks in August. We flew with the Bangkok Air Discovery pass which I was told about on this forum and all worked smoothly. We flew from Siem Reap to Bangkok and then to Ko Samui for 3 days and back to Bangkok for our flight home that same night. When we went to Ko Samui the weather was fine. It rained in the late afternoon and it did not affect our plans. The beaches were beautiful and the swimming great. We loved our trip, although I will admit that there are countries that I would like to have seen more of-I am not sorry that we covered all that we did.
I was worried about the weather and as it turned out it was not a problem Also, visas at the airport were easy and it is worth it as we had no hassle.

Here is a good analysis if many of the more popular Thai Islands https://www.travelfish.org/islands#thailand

May I ask why you would plan on staying 8 days in Chiang Mai? Do you have some specific activities in mind? It does seem a long time in the context of your overall trip.

I'm not committed to certain amounts of time in each place yet, but in Chiang Mai I do want to visit the Elephant Nature park, spend a day in Chiang Rai, and maybe go on a jungle trek for a couple of days. It does seem somewhat easy to fly to Samui from Chiang Rai on AirAsia with all of the transfers and stuff included, so I'm now thinking start in Bangkok, go up to Chiang Mai, down to Samui, back to Bangkok, and a side trip to Siem Reap.

Seems like a plan but I didn't think Air Asia flew to/from Koh Samui. Do you mean Bangkok Airways?

The trekking is nicer around Chiang Rai than Chiang Mai. To avoid the worst of the rains, I would do your trekking as early in your trip as possible.

Chiang Dao, a couple of hours from CM also has some decent trekking see http://www.chiangdaonest.com

AirAsia goes Chiang Mai to Surat Thani, then a transfer to Donsak Pier and then Donsak Pier to Lipa Noi Pier in Samui. For the day I'm looking at this would cost $42, which is significantly cheaper than flying Bangkok which is $164, although like 4 hours faster, so it depends if you have extra funds to cut down on travel time.

Hi fodors folk,

I've had some travel plans and am no longer going to Cambodia. I have from July 3 - 9 free in my plans now. I would like to see some of the Khmer temples in Thailand since I won't make it to Ankor Wat on this trip. Can anyone recommend somewhere to go? I'll be traveling from / back to Bangkok.

Thanks!

The accessible Khmer temples are in Cambodia for the most part. You say you have July 3-9 free now - what not fly to Siem Reap? There are a couple of less accessible Khmer temples in Thailand, but to would take longer to get to those from Bangkok than it would take to fly to Siem Reap.

I'm involved in a health study and can't travel to Cambodia because they have defined it as a high risk country. I'm thinking of either spending that time in Kanchanaburi / Erawan, or Sukothai / Lopburi. Cambodia and Angkor wat will be a future trip.

Ok, I understand. I'd opt for Sukhothai rather than Kanchanburi.