Cambodia and Vietnam

1trainer1

I was in Vietnam for 3 weeks in June and would recommend flying into Ho Chi Minh City and out of Hanoi ( or vice versa).

internally we did buses and trains ( reunification express)

its so easy and the problem is that most people miss out on so many places, we Went to Dalat, Nha Trang, Quoy Nhon, Hoi Ann, Hue, and a cruise along Halong Bay and Nimh Binh.

most of the time we got buses which were between 5-10 us dollars each and they stopped quite a few times for you to get off and stretch your legs.

hotels were cheap and some like Hoi An were only £20 a night for both of us including breakfast, We booked our first few nights in the UK and then everything else was on a whim as we knew what date our flights were leaving and jsut had to make sure we reached Hanoi in time.

It was easily one of the best holidays we have ever done as the place is so unexplored and not touristy as some other places in the far east

elantan

Hi everyone, not ignoring anyone but have had one of those days running around

Really great full for all the advice please keep it coming

Will reply better when I am back home and on the laptop didn't want anyone thinking I would ask a q then ignore any answers

Thanks again

elantan

PompeyPete wrote: »

Been to Thailand loads of times, and Cambodia twice. Both countries are very, very easy to do independently. The problem with Tour companies is that you are more or less bound to follow their itineraries. Travelling independently you set your own pace, and if you fancy loitering somewhere, which you will, then you simply tweak your programme. No need to book hotels in advance, other than your arrival hotel in PP.Thanks for the advice on this i wasnt sure if this was possible

I can't comment on Vietnam, but this is how we we did Cambodia 4 months ago...

Flew Air Asia from Don Muang (Bangkok) to Phnom Penh (PP). Takes 1 hour. thats the internal airport is it not? as opposed to the international one ( sorry dont mean that to sound cheeky... when we went to chiang mai we flew from a different airport than when we arrived from london)

Visa on arrival is US$20. US$ is the de facto currency and there's no need to buy Cambodia Riel. Plenty of ATMs and Banks. Canadia Bank is the best. You'll get Riels in your change (US$ = 4,000 Riel), but they're easy to spend. There are no coins.

Loads of hotels and restaurants in PP to suit all budgets.

4 nights will probably be enough, taking in Killing Fields, S21 Genocide Museum, Russian Market. There's loads more to see depending on what your interests are.Thanks thats a great help i wasnt sure how long we would need in each place

Bus to Siem Reap. Giant Ibis is the best company. Takes 6 hours.
i noticed they also do a boat trip which is 6 hours ... the bust costs $10 and the boat $35 if i have that right

The main sights in Siem Reap (SR) are at the Angkor Historical Site. Can be done over 1 day or several days. It depends on how quickly you get temple fatigue. We stayed in SR for a week. i noticed we suffered from that in Thailand so i would love to see the best but not too many ... obviously if they are that good though i dont want to miss them

Bus to Battambang (3 hours). Stayed 5 nights. is this a beach area?

Taxi to Poipet (infamous Thai/Cambodia border).

Train back to Bangkok.i like this idea

There's loads of other sides trips you can arrange independently, but getting around is very easy by public transport. Don't travel overnight.

Didn't have much of a problem with mozzies in March, and used Jungle Formula (50% deet), and Avon So-soft, which did the trick for us.

I got most of our advice from the Trip Advisor discussion forum, and Lonely Planet/Rough Guide.

thanks i think i must be doing something wrong as when i try to get onto any forum type places on trip advisor i dont seem to get very far ... will keep trying

elantan

Doshwaster wrote: »

In terms of accommodation, do try to stay away from the international chains. They are the same wherever you go in the world. There are some fantastic locally owned hotels in PP in the $50-100 price range full of Cambodian character. I would especially recommend The Pavilion and its sister properties (http://www.thepavilion.asia/links.html)

This is the type of place we think we would enjoy yes I think we would prefer staying away from the big international chain hotels tbh but we are unsure of where to go ( which is one of the reasons why this place is great )

can anyone recommend a place similar to this in Siam Reap?

elantan

totallybored wrote: »

I've just spent the last couple of weeks in Cambodia and I was also there and Vietnam last year. No need to book a tour, it's very easy to plan yourself. I started in Phnom Penh (Air Asia from Bangkok for £50) at the Plantation which is very nice. Pool is lovely and the rooms without views are fine. I then went to Kep which is on the coast and stayed at Knai Bang Chatt. I booked the sea view room and got the first floor one in the blue building. Pricey but I loved it. Then Kampot which is a sleepy town but did Bokor Hill Station and a firefly boat trip which was excellent (pay for your own boat, don't go on the backpacker ones). Back to PP for a couple of nights then on to Siem Reap (I really enjoyed quad biking here). Finally Battambang then overland back to Bangkok.

It's easy and cheap to get around. I could have got buses which are very cheap and reliable but I took taxis everywhere (PP to Siem Reap $70, Kampot to PP $40, Thai border to Bangkok £40).

You can get an Evisa online rather than on arrival. It costs a few extra dollars but it was worth it at PP airport as the on arrival queues were long when I arrived. It's also valid at land crossings at Bavet (Vietnam) and Poipet (Thai).

I prefer Cambodia to Vietnam, if you search by old posts I did a trip report on Vietnam last year when I did it all on my own by train.

Air Asia start flying Siem Reap to Bangkok later this year for about £40.

thanks this is also very interesting to read ... i think i am starting to get ideas of what we want slowly, i have no problem going by bus etc to try to save money but if i can get flights for £40 as well that is also great,

i can see a good few hours spent planning and reading in the future

will check out your travel report if i can find it ... thanks

elantan

claire16c wrote: »

Vietnam is amazing. Hoi An was our favourite place.

We got around by internal flights with Vietnam airlines, it's like flying with BA but paying easy jet prices. We also did one train journey, the staff in the hotels will literally walk to the train station & buy the tickets for you - and they didn't even charge us. Thr service we had in 3 star hotels costing around £15 a night was amazing. What is also great is that everything in the mini bar is soo cheap you can actually eat & drink stuff from it which makes a change!

We also visited Hue, HCMC, Hanoi where you must visit the beautiful Ha Long bay. And a few other places. In Hue we had a taxi driver take us around the sites all day, think it cost us about £10, he would sleep in the car whilst we looked at the citadel and other sites etc, and provided us with umbrellas when it rained! The people there yes some will try to con you but mainly we found them incredibly friendly & accommodating.

The food is amazing we did a cooking lesson in Hoi An.

Would love to go back one day. I used to work in London so I got our visas from the embassy in my lunch break.

we also want to do some cookery courses as hubby is an avid cook, your holiday sounds fun and exciting as well

elantan

i have so much to go on from here thanks everyone ... please keep the advice coming all is appreciated, i got an email from the tour rep today, the cost of the holiday excluding spending money was just shy of £8k ... i think i will be booking it myself as that is way out of our price range.

it's handy though to have a ball park figure to work from.

so visits to the library, and some more travel forums ( if i can figure them out right) and more questions and plans to be made ...

thanks very much

Oliver_Klozoff_2

Angkor Wat is by far my favorite travel experience of all time. I was happy with one day there though some people I met did two days, one of them including a dawn or sunset tour. Sounded amazing but I was only there a couple days before heading off to Vietnam. Walking around the main part of the old town was fun too.

I did a group tour that visited the Chu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai Holy See while staying in Saigon. Was very interesting. You get to crawl through the tunnels from the Vietnam War and if you wish may try a tunnel which involves being on your belly to get through.

I visited Nha Trang too. Nice beach. Didn't do anything.

If you'll stay a week in Hanoi they do lovely silk tailor made clothes.

PompeyPete

Last bit of help from me. Here's the main Trip Advisor discussion forum for Cambodia...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowForum-g293939-i9162-Cambodia.html

And another great guide to Cambodia...

http://www.canbypublications.com/

You really need to help yourself a bit before asking loads of random questions about how to spend 4 weeks. People who ask whether Battambang is near the beach are simply showing that they want everyone else to do the work for them! Sorry, but it's true and a turn-off.

Get hold of a guide book (LP or Rough Guide), and spend a bit of time studying it. Then, once you've got a bit of an idea about the country ask more questions regarding an itinerary.

PompeyPete

The Angkor Historical Site will be high on your places to visit in Cambodia.

The links on the opening posting on the following thread will wish you were there now...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g297390-i9163-k6770334-Trip_Report-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html