Vietnam / Cambodia / Thailand next year

bylromarha

blindman wrote: »

I'm normally an independant traveller but for once might let someone else do the leg work. :cool:


Any comment on this Travel Zoo offer to Cambodia\Vietnam?

£1399 pp Citrus Holidays


Good value for a quick highlight tour?

Flights will probably be with Vietnam Airlines (as you're going from Gatwick).

If you're looking for a highlights tour, then it looks pretty good IMO. You could probably save around £200 organising it yourself, but the hassle saved, I'd go for it.

blindman

bylromarha wrote: »

Flights will probably be with Vietnam Airlines (as you're going from Gatwick).

If you're looking for a highlights tour, then it looks pretty good IMO. You could probably save around £200 organising it yourself, but the hassle saved, I'd go for it.

Yes-Vietnam airlines from Gatwick, Malayian or China South from LHR

Best time to go?

April or December (over Xmas)?

PompeyPete

bylromarha wrote: »

If you're looking for a highlights tour, then it looks pretty good IMO. You could probably save around £200 organising it yourself, but the hassle saved, I'd go for it.

+1. I hate tour groups though.
They arrive in droves and completely mob the main sights. Koreans are the worst in SE Asia, loud and disrespectful. You don't know what sort of companions you might have to suffer for a couple of weeks either.

PompeyPete

blindman wrote: »

Best time to go?

April or December (over Xmas)?

December is Peak time for nearly everywhere in SE Asia, and all the sights will be v.busy.
April will be quieter but v.hot/humid, but preferable if it's a bit quieter.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

+1. I hate tour groups though.
They arrive in droves and completely mob the main sights. Koreans are the worst in SE Asia, loud and disrespectful. You don't know what sort of companions you might have to suffer for a couple of weeks either.

Yup. I run a mile when I see a tour group.

I remember being in a nice quiet bar in Cambodia watching the world go by when a bus load of about 50 loud Americans piled in. The bar owner said the groups were a pain but they did keep him in business.

I did get talking to a couple in a bar in Thailand last year who had managed to escape from their group (with Intrepid, I think) as they had got sick of being stuck with a bunch of people they hated.

What I have noticed in SE Asia over recent years is a huge rise in tour groups from China and Russia who now have the money to travel abroad but where independent travel hasn't yet taken off.

blindman

Thanks for the replies.

Rang them yesterday to get availability for either April or Dec and the CS was useless!

Couldn't quote for Dec as accomodation was not firm and fligths were indirect from LHR anyway.
LGW was with Vietnam airlines and their reviews do not look good :eek:

She promised to send dates for April to my email-Never did.
So no confidence they'll get anything right.
Don't think I'll bother.

As you say I hate tour groups too I'd need more than a £200 saving to convince me to go.

Oh well, back to the planning. :cool:

maggiesoup

PompeyPete wrote: »

I do all the planning, and my missus simply trusts my judgement, which tbh isn't always such a good idea! But we never argue about it, as she's happy with the magical mystery tour.



If you decide on Kampot instead of Kep then this is the place...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g608455-d654648-Reviews-Rikitikitavi-Kampot_Kampot_Province.html

We hired a tuk tuk for the day to do Kep and the pepper farms.

Looks great and tried to get prices through Booking.com but not available. can you help with a link please.

totallybored

maggiesoup wrote: »

Looks great and tried to get prices through Booking.com but not available. can you help with a link please.

You need to email them direct to book as they don't have an online booking system. They have a website and the email address is on there. When I emailed they replied within an hour (it'll be the middle of the night there now though).

Voyager2002

blindman wrote: »

LGW was with Vietnam airlines and their reviews do not look good :eek:

Really?

I used them about eight years ago and they were outstandingly good (better than Cathay Pacific). Sad to think that such a decline could happen.

maggiesoup

Just looked through all the messages again and once more a big thankyou to everyone who posted. We've now decided to do just Vietnam and Cambodia and go for three weeks in November. Has anyone started their journey from a Scottish airport? If not, what's the most recommended route. I note that most people have booked their own flights, accommodation and excursions and while I'm happy to do this, I'm a bit of a scaredy gowt (Scottish expression you may not be familiar with but will get the idea) when it comes to booking long haul flights!

OK so we have 10 days in each country....I am thinking of Vietnam: Hoi An, Ho chi Minh, Mekong Delta, Cu Chi Tunnels, My Son Sanctuary? Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Battambang, Kampot.

Is this feasible, if not what do we take out and are we missing anything. We
would like a mix of sightseeing and maybe a couple of days each week sitting in the sun.

Thanks again.