Holiday Withdrawal Symptoms......Tell me where you're going?

DUKE

I was going to fly China Southern to Cambodia, as the prices were the best. Plus I thought of booking a hotel in CDG, & rather fancied the stopover in Guangzhou. Has anyone ever done the free stopover?

Eventually I settled on flying to Phnom Penh rather than Siem Reap, & am flying Emirates now.

bigadaj

Guangzhou isn't particularly interesting, the old 'bund' style area a la Shanghai was quite nice but there's a lot of development and not many sights close by.

PompeyPete

Doshwaster wrote: »

Vietnam update: flight to Saigon booked on Emirates. China Southern were cheaper but I didn't fancy a long layovers in CDG and Guangzhou with a total travel time of 48 hours each way!

Current plan is 3-4 nights in Saigon with a side trip to the Mekhong Delta, 3 nights Dalat, 4 nights Hue and then one final night in Saigon before flying home. All internal flights are all looking good value at about £20-30 each including a checked bag. I'm really not a fan of overnight trains.

Me and the cook stayed here for 5 nights in Da Lat...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293922-d582986-Reviews-or10-Dreams_Hotel-Da_Lat_Lam_Dong_Province.html

...and recommend it 100%.

We never stayed here...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293922-d648618-Reviews-Villa_Pink_House-Da_Lat_Lam_Dong_Province.html

...but went there and spoke to the bloke in reception, and had a quick look round. Looked good, and if we went back would give it a whirl.

If you get the chance of catching the train in either direction between Da Nang and Hue, then go for it, scenery is A1. Ticket in 3rd Class is 42k dong, seats are allocated when you book. Right hand side between Dan Nang and Hue, opposite in reverse direction. Can't recommend a hotel in Hue, ours was alright, but there's better.

Doshwaster

PompeyPete wrote: »

Me and the cook stayed here for 5 nights in Da Lat...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293922-d582986-Reviews-or10-Dreams_Hotel-Da_Lat_Lam_Dong_Province.html

...and recommend it 100%.

Funnily enough I have been looking at Dalat hotels this afternoon and Dreams is on my shortlist.

PompeyPete wrote: »

We never stayed here...

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293922-d648618-Reviews-Villa_Pink_House-Da_Lat_Lam_Dong_Province.html

...but went there and spoke to the bloke in reception, and had a quick look round. Looked good, and if we went back would give it a whirl.

I've never stopped in a pink hotel before but I suppose there's a first time for everything.

PompeyPete wrote: »

If you get the chance of catching the train in either direction between Da Nang and Hue, then go for it, scenery is A1. Ticket in 3rd Class is 42k dong, seats are allocated when you book. Right hand side between Dan Nang and Hue, opposite in reverse direction. Can't recommend a hotel in Hue, ours was alright, but there's better.

I've managed to get a direct flight from Dalat to Hue on JetStar (didn't even know Hue had an airport until I started looking) for about £30 but I haven't really looked at hotels there yet.

I'm not quite sure how long I want to stop in Hue so I may leave the rest of the trip open. If I decide that I don't like it then I could head back down the coast for a return visit to lovely Hoi An.

PompeyPete

Like a lot of provincial airports, Hue Airport is about 20 miles from the city. It's south of the city, you pass it on the train from Da Nang.

DUKE

bigadaj wrote: »

Guangzhou isn't particularly interesting, the old 'bund' style area a la Shanghai was quite nice but there's a lot of development and not many sights close by.

Thanks bigadj, although I was thinking more of the cheaper flights, & the freebie stopover is an added bonus. But decided I couldn't be bothered with the messing around in the end, if I'm going somewhere I just wanna get there.

Doshwaster

DUKE wrote: »

Thanks bigadj, although I was thinking more of the cheaper flights, & the freebie stopover is an added bonus. But decided I couldn't be bothered with the messing around in the end, if I'm going somewhere I just wanna get there.

I suppose it depends on your schedule. If you have a month or more to play with then it's reasonable to take the scenic (and cheaper) route but if you are only away two weeks then you just need to minimise the travel time.

It will be interesting to hear what you think of PP (Phnom Penh, not PompeyPete!). I spent a few days there 5 years ago but there was a lot of development going on so I'm sure it will have changed a lot.

DUKE

Doshwaster wrote: »

I suppose it depends on your schedule. If you have a month or more to play with then it's reasonable to take the scenic (and cheaper) route but if you are only away two weeks then you just need to minimise the travel time.

It will be interesting to hear what you think of PP (Phnom Penh, not PompeyPete!). I spent a few days there 5 years ago but there was a lot of development going on so I'm sure it will have changed a lot.

We usually go for just 2 weeks. Although we wont fly from PP to SR as I've booked the post van, I like the idea of it. I've greedily booked 3 seats so we'll have that bit of extra room. Not sure if we'll take the Giant Ibis, or taxi from SR to PP, but if I enjoy the post van I'll book that again. At just £27 for the 3 seats it's a real steal. Correction, came up as £22.20 on the CC when I checked this morning, even better!!!

That made me laugh. PP gives very good info & I like him loads for that I'm lucky if I can remember all the details despite making notes, but I shall report back on the other PP.

PompeyPete

Decided we'd try somewhere a bit different for a couple of weeks next April.

Booked return flights with Turkish Airlines to Skopje in Macedonia via Istanbul, for a couple of weeks cg 23 April.

Intend to top and tail in Skopje, and spend a week or so based in an apartment by beautiful Lake Ohrid...

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Skopje

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Ohrid

Out of season, but should be warm enough. Accommodation and eating is very reasonable, and the towns, places to see, and scenery are wonderful.

Diary is pretty full now...

- 26 September.....2 weeks in Bosnia & Herzegovina, topping and tailing with a couple of nights in Split.

- 20 November......3 weeks being a Saga Lout in Albir, on the Costa Blanca.

- 9 February.....2 weeks with Thomas Cook on a lazy AI to Side, on the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

Must try and fit in a couple of great vfm Shearings 5 day coach breaks in UK too.

Now that we've finished doing expensive long haul flights to SE Asia, our travel budget is stretching a lot further.

Happy travels.:)

PompeyPete

peshin2812 wrote: »

i think 1 month tourist visa on visaonlinevietnam.com is best solution for you, it's cost 25$ for all services :T:T:T

Vietnamvisapro.net provides exactly the same service, and it's cheaper.