Cambodia and Vietnam holiday

bagby

Looking at flying into Saigon. Then maybe a boat up to Phnom Penh. Flight from pp to Siem reap. Flight from Siem reap to Hanoi. Two weeks holiday approx. How many days should we stay in each place. Like to do the touristy sights and will go to temples but not too many. What should we not miss.

z1a

"What should we not miss."(?)
Any of your flights.

dj1471

3 days is enough for each of Hanoi and Siem Reap IMO, I don't know HCMC or PP.

I'd recommend doing Vietnam in one go so you can use the visa waiver scheme, if you leave and re-enter as you've suggested you will need a multiple-entry visa.

I think you'll need to apply for a Cambodian visa before traveling if you enter by land/sea, I'm fairly sure visa on arrival is only available at the major airports.

There's several threads on here with many pages of advice for Vietnam, have a search.

karcher

bagby wrote: »

Looking at flying into Saigon. Then maybe a boat up to Phnom Penh. Flight from pp to Siem reap. Flight from Siem reap to Hanoi. Two weeks holiday approx. How many days should we stay in each place. Like to do the touristy sights and will go to temples but not too many. What should we not miss.

How should 'we' know?


Why not do some research yourself..Buy a guide book..only you know what floats your boat.

HTH

richardw

Two weeks is too short.

Voyager2002

bagby wrote: »

Looking at flying into Saigon. Then maybe a boat up to Phnom Penh. Flight from pp to Siem reap. Flight from Siem reap to Hanoi. Two weeks holiday approx. How many days should we stay in each place. Like to do the touristy sights and will go to temples but not too many. What should we not miss.

Well, you can take a boat between PP and SR: a good experience, although it takes basically a whole day. Otherwise there are safe and comfortable buses (look for the company Giant Ibis) on unusually good roads.

bagby

karcher wrote: »

How should 'we' know?


Why not do some research yourself..Buy a guide book..only you know what floats your boat.

HTH

I do research myself but sometimes you get ideas that you would not sometimes think of yourself. Also got advice about multiple entry visa so may need to look at flights again.

dickydonkin

karcher wrote: »

Why not do some research yourself..Buy a guide book..only you know what floats your boat.

HTH

If everyone heeded your 'advice' then the MSE forum would not exist.

karcher

dickydonkin wrote: »

If everyone heeded your 'advice' then the MSE forum would not exist.

:rotfl: If you say so!

I'm not even going to attempt to explain the difference between money saving advice and deciding for some random stranger what they might enjoy doing on their holiday.

Giving advice on flights/visas etc is one thing, deciding what they might want to do/see is an entirely different story.

PompeyPete

When do you intend doing this trip?

The weather in North Vietnam [Hanoi] is different from the South [Saigon], eg. On 10 Feb this year me and the cook flew from Bangkok to Hanoi. It was 35c in Bangkok, and an hour later it was 7c when we arrived in Hanoi.

The following is a good website to give you an idea of the best times of the year to visit where. Just choose the country and the month...

https://www.selectiveasia.com/vietnam-holidays/weather/january

It's also best to avoid times like TET [New Year] in Vietnam.

If you visit Vietnam for 15 days or less in a single visit you get a visa waiver with a British Passport.

Both countries are super vfm destinations, you'll reap greatest benefit if you travel slowly.....you can always return, many folk do. But like Richard says in #5, two weeks is very short and will fly past, over committing yourself will be tiring and can be slow, you'll need a day or so to get over the outward flight, and if you're not used to the food you could get a dodgy tummy which will slow you down.

Make sure you spend your final overnight in the city you are flying home from.

Here's the FCO Travel Advice both Vietnam and Cambodia...

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/vietnam/entry-requirements

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cambodia/entry-requirements

Doshwaster

There are a lot of Cambodia and Vietnam threads on here if you do a search. Here are some to get you started

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4743688
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4836837
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3898417


...but here are some initial thoughts.

2 weeks is going to be too short for your trip. I did a fortnight in just in northern Vietnam and still missed a lot that I wanted to see. Travel in SE Asia always takes longer than you expect and you have to be prepared for delays due to weather.


I liked Phnom Penh but 3 days is enough as the history of the place while fascinating can be wearing. I didn't do Siem Reap as that I'm not that interested in temples. Some people could spend a week there others get bored after the first day. Would love to go back to Cambodia to explore further.

Hanoi is overwhelming when you first arrive and the old city is a labyrinth of streets to get lost in but once you get your bearings it's a charming city Just be prepared to take your life in your hands every time you cross the street.

Haven't been to HCMC/Saigon yet. It's top of my list for my next SE Asia trip.