3 Countries in South East Asia in 3 weeks

erukus

Hi there, I am thinking of stopping off in SE Asia for 3 weeks in Jan en route to Perth. I was thinking of flying into Bangkok and then going to Cambodia and Vietnam. Is that too much to do in 3 weeks? Also is it possible to travel by train or bus from country to country or would it take forever?

imme

It's possible, anything is possible in life
but it sounds like you're trying to squeeze in too much imo.

Do the Thai islands for a week, go to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, then through the Mekong Delta, over to Ho Chi Minh and maybe Mui Ne / Da Lat. No chance of the north part of either Thailand or Vietnam Fly to Perth from Ho Chi Minh using Tiger Airways.. Think it's cheap with them.

Loudova

Hi OP. Personally, I would try to squeeze in less and prioritise the places you really want to see. All three are amazing countries and deserve to be explored properly (not at a whistle stop pace!). I was on holiday in Vietnam for a week and I didn't think it wasn't long enough. Phu Quoc island, off the south-west coast of Vietnam is worth a visit, as is the town of Hoi An on the central coast, then there's Hanoi, Halong Bay and Sapa up north. I only managed to take in Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City in a week using internal flights (Vietnam airlines are worth a look) so that might give you an idea of the timeframe. This website might be helpful as well. Good luck with whatever you decide and have fun!

P.S. If you decide to go through the Mekong Delta, keep in mind that there was quite severe flooding there recently (October / November) so this might impact your travel plans depending on how soon you are leaving...

MCannon77

I recently toured Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam...If you only have three weeks, I would go to Bangkok, Siem Reap, Phnom Pehn, Ho Chi Minh City!!! Fly back then to BK and on to Perth (which is class by the way).

erukus

I am now thinking of staying 2 weeks in Thailand around the islands and then going to Vietnam for 10 days. I was thinking of flying from BKK to Saigon or how long would it take to travel through Cambodia?

Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa are in the north.. Two of the most distinctive features of Vietnam. The South is nice but doesn't have anything really making it stand out. Hanoi is a much more VNese city than HCM aswell. Fly to Hanoi imo.

Cambodia can be done in 4 days really.. 1 day at Angkor. I got bored after 3 hours. 1 day for the Killing Fields and S21 prison in Phnom Penh. The other bit of time travelling. I spent the guts of a month there and it was the biggest waste of time in my travels.

greenprincess

The Thai Islands are nice but you might get a little bored if you have two weeks there. Check out Air Asia flights they are really cheap and will save you a lot of time. Remember you need a Vietnam Visa before you enter the country you cant just turn up at the boarder but its really easy to arrange a visa in Thailand/Cambodia

GabbyJay

Deleted User wrote: »

Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa are in the north.. Two of the most distinctive features of Vietnam. The South is nice but doesn't have anything really making it stand out. Hanoi is a much more VNese city than HCM aswell. Fly to Hanoi imo.

Cambodia can be done in 4 days really.. 1 day at Angkor. I got bored after 3 hours. 1 day for the Killing Fields and S21 prison in Phnom Penh. The other bit of time travelling. I spent the guts of a month there and it was the biggest waste of time in my travels.

Good advice here. No need to spend too much time in Cambodia. Certainly no problem spending three weeks in those 3 countries if you can do most of your travel by air. I would advise popping over to see the temples around Angkor Wat even if you do get bored after 3 hours, it's still a great experience to go there.

The OP said he was thinking of flying to Saigon which means he would be able to get a visa on arrival at the airport, you just need an approval letter which you can get online easily.

erukus

So far my plan is to arrive in BKK and stay the night, the flight the next day to Surat Thani was at 7am so I decided to stay another night in Bangkok and fly the following day, from there I will take a boat to Kho Phangan. I fly out of Saigon to Perth about 3 weeks later, still not sure what to do in the interim. I was planning on staying on the island for approx 5 days then thinking of flying to Chiang Mai but it looks a little expensive. I am choosing Kho Phangan as it appears a little less commercial then Ko Samuit but I am sure it must be fairly similar.

erukus

erukus wrote: »

I am choosing Kho Phangan as it appears a little less commercial then Ko Samuit but I am sure it must be fairly similar.

I would choose Koh Pha Ngan but it's much more commercial.. Especially in the South East part of the island. I stayed in the North West and it was really nice.

erukus

Deleted User wrote: »

I would choose Koh Pha Ngan but it's much more commercial.. Especially in the South East part of the island. I stayed in the North West and it was really nice.

Thanks, are you saying that Koh Phangan is much more commercial than Ko Samuit?

Also any suggestions as to what I should do after the island, is there other stuff to see in the south or should I try head to Chiang Mai?

Well Haad Rin in Koh Pha Ngan is where the Full Moon Parties are held... It's pretty much the most abused beach town in South East Asia just short of Phuket and Sihanoukville.

But as I say, if you avoid that area which it sounds like you'll want to, it's fine.. When you say "commercial", do you mean that the place is completely catered towards tourists? Because unfortunately, that's most of Thailand. It's very difficult to find the real Thai people when compared to Laos, Vietnam or the Philippines.

As far as things to do.. If you like beaches, you'll love the south. I loved it as well but I preferred the north because I prefer mountains and there's generally a lower percentage of drunk 18 year old dickheads away from the beaches. Go to Chiang Mai. Go to Pai.

kraggy

I'd recommend

1. 1 or 2 islands in Thailand for 10 days.
2. Fly up to Chiang Mai (maybe stay 1 night)
3. Minibus over to Thai/Laos border, slowboat down to Luang Prabang (beautiful boat journey over 2 days, stay in village overnight)
4. Luang Prabang for 1 night (gorgeous town in northern Laos)
5. Get bus down to Vang Vieng for some tubing (youtube "vang vieng tubing"). It's basically drinking (and whatever else you're into) beside a river.
6. Bus to capital city Vientiane (3 or 4 hours), fly same day to Kuala Lumpur
7. Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Perth for less than 100 euro with Air Asia.

That is assuming you don't have your flight to Perth booked already.

erukus

kraggy wrote: »

I'd recommend

1. 1 or 2 islands in Thailand for 10 days.
2. Fly up to Chiang Mai (maybe stay 1 night)
3. Minibus over to Thai/Laos border, slowboat down to Luang Prabang (beautiful boat journey over 2 days, stay in village overnight)
4. Luang Prabang for 1 night (gorgeous town in northern Laos)
5. Get bus down to Vang Vieng for some tubing (youtube "vang vieng tubing"). It's basically drinking (and whatever else you're into) beside a river.
6. Bus to capital city Vientiane (3 or 4 hours), fly same day to Kuala Lumpur
7. Fly from Kuala Lumpur to Perth for less than 100 euro with Air Asia.

That is assuming you don't have your flight to Perth booked already.

sh*t already booked flight to Perth, thanks though

Smiley Lassie!

We did 3 weeks back in September in those places and it's completely doable. We flew to Bangkok, stayed the night and flew to Hanoi the next morning, spent two weeks working our way down through Vietnam (highlight was Halong Bay), then spent about 6 days in Cambodia, didn't even need that much as all you really need to see is Angkor Wat which can be done in a day and S21 and the killing fields. Then we flew back to Bangkok and spent 2 nights there, which really isn't neccesary, 1 night is enough. It's definitely possible although bear in mind we took 2 internal flights in Vietnam to avoid overnight buses. Hope you have a great trip!

con1982

Hey Erukus

I spent three weeks in Thailand last summer. BKK is an amazing place. I'd stay longer than 1 day if you've never been before. My favourite place was Chaing Mai, spent 5 days there trekking;nightmarkets and temple hopping. I paid about 40e for one way flight to Chaing Mai.

Would it not be easier to fly from BKK to Koh Samui, then boat it to Koh Phangang? Nothing to do in Surat Thani! I stayed on Salat Beach for 5 days. Did the Ang Thong national park and relaxing on the beach. Salat beach is beautiful but not much nightlife. It's expensive to get to Thong Sala or the full moon party. If your traveling alone, the south coast is better.

The beach resorts near krabbi are pretty cool too.

erukus wrote: »

So far my plan is to arrive in BKK and stay the night, the flight the next day to Surat Thani was at 7am so I decided to stay another night in Bangkok and fly the following day, from there I will take a boat to Kho Phangan. I fly out of Saigon to Perth about 3 weeks later, still not sure what to do in the interim. I was planning on staying on the island for approx 5 days then thinking of flying to Chiang Mai but it looks a little expensive. I am choosing Kho Phangan as it appears a little less commercial then Ko Samuit but I am sure it must be fairly similar.

SONIC2008

Hope your trip went well and you made the most of your time there!

I was looking for a bit of advice, im hoping that someone can help me. I'm going to Asia in June on route to Australia via Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. We need to get from Vientiane to Hanoi. I know there is a flight, and the dreaded bus journey, but we wish to break the journey up and spend 3 or 4 nights in different towns along the way. Does anyone know of any route we could take or towns we could stay for a night. Thanks!