Vietnam/Cambodia 2 week trip

Honda99ce

Looking for flight routes and itinerary from someone who has recently done this trip

Planning trip for November 2020

JohnCleary

Nowhere near enough time for both.

2 weeks? Choose one.

Personally id choose Vietnam.

Turn 2 weeks into 4 weeks and you'll get 2 countries in.

I've been travelling SE Asia (currently in Myanmar) for the past 9 years on anything between 1 - 3 month trips so have a good feel for it at this stage.

Honda99ce

JohnCleary wrote: »

Nowhere near enough time for both.

2 weeks? Choose one.

Personally id choose Vietnam.

Turn 2 weeks into 4 weeks and you'll get 2 countries in.

I've been travelling SE Asia (currently in Myanmar) for the past 9 years on anything between 1 - 3 month trips so have a good feel for it at this stage.

John.
Can you tell me best route to take from Dublin?

Thanks

JohnCleary

Honda99ce wrote: »

John.
Can you tell me best route to take from Dublin?

Thanks

We always fly into Bangkok as it's a great hub.

We also love Bangkok so spend a few days on arrival/ departure

Fly to Hanoi and fly out of Ho Chi Minh, or vice versa. No real point in trying to do both countries in two weeks but if you insist, you can fly directly to Siem Reap from VN and then you could I suppose fly to Bangkok and then home.

JohnCleary

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Fly to Hanoi and fly out of Ho Chi Minh, or vice versa. No real point in trying to do both countries in two weeks but if you insist, you can fly directly to Siem Reap from VN and then you could I suppose fly to Bangkok and then home.

What ABG said.

Before advise can be given, you need to make your mind up about what you're doing. 1 country or 2? If so, which country.

JohnCleary

JohnCleary wrote: »

What ABG said.

Before advise can be given, you need to make your mind up about what you're doing. 1 country or 2? If so, which country.

Vietnam is easily the better if you can only do one. Cambodia is fine if you're already in the region and have time, but i wouldn't fly around the world for it.

JohnCleary

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Vietnam is easily the better if you can only do one. Cambodia is fine if you're already in the region and have time, but i wouldn't fly around the world for it.

I couldn't agree more. You obviously know the country a lot better than I, but having been there 3 times, I love it!

cantalach

Two years ago I did a solo trip to Vietnam and Siem Reap in 15 days. It was mostly Vietnam with just three nights in Siem Reap at the end. I fully agree that this is hopelessly inadequate time to spend. However, with a very demanding job, teenage kids at home, and a partner with zero interest in long-haul travel destinations, I had to face the harsh reality that I might just get one shot at SE Asia for the foreseeable future. Hence the decision to pack in the Angkor temples while I had the chance. I was happy with that compromise. We all have to cut our cloth to measure eh? And you can actually do a lot in 15 days...or do a lot of not doing a lot which is my thing. By using evening time internal flights, I cut down dramatically on travel time (though at the cost of seeing less countryside) so I actually did get to spend a *lot* of quality time aimlessly wandering streets and being nosey. Domestic travel is very low stress in Vietnam. As regards getting in and out, I flew Emirates into Hanoi and back out of Saigon. But I found that in the decade since I’d moved back from Australia, Dubai airport has turned into an overcrowded hellhole and I would urge hubbing elsewhere if at all possible.

JohnCleary

We did our connection to BKK via Istanbul (new airport).

It was a dream... felt almost empty. OK, we were flying business class but when So, when wandering around, it didn't seem busy at all.

Honda99ce

Ok 2 weeks it is and I will just be doing Vietnam.
I will probably fly into Saigon and out of Hanoi.

I dont want to go to Bangkok so where would best route to take.

I will be going November.

Also can someone give me an itinerary on what to do/see etc, and also what route to take once I arrive in Saigon.

Thank you.

Honda99ce

JohnCleary wrote: »

I couldn't agree more. You obviously know the country a lot better than I, but having been there 3 times, I love it!

I am going to fly into Hanoi and out of Saigon. Can you tell me what best route to take and what to do and see when I arrive?

Thank you

twignme

I have always had good flights using Vietnam Airways from Heathrow direct to Hanoi or Saigon which I book direct through their website. I do push the boat out a little and upgrade to Premium Economy which is well worth it for the long trip if your budget allows. You can get a pot of noodles at any time on the flight too !

Honda99ce

Honda99ce wrote: »

I am going to fly into Hanoi and out of Saigon. Can you tell me what best route to take and what to do and see when I arrive?

Thank you

The north is the only part where you have to decide on a route..

Multiple days in Ha Long Bay, or just one? Depends on your tastes.

Up to Sapa and trek? Multiple days trekking, one, or visit an ethnic minority village or two and head back south. Or not at all.

West to Mai Chau or down to Ninh Binh for a day or two? Up to you.

Stay a couple of days in Hanoi and soak in the madness?


After that, it's a straight trip south with you deciding where to stop. Hue is nice. Hoi An next to Da Nang is a must for most. Up to Da Lat is nice but not sure if I would with only two weeks. Skip Mui Ne. Nha Trang is a pretty good beach stop along the way.

When you make it south, you've got Saigon and that's nice for a couple of days. The War museum is sad but remarkable. There's also floating markets in Can Tho south west of it which is a good shout.


Depending on your comfort level, I would decide a lot of things on the ground. It's all very easy to do really and you might want to spend more time in certain places. Just start browsing things and see what piques your interest. There are so many things to do.

If you're into motorbikes, the best thing to do is Ha Giang.

lisabiscuit

We went to Vietnam last year for our honeymoon and loved it!
We flew into Hanoi spent three days there. Bus to Cat Ba island and did an overnight boat trip around the bay- got advice from a guy who is from Vietnam not to go through Ha long bay as it's very busy. From there we flew down to DaNang and spent a couple nights there. Bus to Hoi Ann (don't miss this spot) loved it there. Spent four nights there. On then to Ho Chi Minh. Spent maybe 3 nights there too? We were about three weeks on total. Took two internal flights as my husband wouldn't take an overnight train or bus.
Hope you have a Savage time. We missed a lot and would love to go back sometime.