Travel from Cambodia to Vietnam during Tet
Replies: 3 - Last Post: Jan 28, 2013 2:42 AM Last Post By: karmayodel
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Travel from Cambodia to Vietnam during Tet
Hello everyoneWe will be in Vietnam and Cambodia from 18 January to 7th February 2013. I realize that Tet in 2013 is on February 9th.
We will start with a Mekong Delta Tour and then make our way to Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat and then some Southern Cambodian beaches.
Now my questions:
1. How much hassle will it be to travel overland from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City the week before Tet? We want to arrive in HCMC on February 5th. Is this at all possible to do by bus or will everything be absolutely packed?
2. There are (with 185USD rather expensive) flights available from Phnom Penh to HCMC with Vietnam Airlines. Will it be a problem to travel within Cambodia (from the South towards Phnom Penh) the week before Tet? Or is Tet as such rather confined to Vietnam?
Thank you very much for sharing some of your experiences.
Nicole
1
TET is NOT a big deal in Cambodia, Travel into Vietnam will be fine, but never hurts to book as soon as you can. The BIG movement of people will be OUT of Saigon (and other cities) to the countryside and to Hanoi.I like the Mekong Express bus from PP to Saigon $12USD and only takes about 6 hours. That's really only a couple of hours more than flying when you include the waiting and transfer time.
3
Passing on some advice from friends in PP as I'm in Vietnam and planning to go to Cambodia later this week.This weekend of Feb 1-4 will be extremely hectic in Phnom Penh as the king father sihanouk's body will be cremated. There are 1.5 million people expected to converge into PP from the provinces starting probably the 31st. Also, schools and the government will be shut down for a week and restaurants even closed that weekend. Lots of roads in the city will be closed and traffic snarled. You really won't be able to get around town too easily. Sounds like one should steer clear.
