Is this a good itinerary? Vietnam/Indonesia/Cambodia in Jan/Feb

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsSouth-East Asia Mainland
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
55
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
djcoulter
djcoulter

So far this is what I have came up with as a tentative itinerary for 42 days in SE Asia Mainland. (with a jog over to Indonesia):

jan 3rd arrive in Hanoi from NYC
jan 5th go to Cat Ba island
jan 7th see Halong bay/ hang on Cat Ba
jan 8-11th go to Hoi An
14th January Hoi An lantern festival
15th Da Nang-Saigon one way flight
16th Saigon to Jakarta
18th Mount Bromo
20th Bali
25th Jakarta to Saigon
26th Saigon to Sihanoukville by bus.
28th bamboo island/hang in Sihanoukville
Feb 2-4th Sihanoukville to Koh Rong Samloem
10th Koh Rong Samloem full moon fest, stay for a few days, check out Koh Rong
12th Koh Rong-Saigon
13th Saigon to Hanoi one way flight.
15th Hanoi-Back Home (in this case to Costa Rica for Envision festival)

My main question is could I do this going through Phnom Penh instead of Saigon? (for flying out of to go to Jakarta and as the hub to see the Cambodian islands). I have seen Saigon already.
Is there places I should be spending more or less time?

Any advice, feedback or suggestions are what I am looking for.

I have spent time in all these countries except for Indonesia but not in a while, not in these areas and not always solo. I am a 32 year old chef and occasional DJ trying to go on a budget of 30$-35 a day. I am budgeting more for a handful of flights and the bus/ferry rides between places. I like to party but not all the time and I want to also seek out places to chill as well. I can be happy living on street food, drinking the cheapest beer in a cheap bed.

Thank you!

View last reply
Report
1
JuliaLuther
JuliaLuther
  1. Depending on your interests, you may add Hue to your list, the city of history, culture, architecture, local food....: you can take either train or flight from Hanoi to Hue, then take a taxi/private car/ bus to Hoi An.
  2. You should perhaps check the flight from Jakarta to Phnompenh instead of flying back to Saigon, AirAsia is not expensive
  3. Siem Reap is worth visiting
  4. You may think about this route: NYC - HANOI - CAT BA - HUE/HOI AN/ DANANG - SAIGON - PHNOMPENH - SHIHANOUKVILE - PHNOMPENH - JAKARTA - HANOI
    As I know Vietjet just opens the route Saigon - Phnompenh, quite cheap.
Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
herbie47
herbie47

Yes why are you flying to HCMC from Kakarta? You have multi-entry visa for Vietnam? "jan 8-11th go to Hoi An
14th January Hoi An lantern festival" where are the missing days, maybe you meant Hue? Seems pretty mad Itinerary. Have you booked your flights to Hanoi yet? January is not the best time for Indonesia, rainy season. Pesonally I would stick to Vietnam and Cambodia and maybe add some days in Laos.

Edited by herbie47
Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
bigal1
bigal1

I got somewhat confused by this and could not get to grips with the logic so in answer to the question NO

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
djcoulter
djcoulter

thanks @JuliaLuther and @herbie47 Good advice. Yeah I meant Hue for the missing days. I might skip Indonesia completely and I will def look into PHNOMPENH - SHIHANOUKVILE - PHNOMPENH. Nothing is purchased except tickets into Hanoi and out to Costa Rica. The only reason I am skipping Siem Reap and Laos is I have traveled there fairly extensively.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
5
cuscus
cuscus

The way your trip is structured, yes, I would skip Indonesia and save it for another trip. In any case, when you do go to Indonesia try to avoid Jakarta and go to Jogja (for Borobudur and Prambanan etc) and then Bali or possibly Lombok, etc. If you fly into and out of Jakarta it adds a day on both ends. Air Asia is a great regional carrier for Indonesia and SEA.

You might add another day on to Hanoi..the variety of food there is amazing.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
6
djcoulter
djcoulter

I realized that based on visas, time constraints and shear distance my original plan was pretty bonkers. Plus my mom hit me up up and wants to travel with me for two weeks. Here is my new plan, last two weeks with my mother.
Thanks for the input everyone! (and still open to more of course)

jan 3rd arrive in Hanoi from NYC
jan 6th go to Cat Ba island
see Halong bay/ hang on Cat Ba
jan 11th go to Hoi An/hue 44$ by flight
14th January Hoi An full moon festival
15th Da Nang-Saigon one way flight 34$
16th Saigon to Phnom phen (14$)
hang in phnom penh
19th Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville
bamboo island/hang in Sihanoukville
24th Sihanoukville to Koh Rong
31st cross into Thailand
1st st meet my mom in Koh Chang
6th go to bkk
8th go chiang mai
13th back to bkk
15th bkk to hanoi 7am 65$
3:45pm Hanoi-Costa Rica

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
7
herbie47
herbie47

You have flights to Hanoi Already, if not I would look at open jaw tickets otherwise you will need multi-entry visa for Vietnam and also have to fly back there, fly into Hanoi and then fly out of BKK would be better. Apart from that it looks pretty good.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
8
This post has been removed by its author.
9
JuliaLuther
JuliaLuther

Will you stay in Halong/Cat Ba from 6th to 11th? If yes, I think a little bit long. Besides, you may do some research on Mekong Delta to find out whether you want to add it in your draft. From Chau Doc, you can take a speedboat to Phnompenh too.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner