Hi all!



I am planning a 4 week holiday with my boyfriend from mid December to mid January in SE Asia and need some help with our itinerary. I’ve had a look at existing posts but I couldn’t find exactly what I was after so wondering if you could help with our itinerary please?

We haven’t been to any of these countries yet but we DON’T plan on seeing everything as we’re aware this is way too short time to cram everything in. Instead we’ve tried to pick a handful of main places we’re very interested in seeing as a first time goers.

We definitely want to do Vietnam (for the culture & food) and & Thailand for some nature and beaches. We are possibly thinking of adding Siem Reap on the way but that’s more of a ‘if we have time’. The only thing we have booked are our main flights in & out - flying into Hanoi and flying back from Singapore (as it was so much closer/cheaper/easier to get our return flight to the UK from there).

Main things for us-
- we’re not interested in the party scene but wouldn’t mind a nice cocktail place / scene in Thailand
- Not interested in going to southern Vietnam this time around or doing beaches in Vietnam as we’re saving that for Thailand.
-we’re happy to spend money on flights if it’s going to save travel time but also don’t mind doing bus/train etc
-not interested in doing Bangkok at all this time.

The rough plan we have so far is-
- Hanoi
- Halong bay
- Ninh binh
- Hoi An
- Siem Reap (if we can fit 2-3 nights, but can be skipped)
- Chiang Mai area (for New Years)
- Krabi (or another island/beach around that area so we can fly easily to and from Phuket).
- Phuket down to Singapore for our return flight (this was much easier than flying back up to Bangkok).

My questions are the following:
-is this a fairly reasonable itinerary?
-we would like to do a nature reserve / park / area at some point - is it best to do that around Chiang Mai? Is there anywhere we could possibly stay for a night or two in a nature reserve?
-Are we trying to cram too much with Siem Reap?
-SO MANY places say northern Vietnam gets cold in December and that Hoi an gets very rainy, but I had a look at a weather forecast from last December and both Hanoi & Hoi an area were like 30C degrees with no rain so not sure what to expect ?? We live in the UK so for us 15 degrees isn’t cold weather haha!

Basically any advice is welcome and we’re happy to change it around if needed!

Thanks so much!!

Hi there,
I know this has been post about a few times, however I was wondering if anyone had any more recent information. I am currently in Vietnam with the plan of heading to Laos. I see that there are buses that will leave from Hanoi going to Luang Prabang and Vientiane. However to avoid backtracking it would make sense for me to just travel to Vieng Xia or Phonsavan. I have read from a few few years ago it is possible to do this via multiple local buses. However I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a sleeper bus we could catch?
Thanks for your help

Second draft of itinerary for an upcoming trip through Cambodia, Vietnam, and one stop in Laos. A couple of 30-something Canadians with no kids who have graduated from backpacker-style into something a little more costly and a little more comfortable. In our 20's we stayed in the $2 hotel room, and that was interesting, but now that we are professionals with precious little holiday time, we don't want to need a vacation from our vacation. We've been through SEA before but not these particular countries.

Disclaimers:
The "cruise" mentioned below is a small 10-cabin wooden affair we are planning to book. Have researched several tour providers, boats, and costs and negotiated ourselves down to 55% of original price, which we are happy with. Realize we might be able to wait and book in country for an even lower price but we are really set on the river travel option, and smaller boat size, so prefer to book ahead just in case. Tour provider is MekongBoat based in Vietnam.

We haven't filled in all the blanks of what to do each day, so please suggest your favorites.

Some questions:
1. We are in Hanoi a lot, any better routes to see everything on our itinerary without backtracking? We are set on starting in Cambodia due to weather and we are getting half-price round trip airfare to/from HKG so that is set as well.
2. Should we sacrifice a day in HCMC for an extra day in Hoi An/Hue?
3. Do we have enough time in Sapa?
4. Should we stay in Bac Ha on Saturday night instead of Sapa?
5. Should we rework to get some time in other locations, some LP posters really seem to love Ninh Binh and Nha Trang.
6. Is there anything we shouldn't waste our time on?

Dates are March 12 to April 16, 2018

• inbound from Canada to Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to Siem Reap -
  Day 1 in Siem Reap (arrive 10am) sleep, explore & get acclimated
  Day 2 in Siem Reap - Angkor Wat
  Day 3 in Siem Reap - see Beng Mealea temple?
  Day 4 in Siem Reap - Mekong River "cruise" starts - meet boat at pier, 3pm, overnight on boat
  Day 5 various locations, Chnok Tru - Floating village/fishing village, boat anchors at Kampong Chhnang
  Day 6 various locations, Kampong Tralach/Koh Chen - Khmer Rouge survivor, metal shops, eve in Phnom Penh
  Day 7 in Phnom Penh - Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, Russian Market, Toul Sleng
  Day 8 Chau Doc - Border crossing mid-day, overnight on boat
  Day 9 Sa Dec & Vinh Long - Market, overnight on boat
  Day 10 Cai Be/My Tho - overnight on boat
  Day 11 My Tho/HCMC- Cu Chi Tunnels - boat tour ends - HCMC overnight
  Day 12 in HCMC - free day - what should we do?
  Day 13 in HCMC, Hoi An - fly Danang, arrive 6:10 pm, car to Hoi An
  Day 14 in Hoi An - free day, maybe rent motorcycles or scooters and explore the countryside
  Day 15 weather permitting visit An Bang beach, beach day / dive (might dive from Hoi An as more selection)
  Day 16 in Hoi An, free day, evening car to Hue
  Day 17 in Hue, relax, explore…Food Tour?
  Day 18 in Hue, might do a guided day tour to the former DMZ. Train to Hanoi overnight (depart 10 pm)
  Day 19 in Hanoi (arrive 12:30pm) free day, explore
  Day 20 in Hanoi, open to suggestions
  Day 21 to Cat Ba (6 am train to Haiphong) Cat Ba ...private junk?
  Day 22 in Cat Ba, boat tour of Lan Ha
  Day 23 in Cat Ba relax, dive
  Day 24 6:45 am hydrofoil to Haiphong, back to Hanoi
  Day 25 in Hanoi, TBD activity day, train to Sapa (depart 9 pm)
  Day 26 in Sapa - settle in, explore
  Day 27 in Sapa, Saturday hilltribe market, trekking
  Day 28 early cab to Sunday Bac Ha market then onward to Lao Cai, Hanoi train (depart 8 or 9 pm)
  Day 29 day in Hanoi, then fly to Luang Prabang (arrive 7:50pm)
  Day 30 in Luang Prabang - motorbike morning to Kuang Si Falls
  Day 31 at Elephant Park, overnight
  Day 32 return from Elephant Park, afternoon relax
  Day 33 in Luang Prabang for Lao New Year, explore
  Day 34 in Luang Prabang for Lao New Year, explore
  Day 35 day in Luang Prabang, fly to Hanoi (arrive 6:10pm) shopping
  Day 36 fly to Hong Kong (arrive 12:25pm), depart international hub(7:35pm)
• outbound and home -

Thanks for your input.

Hi, could You take a look at my itinerary? We are travelling to Myanmar in September/October (14.09-05.10), arriving to Yangon and leaving from Chiang Mai, Thailand. We are are a couple in mid-twenties with small daughter (się will be 14-months-old).

14.09 arrival, Yangon
15.09 Yangon
16.09 flight to Heho, transfer to Inle Lake (Nyuang Shwe)
17.09 Inle Lake
18.09 Inle Lake
19.09 Inle Lake
20.09 flight to Nyaung U, transfer to Bagan
21.09 Bagan
22.09 Bagan
23.09 Bagan
24.09 flight to Yangon, transfer to Ngwe Saung
25.09 Ngwe Saung
26.09 Ngwe Saung
26.09 Ngwe Saung
28.09 Ngwe Saung
29.09 transfer to Yangon, overnight in Yangon or flight to Chiang Mai
30.09 Chiang Mai
01.10 Chiang Mai
02.10 Chiang Mai
03.10 ?
04.10 ?
05.10 onward flight

Any suggestions? We have 2 more days to add somehere- Yangon? Chiang Mai? Mandalay? We want to travel slowly, avoid long distance buses (if possible)- Ngwe Saung is an exception (I want to relax on The beach...).