Vietnam/Cambodia

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Drakescoffeecake

Drakescoffeecake

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Jan 31, 2010
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Decided I need a break so heading off to Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia for 5 weeks. Done Thailand a few times so pretty much know what's going on there but have 3 weeks in Vietnam & Cambodia.

How did you do Vietnam? North to South? Halong Bay worth the fuss? Best bits and must see's? Parts not worth seeing? Heard mixed reports about Hanoi..

Any info would be great! Especially from those that did Cambodia in the same trip!
 
EVERYTHING in Vietnam is worth your while, drakes. I started in Hanoi and worked my way down, though I pushed up to Sapa and across to Halong Bay first. Everything's worth it trust me. A month just isn't long enough!

I wound my way down to Chau Doc on the Mekong, and then straight up the river to Phnom Penh. The boat will stop at a little border post along the river and you pay your twenty dollars U.S (always have U.S dollars and passport-sized photos handy for getting visas if you haven't pre-arranged everything beforehand)
 
Cheers buddy!

What was your main mode of travel throughout? Did you mix it up with flights? Been looking and internal flights are pretty dear - people have recommended the train from Hanoi to Saigon stopping at Hoi An, Nha Trang etc along the way but then others said definitely don't!
 

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I flew to Thailand, went overland from there to Laos (visa available on the border) flew from Luang Prabang to Hanoi (pre-arranged visa in Vientiane) then got the train to Hue. Bussed it to Hoi An, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Dalat etc all the way to Ho Chi Minh City. Then another bus to Chau Doc, then the boat to Phnom Penh (visa available on the border).
 
I went to Vietnam for 4 weeks a couple of years back. Started down south in HoChiMinh city, and travelled north from there. So, from HoChiMinh, went to NhaTrang on the overnight train (no problems at all, was a friendly trip mixing with the locals). From NhaTrang, got another train to Hoi An, which was a personal favourite, then flew to Hanoi (flight was from DaNang to Hanoi and only cost $40).

Not sure how old you are or what kind of holiday you're looking for, but reckon I could have skipped NhaTrang, or at least spent less time there. Was a bit of a party town with not too much to see. In hindsight would have gone to Hue or Sapa instead.
If you're limited for time, I wouldn't do too long a trip on Halong Bay. Think I did 2 nights, was beautiful but remember thinking "did we just sail past that rock" a few times after a day on the bay.
"Both" capital cities were fantastic. So much cheap food and accom, I'd go back anytime.

Best of luck for your trip :thumbsu:
 
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Clicked onto this thread as I've been thinking about doing the trip to Vietnam at least. Great info guys, am really going to have to look into it for early in the new year. Cheers:thumbsu::thumbsu:

Drakescoffeecake what time of year are you looking at?
 
catgal23 said:
I went to Vietnam for 4 weeks a couple of years back. Started down south in HoChiMinh city, and travelled north from there. So, from HoChiMinh, went to NhaTrang on the overnight train (no problems at all, was a friendly trip mixing with the locals). From NhaTrang, got another train to Hoi An, which was a personal favourite, then flew to Hanoi (flight was from DaNang to Hanoi and only cost $40).

Not sure how old you are or what kind of holiday you're looking for, but reckon I could have skipped NhaTrang, or at least spent less time there. Was a bit of a party town with not too much to see. In hindsight would have gone to Hue or Sapa instead.
If you're limited for time, I wouldn't do too long a trip on Halong Bay. Think I did 2 nights, was beautiful but remember thinking "did we just sail past that rock" a few times after a day on the bay.
"Both" capital cities were fantastic. So much cheap food and accom, I'd go back anytime.

Best of luck for your trip :thumbsu:
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Looks like I might be going to Nha Trang then! ;) Heard great things about Saba so trying to see if time permits. Planning 14 days in Vietnam and 8 in Cambodia but from all reports I can quite easily trim a few days off Cambodia and go up to 16/17 days in Vietnam.
 
karencatsfan said:
Clicked onto this thread as I've been thinking about doing the trip to Vietnam at least. Great info guys, am really going to have to look into it for early in the new year. Cheers:thumbsu::thumbsu:

Drakescoffeecake what time of year are you looking at?
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I'm going over June and July... haven't got anything booked as yet so hoping to get cracking within the next week or so. Flights all booked :thumbsu:
 
Went to Vietnam a couple of years ago for about 2.5 weeks. Started in Hanoi and worked south. Overnight train to Sapa, two days trekking, loved it except it's very touristy and the girls will be constantly trying to sell you things. Don't get annoyed, it's just part of the experience. Two days in Halong Bay. Train to Hue, adorable little town but not much to see in my opinion. Bus to Hoi An, my favourite stop for the trip. So pretty. Get some clothes made and eat at a restaurant called Morning Glory. I skipped Na Trang and Dalat because I didn't have time. Flew to HCMC, had a few days there before heading home.
 
I went south to north a few years back. Hoi An and Sa Pa the absolute must-sees for mine. Wish I had spent a bit more time in Hue.
I wasn't so keen on HCMC, but it sometimes takes me a little while to get into things so it might just have been that it was my first stop. I preferred Ha Noi of the to big cities, but the taxi scams are everywhere.
 
jpkennedy said:
Went to Vietnam a couple of years ago for about 2.5 weeks. Started in Hanoi and worked south. Overnight train to Sapa, two days trekking, loved it except it's very touristy and the girls will be constantly trying to sell you things. Don't get annoyed, it's just part of the experience. Two days in Halong Bay. Train to Hue, adorable little town but not much to see in my opinion. Bus to Hoi An, my favourite stop for the trip. So pretty. Get some clothes made and eat at a restaurant called Morning Glory. I skipped Na Trang and Dalat because I didn't have time. Flew to HCMC, had a few days there before heading home.
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What are the trains like? And did you pay much for the internal flight to HCMC?
 
Geelong_Sicko said:
EVERYTHING in Vietnam is worth your while, drakes. I started in Hanoi and worked my way down, though I pushed up to Sapa and across to Halong Bay first. Everything's worth it trust me. A month just isn't long enough!

I wound my way down to Chau Doc on the Mekong, and then straight up the river to Phnom Penh. The boat will stop at a little border post along the river and you pay your twenty dollars U.S (always have U.S dollars and passport-sized photos handy for getting visas if you haven't pre-arranged everything beforehand)
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You have pretty much described my trip with my wife about 8 years ago. We started up North in Hanoi, up to Supa, back to Hanoi, across to Haling Bay, down to Hue, Hoi An (sp) then south.

Beautiful place and we are glad we went North to South.
 

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Howard Littlejohn said:
I went south to north a few years back. Hoi An and Sa Pa the absolute must-sees for mine. Wish I had spent a bit more time in Hue.
I wasn't so keen on HCMC, but it sometimes takes me a little while to get into things so it might just have been that it was my first stop. I preferred Ha Noi of the to big cities, but the taxi scams are everywhere.
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Same here, little interest in HCMC.

Our time roughly in each place;

Hanoi- 1 1/2 week (we did day tours around the region)
Sapa-4 days (2 days of treking through the mountains)
Halong Bay- 3 days (relaxing onboard)
Hue 5 days (did the old palace tours, DMZ, Khe Shan etc)
Hoi An 5 days (clothing made, good eating)
Nah Trang 3 days (diving)
Hanoi 3 days (more commercial/being harassed saw the war museum)
Mekong 3 days (doing day tours on various boat cruises).
 
Been to Vietnam a couple of times with about a 8yr gap in between and the difference at how much the place had changed was amazing.

Ho Chi Minh - I love the backpacker & market area. The main part of the town has become full of the expensive designer clothes stores now (around Rex Hotel area). South into the Mekong is decent if you're doing it properly and not just in and out in a day.

Hoi An - one of my favorite spots on the planet. Food is great everywhere (from cao lao street food to proper restaurants), the people are still very friendly and not always trying to make a buck like the rest of Vietnam, and is generally a pretty nice town for scenery. Easy place to explore on a scooter too as its not as busy. Danang on the other hand is crazy at how quick the place is expanding. Some of the biggest resorts you'll ever see. Catch an overnight train to or from here, its a decent experience.

Hanoi - hated the place. We'd just flown in from Laos which is 2nd to none so were on a massive high. Got ripped off from the infamous taxi drivers from the airport and generally just didn't like the place. Food was good, beers were cheap but that's the same anywhere in Vietnam. Halong Bay was pretty amazing but because you're in the hands of the boat operators I never felt relaxed. It was always activity to activity. Our boat was bloody nice and the food again was sensational but we looked back after we did it and wished we could have chilled out and took it all in a lot more.

We didn't get to Sapa as we were up that way in Jan/Feb when there was snow so didn't really have the proper clothes in our backpacks.

Cambodia was a very relaxing trip. We spent most of our time down south in Sinahoukville (sp?). Not Thai quality beaches but still a very bohemian type feel to it with plenty of beach type shacks good food and accommodation. Stay at Otres Beach if you go that way, or offshore on one of the islands.

Siem Reap was good but my wife and I both ended up in hospital feeling like we were going to die from some bug we got, so put a dampener on the place for us. I remember being at the temples with sweat simply pouring off me it was so hot.

Pretty hard not to have a good time over that way though whatever you go, so much to see, eat, drink etc.
 
Drakescoffeecake said:
What are the trains like? And did you pay much for the internal flight to HCMC?
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Overnight train to Sapa was sweet, in a four bed cabin with three other kids from my hostel. Overnight train to Hue was an experience. Couldn't get a four bed so settled for a six bed, except there was a family of nine in four of the beds, and then another single female traveller in the last bed. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much. And my thongs were stolen! A lady boarded the train wearing thongs and walked off in my Havs. Not happy. But considering some people had their iPods/phones/kaptops etc stolen, I think having only a pair of thongs stolen on my trip was pretty good :)

Can't remember how much the internal flight to HCMC was but it couldn't have been too bad. I just didn't have time to lose another day with a train.
 
Slowly getting there... stuck on the whole flight or train thing though..

Fly into Laos
Vientiane / Luang Prabang 5 nights
Fly into Hanoi - 3 nights
Overnight train to Sa Pa
Sa Pa - 3 nights
Overnight train back to Hanoi
Straight onto plane Da Nang > Hoi An
Hoi An 4 nights
Plane from Hoi An > HCMC
HCMC 3 nights
HCMC > Chau Doc > boat to Phnom Penh
PP 2 nights
PP to Siem Reap - Siem Reap 3 nights
Siem Reap > Samui, 5 nights
Samui > Phuket > Patong 6 nights > home

Got all Thailand/Laos sorted but struggling a little with the route throughout Vietnam/Cambodia ... at the moment I'm skipping Halong Bay in favour of Sa Pa and favouring internal flights as opposed to trains (except for Hanoi > Sa Pa) to cut out travelling time but really not sure if it's the right way to go. Being my first time obviously not everything will be perfect but any observations/advice about my route thus far?
 
In Vietnam take the train everywhere. It is a piece of piss, cheap, reliable, safe. If you're taking the overnight train to Hanoi from Sapa, just stay on the train til it hits Da Nang. Then get a cab from Da Nang to Hoi An.
 
Drakescoffeecake said:
Slowly getting there... stuck on the whole flight or train thing though..

Fly into Laos
Vientiane / Luang Prabang 5 nights
Fly into Hanoi - 3 nights
Overnight train to Sa Pa
Sa Pa - 3 nights
Overnight train back to Hanoi
Straight onto plane Da Nang > Hoi An
Hoi An 4 nights
Plane from Hoi An > HCMC
HCMC 3 nights
HCMC > Chau Doc > boat to Phnom Penh
PP 2 nights
PP to Siem Reap - Siem Reap 3 nights
Siem Reap > Samui, 5 nights
Samui > Phuket > Patong 6 nights > home

Got all Thailand/Laos sorted but struggling a little with the route throughout Vietnam/Cambodia ... at the moment I'm skipping Halong Bay in favour of Sa Pa and favouring internal flights as opposed to trains (except for Hanoi > Sa Pa) to cut out travelling time but really not sure if it's the right way to go. Being my first time obviously not everything will be perfect but any observations/advice about my route thus far?
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Yeah, it all looks pretty sorted. Because you're flying into Hanoi you can sort your visa out there if you haven't arranged it yet - they don't do visas at land crossings like Thailand, Cambodia and Laos do, but if you're flying it shouldn't be a problem.

One tip is to bring two passport-sized photos for every national visa you expect to pick up. Some posts have a camera of their own but they overcharge!

Bussing it from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (7-8 hours) shouldn't be a problem either, though each bus line has its own station. I tried to find my ticket stubs earlier to tell you which one I went with, but to no avail. You'll probably get in with a crew of backpackers heading that way anyway so you'll get some good current advice.

Cambodian ATMS only dispense U.S dollars while when you buy things at shops or markets they'll give you back a mixture of dollars and Cambodian riel - it was supposedly a fixed rate of 4000 riel to the dollar when I was there in 2010 but this might have changed.

The entrance fee to the Angkor Watt complex goes in stretches from 1 to three days to a whole week. I went the three day option for forty bucks (bring U.S dollars), could easily have gone back for a fourth (I biked it around by myself easily - flat country, no hills) but a week might be pushing it. You may want to extend the 3 nights to four but that's up to yourself.

You're gonna have the f*cking time of your life, drake.:thumbsu:
 
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Drakescoffeecake said:
I didn't even know that was possible!
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It should be man. The trains in Vietnam are so easy, not as good as Europe obviously, but cause of the shape of the country its all basically one big train line in a more or less straight line from north to south.
 
Geelong_Sicko said:
Yeah, it all looks pretty sorted. Because you're flying into Hanoi you can sort your visa out there if you haven't arranged it yet - they don't do visas at land crossings like Thailand, Cambodia and Laos do, but if you're flying it shouldn't be a problem.

One tip is to bring two passport-sized photos for every national visa you expect to pick up. Some posts have a camera of their own but they overcharge!

Bussing it from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (7-8 hours) shouldn't be a problem either, though each bus line has its own station. I tried to find my ticket stubs earlier to tell you which one I went with, but to no avail. You'll probably get in with a crew of backpackers heading that way anyway so you'll get some good current advice.

Cambodian ATMS only dispense U.S dollars while when you buy things at shops or markets they'll give you back a mixture of dollars and Cambodian riel - it was supposedly a fixed rate of 4000 riel to the dollar when I was there in 2010 but this might have changed.

The entrance fee to the Angkor Watt complex goes in stretches from 1 to three days to a whole week. I went the three day option for forty bucks (bring U.S dollars), could easily have gone back for a fourth (I biked it around by myself easily - flat country, no hills) but a week might be pushing it.

You're gonna have the f*cking time of your life, drake.:thumbsu:
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Visas sorted - was told it was about $30 so got the shock of my life when I saw it was $95!

Have heard about the whole US dollars thing in Cambodia... think instead of using ATM'S I'll just take a bunch of US dollars into Cambodia to avoid all that.

Worried about bus travel from PP > Siem Reap having heard the state of the roads over there isn't too flash - what mode of transport to use when commuting between cities is probably my main issue right now!

Thanks for the advice, 6 weeks to go... better get onto some accom! :thumbsu:
 
Drakescoffeecake said:
Visas sorted - was told it was about $30 so got the shock of my life when I saw it was $95!
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:eek: Bloody hell! I got mine through a travel agent in Vientiane, Laos in 2010 and I swear it cost me forty or so U.S! Took about five days because of some public holiday in Vietnam, but still... I think you can get 6 month visas for $100 U.S!

Drakescoffeecake said:
Have heard about the whole US dollars thing in Cambodia... think instead of using ATM'S I'll just take a bunch of US dollars into Cambodia to avoid all that.
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Cool. Keep it somewhere secure if you're carrying a wad of it, though.

Drakescoffeecake said:
Worried about bus travel from PP > Siem Reap having heard the state of the roads over there isn't too flash - what mode of transport to use when commuting between cities is probably my main issue right now!

Thanks for the advice, 6 weeks to go... better get onto some accom! :thumbsu:
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The road between PP and SR is fine - it's a major route for tourism so they've splashed the cash to get s**t done on that regard. Same with the route between Vientiane and Luang Prabang (going through Vang Vieng on its way up) in Laos - used to be diabolical ten years ago. Pretty good now.

Just make sure your iPod's well charged on these long-haul bus journeys. You'll need it.
 
Drakescoffeecake said:
Visas sorted - was told it was about $30 so got the shock of my life when I saw it was $95!

Have heard about the whole US dollars thing in Cambodia... think instead of using ATM'S I'll just take a bunch of US dollars into Cambodia to avoid all that.

Worried about bus travel from PP > Siem Reap having heard the state of the roads over there isn't too flash - what mode of transport to use when commuting between cities is probably my main issue right now!

Thanks for the advice, 6 weeks to go... better get onto some accom! :thumbsu:
Click to expand...

Road from PP to Siem Reap is fine now. Relatively recently built
 
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