Vietnam ,Cambodia and Laos.

just wondering if anybody out there can give any advice on travelling around these countries !ive read the guidebook and looked at tripadvisor and travelfish but would love to hear from somebody thats done it.

My girlfriend and I are travelling for five weeks and i was thinking of flying to bangkok from Europe and then connecting flight to Hanoi. hope to go around Halong bay and get the train if possible to china beach and on to HCMC. From there i was planning on getting a bus to Phnom Penh and on to Siam Reap after that , fly to vientiane from Pakse and take a slow boat up mekong stopping in Vang Vieng as i heard the boats carry less and its not as popular as going down the river. we hope to cross the border at Huay Xai and night bus to bangkok as we fly out of there . ive done the night bus from chain Mai before and survived , this is my first time venturing outside thailand and im just wondering if im underestimating the trip?? is there any problems with my plan or any alternative routes would be welcomed. cheers !

Vietnam ,Cambodia and Laos.

Ive not done all of what you want to do but most of it. I think if you allow about 2 weeks in Vietnam , starting from Hanoi, one or two nights at Halong Bay, you should allow at least 2 days minimum to look around Hanoi and even then you will have to be slective about what you see. You can catch te train to HCMC. I would suggest a stop at Hue or Da Nang then a bus to Hoi An for a couple of days. Back to the train and onto HCMC for another couple of days. You could go to PP by boat if you like the idea, you get a look at the Mekong Delta this way. If you prefer the bus takes a day - I would search out the Mekong Express Buses ,in my experience they are worth the little bit extra.

A day or two in PP, maybe catch a bus down to Sianoukville for a bit of time by the ocean. Its a bit commercial but its fun.

From PP you either fly or catch the bus to Siem Riep, DONT take the boat.You need 4 days minimum in SR.From here you can fly to Vientiane which would give you a bit more time, it means missing the south but overland travel is steady in Laos.

Dont underestimate Vientiane, it seems to cop more than its fair share of criticism whic to me is unfounded. A couple of days here would be a good way to ease into Laos.

Personally I would fly from here to Luang Prabang but you will miss Vang Vien and depenng on your ages that may be a good thing. Im not sure about the river boats from Vientiane to LP . People mostly seem to catch the bus and break their journey in Vang Vien.

As many days as possible in LP,maybe with a side trip the Plain of Jars. Alternately you could go from Vang Vien to the Plain of Jars and across to LP.

The boats LP to Huay Xai are definitely less crowded going this way. Remember it is a slower trip bause the boat is going against the current (and slightly noisier , get a seat up the front away from the engine. Depending on how much time you have left you could catch a bus (or Minivan) up to Luang Namtha for a day or two. There are lots of treks here.

Hope this helps.

Vietnam ,Cambodia and Laos.

Lots of good advice given above.

But you might consider doing a somewhat reverse route, with flying to Phnom Penh, Cambodia via budget airlines thai air asia and going overland by Mekong Express Bus Co. also to Siem Reap. Then back overland to PP and over to Saigon/HCMC. Then travel the length of Vietnam south to north with stops at Hoi-An (perhaps a break at Mui Ne or Nha Trang unless you fly from HCMC to Danang and shuttle to Hoi An),

Hue, then night sleeper train compartment to Hanoi. As above, Hanoi needs at least a couple days but you could squeeze a trip to Halong Bay then onward up to Sapa unless you want to do your trekking in Laos.

From Hanoi, I would fly to Luang Prabang and spend about a little over a week working your way over to Huay Xai via visiting the hilltribes trekking areas of Luang Namtha and/or Muang Sing. Then back over to Thailand at Chiang Khong where you can take an overnight VIP bus to BKK or fly from Chiang Rai/Mai to BKK.

thaks sea gypsy,

do you know if it%26#39;s possibe fly hanoi to vientaine instead of to Luang Prabang as i would like to see it and vang vieng before taking slow boat to Huay xai. booked my international flights this evening , roll on july !!

Yes, both Lao Airlines and Vietnam Airlines offer both the Hanoi to Vientiane or Luang Prabang routes with Lao Airlines usually being cheaper of the two.

BTW, it%26#39;s frequently misunderstood that Vang Vieng is on the Mekong River, which it is not, so this means that you can%26#39;t go to Vang Vieng by boat from Vientiane along the Mekong. But there are regular buses, VIP buses and private shuttlevans running the route daily with buses taking about 4-4.5 hours and private vans taking aas little as 3 hours.