Holiday to Vietnam and/or Cambodia/Thailand

[TrentCrimmOfTheIndependent]

Hi, I am looking for some advice on a holiday in this area.

DH and I are considering a two week holiday to Vietnam from approx Sun 3 March. The only must have currently on our list is Angkor Wat. Other than that, we would be happy to either just stay in Vietnam, or combine it with either Cambodia or Thailand. We would even be open to not going to Vietnam if there was a good reason not to.

Budget about under £5,000. Can be flexible on dates and don’t mind indirect flights if cheaper.

Would like:

• Dry hot weather!
• Modern, clean accommodation, doesn’t have to be luxury. Would prefer a pristine three star over a shabby five star.
• Would like some history and nature.

Other than that, we are open to anything!

Any suggestions welcome, thank you.

Oops wrong chat 😅

Ive been to all three. I prefer Cambodia and Vietnam to Thailand. Flights between them are short and cheap. I would recommend Vietnam over Thailand any day. Ankor Wat is amazing but god it was hot! And I got bit badly.

We spent a whole week in siem reap, there are lots to see other than angkor wat. Angkor wat is just 1 temple, if you want to see the rest, depending on how many, it could easily occupy you for 2 to 3 days. It's very hot and humid in March, your hotel would probably arrange to start your tour early in the morning, then return to the hotel after lunch. We usually had a nice afternoon tea in the hotel and lounged around the pool/spa, then ventured out again for dinner.

Other than temples, we visited their floating village, waterfalls, night market, local markets, zipline, etc. It was a good mix of culture, nature, and fun!

For your second week you can take a short flight up to Thailand, or down to Vietnam. Personally I prefer Vietnam as I prefer Vietnamese food, but you can't go wrong with either!

It was many years ago but I've been to Vietnam and Cambodia, not Thailand apart from a few days in Bangkok before flying home (would like to visit other parts of Thailand at some point!)

Vietnam is amazing. Beautiful country, friendly people, delicious food. Lots to visit. My top 3 recommendations would be Ha Long Bay, Hanoi and Hoi An, but I also loved Sapa and Hué.

I did also visit Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, which were great, plus a couple of other places in Cambodia but I much preferred Vietnam.

Angkor is amazing. Though in my opinion it would be a bit of a shame just to fly to Siem Reap, stay for a few days to see Angkor and then leave - lots to see in Cambodia!

Years ago I did an organised tour with a company called intrepid - have a look at their website for itinerary inspiration. When I went I flew via Ho Chi Minh City. Only had a few days there but would love to see more of Vietnam.

I have lived/spent significant time in each country and I would recommend visiting each separately - there is lots to do and see (and eat) and two weeks is a decent amount of time to enjoy but not rush around. Two weeks and you won’t touch the sides of Vietnam and Thailand. Also northern Vietnam in March has a different climate to the south/Cambodia/Thailand. March is known as ‘mouldy March’ as it a humid and cool/less sunlight - turning the corners of your home mouldy. So if baking heat is what you’re looking for, maybe go elsewhere (Northern Vietnam is incredible though and I cannot recommend a trip more highly).

You could also combine Cambodia with Laos, a beautiful country.

Single entry vs Multi entry visa!
Or you will enter Vietnam under visa exemption?

@PinkPondQueen still very helpful to our consideration of Thailand, thanks!

@boobot1 i think those are the two I’d prefer too. I like hot but not being bitten! What time of yr did you go? Thanks

@Fleur405 tks will look into them

Really helpful, thanks @habibtiii ! And appreciate the info re mouldy March - that does not appeal!!

Was thinking about Laos too, but I can’t decide between three countries so thought we would leave it until next time maybe. But perhaps one to bring back for consideration. Thanks!

Op, none of those places will be ‘dry hot’. They will all be very humid

We went on a small group tour around Vietnam, cambodia and Thailand several years ago - possibly with intrepid or maybe Explore, they do similar types of trips.
thailand I would say is the 'easiest', it's more visited, more tourists.
Vietnam was great, we only went to the south and visited Hi Chi Minh city, Mekong delta, Cu chi tunnels (from Vietnam war). Ho Chi Minh is insane for traffic and bustle. Loved all of it.
Cambodia was something else. We had a Cambodian guide who told us a lot about how the country had been affected by the genocide (recommend reading Brother Number One about Pol Pot, it's astonishing). We visited Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum in Phnom Penh which is the most incredible, emotionally affecting place I've ever been. We also visited Angkor : Angkor Thom, Bayon, Banteay Srai and Ta Promh are all absolute must sees as well as Angkor Wat I'd say.
Cambodia was my favourite out of the 3, it's a really special place. It was quite a number of years ago that we visited but they still had problems then with landmines and amputees, I hope the situation has improved over the last couple of decades.

@Hazelmazel Thanks. Am tending towards Vietnam and Cambodia I think, given the comments here.

Cambodia is just wonderful - as PP said, so much more than just Angkor Wat (which is obviously spectacular as are all the other temples)
3/4 days in siem reap, then hop over to Phnom Penh for a couple of days. We got a 'luxury' boat (it wasn't!) but all part of the adventure.
It was many years ago in February I think - flew into Hanoi and spent a few days there, road trip to Halong Bay and overnight on a boat in the bay. Back to Hanoi for flight to siem reap.
After Cambodia we flew to Phu quoc island for some proper chill. Ended the trip in HCMC for a few days, day on the Mekong and caves etc

I've been to Thailand many times, not Phuket though.
Koh Samui is a shadow of its former self now. Koh phangnan and Koh Tao are great outside of the full moon parties (which were fab too!!) Krabi province is beautiful.
Koh lanta is a lovely island as is Koh Chang (big KC) which is far south almost off the coast of Cambodia.
Koh kood and satun were lovely unspoilt islands 15 years ago, not sure how they are now!

I would definitely go by the weather.

Travelfish is a very useful website for this area of the world and their weather advice for those 3 countries is (broadly) that March is very hot dry and dusty in northern Thailand and Cambodia, colder and misty in northern Vietnam. However it’s good weather (albeit hot) in the southern islands and coast of Thailand/Cambodia and the middle and south of Vietnam.

In your shoes I would combine Angor Wat/Siem Reap with either the southern two thirds of Vietnam OR other parts of Cambodia (esp Phnom Penh and Cambodian coast).

Bear in mind travelling in the heat is pretty exhausting, best not to try to fit too many different stops in.

I've just come back from Cambodia and we stayed at Grand Yard La Residence in Siem Reap. It was about 50 USD a night and very clean, spacious and the staff are great. We hired a guide from With Locals. The Angkor Wat guides are regulated. Our guide picked us up from our hotel and drove us round which was handy.

Yup

Really good advice - I told my DH that MN would have all the answers and it hasn’t disappointed! Thanks, all! 😃

Pretty sure it was April. Loved it though and the people are so lovely

There are some beach resorts in Cambodia that I can't recall the name of but Google should assist - they look like the Maldives but are really cheap. You may not be interested in beaches (although you say your DH wants to go to Phuket so maybe a beach section of holiday would be good?) I was told about the beach resort by people I work with in Cambodia, that's where they go on holiday. I'll try to find a link.

Tons of results if you Google 'Cambodia beach resort like Maldives' https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g1808558-d2335506-r158826927-Song_Saa_Private_Island-Koh_Rong_Koh_Kong_Province.html

I did 1 week in Cambodia and 2 weeks in Thailand a few years ago, and wish I had spent more time in Cambodia. I only went to Siem Reap and Battambang. Obviously siem Reap is where Angkor wat is, but lots to see and do besides that, interesting war museum and take a trip to Tonle sap, Battambang has killing caves and bat caves where thousands of bats fly out and sun down, which is quite spectatcular. I would’ve liked to have gone to Phnom penh and Sihanoukville for the beaches as heard good things about them. There’s definitely more than enough to fill 2 weeks with.
Something else to thing about is where to fly into and out of. I flew into Siem Reap which is a great little airport, means you don’t have to worry about trying to get from Phnom Penh to siem Reap, flew with Cathay Pacific. then you could fly out of Phnom penh if that’s where you ended up.