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.

I went to Sihanoukville but the weather wasn't great; probably the wrong time of year.

I agree, we spent a week in Siem Reap and found loads to do. Also loved Phare Coe us, def recommend. We then flew to Danag and had a week in Hoi A which was brilliant- beach, river, beautiful old town with amazing food and great shops. On a previous trip to vietnam we did Hanoi, train to Hue and then to Hoi An. We would love to go back to Cambodia and see Phnom Pen, Kep and Kampot as well though. Follow the sun and you can’t go wrong! Enjoy!

I'd look at holidays with Intrepid.
They are fantastic and some take you off the beaten track. They employ local people as their reps.
We have used them in a few places including Cambodia.

@emsyj37 they look amazing! Maldives on the cheap for a restful end to the holiday would be fab.

@SJW58 and @Holidayqueen1 tks, staying in Cambodia is sounding better and better. Good tip about the flights, thank you.

i just looked at the travelfish website which pp recommended - thank you, it’s so helpful. But one section said that for any illness more serious than a hangover you need to go to Singapore or somewhere else? Is the hospital / infrastructure that poor? I don’t expect it to be that developed and it’s nor a problem, but would you think healthcare to be an issue? Am just interested really.

Thanks

I've not been ill in Cambodia but it is classified as a 'Least Developed Country'. May be worth asking your insurers what they would cover you for if you did become ill? I travel there for work and nobody has ever mentioned needing to transfer elsewhere for medical care, although that doesn't mean it isn't true. I'd be interested to know the answer to this myself!!

Singapore is close and by far the best healthcare in the region. We did have rabies vaccinations for Cambodia at great expense but probably just me being over cautious. It's all very humid and very hot. Pace yourself but it's the most stunning area of the world to visit. Oh the American Museum in HCMC is very moving, don't expect to come out and just get on with your day, I found the history was everywhere with you in Vietnam and Cambodia.

YY. I still remember that museum and it's been more than 15 years.

Thanks, I think my mum told me about that museum - harrowing and moving. Will definitely check our travel insurance. Ignorantly I hadn’t quite appreciated the economic difference between Cambodia and say, Thailand. Wouldn’t put me off, but sensible to be prepared.

Thanks all for the recommendations!

As an update, we have now booked and will go to Cambodia only. We are going for ten days (4 in Siem Reap and 6 in Phnom Penh). Vaccinations, flights and hotel booked, we now just need to sort the transfer from SR to PP. Will try to find somewhere to stop off en route.

Hoping for Vietnam and Laos next time!

Thanks again for all your help. Much appreciated.

And useful to know there’s not much more in Angkor Way itself

Others have said this, but have to add my voice to it not being true! We went with kids so only had one big temple day but you could easily spend more. There’s a beautiful elephant sanctuary (no riding or bathing) nearby. There’s also a great museum where they showcase efforts to remove land mines, where they use trained rats who give a demo and you can hold them.Lots of brilliant hotels - we stayed in Jaya Riverhouse. Cambodia and Vietnam also have beach options if that is what you are looking to Thailand for.

Vietnam is also great, but very long so travel times can be a while unless you want to do internal flights (or you could travel up and down).

We’re just back from a quick trip to Laos. Obviously couldn’t see much of it, but what we did we loved.

You’ve made the right decision, OP! Cambodia is amazing, they don’t call it The Kingdom of Wonder for nothing! And the people are the nicest you’ll find anywhere, I think. I’ll also point out that Cambodia is on the point of moving out of the ‘least developed’ category, it’s very different to how many people imagine it might be these days. Don’t overlook Phnom Penh on your travels, it’s a great city and surprisingly sophisticated in terms of the quality of hotels, bars and restaurants but still which loads of character If you want a chilled beach destination, I recommend Pagoda Beach on Koh Rong island, which is really quite idyllic.

Medical care is improving all the time, new hospitals opening with western standards and while there’s not yet the equivalent of the major Thai hospitals there you can get perfectly good treatment now for most things - in fact with the way the NHS is currently you might even get better (and certainly faster) treatment in Cambodia! I don’t know anything specifically about insurance but I can’t imagine it would be a problem.

Thanks @Myotherdogsanoodle , will def spend some time in Pnomh Penh. Still working out where best to stop en route from Siem Reap to Pnomh Penh.

Thanks for the beach tip - my DH might prefer a quieter island though, so maybe Koh Rong Soleam (sp)?

Getting excited now!

Thanks, must say, I forgot to check our bank account travel insurance before I booked but I doubt Cambodia would be excluded in any way as long as we are in the touristy areas. Or at least I hope not!

There’s no need to break the journey between Siem Reap and Penh, OP. It takes about six hours by coach with a couple of stops for lunch etc but the coaches are comfy (I strongly recommend you travel by Giant Ibis, it costs about $12 and you only need to book a few days in advance) and the journey is mainly through rural provinces and interesting to see.

As for the islands, Koh Rong used to be a party island but that pretty much stopped after Covid, and Pagoda beach, which is quite newly and subtly developed, is tranquility itself! There’s also a speed boat that goes directly to the beach from the ferry point. Samloem is lovely too though but I’d say the hotels there are more basic - it depends what you want really.

Don’t worry about the insurance/healthcare element, it’ll be fine and you’ll have a lovely holiday!

Thanks, v helpful! Do you have any recommendations for good lunch / toilet stops?

There are a few established coach stops along the route, usually in the middle of nowhere but with a restaurant (local food), toilets, shop. There’s a nice scenic one by a river between Phnom Penh and Siem reap though that Giant Ibis buses stop at. I couldn’t tell you where exactly but the coach drivers know them and you wouldn’t be driving yourself anyway. The usual schedule for bus companies is half an hour for lunch and one or two toilet stops. I’d strongly advise against night buses by the way as the roads can be unsafe after dark.

I got life-threateningly sick in Cambodia. Bloody mosquitoes. Hospital in Thailand which was world-class. I've joked that I'd happily buy travel insurance in the UK so I could get 'patriated' to Thailand.

I second Laos BTW. A magical place.

That sounds awful @MrsTerryPratchett ! Glad the hospital in Thailand was good. Hope our insurance would cover that.

Suddenly wondering whether it’s too late to go to the Costa del sol instead…

My dad raves about Laos.

Laos is a bit like an even more laid back version of Cambodia but with less to see and do 😁

We really need a report and pictures on your return OP ! 🙏

Suddenly wondering whether it’s too late to go to the Costa del sol instead…

Just buy good incest repellent!

OMG insect.

Just buy good incest repellent!

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