3 week Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand itinerary - critique welcome!

[PopcornFiend]

Hello! We’re currently planning a once in a lifetime holiday for summer 2027 (late July - early Aug). Me, DH, and 2 DDs age 16 and 11.

After a LOT of planning and research I think I’ve settled on the below itinerary - would welcome any critique or suggestions!

Note - I cannot add any more nights. Have deliberately excluded Ha Long bay as too ££, not sure worth it in late July (likelihood of rain!) and would rather do Ninh Binh.

I know 5 nights in Hoi An might seem like too long but I’m conscious of wanting a bit of chill/beach/downtime amongst the travel and city sights.

So here we go:

Fly direct LHR-Hanoi
3 nights Hanoi

• food tour
• City sightseeing

3 nights Ninh Binh

• rural/rice paddies/bicycling
• Tam coc boat ride & Hang Mua

1 night sleeper train 5 nights Hoi An

• An Bang beach
• Cooking class
• Marble mountains/My Son sanctuary

Flight to Siem Reap 4 nights Siem Reap

• Angkor Wat
• Kulen elephant forest
• Apopo hero rats

Flight to Bangkok 3 nights Bangkok

• city sightseeing/temples
• Mall/shopping

Fly direct Bangkok-LHR

Would love any feedback and any tips or anything I’ve missed.

Thanks in advance!

What about Ho Chi Minh? I loved the city, war muaeum. Id shave off a day in Siem Reap ( 2 days is more than enough for Angor Wat) and Hoi An ( get some clothes made)

That’s only 2 weeks - your title says 3 weeks!,

@Soontobe60 it’s 19 nights

@Chicaontour I did consider ho chi min however I think the weather there would be the worst (rainiest) out of all the places in July/August as so far south - but could certainly take a look. Is Ho Chi min better than Bangkok do you think? Could prob fly home direct from HCM instead.

There is so much you are missing out on. I’d move round a lot more and I would do halong bay but if you don’t want to keep moving then that’s fine.

I’ve been to all these places several times. I think you’ll get a good balance with your current itinerary of being able to enjoy a place and then also relaxing. For example someone above says you only need two nights in Siam Reap. Well, yes you could just spend a couple of days in Siam reap and yet there is something like 200 km² of temples that can be visited and with your itinerary you can do a couple of hours each morning as you wish and then have lazy afternoons in the pool and seeing the local culture.

@curious79 thank you, yes I’m really conscious I don’t want us to get too exhausted by being go-go-go (especially knowing it’s going to be mega hot and humid!)

We’ll be staying in hotels with pools and DD11 is never happier than when she’s in a pool so I want to allow time for “rest days” where we can relax.

@Snaletrale apart from halong bay what else do you think we’re missing out on? Is ho chi min a real must see? (Seen mixed opinions on Reddit)

We did 3 whole weeks in V & C alone, you'll be missing a lot. Can't remember whether it was 5/6/7 days on a Mekong River cruise between Saigon & S.R., but it was a very relaxing way to see the sights & return to the same floating hotel every day.
I've been to Bangkok as well, & although it's interesting I'd save it for another trip.

Looks good!
(((have a great time)))
it’s going to be hot, planning downtime will be important. I loved visiting Hoi An and Siem Reap. You’re going to have a blast!
I loved Angkor Village Hotel Siem Reap https://angkorvillagehotel.asia
… try looking at buying the portable air conditioner neck coolers. Also you can get light weight silk/cotton clothes in HoiAn. Then stock up on breathable hats, suncream, water bottles (fill with ice) as all essential - Decathlon good for this -
Have a great holiday!

Get new small denomination US dollars for Cambodia to pay for your TukTuk for the day! Anything food wise with the word amok was delicious (I think it was coconut.)

I met my now husband on a trip through Vietnam, have so many lovely memories, I haven't been in more than 20 years though. Did you consider getting off the train in Hue? Visiting the imperial citadel and then transfering to Hoi An? Hue is lovely from what I remember. Also when you say Angkor Wat, you are also planning to visit Ta Prom, Angkor Thom, and some other subsidiary temples, not just Angkor Wat? Those heads at the Bayon at Angkor Thom are one my favourite sites anywhere in the world, and I've travelled fairly extensively. I do feel like you'll need to go back and visit Thailand another time, a few days in Bangkok doesn't really give you much of a sense of Thailand. Once the travel bug hits these trips are never once in a lifetime 😉.

I enjoyed Ho Chi Minh but enjoyed Hanoi and Bangkok more.

It's worth reconsidering Ha Long because it's stunning. It was my favourite place.

If you sew go to Sampheng market in Chinatown in Bangkok - huge amounts of fabric for £2 a metre. Chatachuk market is also good for everything else but more touristy and huge - 15000 stalls. Jim Thompson's House in Bangkok was enjoyable if you like silk and the Grand Palace worth a visit. To get into the Grand Palace you must have covered shoulders, no bare feet, so socks with sandals or shoes and clothed to below the knee. They are very strict and you won't be allowed in otherwise.

The floating market is fun and a trip to the 'bridge on the river Kwai' hugely moving. It's a daytrip from Bangkok (hire a taxi for the day for £20).

The prison museum in Hanoi was great.

Download Bolt (Vietnam) and Grab (Thailand). They're dirt cheap and the best way to get around and a welcome relief from the heat with the a/c.

Hope this helps - I got back yesterday after 3 months out there!

Have been it all three countries many times. I think downtime in Hoi An is an excellent idea- it’s a lovely place with great restaurants and very pretty in the evening. It can get very hot at that time of year. It was 45 degrees one summer when we visited My Son.
I prefer HCMC to Bangkok, but just may preference. I would recommend a hotel near the sky train as Bangkok traffic can be insane.
Hue is also fabulous if you have time to squeeze it in.
have done a couple of trips with Vespa Adventures which were excellent- my Dd loved it. We have used them in Hanoi, HCMC, Hue and Siem Reap.
https://www.vespaadventures.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23200845060&gbraid=0AAAAAq93UCuDcodX4rQ8prV6hlqrot49P&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvsT53aTUkwMVIJFQBh3wBTVvEAAYASAAEgJ2wvD_BwE

Your plan looks good to me, not rushed.
It is also the wet season in North of VN (Hanoi, Ninh Binh…).
Train Ninh Binh to Danang and then take a transfer to Hoian.

I think your trip looks great. Obviously we could all suggest more places, but you can’t cram everything into one trip, and what you have here is good. We were in Vietnam in July and HCMC is the only place it rained heavily! Bangkok is a lot of fun (stay overlooking the river if you can: the Riva Surya is fantastic). Definitely stick with 4 nights in Siem Reap. There’s so much to see and you’ll want downtime at the pool too.

I could spend 3 weeks in Vietnam alone.

TBH I wouldn't bother going to Bangkok just for 3 days. I would spend the time in Cambodia or Vietnam instead.

I know HCMC divides opinions for some reason but I actually loved it.

I will say travelling between places is tiring and takes up a lot of the available time you have.

Thank you all so much, some great tips and more things for me to look into!

It's actually a sensible itenary for the time you have rather than dashing around everywhere like a blue arsed fly.

Be warned you probably be exhausted after the overnight train ride so don't plan anything the next dy

Suspect the flight returning from bkk is a lot cheaper than from Cambodia

I agree there is no point flying home from BKK, keep Thailand for another trip and fly home from HCMC or Hanoi instead. HCMC may be wet but so then so may BKK. Play around with different flight options, we found one particular open jaw combo much cheaper than others for some reason.

I would reduce Ninh Binh by one night if it will be wet. We liked it a lot but 2 nights is plenty.

Agree with 5 nights Hoi An. Recommend staying near the beach (An Bang) as you can easily get a Grab taxi into Hoi An & other places for trips. Loads of potential day trips or half day activities there - do some trips into the hills as respite from the heat.

We all loved our Vespa Adventures tour in HCMC, recommend (also available in Hoi an & elsewhere). And our Hanoi Kids food tour in Hanoi.

I think I agree with skipping HaLong if the weather will be dismal, I can imagine it being quite dreary. We loved it but that was in the April sun.

Yes the reason for Bangkok tbh is mainly due to the easy direct flight back to UK. No direct flights from Cambodia. Although there are flights from HCM, I feel like I’d rather see Bangkok even only a couple of days, than HCM. More “grand” temples and a couple days of Thai food.

I don’t want to double back on ourselves to Hanoi. Can’t necessarily articulate why, just feel like I want to keep moving gradually!

Thanks again all for your feedback 🙏 I will think about cutting Ninh Binh down to 2 days and think where we could add a day instead…

@minipie yes I have a Hanoikids tour on my list to book for sure - they look great!

Paradise cave in phong nha would be a good stop off after nimh binh.

Also a floating village trip from SR is a must do.

Cu chi tunnels near HCM were eye opening as were the killing fields in Cambodia. Harrowing but very important to see and remember.

DH and I went to Vietnam 6 years ago and Cambodia/Laos/Thailand last year.
Vietnam, I would suggest the BaNa Hills near Danang, your DC will love it, we had a driver take us from HoiAn and he waited 5 hours to drive us back!
We had 4 days in Siem Reap and had a private guide take us around Angkor Wat and the other main temples, it was an early start 4.30 am to catch the sunrise but we were finished by 2pm so couldn’t chill by the pool in the afternoon.
Like some others have said, I would leave Bangkok for another trip, we had 5 days there at the end of our holiday and I could have spent longer there. The palaces and temples are amazing and it was lovely just to wanDer around the parks to see the monitor lizards.