SE Asia - 2 Weeks
 

Looking for any advice on 2 week itinerary through SE Asia. Girlfriend really wants to hit Angkor Wat and Ha Long Bay. We have friends in Ho Chi, and I have always wanted to visit Luang Prabang.

Does this itinerary seem too rushed? Is it worth eliminating a day in Siem Reap and adding to Hanoi for 2 days on Ha Long?

Day 1: Ho Chi
Day 2: Ho Chi
Day 3: Siem Reap
Day 4: Siem Reap
Day 5: Siem Reap
Day 6: Luang Prabang
Day 7: Luang Prabang
Day 8: Luang Prabang
Day 9: Luang Prabang
Day 10: Hanoi
Day 11: Ha Long Bay
Day 12: Hanoi
Day 13: Fly home

Seems reasonable enough to me. I have not been to HCMC but have visited the other places. I did Halong Bay as a day trip (admittedly a long day) from Hanoi and thought that was not unreasonable. I think there's a new highway since then that cuts the travel time.

Four days is probably a bit long to most people for LP. I might swap one of those days for an extra day in SR. But I suppose it might depend somewhat on flight schedules.

Agree with #2. I think a day too long in LP. Halong Bay is not worth considering unless you are going to do an overnighter, normally on a boat. So you'd need to block out 2 days for that including return road transport from/to Hanoi.

For this exact sequence, you will need a double-entry visa for Vietnam of course, or two separate prearranged VOA's. In addition to that, it might be cheaper if you either front- or back-loaded all the Vietnam into a continuous sequence and traveled SGN-HAN or vice versa by domestic flight. Those regional international Indochina flights are annoyingly expensive given their short duration. Unless you can find some sort of airpass that works for you and is represents good value--easier said than done.

jiejie/glennaa11 - thank you both for the response.

I agree that I should have front/back loaded the Vietnam portion, unfortunately I was not aware of the double visa at the time of my booking. We have already arranged for a double entry visa.

We are planning on doing the over night boat in Ha Long. Any suggested boats?

I took Indochina Junk to Baitulong Bay and thought it was a great experience. http://www.indochina-junk.com/

3 days/2 nights was USD 650 for two people on a 4 cabin boat (total 8 pax).

Agree, should at least overnight in Ha Long bay on the boat but no more than 2 nights.

Probably can get by with 1 full day in Hanoi.

I would strongly consider adding Da Nang/Hoi An since you are already in Vietnam. I would choose more days in Hoi An over Hanoi, loved it!

But by the time you spend the time getting to Hoi An I'm not sure it's worth going for such a short amount of time.

I didn't feel like I missed much by doing Halong Bay as a day trip with no overnight. But I'm not really a big fan of boats in general. I still got to see the caves and sail around the rock formations.

I agree that Hoi An seems to distant for this trip, but will definitely consider on a return trip to Vietnam.

Based on the many recommendations throughout this forum, we are definitely planning doing the overnight cruise in Ha Long. But I am struggling with whether to do 2.5 days/3 nights in Siem Reap, or knock it down to 1.5/2 days and shift that extra day to Hanoi to allow us a day to explore the city. Any advice from those who have visited both?

It all depends on how much you enjoy temples. I enjoyed temples for one day but that is me. There are others who love temples and they can't spend enough time in Siem Reap exploring more out of the way spots.

Hanoi has a really nice, laid back vibe to it. The Old Quarter is an interesting area to explore for a day. Easy to find nice little cafes, shops and the lake is nearby too. A good strolling city centre.

Cutting out one day from Luang Prabang instead of Siem Reap could be an option.

Personally I would take the day from LP rather than SR as suggested. But I agree that it depends a bit on how much you enjoy the temple hopping. There are lots and lots of temples. SR is not just Angkor Wat. And like I always say, it's the tropics. Don't expect to do as much in a day as you might in more temperate climates.

I liked Hanoi. And also took a couple of interesting day trips from there as well.

2 weeks/3 countries - sorry, but that seems a little crazy to me! Certainly crazy to allot so little time to Asia's most interesting city, Hanoi!

You need a multi-entry Vietnam visa for that trip - save time and money by getting an open-jaw transpacific ticket! You can fly from the USA to Seam Reap and depart for the USA from Hanoi or HCMC.

I agree that the trip seems crazy, but I am limited on time each year for my travels and wanted to see a little bit of each area. . . unfortunately I was not aware of the multiple entry visa prior to securing my award ticket, so I am paying the additional $20 for the multi entry visa.