zbomb2000

Hi All,

Looking for recommendations for Thailand / Vietnam (and possibly Siem Riep). My wife and I are looking at February/March 2019 for about 2 1/2 weeks, primarily using Delta Skymiles and Hyatt points. I have a few general questions:

1. Is there a particular route that is easier than the other (e.g. should we fly into Bangkok and out of Saigon/Hanoi or vice versa)?
2. How difficult would it be to add a couple days in Siem Riep to visit Angkor Wat, and is it worth it (I'm a bit worried about my wife who has Crohn's)?

Would welcome any suggestions from those of you who have explored this part of the world. This will be our first time in Asia. Based on Hyatt locations, we will likely visit:
Bangkok - 2nd location in Thailand - Danang/Hoi An - Saigon

The big remaining question is should we spend a couple days in Angkor Wat (preferred) or attempt to visit Hanoi and Halong Bay?

Thank you!!!

swingaling

1. BKK is easier than SGN and has a lot more flight options in/out. Be aware of visa requirements for Vietnam when you plan this.

2. Siem Reap is a short flight from PNH and definitely worth a visit. Phnom Penh can be done in a day or two. If you only have time for one, definitely pick Siem Reap over Phnom Penh. Also, in PP the Raffles Le Royal was quite nice.

CrazyInteg

If you're young and adventurous, I would pick Angkor Wat over Halong Bay. It will end up costing a couple hundred extra dollars (additional flight plus visas). It will be hot at that time.
If you're not as young as you used to be and want to just lounge around more, then I would choose Halong Bay. Obviously if you went this route, you will be on a boat, so if your wife is having a bad flare-up, it will take some time to get back to land if required. I have no experience with the disease, so I'm not even sure if that is an issue. Also, I imagine everybody suffers from flare-ups and deals with them differently. There are flights out of Hanoi heading back to the USA, but the times aren't as good as flights out of HCMC.

Like swingaling said, Bangkok has a lot of flight options, but HCMC is pretty decent. I would suggest flying into BKK airport and out of Vietnam (or vice-versa).

barracuda93

2,5 weeks is enough to cover all three countries (i.e. specific spots there), but I am unsure if Vietnam is worth doing at all, once Thailand is there. Generally speaking, everything in Thailand is just better, while Vietnam hardly offers anything radically different for your purposes.
Absolutely avoid Hanoi, the only good thing there is JW Marriott. Saigon looked nice in the center on my recent visit, but again, Bangkok is just much better. Nha Trang is a ....-hole.
Haven't been to Danang, so no comments on it; have read that InterContinental there is outstanding, but if you are stuck with Hyatt, that doesn’t matter.

Never been to Cambodia aside from its border crossing once, but probably you will find Angkor worth visiting and memorable experience. Myself I just seen too many Hindu temples in India, so I would rather go to Phnom Penh.

P. S. I would rather suggest adding Malaysia and/or Singapore to your itinerary, rather than Vietnam and/or Cambodia.

FGunawan

Thailand is certainly a relatively easier place to visit, but I don't find Vietnam too challenging either. If one is looking for vibrant nightlife, then absolutely Bangkok and some other places in Thailand are better bets than Vietnam. I however find Vietnam to hold much interest, if you are interested in art and history, and it also has terrific food to offer.

In my view, Vietnam is absolutely a much more interesting country than Malaysia or Singapore. But then again like I said, if one is strictly looking for vibrant nightlife then Malaysia and Singapore might be better places to visit. Although overall I'd still much rather go to Thailand (or Hong Kong!) anytime vs Malaysia or Singapore. I haven't been to Cambodia so cannot give a view although I very much would love to visit Siem Reap.

Suzzin

We are looking for a similar trip, but in shorter time. Thinking of starting in Hanoi, then on to Bangkok with hopefully a few beach days thrown in, probably in Thailand. I think we will have to choose between the beach and Siem Reap (I know, those are two completely separate ideas on what to visit). Let me know what you decide!

glennaa11

you don't say where you're departing from. Obviously DL has partners like Vietnam Airlines and Korean in Skyteam which might be useful for you.

If you are planning around your points because that's the only way you can go, then I won't argue with that. But you can find very nice hotels for not a lot of money in this part of the world if you don't mind paying cash. (And save you Hyatt points for more expensive parts of the world)

Keep in mind that you might take some time to adjust to the climate which might slow you down some.

I haven't had any more stomach type problems in SR than I have anywhere else in the region. You just have to be smart. SR has lots of different sorts of restaurants. Cambodian foods tends to not be as crazy spicy as Thai food is in Thailand.

PaxALotl

This is some wild advice, IMO. I live part-time in Thailand and do a lot of business in Vietnam. They are both different, and both terrific places to visit.

Angkor is wonderful.

zbomb2000

Thank you all for the feedback!!! Much appreciated. We will be flying out of Atlanta, and I think I've settled on somewhat of an itinerary. If it makes sense to reverse this order, please let me know.

Bangkok => 2nd Thailand location => Siem Riep => Danang (with day trips to Hoi An) => Ho Chi Minh

I guess biggest decisions I am still trying to make are:

1. Best 2nd location to visit in Thailand? There is a Hyatt in Phucket but we are not huge beach people. Is there a good mix of things to do? Also considering Chiang Mai (no Hyatt so out of pocket) as the wife is very interested in visiting an elephant sanctuary while we are in Thailand.
2. Not sure what Delta's rules are regarding layover's on flights booked with miles, but I see most of the flights connect through Seoul or Singapore, and wondering if it makes sense to spend a short amount of time in either of these.

PaxALotl

If you aren't huge beach people, maybe consider heading north instead of going down to Phuket. You can head up to Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai and check out the hill country and there are a few really nice elephant parks. Another option is to do Khao Sok, which is a beautiful wilderness area but no Hyatt!

Seoul and Sinapore are really a different experience than Thailand or Vietnam. Singapore is essentially a big city. It's interesting enough for a short time, but you'll already be visiting 2 big cities in SE Asia so I'd be apprehensive to sacrifice time from the 'main trip' to visit Singapore unless you have some specific interest in it. Same with Seoul - I like it there but I'm not sure it's worth stopping just because you are passing through.

I always try to convince people not to try and squeeze too much out of a trip, and instead to just slow down and take it all in.

Seoul

barracuda93

Well, once you live in the region, it's a different story. While I do hold to my view that Thailand is just better in every respect as a place to visit (and as a place to live too), than Vietnam, I myself go to Vietnam time to time, just to have some variety for the Instagram. However topic starter has limited time, and adding something means foregoing something else.

I didn't mean to say something like "it's not worth visiting Vietnam in any case". Sorry if I made such impression.

barracuda93

Never been to Phuket due to bad reviews from friends and never heard anything inspiring about it, but for Chiang Mai, there are some people really loving it above anything in Thailand (myself excluded, I found it rather boring both in terms of photography/sightseeing and entertainment). Chiang Rai might be considered perhaps, supposed to have beautiful nature scenics. There is an SPG property there.

Aside from the north, some people enjoy islands, perhaps worth checking. Ko Samui is more of family-with-kids-resorts thing, Ko Phangan is get drunk-do drugs-vomit-go yoga, Ko Chang is reported to have really enjoyable nature, but logistics to there is a pain. There is Krabi near to Phuket that should be much nicer, quieter and more relaxing.

As much as I love certain Korean music and appreciate outstanding beauty of Korean women, I would discourage from picking Seoul as a tourist destination (unless, again, you live in Asia and just go around). Seoul is great for shopping for some types of goods (cosmetics, trekking wear and gear, brand clothes and bags etc). Aside from it, food is great there, but quite expensive (by Asian standards). That's it. It got few nice looking traditional palaces, but city itself is very generic and boring. Clubbing might be great there, but you gotta be a Korean or Korean-looking Asian to have any real success.

Singapore is beautiful! As another member mentions above, Singapore is good for a very short visit. But it's absolutely worth it. I'd say, 1 or maximum 2 days, not more. But views in city center and some other areas are outstanding, both daytime and night. No, it does not look "just another big Asian city". It is very specific and recognizable. Consider Singapore, definitely.

zbomb2000

I have had a number of friends visit Krabi, Ralay and Phi Phi islands and am waiting for feedback from them, Any thoughts on this area of Thailand? I have also heard not great things about Phucket so would much rather not worry about points and stay in a more exciting area. We're not very big on the party scene which seems to be a large part of Phucket appeal, and from what I can tell the beaches are pretty straighforward and lack some of the character of the limestone cliffs in other areas of Thailand. There is also a Hyatt in Hua Hin but it seems pretty isolated and not much to do there aside from staying on-property by the pool/beach, which I'm not interested in.

This is all under the assumption that it is fairly easy to fly between these locations. Is that the case?

The Singapore/Seoul question was really just wondering about breaking up the long flight times from Atlanta. It would probably be for a day only, but for those of you who have done long haul flights like this, is it even necessary? I wasn't planning on going out of my way to visit either of those places on this trip.

CrazyInteg

I will use my previous post as a template.
If you're young and adventurous, I would fly straight there. Get it over with and get your trip going.
If you're not as young as you used to be and want to just lounge around more, then I might consider a stop-over but probably cheaper just to upgrade to economy plus or whatever Delta has and go straight there.

I have no idea if you're a fit 30 year old, or an arthritic 60 year old. This forum goes both ways.

You can't fly to Hua Hin. Bus or car from Bangkok is a few hour drive.

PaxALotl

Krabi is really a lovely area. We live about 3 hours drive from there so I've spent a lot of time there. Quite diverse for a southern Thai town and obviously the carst formations and lovely.