Super helpful! No real reason why we put Cambodia in the middle except it made sense logistically. We are flying into Hanoi (JFK-HKG-HAN) and wanted to do Amanoi last. Don't think we want to add another flight into the mix so it makes sense there.

I went on Jade Sails' website and they seem to have another boat that does overnights? Either way, we are fine with doing a day trip.

What do you think of staying on land in Ha Long for a night? Or should we just go back to Hanoi?

Return to Hanoi. It's not worth the hassle of checking out, checking in, checking out, checking in.

And if you book Jade Sail as a day trip (which I did) your logistics become challenging to oivernight in Ha Long.

Depends how much there is Hanoi you want to do vs a romantic evening on the water. I was alone and not a lot of time so did the day trip.
Valid point about checking out of hotel, so you could either do the overnight on your last day in Hanoi if can get to airport for Siem Reap on time or if budget allows keep hotel room in Hanoi the whole time and just don't sleep there the night on the cruise.

yep this was the plan…overnight cruise that ends around 11am, and car straight to the airport (flight to siem Reap is 4pm).

I think however we will just stay all 4 nights in Hanoi to avoid the hassle and just do the Jade Sails day trip.

For some reason when I started doing research everyone said the trip from Hanoi to Ha Long was 4 hours, but now apparently it's closer to 2? That makes a day trip far more feasible...was there a new highway that was just completed or something?

There is a relatively new expressway connecting Hanoi and Haiphong Harbor. It took us a bit longer than two hours to get from our hotel, across the street from the Capella, to the dock at Halong Bay. It probably took half an hour just to drive from the hotel to the expressway.

You need to arrive at the airport 3 hours ahead of departure time (International flights) so a day trip is a good decision.

I'd spend 3 nights in Siem Reap. We were there last year for four nights at Park Hyatt and there was plenty to do. Interesting smaller temples tonle sap landmine museum Buddhist temple visit khmer Rouge memorial site ..and that doesn't include time for massage night markets Great place next door to park hyatt on same side of the street.

Agree with others that day trip to Halong Bay is good. We had been so did Ninh Binh from Hanoi this time. We actually liked Hcmc more than Hanoi but ymmv.

We also did Hue which we loved.

We had a great private guide in Siem Reap that came from a flyer talk recommendation. His name was darith touch. He picked us up at the airport and was with us for 3 of the four days. You can and should do the museum on your own before visiting the temples.

Artisans Angkor! Yes, there's a gift shop - but also all the workshops where you can see apprentices learning. https://artisansangkor.com/
Our first visit was part of a Mekong cruise, so very different itinerary, but we ended in Siem Reap and stayed an extra couple days on our own to do more exploring. And yes, we got foot/leg massages every day :-) We used one massage place to the left and across the street from the Park Hyatt, and another on the same side of the street to the right, after the grocery store (which came in handy for souvenirs as well!)

So 12 new countries have been added to the visa-free list! The timing couldn't be more perfect for me and my family as we fly there in November (Swiss citizen).
Vietnam Visa-Free Entry For 12 More European Countries From Aug 15, 2025; 5-Year Special Visa Waiver And Full List Inside | Travel - Times Now

Happy and safe travels, enelym!

I’m not really sure where to post this question, so I’ll try here. This is my dilemma. I am going to PQC via HKG in Oct. I am flying from LAX-HKG on UA on a flight that is scheduled to arrive at 05:40. I will be flying in Premium Economy or biz class if my upgrade clears.

I am now looking to book a separate ticket from HKG-PQC on Hong Kong Express. I would really like to take the morning flight that leaves at 07:45. The next option leaves at 16:40. I will have carry on baggage and no visa is required to go to PQC. I have a Canadian passport. Will I be able to transit HKG in 2h5m or am I doomed to failure? I have no idea if I’ll be able to do OLCI with HK Express. Does HK Express have a transit desk?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA

This thread may be more helpful https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...logistics.html

Thank you so much!

Hi

Was August very rainy this year ?

still planning our trip for next year, i'm a bit frustrated to reduce it from 3 to 2 weeks because my wife's leave cannot exceed 2 weeks and our daughter's school just enforced a new policy forbidding a week of absence when combined with holidays (in our case All Saints in oct).

One solution would be travelling during August, like the last 3 weeks of August before getting back to school.

I know July is super rainy, but what about Aug ?