Vietnam tour 2027 ideas?
Discussion
Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice, ideas and recommendations for a far east tour. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand area. We would like to tour and could spend 3/4 weeks doing so.
Travelling either by hire car, small motorbike or train.
Problem is I’m not keen on organised tours and would prefer to go by ourselves.
(Me and the Mrs)
Ideally we’d fly into one airport and return by another maybe fly into Hanoi and return home from Ho Chi Minh.
Or go through Laos to Bangkok, if border crossings are not a problem.
Basically spend some time travelling around and seeing the area.
Travelling either by hire car, small motorbike or train.
Problem is I’m not keen on organised tours and would prefer to go by ourselves.
(Me and the Mrs)
Ideally we’d fly into one airport and return by another maybe fly into Hanoi and return home from Ho Chi Minh.
Or go through Laos to Bangkok, if border crossings are not a problem.
Basically spend some time travelling around and seeing the area.
Watching this thread with interest.
Myself and Mrs T are doing the same thing in 2027, she is 60 next year and this is what she wants to do.
we have decided on Vietnam, then Cambodia and finish in Thailand. That's all we have decided so far.
I am keen on just doing it with Trail Finders TBH, used them before and everything went perfectly with all transfers and flights etc all arranged perfectly. I know this will probably cost more but I think its better all round.
tight fart said:
Hi everyone, I m looking for advice, ideas and recommendations for a far east tour. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand area. We would like to tour and could spend 3/4 weeks doing so.
Travelling either by hire car, small motorbike or train.
Problem is I m not keen on organised tours and would prefer to go by ourselves.
(Me and the Mrs)
Ideally we d fly into one airport and return by another maybe fly into Hanoi and return home from Ho Chi Minh.
Or go through Laos to Bangkok, if border crossings are not a problem.
Basically spend some time travelling around and seeing the area.
If you can avoid travelling July/August do so, the heat is brutal; got to high 30s, feels like mid 40s and humid! Travelling either by hire car, small motorbike or train.
Problem is I m not keen on organised tours and would prefer to go by ourselves.
(Me and the Mrs)
Ideally we d fly into one airport and return by another maybe fly into Hanoi and return home from Ho Chi Minh.
Or go through Laos to Bangkok, if border crossings are not a problem.
Basically spend some time travelling around and seeing the area.
I'd focus on Vietnam and add a Cambodia leg at the end, 3 countries in 3 weeks seems super rushed to me and you end up travelling too much.
Fly into Hanoi, in the area really enjoyed Cat ba island (stayed here instead of the Halong bay cruise) + Ninh Binh.
Mid Vietnam did Hue and Hoi An then went to Ho Chi Minh and finished by exploring the Mekong which we really enjoyed (low key and few tourists), from there I believe you can river cruise to Siem Reap.
We mainly bused plus a couple of flights. There is a train as well. Roads are pretty crazy, not sure I'd want to drive in the cities. Motorbikes are great for exploring the smaller towns
We "did" vietnam a few years ago.
Flew into BKK for a few days to get used to heat/jet lag etc and have a rest. Then flew onto Hanoi. That flight was £35! This was in october. Stayed 4 days near the central lake with the toads, just around the corner from the "McCain" prison. Popular area and easy access to the great eating spots Ho Hoan lake. Train station nearby as well. Then booked a Halong bay boat trip.....watch out for weather as they cancel if a storm brews up.
Bus up and back to Sapa for 3 days hiking around.
Night train to Dong Hoi. 3 days. Hired a bike to explore and visit some caves.
Bus to Hue
Bus to Da Nang
Train to Nha Trang
Bus to Dalat
Bus to Saigon HCMC. Stayed near Cong Vien central for everything.
Flew to Phu Quoc for 5 days to do bugger all on the beaches.
That all took about 1 month.
We then did a big loop of Cambodia for another month, up the Mekong in Laos ending up at Hua Xai into Thailand and 3 weeks later back in BKK for flights home.
We found Travelfish very very useful.
We were then M58 F56, quite fit and well travelled. Booked everything ourselves and went with the flow on everything. Agoda for accom. ... Any??? Fire away
Flew into BKK for a few days to get used to heat/jet lag etc and have a rest. Then flew onto Hanoi. That flight was £35! This was in october. Stayed 4 days near the central lake with the toads, just around the corner from the "McCain" prison. Popular area and easy access to the great eating spots Ho Hoan lake. Train station nearby as well. Then booked a Halong bay boat trip.....watch out for weather as they cancel if a storm brews up.
Bus up and back to Sapa for 3 days hiking around.
Night train to Dong Hoi. 3 days. Hired a bike to explore and visit some caves.
Bus to Hue
Bus to Da Nang
Train to Nha Trang
Bus to Dalat
Bus to Saigon HCMC. Stayed near Cong Vien central for everything.
Flew to Phu Quoc for 5 days to do bugger all on the beaches.
That all took about 1 month.
We then did a big loop of Cambodia for another month, up the Mekong in Laos ending up at Hua Xai into Thailand and 3 weeks later back in BKK for flights home.
We found Travelfish very very useful.
We were then M58 F56, quite fit and well travelled. Booked everything ourselves and went with the flow on everything. Agoda for accom. ... Any??? Fire away
Check the itinery on this tour. https://www.intrepidtravel.com/uk/vietnam/classic-...
I know you don'y want a group but itinery looks OK. No affiliation, just a previous satisfied customer.
I know you don'y want a group but itinery looks OK. No affiliation, just a previous satisfied customer.
tozerman said:
Watching this thread with interest.
Myself and Mrs T are doing the same thing in 2027, she is 60 next year and this is what she wants to do.
we have decided on Vietnam, then Cambodia and finish in Thailand. That's all we have decided so far.
I am keen on just doing it with Trail Finders TBH, used them before and everything went perfectly with all transfers and flights etc all arranged perfectly. I know this will probably cost more but I think its better all round.
TF are good but they also resell tours from other companies like WendyWu, Intrepid, exodus and G Adventures. It's worth looking directly at their websites when you're doing the research.Myself and Mrs T are doing the same thing in 2027, she is 60 next year and this is what she wants to do.
we have decided on Vietnam, then Cambodia and finish in Thailand. That's all we have decided so far.
I am keen on just doing it with Trail Finders TBH, used them before and everything went perfectly with all transfers and flights etc all arranged perfectly. I know this will probably cost more but I think its better all round.
Similar to the above we did Vietnam in 2019,
Flew into Hong Kong for 4 nights, then flew on to Hanoi > Halong Bay 2 night trip with transfers there and back > Hue via overnight train > Taxi to Hoi An > Flight to Ho Chi Minh, then flew into Phnom Penh, bus journey and boat to Koh Rong San Loem, then back and up to Siem Reap and then to Bangkok to fly home. Was exactly 4 weeks.
The only stuff I'd booked before we got there was the hk to hanoi flight, the halong bay trip and the train down to Hue (both via email from our hotel in Hanoi). Everything else was booked as we went. Hotels were extremely helpful and helped booked some taxis and tours, but when we were in places we'd hire a moped and do our own thing, got off the beaten track and definitely saw a lot more and could do stuff at our own pace, not having to hang around for others or taking longer to see things was a big benefit.
Flew into Hong Kong for 4 nights, then flew on to Hanoi > Halong Bay 2 night trip with transfers there and back > Hue via overnight train > Taxi to Hoi An > Flight to Ho Chi Minh, then flew into Phnom Penh, bus journey and boat to Koh Rong San Loem, then back and up to Siem Reap and then to Bangkok to fly home. Was exactly 4 weeks.
The only stuff I'd booked before we got there was the hk to hanoi flight, the halong bay trip and the train down to Hue (both via email from our hotel in Hanoi). Everything else was booked as we went. Hotels were extremely helpful and helped booked some taxis and tours, but when we were in places we'd hire a moped and do our own thing, got off the beaten track and definitely saw a lot more and could do stuff at our own pace, not having to hang around for others or taking longer to see things was a big benefit.
as someone mentioned earlier, I'd fly into bangkok first. My trip would be something like:
Fly to BKK 3/4 days
Fly to Siem Rep for Angkor Wat in cambodia 2 days
Fly to Ho Chi Minh then work your way north to Hanoi and maybe Sapa if you want to hike.
Tips, I think Da Nang is missable though you probably want to check out the Hai Van Pass. When I was in the area a few months back, I was told there was so much construction and building going on, it was a mess.
I am a huge fan of stuffing my face and the coffee in vietnam, so I tend to weight a bit more to Hanoi. Fly home from Hanoi.
Fly to BKK 3/4 days
Fly to Siem Rep for Angkor Wat in cambodia 2 days
Fly to Ho Chi Minh then work your way north to Hanoi and maybe Sapa if you want to hike.
Tips, I think Da Nang is missable though you probably want to check out the Hai Van Pass. When I was in the area a few months back, I was told there was so much construction and building going on, it was a mess.
I am a huge fan of stuffing my face and the coffee in vietnam, so I tend to weight a bit more to Hanoi. Fly home from Hanoi.
Vietnam is super easy to get around ( much like Thailand). No need for a travel agent at all. You can even check into your 1st hotel, and if you wished, they'd book every excursion for you including drivers and guides.
Typical Vietnam unmissable tour:
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh:
- cu ci tunnels (war, guns, tunnels, history)
- river cruises
Train / bus or fly up to Hoi An
- beautiful location, town, buildings, canals, etc
- Train or fly up to Hanoi
- water puppet shows
- old town
- Ha Long Bay
- Nonh Binh (stunning)
- temples galore
- Sleeping bus up to Sa Pa
- Stunning easy trekking, with home stays on farms.
That is very basic, but gives you some of the essentials.
As an example, when we got to Hanoi, our tiny hotel manager (both her, and the hotel!) arranged: Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, other temples, then sleeping bus up to Sa Pa, hotel in Sapa and trekking tour. Her husband accompanied and drove us for all of it apart from Sapa. All very cheap too.
NOTE: the level of your hotel will affect the prices of all tours offered by them. Posh hotel, big prices, cheap hotel, cheaper prices, for the SAME tours. I got a big quote from our posh hotel, then when they quoted $180 a head for a private day trip with private minibus I told them I'd been quoted $75 (I had) elsewhere. Got a call 10 mins later from reception, "Mr Griffith, tour company said they made mistake in price. $75 OK" - this is the norm in Vietnam. It is NOT the norm in Thailand.
Thailand - ive covered on here, as many have, in all sorts of details.
Cambodia - fly into Siem Reap, and give yourself 3 whole days for Angkor Watt, and hire a driver for each day (tuk tuk) and a guide for at least one of the days. Got to tge far, quiet end of Bar/Pub Street and find the huge place that does the Khmer BBQs (20+ types of meats plus prawns on a brass hot dome thing with a broth to die for)
If you have time, Phnom Penh is iteresting , but if not,skip.
Re flying, its no problem with international flights into Hanoi and HCM. If you are doing TH and Cambo too then you can do a bit of a loop - UK - BKK (do THailand), BKK (inc DMK airport too) - HCM, HAN - BKK - BKK - Cambo - it's all easy and cheap IF you book your internals in advance. In TH internal flights are 2-3 times more cosly if you book whilst on holiday.
If you are doing all 3 then BKK will end up being your hub.
Typical Vietnam unmissable tour:
Saigon/Ho Chi Minh:
- cu ci tunnels (war, guns, tunnels, history)
- river cruises
Train / bus or fly up to Hoi An
- beautiful location, town, buildings, canals, etc
- Train or fly up to Hanoi
- water puppet shows
- old town
- Ha Long Bay
- Nonh Binh (stunning)
- temples galore
- Sleeping bus up to Sa Pa
- Stunning easy trekking, with home stays on farms.
That is very basic, but gives you some of the essentials.
As an example, when we got to Hanoi, our tiny hotel manager (both her, and the hotel!) arranged: Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, other temples, then sleeping bus up to Sa Pa, hotel in Sapa and trekking tour. Her husband accompanied and drove us for all of it apart from Sapa. All very cheap too.
NOTE: the level of your hotel will affect the prices of all tours offered by them. Posh hotel, big prices, cheap hotel, cheaper prices, for the SAME tours. I got a big quote from our posh hotel, then when they quoted $180 a head for a private day trip with private minibus I told them I'd been quoted $75 (I had) elsewhere. Got a call 10 mins later from reception, "Mr Griffith, tour company said they made mistake in price. $75 OK" - this is the norm in Vietnam. It is NOT the norm in Thailand.
Thailand - ive covered on here, as many have, in all sorts of details.
Cambodia - fly into Siem Reap, and give yourself 3 whole days for Angkor Watt, and hire a driver for each day (tuk tuk) and a guide for at least one of the days. Got to tge far, quiet end of Bar/Pub Street and find the huge place that does the Khmer BBQs (20+ types of meats plus prawns on a brass hot dome thing with a broth to die for)
If you have time, Phnom Penh is iteresting , but if not,skip.
Re flying, its no problem with international flights into Hanoi and HCM. If you are doing TH and Cambo too then you can do a bit of a loop - UK - BKK (do THailand), BKK (inc DMK airport too) - HCM, HAN - BKK - BKK - Cambo - it's all easy and cheap IF you book your internals in advance. In TH internal flights are 2-3 times more cosly if you book whilst on holiday.
If you are doing all 3 then BKK will end up being your hub.
Edited by Griffith4ever on Saturday 6th June 09:49
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