Thailand, Cambodia (and Vietnam/Ho Chi Minh?)

[Anonymous]

Single mom with 3 teenage/young adult children planning a 2-week trip this June.

It's not the best time of the year to go, and two weeks is just way too short. But it's difficult and the best we can do with our schedules.

We'll be flying in and out of Bangkok, and Angkor Wat (Siem Reap) is a must-see for all of us. The rest of the itinerary is tricky, since I'm the more adventurous one, but my children prefer a more relaxing and "bigger city" type of trip (understandable, since I was the same when I was their age). We also prefer not spending too much time traveling between.

So we plan to land in Bangkok and spend 2-3 days, then fly to Siem Reap and stay for 3-4 days (I've read that Angkor Wat alone deserves 2 days). Now I'm wondering if it's worth flying to Ho Chi Mihn just to have a little taste of Vietnam before flying back to Bangkok. I've read that Hanoi and especially Da Nang/Hoi An are potentially even better, but I'm just not sure about the frequency of flight connections from Siem Reap and back to Bangkok.

I assume it's nice to include Vietnam, although short, but I can always go back on my own to explore more. The same for my children if they decide to go back in the future, after this little sampling of HCMC.

Some suggestions or inspirations are appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I would go to Chiang Mai. And maybe a beach / island area in Thailand, skipping Vietnam. Just know that even though the flights to Siem Reap are short, the airport is a long ways from town and the flights to smaller cities (like Chiang Mai) are non-existent or very infrequent.

[Anonymous]

Just got back before Thanksgiving from a trip to all of those places.
We were gone 17 days - flew into Bangkok for 3 days, Siam Reap for 2 days, then HCMC, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi.

Honestly, 3 days in Bangkok was enough for me. I would have liked to see more of Thailand, though.
Siam Reap(Angor Wat/Angor Thom, and another one) were great.
HCMC is a huge metropolis. It's defintely a big city with lots of interesting sights, museums, etc.
Hoi An is very cool, but very small. There's a couple dishes that they are known for that are quite good.

Getting around via the air service in this area was no problem at all - modern airports, equipment, etc.
I just re-read your post. Isn't June the start of the rainy season?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would go to Chiang Mai. And maybe a beach / island area in Thailand, skipping Vietnam. Just know that even though the flights to Siem Reap are short, the airport is a long ways from town and the flights to smaller cities (like Chiang Mai) are non-existent or very infrequent.

Thanks for the information! Would you recommend maybe one beach/island in Thailand if skipping Vietnam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just got back before Thanksgiving from a trip to all of those places.
We were gone 17 days - flew into Bangkok for 3 days, Siam Reap for 2 days, then HCMC, Hoi An, Hue, Halong Bay and Hanoi.

Honestly, 3 days in Bangkok was enough for me. I would have liked to see more of Thailand, though.
Siam Reap(Angor Wat/Angor Thom, and another one) were great.
HCMC is a huge metropolis. It's defintely a big city with lots of interesting sights, museums, etc.
Hoi An is very cool, but very small. There's a couple dishes that they are known for that are quite good.

Getting around via the air service in this area was no problem at all - modern airports, equipment, etc.
I just re-read your post. Isn't June the start of the rainy season?

Yes, unfortunately our schedules are always all over the place and June is the only possibility for us to match and travel together. Thank you so much for your reply!

[Anonymous]

We followed this itinerary last June and had a great time:

https://www.gadventures.com/trips/southeast-asia-family-journey-vietnam-to-cambodia/AVHNF/itinerary/

We did 2 days in Thailand right after the tour to catch our long haul flight home. If we'd had more time, I wish we'd have added Halong Bay to the front of the itinerary for an extra 2 days.

We didn't spend as long as you are planning in Siem Reap. We saw three temples in one day and were done. I will say I had kids with me and they had limited interest in temples, so that worked for us.

We really enjoyed Vietnam and we're glad that was the focus of our trip. We'll see more of Thailand in a different trip. I'd also like to go back and do more rural northern Vietnam.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would go to Chiang Mai. And maybe a beach / island area in Thailand, skipping Vietnam. Just know that even though the flights to Siem Reap are short, the airport is a long ways from town and the flights to smaller cities (like Chiang Mai) are non-existent or very infrequent.

Thanks for the information! Would you recommend maybe one beach/island in Thailand if skipping Vietnam?

DP but we did that a few years ago (Bangkok + Siem Reap + Krabi) and had a great trip.