Cambodia forum

The only thing I can advise is to choose 1 of the countries.
Only if you fly you could visit Luang Prabang and Siem Reap. Distances are far too great to visit both countries overland in 2 weeks.

Hi Matt,

With 15 days to spend, you won't be able to see all of both countries for sure. But I think there is still a way to get a good sample of each. Starting in Bangkok, I'd bus, train, or fly to Ubon, Thailand, which is not far from Laos. From there, I'd take the special international bus to Pakse in southern Laos and spend some time there. A few nearby options could include the Bolevans Plateau or Champassak and Wat Phu, which might be a great warm up for Angkor Wat.

After that, make your way down to Cambodia with a possible quick stopover at 4,000 Islands (Si Phan Don) and maybe one other place before heading to either Phnom Penh or Siem Reap and Angkor. For getting back to Bangkok, I'd either fly from Phnom Penh or taxi/bus it from Siem Reap.

You won't be able to visit all the places I mentioned, but you'll have time to pick out a few of them. You'll also spend a big chunk of those 15 days getting from place to place on that route too, but if you really wanted to see both countries, that is one way to do it. At least you'll be travelling by yourself, which makes getting around a bit easier in my experience.

One last thing. If you cross back into Thailand by land, you'll only get 15 days visa exemption at the border, so be sure that will be enough time for the rest of your plans or make arrangements to get an entry visa beforehand.

The good news is that you aren't going until December, which means you've got plenty of time to research this and any other suggestions you get. Have fun.