Southeast Asia forum

Hi,

I'd say that this is far too much to accomplish in 20 days.

You might want to check out two of the islands instead of all three. Koh Tao is the furthest and takes the most time to get to and from. But if you want to dive and go to a FMP, then your best bets are going to be Tao and KPG.

To answer your question, I'd say that one week is NOT enough time to explore this part of the country, but it is probably good considering how much time you have.

"Return to Bangkok or make way towards Cambodia. Which method works best?"

You pretty much have to return to Bangkok before you can go to Cambodia. The best method for you would be to fly. But if you cannot fly and if you only plan to spend June 19-21 in Cambodia, then I would not go at all if you also intend to go to Laos. You won't get to take in very much of Cambodia if you are only there for 3 days. You might catch a quick glimpse of Phnom Penh or Angkor, but that will be all.

You can visit VV and LP in that amount of time, but I have a sneaky suspicion that you won't be able to fly directly to Hong Kong on the 27th from LP. You'll have to make at least one or two stops, and it won't be cheap.

Question: How do you plan on getting to Vang Vieng from Cambodia in one day?

You might want to think about spending all of your time in Thailand, especially if you are going to head south. This will mean less cost, less time on the road, and that you'll be able to fly to Hong Kong from Bangkok. There are lots of flights each day.

Yes, if you are going to enter Laos at Huay Xai , then the logical place to exit, considering your timeframe and that you have to return to Bangkok, would be to exit through Vientiane and then head into Nong Khai.

If your flight to HK is on the 27th, then you should plan on getting a night train back to Bangkok for no later than the night of the 26th. That is going to give you less than a week in Laos. Not a very long time to experience Bokeo, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, and Vientiane. And if you are planning on taking the boat from Huay Xai to LP, then you might want to think about flying to Bangkok from LP. You'll be really tight for time.

Book that train from NK to Bangkok in advance. In other words, before you go into Laos. You can do this in ANY train station in the country. Otherwise, to save yourself a lot of time, you might want to fly from Vientiane to Bangkok.