Southeast Asia forum

The usual overland route is to go from Hanoi down to Saigon, through to Phnom Penh and then Siem Reap. However, with 15 days, I think you would be too busy traveling to see very much if you do that trip by bus or train.

There is no clear path from Hanoi direct to Siem Reap. Given that roads in SE Asia that are not major tourist routes have a reputation for not being in great condition, that may take just as long anyway.

I think you may be stuck with the flight. Have you looked at flying Hanoi to Phnom Penh? If that is any cheaper, it would only mean an extra days travel. Otherwise, I would say your best option on a budget is to fly Hanoi to HCMC (yes, overland will be cheaper but internal Vietnam flights are good value and you will save time), bus to Phnom Penh and bus to Siem Reap. However, that will lose you about 2 full days in traveling, plus however long the flight takes.

I'm thinking I might steal a night from Siem Reap and do one of the HCMC-Mekong- Phnom Penh overnight trips you can organise through the likes of Sinh Cafe.

That would give us two full days in Siem Reap to do the major temples. We'll get an early bus from Phnom Penh so can activate our pass the first afternoon/evening. The last day we don't fly until 5:00 PM so we can do something on the lake that day - would like to see the villages.

What do you think about this idea? Yes it makes the trip that little more full on, but I think we'll be happy enough to do it this way.

We bought a Bangkok Airways airpass so it was US$100 + tax for the segment. Think it is extortionate if you try to buy not as part of the airpass.