Vietnam forum

done the mekong run down to cantho several times to see my girlfriend dont need guides used the my linh bus express you can book and pick up in bui vien street district 1 hcm.you dont need tour guides for trips up to the floating markets just wander down to the river you will find many boat owners willing to take you out. shop around for price but go very early to see the best trading..reccomend the buffet breakfast at the ninkeo 2 hotel best in vietnam..cantho to chau doc again by mai linh bus. not done that yet next trip in march. hope this helps

Stigron

What you've been told is partly right.

There are two options. Either, take an organised tour (quite OK, eg. Sinh Cafe - but only book from Saigon [hate using HCMC, prefer Saigon, more romantic]), or make your own way (OK if you're a sort of seasoned tourist).

The organised trip from Saigon takes you by bus to the Mekong (4 hours straight), puts you on an overpopulated boat mostly comprising day trippers to/from Saigon for a 'tour' of 'must see' places. They then give you the most horrible lunch, pack you onto another bus for a further 4 hours of travel to Chau Doc . Once there, youstay overnight and they place you onto the boat to Cambodia and say bye-bye.

So, if you can arrange to get yourself to Chau Doc, you can also arrange to buy a ticket on the trip to Cambodia.

The boat trip to Cambodia from Vietnam leaves Chao Doc (refer Lonely Planet p. 441: 9th Ed).


The trip is VERY worthwhile, and you get deposited in Phnom Penh.

At Phnom Penh, it is easy to get a bus to Siem Reap.

At Siem Reap, all tourists are obliged to use a tuk-tuk (or similar).

Before going there, read up and work out what you want to do. In this regard, see my contribution at:

http://www.travelfish.org/board/post/cambodia/5252_is-it-necessary-to-get-a-guide-for-angkor-

cheers


Getting yourself to Chau Doc can also be an enjoyable experience, as long as you have enough time to get there from Saigon (HCMC).

Gee, am

You're having an amazing trip.

I envy you.

Stigron

Great, eh?

I've got 4 wakey's (as Australian veteran's called them) till I depart: KL > Chiang Mai > overland > Chiang Khong > Gibbon Exp > Luang nam Tha > Luang Prabang > DBP > SaPa > HaNoi > ???

May bump into you. Will you be the one with the big smile?

cheers

Hi aejae212,

Yes that strikes me as very expensive. As long as you're comfortable roughing it a little while travelling, you could do that same trip solo for a fraction of the cost. ie.,

Bus from Saigon to My Tho - boat trip can be organised independently, though My Tho can be pricey - perhaps $20-25 for the boat -- less if you're lucky.

Bus from My Tho to Vinh Long . Vinh Long homestays can be arranged through freelancers on the river bank, or through the tourist office there. From memory we were offered a homestay for about $30 for the night.

Bus from Vinh Long to Can Tho -- I'd suggest breaking the trip here with an overnight stay and doing an early morning boat trip to the floating markets. Get a bus later that day to Chau Doc , overnight there and then get the speedboat the next morning to Phnom Penh -- any agent in Chau Doc can point you in the direction of the speedboat.

Hope that helps!