THE REGION: Southern Laos, Southern Vietnam and Cambodia

Introduction

Beginning in the Lao capital of Vientiane, this trip plan takes you through southern Laos, entering Vietnam around the DMZ. From there you head south taking in some of the highlights of southern Vietnam, including a stop in the lush Mekong Delta. Once you're finished in Vietnam, you take a hard right and head up the Mekong River to the capital of Cambodia Phnom Penh, them move further west to the magnificent ruins of Angkor Wat just outside Siem Reap. Once you've had your fill of Khmer ruins, strike west to the Thai capital, Bangkok.

For those set on getting an experience in Laos, Vietnam and Laos, but with only limited time, a trip like this is a good choice, as while you miss the north of both Laos and Vietnam, you save a lot of time that would otherwise be spent getting from A to B. If you do have more time, there are lots of extra sidetrips that can be built onto a trip like this.

Suggest trip length

If you're willing to fly a few routes and skip out some of the lesser-known spots, you could cover all three countries in as little as two weeks, but we'd say that was a really bad idea -- unless your idea of a holiday is to be on the move just about every day. Realistically a comfortable minimum to do the following route, with stops at all the designated towns, would be at least three weeks, with four weeks an even better idea.

Sample plan

1. Vientiane -> Tha Khaek (riverside town, caves, scenic)
2. Tha Khaek -> Savannakhet (riverside town, national parks, colonial architecture)
3. Savannakhet -> Hue (via Lao Bao) (Imperial capital, historical town, DMZ)
4. Hue -> Da Nang -> Hoi An (riverside town, shopping, tailoring)
5. Hoi an -> Nha Trang (beaches, boat trips)
6. Nha Trang -> Mui Ne (beaches, sand dunes)
7. Mui Ne -> Saigon (museums, nightlife, daytrips)
8. Saigon -> Can Tho (Mekong Delta, floating markets)
9. Can Tho -> Chau Doc (river trips)
10. Chau Doc -> Phnom Penh (capital city, colonial architecture, scenic)
11. Phnom Penh -> Siem Reap (Angkor Wat, backpacker scene)
12. Siem Reap -> Bangkok (Capital city, shopping, sightseeing, nightlife)

Save some time

Aside from knocking off destinations, the best way to save time it to fly some of the legs, for example Saigon to Phnom Penh, Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Siem Reap to Bangkok.
One day: Skip any one town

Take a side trip

Wow, well the potential for sidetrips is almost endless -- take a look at our trip-plans for the individual countries to get some ideas.

Combine trip plans

If you want to fit in some island time in Thailand, check out our Thailand islands and more islands trip plan, otherwise refer to any one of the specific country plans for more ideas.

Map

Sample Trip Times (in hours)

To help you work out how you'll get around, we've listed the trip durations for the various forms of transport available. Note that with the exception of flight times, these are average trip times, so no hate mail if you take the slow train.