This is a brief outline of what we did during our 2 weeks in Vietnam and Cambodia. More detailed posts from each location will follow. Please as always feel free to reach out at planformedani@gmail.com or planformedani on insagram with any questions. I am so happy to help.
1-2 days: Ho Chi Mihn City
If you are coming from outside of Asia, it is highly likely that you’re going to fly into Vietnam via Ho Chi Mihn City. Ho Chi Mihn City is so many things. In one word: overwhelming. But, don’t jump to immediately think that I mean overwhelming in a bad way, because it isn’t. It just has SO MUCH going on. The city is huge and there are so many different areas. It is hard from afar to figure out where you’d like to stay, what you want to do, and what you should see.
Depending on when you arrive in the city, you may want to spend a day or 2 here. If you have a lot more time in your itinerary, I am sure you could be entertained here for days on end. We spent a day here on our way in and out of Vietnam.
We spent most of our time here eating! We tried many different places, visited markets, discovered our love of Vietnamese coffee, and enjoyed exploring the culture.
2-3 Days: Angkor Wat
We went to Angkor Wat straight from Ho Chi Mihn because we knew we wanted to fly to Cambodia to save on time. The flight was quick and easy and we were in Camobida before we knew it.
We got a 2 day pass to the Angkor Wat complex, so on our arrival day we spent time exploring the town of Siem Riep. There is actually quite a bit to see and explore in town and we were entertained enough with a half day to explore here.
We spent the next two days all over the Angkor Wat complex. We explored as many temples and sites as we could, did the sunrise as Angkor Wat (which I HIGHLY encourage), and were so mind blown by all there was to see here. It is nice to go for a bit in the morning and then later in the day, taking a lunch break back in Siem Riep to avoid the midday crowding at the temples and sites.
2-3 Days: Phu Quoc
We were able to fly directly from Cambodia to Phu Quoc, which made travel really quick and easy.
Phu Quoc is an amazing place to chill out and relax. We loved hanging out here. Our time here basically consisted of wandering around on the beaches all day, and going to the night market each night to enjoy the scene. We were also lucky enough to be here on New Years Eve, so we attended a bonfire event on the beach. We stayed on a really nice little boutique resort and had a great pool area to hang out at, they also shuttled us to-and-from the night market each night, which was super convenient.
2-3 days: Hoi An
We flew from Phu Quoc into the Da Nang airport, this was an easy 45 minute drive from Hoi An.
Hoi An was definitely a major highlight of Vietnam. It is a bit touristy, but as with most touristy places, it has GOOD reason. Hoi An is visually stunning, the town is all yellow and the lanterns are EVERYWHERE. It is so picturesque and beautiful to walk around. The street food here is some of the best we’ve ever had, and I highly recommend doing a tour here to try out the best they have to offer. We were able to ride bikes to a nearby beach for afternoon breaks. My husband bought a perfect custom-tailored suit to bring home. In the evenings they float lanterns in the water and everyone comes out to watch, and it is such an incredible experience. I will forever want to go back here for rose dumplings! Do not miss them!
1-2 Days: Can Tho
We also flew from Hoi An to Can Tho, as again, we were really focused on seeing as much as we could in as little time as possible. We mainly wanted to see the floating river market in Can Tho, so we really only needed one full day here. We got up super early in the morning and they even took us to a floating coffee boat on the way to the market. We had breakfast on the tour at a really neat spot and enjoyed touring all around the area. We also had some very incredible meals in Can Tho and enjoyed walking around and visiting a sky bar. The whole experience here felt very authentic and we learned a lot!
1-2 Days: Back to Ho Chi Mihn
We got a ride from Can Tho back to Ho Chi Mihn City. We used “kiwi taxi”, and it worked out really nicely. We booked this well in advance and the ride went very smoothly. We stayed in a nicer hotel on this day to just enjoy the amenities, like a rooftop pool area to hang out on and read and chill a little bit. We booked ourselves a nice dinner before our flight home, and it was the perfect way to end our trip!