Angkor Wat Idea

I found this posting from someone who did what we think we want to do independently:

We are thinking about booking the October 16, 2019 cruise to Vietnam and Thailand and would like to fly from Ho Chi MInh City to Siem Reap prior to the ship leaving HCM City. We would spend two nights in Siem Reap and then fly to Bangkok to meet the ship when it arrives in Bangkok.

Can we get "permission" to leave the ship for two nights and are there visa or immigration issues? We would miss a Sea Day and the port call to Ko Samui, Thailand, but we would have two nights and two full days at Angkor Wat!

Thanks.

Hello Jeep61,

Yes you can leave the cruise for a few days. Just let the ship personnel know your plans as soon as you board. And don't forget to get your passports back from the Purser prior to disembarking on your adventure!

As for immigration issues, you'll have to look into this yourself.

We are taking AZ tour from Bangkok to Seim Repp during the days in Bangkok.

They do everything for you it makes it easy.

We are taking AZ tour from Bangkok to Seim Repp during the days in Bangkok.

They do everything for you it makes it easy.

We're on the 10/16/19 cruise as well. This is not a bad idea. Saw excursions in Ho Chi Minh City and really would prefer Angkor Wat to those, but still would like the three days in Bangkok. It's something I would consider. To be honest, it might be too much of a hassle as a DIY with visas and making connections. The one thing we will do is an overnight in Halong Bay on an junk.

We decided to do Angkor Wat after the cruise, flying from Singapore to Siem Reap with accommodation and personal guides for 2 nights and returning home via A short stay in Kuala Lumpar, all for half the AZ excursion cost. We also didn’t want to miss out on the Bangkok visit and Azamazing Evening.

We did 6 days in Siem Reap before a Celebrity B2B and had a private guide AND driver for 4 days through Tours by Locals. It was a fabulous experience and we got to see some of the outlying temples and visit a floating village. The first day we did a “pillow stop” and did nothing to catch up on jet lag! The hotel had a great spa package that I indulged in. The joy of having not to hurry and see what we wanted to at our own pace was wonderful. Ankor Wat is just part of a huge complex of temples built by the Khymer empire. If you do a ship’s tour, the time constraints will only allow you to see the highlights and you will want to go back! We already do!!! I highly recommend doing it independently and hiring a licensed guide (peach shirts). Our guide Dara was a serious photographer who made sure we got the shot! Highly recommend going out to Beng Melea (sp?).

Turangi!

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We spent four days in Siem Reap and barely scratched the surface. It is easy to make your own arrangements to go there. There are wonderful places to stay (We loved the boutique hotel Rose Apple) and great restaurants. We had our own tuk tuk driver for four days.

We visited Siam Reap and Angkor Wat before a cruise. A few days visit will leave you thinking you missed a lot. Five to seven days will allow you enough time to see this remarkable site and thriving region. It's pretty easy and not too expensive to set up private tours with a tour guide and an air conditioned car and driver.

When we were there, local restrictions prohibited the driver being a tour guide, you need a licensed tour guide and a licensed driver.

I would also recommend and air conditioned car over a tuk tuk, Depending on the time of your visit it can be very dusty or very rainy, and it's always hot and humid. Some of the ruins are a distance from town and a car is much faster.

We were able to get our visa at the airport on arrival. It was a pretty simple process but that was a few years ago and might have changed.

Cambodian visas are available online ...make sure you get their official site and also were available upon landing in Siem Reap last year. We had evisas and walked right up to Customs and Immigration.

I second Arizonasunshine’s suggest to get an official guide and driver. We would be left off at one place and our guide Dara Rann would tour us through the temple complex and our driver Sun would pick us up on the other side. There is so much to see and with a guide, you learn so much about what you are seeing. One woman was envious and wanted to know where I found a guide with such good English as she listened in on Dara telling us the history of the temple we were about to see!

We stayed at the Lotus Blanc... lovely hotel with a fabulous breakfast included. Staff was fabulous!

Our experience in Cambodia was a highlight of our SE Asia trip last year!

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