Angkor Wat tours

[cbb]

bluejayrover,

Your A-W tour is the one that I want for our trip Bangkok-Tokyo next Feb. It looks wonderful and I hope that O gives us the same opportunity. Right now our land program is to fly to Xian from Shanghai and then on to Beijing. I'm looking for a pre-cruise tour and I wish they would offer us the tour you're taking only from Bangkok instead of Saigon. When you go on your tour see if you can find out what tour company O uses so that I can contact them. thanks Jay. c

[Paulchili]

bluejayrover,

Your A-W tour is the one that I want for our trip Bangkok-Tokyo next Feb. It looks wonderful and I hope that O gives us the same opportunity. Right now our land program is to fly to Xian from Shanghai and then on to Beijing. I'm looking for a pre-cruise tour and I wish they would offer us the tour you're taking only from Bangkok instead of Saigon. When you go on your tour see if you can find out what tour company O uses so that I can contact them. thanks Jay. c

 

c,

I would not be distressed. There are enough reputable and reliable companies that will be able to arrange this for you on your own and probably at half the price (if O transfer and hotel package prices are any indication).

It will take a little work on your part, that's all.

If you want me to, I can take a look into it for you - just give me the dates, etc. I love that kind of research (and no, I am not a TA, if anyone is wondering).

If then O offers that package and you would be more comfortable with it, you can always change; but at least you'll have plan B ready.

[cbb]

Paul,

You, sir, are a crazy and lovely man! Our tour begins Feb 28 '12 in Bangkok and leaves Feb 29 (!) at 4:00. I have sent inquiries to exotissimo and a very nice woman sent back quotes of $335 for air from B to Sien and depending upon hotel chosen a tour quote of ~$350-$500 for a 3day/2 night.

I have acquired other tour names from CC posters but haven't sent an inquiry to those yet. I don't think I'm distressed but rather overwhelmed by a part of our world that I know nothing of. The research falls to me, which I enjoy, but in this case I feel burdened by a lack of "smarts!" BTW...did you take many shots before going to Asia? cynthia

[comcox]

Comcox-

 

Thanks for the info. We are considering the same pre-cruise option as you. We would start in Singapore and take Silk Air. It looks like there is only 1 flight a day to Siem Reap, and 2 on the return. Is that what you found? Did this tour company you used make the flight arrangements and did they recommend you leave your big luggage at the airport? Was there a cost to hold your luggage at the SIN airport? How many days did you spend in Angkor Wat? We will probably only have 1 1/2 days (since the inbound flight to REP leaves at 2:35 pm).

 

Any info would be appreciated

 

I think there were two flights a day going but one may not have been non-stop. We made our own flight arrangements but I think Journeys will do that it you want them to. We made our own decision to leave larger luggage behind and just traveled with one checked bag and our carry-ons. Double check Silk Air's website for luggage limitations. There was a charge to place the luggage in storage but I do not remember what it was. The luggage storage place was right next to the baggage carousels so when we returned it was easy to retrieve the left luggage and right out the door to a taxi. We spend 5 days at Angkor Wat so we could see most of what we wanted and have some rest time. Company usually arranged our tours for early morning and late afternoon so we could have lunch and a rest during the hottest part of the day. They also arranged an in-room massage for our arrival day--quite wonderful.

 

Siem Reap has grown tremendously over the last few years and we saw new hotels popping up around town. Some folks just book their air and hotel and than ask the hotel to arrange for a guide and driver. If you only have a short time this may be an option.

[Paulchili]

Paul,

Our tour begins Feb 28 '12 in Bangkok and leaves Feb 29 (!) at 4:00. I have sent inquiries to exotissimo and a very nice woman sent back quotes of $335 for air from B to Sien and depending upon hotel chosen a tour quote of ~$350-$500 for a 3day/2 night.

did you take many shots before going to Asia? cynthia

 

 

Cynthia,

I have not taken any shots for Asia (my hepatitis shots are up to date, but I didn't take them specifically for SE Asia trip - more for India). Malaria prophylaxis might be required in some rural areas (does not seem to include AW).

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/country_table/a.html

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html

My e mail is Paulpepper at comcast dot net if you have any speciifc questions or if you want me to help you with the research for AW.

Paul

Tamara's suggestion above is a good one for a short visit, though I would prefer having everything arranged ahead of time (it's just me).

[cbb]

Yep, like you Paul, I want everything done ahead of time. Our personalities won't let us "wing it" someplace we've never been to before! I've put a halt to research on A-W for a while. I've got to research our b2b in April and then we're doing a long river cruise in France in Sept and I need to start a "dump document" for that. Thanks for your very generous offer to research A-W and I'll probably take you up on it later in the year. c

[bobolz]

I think there were two flights a day going but one may not have been non-stop. We made our own flight arrangements but I think Journeys will do that it you want them to. We made our own decision to leave larger luggage behind and just traveled with one checked bag and our carry-ons. Double check Silk Air's website for luggage limitations. There was a charge to place the luggage in storage but I do not remember what it was. The luggage storage place was right next to the baggage carousels so when we returned it was easy to retrieve the left luggage and right out the door to a taxi. We spend 5 days at Angkor Wat so we could see most of what we wanted and have some rest time. Company usually arranged our tours for early morning and late afternoon so we could have lunch and a rest during the hottest part of the day. They also arranged an in-room massage for our arrival day--quite wonderful.

 

Siem Reap has grown tremendously over the last few years and we saw new hotels popping up around town. Some folks just book their air and hotel and than ask the hotel to arrange for a guide and driver. If you only have a short time this may be an option.

 

 

 

Thanks Tamara. This is exactly what I needed. I wanted to try to do this on our own and just arrange a guide when we get there. I appreciate your feedback

[geologygeek]

Thanks Tamara. This is exactly what I needed. I wanted to try to do this on our own and just arrange a guide when we get there. I appreciate your feedback

 

For those DIYers who want a cheap trip to Angkor (more $ for the next O cruise right?), look at this place -

 

http://www.pavillon-indochine.com/en/pavilion-indochine-hotel-siem-reap.php

 

Not a terribly fancy hotel, but has a pool and a nice restaurant (and very nice and helpful staff). You also get a tuk-tuk included in the price (you always have the same driver) - he'll take you to most of the temples (the more distant sites such as Bantay Srei etc. cost a little more, usually an extra $10), he'll also drop you in town for dinner and pick you up. We ended up giving him the night off and just paying the couple of dollars into town. The hotel can sort out guides for you as well. More importantly this hotel is the closest to Angkor Wat, crucial for those pre-sunrise departures. We did most of the temples without a guide, just with the Lonely Planet - we did, however, get a guide for Angkor Wat itself and he was amazing .....

[Jack1]

Jack1- We would be doing our AW tour pre-cruise from Bangkok. Do you know the company you would tour with? I have a rate inquiry into Exotissimo for a 3 day, 2 night tour but it won't include air. Perhaps if you and I and others keep talking about it, someone at O will see this and add it for us!!! Wouldn't it be sad to be so close and not be able to get to see A-W because we didn't know what tour company to trust.

 

Hi cbb- just got an email back from our TA who asked Oceania if there would be a overland to AW for our Feb 10, 2012 sailing and they answered back with a firm yes. I will assume that is as long as the numbers warrant it. It is quite pricey at $1699 per person. I know we could do it for less ourselves but this overland is in the middle of our cruise not at the beginning or end. It will start in Saigon and end up getting us back to the ship in Cambodia. We will only miss the day in Cambodia and from what I have read, that port isn't that terribly exciting to visit anyhow.

[Windward Lass]

Hi Cbb: It looks like you have received alot of good information, but I will add my "2 cents". We just returned from the Nautica Bangkok to Beijing cruise and we went to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) prior to the cruise. We booked our own airfare from the U.S. to Siem Reap and stayed 4 nights there. We hired a wonderful private guide (Mr. Bunleat [bunleat@gmail.com or "]www.tourangkorwat.com]) for 2 1/2 days to get a comprehensive view and understanding of the area. The tour exceeded our expectations in every manor. The extensive nature and the physical complexities of the Angkor Wat area require a knowledgeable guide. We are an active couple in our mid 60's (I normally walk 6 to 8 miles a day) and this was a very strenuous tour in a hot, humid climate. Bunleat was able to guide us to the most noteworthy and impressive sites in the most efficient manor. Angkor Wat is a sight that is not to be missed and one that I would recommend placing at the top of a "want to visit" list. It was, in fact, the highlight of this FABULOUS cruise. Following our visit to Siem Reap, we booked a Bangkok Air flight to Bangkok and proceeded to the ship.

 

I am sure you will enjoy this cruise.:)

[bluemarlin65]

We took the Oceania Bangkok to Beijing cruise several years ago. We went early to Bangkok on our own and stayed at the Sheraton on the river. It was quite nice and less costly than Oceania's hotel and package. There was a tour company on the ground floor in the hotel and we book three Bankok tours through them. The prices were reasonable and the tours were well done.

 

We also booked the precruise package to Angor Wat. This was also well done. At the time they used the Sofitel. Our only regret was that we didn't see the large lake in the Angor Wat area. there was just not enough time. We used cabs to get back and forth to the Bangkok airport to meet up with the Angor Wat tour.

[bobolz]

Cbb-

 

I see someone else did respond to you, but wanted to confirm that Oceania is offering a mid-cruise 2 night tour of AW.

 

We are on the Jan 26th , 2012 from Singapore to HK sailing. The tour however has limited capacity. When we booked over a month ago, there were only 10 spots left out of 20. We found the $1699 cost which includes your transportation to your flight from Phnom Penh to Siem REap (via the Sihaoukville port) a 2 night stay at the Le Meridien Hotel , most of your meals, guide, entry fees, return flight to HMC(Saigon) and transportation back to the ship in HMC well worth it; when we considered if we had tried to do this tour from Singapore (pre-cruise), the one non-stop flight a day to Siem Reap would have cost us $1200, plus we would have had to leave the states at least 3 days earlier and miss even more work to fit this in. I believe it is cheaper flying from Bangkok, but if anything goes wrong, i.e delayed flights and you miss the boat, the cost is on you. Also we do not have to lug our big luggage to Siem Reap, we just leave it on the cruise until we meet back up with the ship. We also only lose a day in Siahoukville(sp?) and a day at sea. The convenience far outweighed the cost for me.

 

I believe this AW mid-cruise tour is offered on all cruises that make stops in Thailand, HMC or Cambodia.

 

Good Luck and enjoy:)

[cbb]

First, thanks to everyone who replied. CCers are awesome. Secondly, I've checked repeatedly and Imperial Interludes is not offering pre-cruise an AW

tour. Now they are offering 3 intra-tours but not to AW. I've even written a note to O asking if they would consider it but that was quite some time ago and I've received no answer. I"m now rethinking that cruise. We would be spending 4 days in Japan, the last 2 in Tokyo and right now that is not a place I'd want to be but it is not until Feb-March 2012 so we have time to decide. Thanks again everyone! Great suggestions not just for me but for others headed to Asia as well.