Help please for first time in Asia

[English Tim]

We are fortunate enough to be cruising from Singapore to Hong Kong and even more so, to be on Seabourn.

 

We are experienced cruises but have little knowledge of what to expect in this part of Asia. How much money to take and in what currencies? We visit Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

 

Do people take private tours (with guides) or just ship excursions. Are taxi drivers generally safe and trustworthy.

 

I would be grateful for any advice.

[MVPinBoynton]

We are fortunate enough to be cruising from Singapore to Hong Kong and even more so, to be on Seabourn.

 

We are experienced cruises but have little knowledge of what to expect in this part of Asia. How much money to take and in what currencies? We visit Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

 

Do people take private tours (with guides) or just ship excursions. Are taxi drivers generally safe and trustworthy.

 

I would be grateful for any advice.

 

 

It has been a few years since we were in that part of Asia; but they were most happy to take Euros and Dollars. The tour guides preferred it. We took private tours for all of the ports. You can see photos from those tours on our website in the Azamara Quest Southeast Asia review. The link is in our signature. They are some fascinating countries with so many gorgeous and interesting things to see.

[John Bull]

Hi Tim,

 

For Saigon, most ships have to port at Phu My, about 90 minutes from the city centre.

But Seabourn's tiddlers, like Azamara's, are small enough to sail up the Saigon River & berth at either Nha Rong (walkable to the main sights such as Reunification Hall, HCM museum, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame. Ben Thanh market, etc) or a little down-river at Lotus Port (a short taxi hop to the centre).

It's pretty easy walking between those sights other than the occasional road crossing :D

Do go to the water puppet show, a Vietnames art. And have the courage to sit in the front row - OK, the occasional little splash but it ain't like Sea World ;) http://www.goldendragonwaterpuppet.com.vn/

 

At Da Nang you'll probably also port in the town, whereas larger ships have to port at Chan May - the industrial port about 40 minutes to the north.

Da Nang is more convenient for Hoi An, China Beach & Marble Mountain, Chan May is more convenient for Hue. But all are accessible from either port.

 

Mebbe you'll even berth at the mouth of Bangkok's Chao Phraya River and handy to the city, although we were on a small ship but berthed 90 minutes away at Laem Chabang with all the larger ships.

If you berth at Laem Chabang you'll need to pre-arrange transport - there's no public transport to Bangkok, and the taxis available to hire at the port are an over-priced cartel. Fix over the internet with a well-recommended operator, or join a tour-share via your RollCall. You can fix up a tour or just transfers - once in Bangkok it's easy enough to DIY using the Skytrain or ferries or taxis or tuk-tuks but you do need to do good research to get the best out of your limited time. And if your ship overnites at Laem Chabang, consider booking an overnite hotel in the city to avoid duplicating 3 to 4 hours of travel & to give yourselves an evening in the city.

The Winter Palace and Wat Arun are must-sees, but I'd also strongly recommend a long-tail boat tide through the klongs (canals). You can join a boat tour or splash out (not a huge amount) on a one-hour ride with your own long-tail boat & driver, available from River City pier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsumgUBuvn8

 

Halong Bay - most ships are there for a day and a half. That's a real awkward amount of time - you'll not do justice to both Hanoi (over 3.5 hours away) and a decent junk cruise (minimum worthwhile is 4 hours, 6 or 8 hours is better). So unless you have a longer stay I suggest you choose Hanoi OR a Halong Bay junk cruise. I'd choose a junk cruise.

 

Sihanoukville is about 4 hours from Phnom Pehn, though some have enjoyed it.

By sharing a minibus (van) at the port we found plenty of sights locally - Ream Nat Park, waterfalls, long-tail boat ride to an offshore island, - and the grubbiest fishing village I've ever seen anywhere. Grubby but fascinating. ;)

South-East Asia, including Vietnam is modernising/westernising at a rate of knots. Except Cambodia, which seems to be in a 19th century time-warp so you get the "real" Asia.

 

I hope you're going to spend 3 or 4 days in HK - well worth it.

 

In that part of the world, esp Vietnam, there are good tour operators and there are wannabe tour operators. Use transfer & tour operators who are recommended by a number of independent cruisers. For instance look through threads on this forum for recommendations from trusted contributors.

Smile & Zoom are praised by many, but be sure that you deal with the one they mention because wannnabes use similar names.

In that respect, also be aware that Michael86 has posted a total of just 14 times on Cruise Critic. He has recommended the same tour operator on all 14 posts.:rolleyes:

 

Currency.

For a day in Cambodia US dollars are fine.

In Vietnam you'll get by with US dollars, but since you'll have a number of days there it's worth getting Vietnamese Dong. Thousands of the things to the dollar, the smallest denomination note is something like 10,000. Apart from being a millionaire :cool: for a few days, you'll get better value with local currency. Not a closed currency but most exchange bureaux don't carry them. If you can't get them in advance, I think your first port will be Saigon and there's an excellent tourist info desk and currency exchange in the Post Office (an impressive French colonial building in its own right) opposite Notre Dame cathedral.

Thailand & Hong Kong I'd strongly advise local currency, I don't have the same faith as others on this thread about the acceptability of USD or especially Euros.

US dollars are probably the best back-up cash for your cruise.

Expect to use cash for transport, markets, & for most beers, snacks, etc.

But (other than Sihanoukville, where I don't know) plastic is widely accepted by larger organisations & most museums, etc.

BTW you're likely to get decent exchange rates at home if you're in the UK but not if you're in the US. Americans tend to use cashpoints (ATMs) in the ports.

 

Super itinerary, great part of the world to cruise.

 

JB :)

Edited December 15, 2015 by John Bull

[English Tim]

What a great post, John, thanks for your time and trouble.

[MVPinBoynton]

JB, totally unrelated question for you. I saw where you used a company called Istanbulairporttransfer. There are two transfer companies in Istanbul with that name. Did you use the one with .com or .net?

[John Bull]

What a great post, John, thanks for your time and trouble.

 

No worries, glad to help.

 

JB, totally unrelated question for you. I saw where you used a company called Istanbulairporttransfer. There are two transfer companies in Istanbul with that name. Did you use the one with .com or .net?

 

The .com website looks vaguely familiar.

 

JB :)

[MVPinBoynton]

No worries, glad to help.

 

 

 

The .com website looks vaguely familiar.

 

JB :)

 

Thanks.

[SeasC]

John, you're a star - thanks so much for the really helpful information!

[Earl Rosebery]

IN Saigon (HCMC) try to get a private excursion with Zoom. He was great- 6 people on a tour of the city and 4 to the Delta.

http://saigonprivatetour.com/wp/?page_id=39

[no fuss travel]

Ana Tours was excellent for VietNam. They did an incredible job for us and all of the guides were excellent. I would do private tours rather than the ships tours as you will see more with a private tour. If you overnight in Saigon, do the Mekong Delta the first day as the traffic from there and to there from the port is horrendous. You will be entertained though by the locals riding their scooters.

[john2003]

Do u have the website. I am having trouble and I know it is easy to get the wrong operator.

[Iluvcruising2]

For Vietnam, we have been to Phy My for Ho Chi Minh city. Here is a blog post.

 

http://guitar123foodandtravel.blogspot.sg/2013/10/ho-chi-minh-city-lets-pay-uncle-ho.html

 

Lots to do in Singapore and Hong Kong. How many days are you spending in each? We live in Singapore and we visit Hong Kong now and then.

 

Victoria Harbour light show, free of charge, worth a watch.

[YOUTUBE]p6c8lCOLsEo[/YOUTUBE]

[English Tim]

We arrive in Singapore, mid afternoon and have a day and half before the cruise leaves. We arrive in HK at around 06.00 and leave just after midnight, so I reckon we might do the long cable car ride at HK.

[Iluvcruising2]

We arrive in Singapore, mid afternoon and have a day and half before the cruise leaves. We arrive in HK at around 06.00 and leave just after midnight, so I reckon we might do the long cable car ride at HK.

 

Singapore's official tourism website - http://www.yoursingapore.com/en.html

 

Since you arrive in the mid afternoon, you do some sights in the evening, like the Night Safari, or Gardens by the Bay. Going out will also help fight jet lag.

[English Tim]

I think we are just about finished with our pre-cruise planning!

 

We are planning on taking the ship shuttle to Bangkok, for security of departure. Then we will take a guided tour using local transport. They recommended this itinerary as they can't guarantee that their transport would get back to the ship in time.

 

At Ko Kood, Thailand we hope to use the ship's marina dock and enjoy the beach party with Champagne and Caviar. :)

 

At Sihanoukville, Cambodia we are taking a ship tour to Ream National Park, assuming they have space once onboard.

 

At HCMC, we are using a private tour op for a boat trip to Mekong Delta on day 1 and Saigon City on day 2.

 

At Da Nang we will take a cab or bus to Hoi An, then a bike tour.

 

At Halong Bay we'll take a ship tour on a Junk.

 

We have tried to balance cost with security in choosing our tours and don't want to waste our time on arrival, finding things to do. In the past we have got very frustrated with local operator prices and facilities, when taking a chance on arrival.