Travelling Overland Hong Kong Bangkok (preferably through Vietnam)?

Question

What is the best route to take? How much will it cost? Train or bus? How many days? What shall I see along the way?

Please no 'i don't know' or I' take the plane' type answers. Many Thanks

Answer 1

Have a look at http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm and the Vietnam/Cambodia/China pages on the same site. This is primarily about train travel but also mentions the buses that you need to take (you can't travel completely by train from HK to Bangkok). These pages also give prices.

Answer 2

I travelled overland via train from China to Vietnam. My route was through Kunming to the border city called Hekou. The corresponding city on the Vietnamese side is Lao Cai. Basically, when the train ended at Hekou I had to walk to the border with Vietnam and cross a bridge to the other side. Once there, a motorbike/taxi picked me up and took me to the corresponding train station. I then bought a ticket for about $12 to Hanoi.

It was incredible to travel overland, and I definitely recommend it. Be sure to get the correct visa. It MUST MUST MUST be specified which town you are using as your point of entry (the choices are Lao Cai, Mong Cai, and Huu Nghi Quan). If you show up at the wrong entry point, you will not be allowed to pass.

In Vietnam I recommend going to Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, Hue, Nha Trang, Dalat and Saigon. I spent a month travelling, and was happy with that amount of time.

I am not sure the best way to continue on to Thailand, but I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 3

I can only tell you about overland travel from Bangkok to Vietnam. Trains from Bangkok do not go all the way to Cambodia. You can take the train to Aranyaprathet, a town at the border. From the train station, take a motorcycle taxi or a tuktuk(80baht) to the border. There are two trains(48baht), one at 5.55am and the other at 1.05pm. If you take the 1.05pm, you probably have to spend a night at aryanprathet (if you have to spend a night, do it at aran and not poipet, trust me!!) because the border closes at 8pm and you really don't want to be travelling in Cambodia at night -- speeding drivers, no headlamps. But if you find 5.55am an insane time like I do, take a bus from Morchit Bus Terminal. There are quite a few buses running to aran everyday(150-220Baht depending on which class of bus you take).

From Cambodia, I'm not sure about other border crossings but if you want to travel from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh, it's the Moc Bai/Bavet crossing. I normally get my bus tickets from a bus terminal near Central Market. But there are other companies like Mekong Express, Capitol. I cant remember the exact price, but I think it was something like USD9 for a ticket, could have gone up due to oil prices.

But if you're going from HCM to Bangkok. Well it's the same..lots of companies offering buses to Phnom Penh. If going to bangkok from Phnom Penh, go to the bus terminal at central market. I think the ticket costs about 16usd. The bus will drive to poipet, you go through the border and there will be another bus to get you to khao san area. The bus ride is about 14-15hrs. If you're going from Siem Reap, you can get a taxi to Poipet and from there catch a tuktuk to the bus or train station.

In Cambodia, the Angkors are the most famous. Take about 3 days just to walk around because the place is huge. Sihanoukville is the beach area. It cant be compared to Phuket or Bali but it's not as touristy. You get some people coming up to sell food to you once in a while but other then that it's just peaceful. Phnom Penh has the national museum, the toul sleng genocide museum. There is the killing fields just outside Phnom Penh. Cambodia is still quite underdeveloped. The pace is really slow. Enjoy yourself in Cambodia. I know I did.

Answer 4

Once in Vietnam you can bus or train it to Ho Chi Min City easily. Several companies off comfy flexible "get on/off" bus tickets. Once in Saigon you get get bus to border with Cambodia and overland it to Thailand via Phnom Penh to Ko Kong or via PP - Angkor then Poipet.

Definitely check out Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, Dalat, HCMC, Siem Reap and Angkor.

Give yourself 1 month minimun.


Happy travels!