Angkor wat from ship

We are visiting Bangkok, shianoukville and Saigon on a HAL cruise in January which is charging $3,000 to do a single overnight tour to Angkor from Shianoukville.

I'm wondering if anyone has used a private company to either travel from Bangkok - siem reap - Saigon or Shianoukville- siem reap- Saigon.

My main concern is negotiating the visas at the airport alone or not being able to catch up with the ship on time. Apart from that I am well travelled and unconcerned about finding accommodation or a guide to the temples.

Any advice from someone who managed to successfully negotiate a private tour to Angkor would be appreciated.

Karen

Hi Karen,

Sorry, can't help you directly, but here's a couple of reasonably-recent threads which I've searched & which give advice which may help:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1520769&highlight=angkor+wat

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=876164&highlight=angkor+wat

There are other threads which can be searched - if you don't know how to use the search facility, post again & ask.

We found Sihanoukville (Snooky) quite interesting - and in parts quite eye-opening - but it's a long long way short of being a must-see international tourist-Mecca.

It's on cruise itineraries because (I think) it's the only place in Cambodia that can be visited by cruise ship. And although it's possible to visit Phnom Penh from Snooky the journey is long, tedious & time-consuming, so most folk have a lazy day hanging out in or around Snooky.

Which is a long-winded way of saying that Bangkok - Siem Reap - Saigon would IMHO be a better use of your time than Bangkok - Siem Reap - Sihanoukville.

Also, in the event of delays, engine problems, bad weather, etc Sihanoukville is perhaps more likely to be by-passed than Saigon - and the reliability of the ship porting where you want to re-join is kinda important.;)

JB :)

Pointless doing Angkor from a cruise ship. A waste of money, you'll feel cheated and exhausted.

Pointless doing Angkor from a cruise ship. A waste of money, you'll feel cheated and exhausted.

I don't agree. For many it's the only opportunity they will have to do this.

Keith

Hi Karen,

 

Sorry, can't help you directly, but here's a couple of reasonably-recent threads which I've searched & which give advice which may help:

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1520769&highlight=angkor+wat

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=876164&highlight=angkor+wat

 

There are other threads which can be searched - if you don't know how to use the search facility, post again & ask.

 

 

We found Sihanoukville (Snooky) quite interesting - and in parts quite eye-opening - but it's a long long way short of being a must-see international tourist-Mecca.

It's on cruise itineraries because (I think) it's the only place in Cambodia that can be visited by cruise ship. And although it's possible to visit Phnom Penh from Snooky the journey is long, tedious & time-consuming, so most folk have a lazy day hanging out in or around Snooky.

 

Which is a long-winded way of saying that Bangkok - Siem Reap - Saigon would IMHO be a better use of your time than Bangkok - Siem Reap - Sihanoukville.

Also, in the event of delays, engine problems, bad weather, etc Sihanoukville is perhaps more likely to be by-passed than Saigon - and the reliability of the ship porting where you want to re-join is kinda important.;)

 

JB :)

Thanks very much for your suggestions. Bangkok- SR to Saigon would take out about 5 days of my 14 day cruise, so it just isn't worth it, even though Angkor is on my bucket list. Also the visas don't seem very straight forward, so I think I'm going to save Angkor wat for another more leisurely time.

Of course I should have done it before the cruise, but the air tickets have been paid for.

regards

Karen