Mekong River Cruise - Vietnam and Cambodia or Laos?

Which one? More interested in small villages and rural settings (Laos?) than large cities but not sure I want to miss must sees like Angkor Wat. Timing and duration are an issue so cannot do one that twill include all three countries.

Any advice would be appreciated!

We did the cruise Saigon to Siem Reap in September last year and the water level was such that we were able to go all the way by boat.

Note that many cruises cannot go .all the way by boat, due to water levels and can involve a 8 hour bus leg if a no go. Our tour guide said that the boat we were on can usually manage about 8 full trips in a year but that can vary

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Angkor Wat is not to be missed and our cruise stopped at plenty of little villages along the way with good tours included that should tick all your boxes. Phnom Penh is well worth a full day visit, one of my favourite Asian cities.

Should plan to spend a couple of days in Saigon and also Siem Reap

We did the Saigon to Angkor Wat cruise with the last stretch on the bus. The bus ride was not 8 hours, maybe 6 with a stop on the way. Saigon and Phnom Penh are the only large cities. In between you will see small towns, busy local markets, villages. I loved it! The scenery is of a slowly flowing wide river with flat countryside around. Fishing boats, ferries, water buffaloes, new fancy and old dilapidated homes along the shores. In Vietnam an occasional church and Caoda temple. Buddhist temples and a mosque in Cambodia.The sites in Siam Reap are overrun with tourists like all interesting sites around the world, prepare yourself mentally.

We also went to Laos on the same trip, but our river cruise was canceled due to a damaged ship. We only took a river day tour from Luang Prabang north. On our day trip we saw interesting mountains, but did not continue further north into them and we do not know how the river looks like between Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Near Pakse in the south, the hills are far from the river. If your tour offers an extension to the Mekong falls, that would be really cool. The falls are the reason why ships cannot go from the south to the north and vice versa at the Cambodian/Laos border.

As a country, Laos is more laid back than Vietnam. The Mekong is narrower in Laos and has rocks which showed when we were there in low water. Difficult to say which cruise you would like better. Can you do both?

Thank you very much for that great info Bpos and Floridiana.

With respect to water levels, we’re looking at early January and it appears it’s a good time along both routes.

It will be cooler in Laos, especially on the river, bring a jacket. They had 1 - 2 weeks of 'winter' in Northern Laos and Vietnam when we went in February. It's nice for sightseeing. Angkor Wat was hot and humid, what a contrast!

Which one? More interested in small villages and rural settings (Laos?) than large cities but not sure I want to miss must sees like Angkor Wat. Timing and duration are an issue so cannot do one that twill include all three countries. Any advice would be appreciated!

Agree 100% that sampling the smaller villages, rural setting, etc., is very important. Plus, Angkor Wat and Siem Reap are amazingly wonderful. Earlier this year, we did our first visit to Southeast Asia. This trip featured Hong Kong, Bangkok, Vietnam and Cambodia, including a seven-day Mekong River cruise, then Angkor Wat, Hanoi, Halong Bay and Hue/Danang. We were gone a little over one month for this wonderful “adventure”. This was a fun and exciting trip with so much great history, culture, food, architecture, design, etc.

Below are a few of my sample visuals. On the live/blog connected below, you can look through a full and more complete reports with many more pictures. If you have any questions, just post on that live/blog on the CC River Cruising Board. I will be happy to share more, respond to your info needs, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

Here are just a few visuals samples from what we saw and did with Avalon while sailing along the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Many, many more photos and details on the full live/blog.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

We saw many temples, palaces, markets and samples of daily life/work, including at this below spectacular Royal structure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.: