A lantern-lit tour boat glows on the Thu Bon River at night with Hoi An's riverside buildings reflecting on the water.

Destinations

Four places, four different seasons

The four places our routes are built around, each with its own good months. Read them together and you can see why no single month suits all of Indochina.

Plan my trip Open the beach calendar

The four places

Sunrise over limestone hills and misty grassland with purple flowers in Viet Hai, Cat Ba island

Northern coast

Halong Bay

One night on a boat among more than a thousand islands. Clearest in April and May.

Halong Bay

Central coast

Hoi An

A trading town on a river, and a long beach a short drive away. March to August.

Hoi An

Southern island

Phu Quoc

The island for the beach week. Driest from December to March.

Phu Quoc

Cambodia

Siem Reap

The town for the temples of Angkor. Dry from November to mid-March.

Siem Reap

Side by side

Place	Nights we suggest	Months that suit	Months to avoid for a celebration	Nearest airport
Halong Bay	1 (on a boat)	April – May, October – November	June – September (storms)	Hanoi (Noi Bai), 2.5 – 3 h by road
Hoi An	3 – 4	March – August	October – January (rain, storms)	Da Nang, 50 min
Phu Quoc	4 – 6	December – March	May – October (rain)	Phu Quoc (PQC), on the island
Siem Reap	3	November – March	Mid-May – early October (rain)	Siem Reap–Angkor (SAI), about 50 km

The months come from the national tourism authority's seasonal descriptions and the monthly rainfall averages set out, with sources, on the beach calendar.

How they fit together

Two of the four pair naturally in any month that suits both: Hoi An with Halong Bay from March to May, Siem Reap with Phu Quoc from December to March. All four on one trip only works in a narrow late-winter window and makes for a lot of flying; we usually suggest three at most.

Routes that use them: the 14-day honeymoon (Halong, Hoi An, Phu Quoc), the 10-day anniversary (Hoi An), Angkor and the southern islands (Siem Reap, Phu Quoc) and the Laos and Vietnam route (Halong, then Phu Quoc or the Hoi An coast).

Places we use without a page of their own

Hanoi — the arrival city for northern routes. Two nights is enough for a celebration trip.
Hue — the imperial capital from 1802 to 1945, about three hours north of Hoi An over the Hai Van Pass. Pairs well with Hoi An from March to August.
Luang Prabang — the slow heart of the Laos route; most comfortable from November to February.
Kep — the quiet Cambodian coast between Angkor and Phu Quoc; cool and dry from November to March.
Con Dao — a small island alternative to Phu Quoc; February to April on our beach calendar, with strong winds in December and January.
Koh Rong — Cambodian islands for couples who want simpler beaches; follows the Cambodian monsoon, dry from November to March.

Common questions

Questions travellers ask most

Which destination suits a honeymoon most?

That depends on the couple. For one night of scenery, the boat in Halong Bay. For evenings, Hoi An. For doing nothing for a week, Phu Quoc. For one sunrise you will both remember, Angkor Wat.

Can we see all four on one trip?

Only in a narrow window around February and March, and with three or four flights. For a celebration trip we suggest choosing three at most.

Is there a beach near Siem Reap?

No. Siem Reap is inland. Our Angkor route continues to the coast at Kep and then to Phu Quoc for the beach.