Vietnam or Cambodia: Which Should Come First on Your Southeast Asia Trip?

Both countries belong on the itinerary. Here is how to decide the order.

Vietnam and Cambodia sit close enough together, and complement each other well enough, that most travellers weighing one against the other eventually realise the better question is not which country to choose, but which one to see first. This guide is built around that second question, since the honest answer is that both countries reward a visit, and the order in which you see them changes the trip more than most travellers expect.

The Case for Starting in Vietnam

Vietnam is the longer, more varied country of the two, running from the misty hills of Hanoi in the north to the Mekong Delta in the south, and starting here gives a trip room to build. Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Halong Bay’s limestone islets, and Hoi An’s lantern-lit streets each offer a genuinely different character, and moving through them in sequence creates a natural sense of progression before Cambodia’s temples arrive as a change of pace rather than more of the same.

Starting in Vietnam also suits travellers who want the busier, more infrastructure-heavy stretch of the trip out of the way first. Vietnam’s cities move quickly, and its transport network, while excellent, involves more moving parts than Cambodia’s smaller, simpler circuit. Getting that complexity done early, while energy is highest, tends to make for a smoother second half of the trip.

The Case for Starting in Cambodia

Cambodia is smaller, slower, and considerably more contained than Vietnam, and for travellers who want to ease into a longer Southeast Asia trip rather than start at full pace, beginning here makes a real difference. Siem Reap in particular rewards an unhurried start: several days spent moving through Angkor Wat and its surrounding temples at a gentle pace, with Phnom Penh’s more concentrated history as a natural second stop before the trip opens out into Vietnam’s greater scale.

There is also a genuine emotional logic to this order. Cambodia’s history, particularly around the Khmer Rouge period, asks something of visitors that is easier to sit with early in a trip than at its end, when energy for reflection tends to run lower. Ending instead in Vietnam’s livelier cities, with a stop at Halong Bay or Hoi An to close things out, tends to leave a trip on a higher note.

What This Means in Practice

Both of our own itineraries that combine the two countries take a clear position on this. Highlights of Vietnam and Cambodia begin in Hanoi and finish in Siem Reap, building through Vietnam’s variety before closing on Angkor Wat as a genuine high point. Our Cambodia to Vietnam: A Southeast Asia Grand Tour (see the retitle note in Part 4) takes the same pairing in reverse, beginning in Phnom Penh and finishing in Vietnam’s north, for travellers who prefer Cambodia’s slower opening and a livelier finish.

Neither order is objectively correct. Vietnam first suits travellers who want to build toward Angkor Wat as a closing highlight. Cambodia first suits travellers who want a gentler start and a livelier finish. If you are not sure which fits your own trip better, our Ultimate Guide to Gay Travel in Cambodia covers the country in more depth on its own terms, and our travel experts are always happy to talk through both options directly.

Planning Your Trip

However you choose to sequence it, both countries are worth the fully considered version of a trip rather than a rushed one. Get in touch with our travel experts, and we will help build a Vietnam and Cambodia itinerary in whichever order suits you best.