Range Versus Focus
Vietnam's best argument is range. Few countries let you sleep on a boat among roughly 1,600 limestone islands, walk a centuries-old trading port by lantern light and swim off a white-sand beach in the same week. Most honeymoons combine one city, one natural wonder and one beach. Each stop feels like a different trip.
Cambodia's argument is focus. More than a thousand temples are scattered across the land around Siem Reap, some vast and carved with miles of bas-reliefs, others tiny shrines swallowed by forest. Couples can spend three days there and still find quiet corners. The rest of the country is gentler and slower than its neighbors, which many couples find restful after the temples.
If you want motion and variety, Vietnam is the better fit. If you want one huge highlight and then time to unwind, Cambodia delivers it with less effort than you might expect.
Ha Long Bay Meets Angkor
Each country has a signature experience. In Vietnam it is the overnight cruise. Many of the better boats now sail Lan Ha Bay, the quieter stretch off Cat Ba Island. Paradise Grand has 39 balcony cabins, a spa and a sky bar. Heritage Cruises Binh Chuan has 20 balcony suites and an art gallery on board. You kayak into lagoons, watch the karsts go pink at sunset and wake up at anchor. Storms occasionally cancel sailings, so book it early in your trip.
In Cambodia it is sunrise at Angkor Wat, when the towers appear out of the dark over the reflecting pool. Afterward come the faces of the Bayon, the jungle at Ta Prohm and a day trip to the pink sandstone of Banteay Srei. Hire a guide and a tuk-tuk, start early and rest in the midday heat. Both of you need shoulders and knees covered for Angkor Wat's upper level.
Where You Would Stay
Vietnam has the deeper bench of honeymoon hotels. Near Hoi An, Four Seasons Resort The Nam Hai has 100 villas stepping down to Ha My Beach, many with private pools. Anantara Hoi An Resort is a riverside option within walking distance of the old town. On Phu Quoc, JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, designed by Bill Bensley as a make-believe French university, sits on one of the island's calmest coves. Boutique hotels in Hanoi's Old Quarter cost far less than their European equivalents.
Cambodia's standout for couples is Phum Baitang in Siem Reap: 45 stilted wooden villas among gardens and working rice paddies, a short drive from Angkor. Elsewhere, expect colonial shophouse hotels in Kampot, seaside guesthouses in Kep and island stays on Koh Rong that range from simple bungalows to upscale beachfront villas. The scale is smaller and the mood more personal.
Beaches Compared
Vietnam wins for resort beaches. Phu Quoc, off the south coast, has the widest choice of beach hotels in the country and sunsets over the Gulf of Thailand. It is dry and sunny from November to April. Near Hoi An, Ha My and An Bang beaches are a short ride from the old town and best from February to May. Con Dao is the quiet alternative for couples who want fewer people.
Cambodia's beaches are on the Koh Rong islands, a fast boat of under an hour from Sihanoukville. Koh Rong Samloem is the quieter of the two. Expect long stretches of white sand that squeaks underfoot, clear water and glowing plankton after dark. There are only a handful of resorts and development is light. Seas get rough in the wet season and some places close.
If beach time is half your honeymoon, choose Vietnam. If you want a few barefoot days after the temples, Cambodia's islands are lovely.
Weather Across the Year
Cambodia is simpler. November to February is the classic window, with the rains over, green countryside and highs in the upper 80s. March to May gets very hot, with April often above 95 degrees. The wet season, roughly May or June to October, brings heavy afternoon bursts with clear mornings, lush temples and lower prices.
Vietnam has three climates. The north, including Hanoi and Ha Long, is gray and cool from December to February and best in March and April or late September to November. Central Vietnam around Hoi An is best from February to May, with flood season from mid-October through November. The south and Phu Quoc are dry from November to April.
The overlap is late February into April, when both countries work well. Avoid the Lunar New Year week in late January or February, when Tet closes businesses and fills transport in both.
Cost, Safety and Practicalities
Both are excellent value. Vietnam runs roughly $200 to $350 a day per couple for a comfortable boutique trip, with luxury starting around $600. Cambodia's boutique hotels in Siem Reap and Kampot often cost about $50 to $150 a night. A nice dinner for two is around $30 to $60. These are approximate figures that vary by season.
Vietnam Airlines flies nonstop from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) in about 16 hours. Cambodia has no nonstop US flights, so couples connect via Asian hubs to Siem Reap (SAI) or Phnom Penh's Techo International (KTI). The State Department rates Vietnam Level 1 and Cambodia Level 2, warning against travel within 50 km of the Thailand border. The main honeymoon areas are well away from it.
In Cambodia, bring crisp US bills, since dollars are used everywhere. Use repellent in both for dengue. If you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices.
One Trip, Two Countries
Combining them is easy and makes a very good two-week honeymoon. Siem Reap is a short flight from Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, so you can slot Angkor into the middle of a Vietnam route without backtracking.
One way to do it: fly into Hanoi for two nights, take a one-night cruise in Lan Ha Bay, then fly to Da Nang for three nights in Hoi An. Fly on to Siem Reap for three nights at the temples, then to Ho Chi Minh City and Phu Quoc for three nights on the beach before flying home. That is fourteen nights with four flights, each about one to two hours.
With ten days, we would still pick one. Vietnam alone fills ten days easily. A Cambodia-only trip of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Kampot and Koh Rong also fits well, with time left for a lazy beach finish.
