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I kow that you can take a bus both ways - about 8 hours journey. You can use the famous Mekong Express service, based in Vietnam but goes both ways. You'll need to use a tour company to book tickets, as I believe the public buses only go to the border. Clearly, you will have to walk through Customs and Immigration - check with the Vietnamese Embassy about getting visas at border crossings - I don't know if it's possible. I would doubt it, frankly.

I think you can take a speedboat from Chau Doc on the Cambodian side also, straight down the Mekong, but again, you have to walk through Customs, then pick up a Vietnamese boat on the other side and carry on.

I've done the journey from Ho Chi Minh to Phom Penh, which I booked through a local travel agent. It was fine, as it was on a comfy (ish!) coach with lots of other travellers. The journey is pretty much a full travel day each way, normally including a lunch time stop in a town with a restaurant.

Maybe take a look at airasia.com and see if you can get a cheap flight from Ho Chi Minh back to Bangkok, if you're short on time.

Just seen your post as been travelling. I've done all this a few times, so here goes:

- trip seems sensible and do-able
- go straight from SR to PP (consider staying at The Pavilion in PP....a nice break from hostels)
- border crossing PP to HCHC is easy but as stated above it's a long day. Sort out when you get to PP
- cu chi tunnels half day trip not to be missed while in HCMC
- don't waste precious days trekking back overland to BKK, take a cheap Air Asia flight as Natalya says
- back in BKK a 2/3 day trip by train/bus to Kanchanaburi is a great option: River Kwai, buddist monks tiger sanctuary, elephants, jungle and waterfalls etc OR train to Chiang Mai for a few days, then Air Asias back to BKK to connect with your flight home

Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone... I was put off by the idea of getting flight because of budget constraints, but having looked at airasias flights, this doesn't seem expensive at all!!

Emma