gemma. How much do you think it would cost? Everything is subjective and everyone has different travel goals. A counterclockwise route can work just as well. . The information this site and your book has given me is brilliant. That enabled me to take a side trip to Siam Reap and Angkor Wat via bus and back to Bangkok. Weve heard from local family members that Phnom Penh/Sihanoukville has became more increasingly dangerous. Thanks!! I could rush each location and minimize each visit to 1 week, but I want to explore and not be rushed. Be sure to spend some time in northern Laos, by the way. I strongly agree with your views on meaningful travel I think most of us fall into that trap when we first start, I certainly did a few years ago. Have fun , I have a couple questions , I love the route you have planned out here and may look into doing it myself , I have a flight booked to Bangkok in august. Your articles are really very good. 1000 USD per person sounds slightly tight but should be OK. As with everyone else here, I found this post incredibly helpful Im also impressed with all your responses to readers so figured Id ask a question too! Have a great exciting day! I wouldnt worry about the airpods as they sell fake ones in Asia for like $1 that look almost identical, so a thief wouldnt know if hes getting anything of worth! If you have more time head inland to Sapa or further south, mountain town Da Lat. Or to Bangkok and from the Philippines? Main airport: Changi (frequently voted the worlds best). Great article. to Yangon and fly out from Mandalay. Both cities offer opportunities for lakeside wandering and visits to temples and both involve traffic like youve never seen before. I am travelling for 5 months from March 14th, wanting to go to Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia. If youre mostly after culture then the Thai islands arent a must I think. I was thinking to travel between Hanoi and HCMC by train, HCMC and Bangkok by bus and between Bangkok and Singapore by train again. We really dont have any plans yet but I just wanted to get your input on a route! Since you tend to often reply back excited but I have the interesting fortune to really play around with my Were keen to travel overland and have the time to take a couple of days to get there. thanks so much in advance. Would I have to go through Bangkok again or is there an alternate route? You can follow the complete so-called Banana Pancake trail, a well-trodden Southeast Asia backpacker route that mainly runs through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (though it has many other tendrils through other countries). For these routes, youre unlikely to find info on online bus booking sites or anything (it doesnt work that way yet). The Thailand > Laos > Vietnam > Cambodia loop can easily take 2 months already at a leisurely pace. I am currently in Australia, my visa expires the beginning of June and I was planning on travelling home via South East Asia. One month is the perfect amount of time to travel, especially around SEA (as its commonly called). I dont have kids and have no personal experience, though I have met plenty of families traveling through SEA. We want to get a coach but we cant find any and it looks like wed have to get a visa for Laos. So any thoughts and suggestions are welcome. Personally, I think its fun to mix them with a few less-known places that may have more local character. If its beaches youre looking for then your friends are kind of right about Thailand, though you can still find some less crowded beaches there. Id like to visit Chiang Mai for Songkran (do you think somewhere else is better?) It does take some discipline in choosing your route and locations. I dont think you have to worry about the route being too ambitious at all. Though I also believe that even on a shorter trip, staying longer in fewer places can get you more rewards. Im over all extremely excited to go and explore anything and everything! But if youre still feeling a bit overwhelmed, thats understandable. Such a whirlwind tour isnt going to capture whats so truly great about this region. Thats how Ive travelled most of Southeast Asia too (I knew almost nothing at the start). I was wondering if you have any tips for boat or ferry trips along the Mekong River (in either Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam), either 1-2 day trips or shorter. Im a total beginner and solo traveler. If youre going on a longer trip, keep in mind not everything needs to be planned out in advance. Thank you for sharing such helpful Southeast Asia Itinerary Suggestions. Ive found that not being connected all of the time made me be more in the moment. When I was in Thailand about 4 years ago it was very hard to eat. Thank you so much for the great guide above. Just remembered theres a lot of rock climbing around Ha Long Bay / Cat Ba Island too. World Nomads is working out around double the cost of all others which I just cant seem to find any justifiable reason for paying. Your suggestions would be appreciated. Not sure if its worth going all that way to Vientiane and back its a pretty dull city. The Vietnam visa page really broke my brain when I wrote it Good luck on your trip! My husband and I are planning to do at least 3 months in SE Asia starting mid-march. Im travelling from Ireland and want to spend around 3-4 months in SEA and the rest in Australia on a working holiday visa. The dilemma I am facing is the proof of onward travel you need for Bangkok. The route above is roughly how I traveled the banana pancake trail way back in 2013 as a rookie backpacker following more or less the tried-and-true path. I have few questions on Visa. also how easy is it to withdraw money? Thanks in advance, this is a great article btw. Thank you for giving so much of your time to help novice travelers. Ive focused so far on the four mainland countries as they allow for many overland routes with many public transport connections. Stay safe out there! Im a bit unsure whether this itinerary is do-able in the (limited) amount of time we have. 6 months is plenty so no reason not to add the Philippines! This is the place to do it The town is pretty cool too! Hope this helps! Also, are you Czech? I may travel a bit like you. Can I ask you a maybe silly but important question for me, which can determines the best time for me to depart. We are planning a trip to SEA end of May to end of June. we thought we d include philippines at the beginning after laos but cant seem to find connection from laos or super expensive My first-ever backpacking trip to Southeast Asia lasted a whopping nine months, roughly following the so-called Banana Pancake trail. Hey Jo. Okay, so maybe you dont want to stretch yourself too thin. Thanks a lot. My question is how do you travel from Laos into Vietnam? But after a while I got used to it and adapted, and after a week I didnt even think about it at all anymore. Why not go to a smaller place near Bangkok like Kanchanaburi or Lopburi? Thanks a million I wondered if I might have problems travelling on a one way ticket. There are a lot of those in Southeast Asia (easy to find by ticking guesthouse in the sidebar at Booking.com). What Ive shared here is merely some commonwisdom for backpacking Southeast Asia. Ive mostly done carry-on flights, but I did a couple of flights with checked luggage. Hope this helps a bit. Myanmar also has an e-visa program. What do you do if you stay longer in a country than the visa is valid for? I have approx 3 months. I know this might be a how long is a piece of string type question, but what I mean is excluding travel to and from Singapore/final destination, and any internal plane rides, plus any really expensive activities such as diving. After Hong Kong, Im planning to follow this itinerary within 5 months: Hong Kong Singapore Malaysia Indonesia (From Jakarta to Lombok) Thailand/Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia (Banana Pancake trail). Yay another cookies warning! You could also do a Hanoi to Bangkok trip and skip northern Thailand youd have a really nice amount of time for such a route. That buys you some time letting you spend at least 3 days in some places (and get the most out of them!). Looking at going end of Jan/start of Feb next year for 9-10 months too. Coincidentally Im in Cambodia as well at the moment. What should I do is a very broad question What are you interested in? You could also focus on the S-E-A mainland but less on beaches/islands and more on nature and cities. is there any tours you can recommend? Im going on my first ever trip in January 2019 and your modified Banana Pancake trail has had a huge influence on my planning thus far! Hi Marek Im wondering if you can advise me please. Try to spend a lot of your time in Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam which are the cheapest countries. Myanmar/Burma also required getting one in advance. Me and my boyfriend are planning our SEA trip at the moment and would really appreciate your advice! Your help is much appreciated! lynn. -nightlife (not the touristy type though) Personally I would cut the more commercial Pattaya and Phuket and spend some time on the less developed Cambodian beaches, but thats just me Or go to Koh Chiang island as its more on the way and keeps your route more compact. This is all super informative and I love your itinerary for 2 months. Any advice would be so appreciated. Need some custom made clothing? Is that route you mention (Bangkok>Koh Chang>Trat>Koh Kong/Koh Rong) easy enough to do? Hi Marek! Its a more conservative country with a quieter atmosphere than Thailand, though the nature and its diverse mix of cultures (Malay, Indian, Chinese) are a big part of its appeal. Sorry for all the questions! Just briefly cross the border somewhere, then come back for another visa on arrival. i.e on the day/few days prior/ 1 week? This cant be done in Vietnam so had to request one while in Laos and wait a few days. Apart from that, I recommend having a good mix of Big Things as well as small things in your itinerary. I originally wanted to do seven, but I cant because of university preparations. Honestly, as much time as you possibly have. Thailand is easily a good place to spend a good month exploring, so if you really want to enjoy it, just take your time. That said, a good rule of thumb is about $800-900 a month when travelling as a backpacker (staying in hostels or cheap guesthouses, eating mainly local food, etc. Hey Brittney. I was thinking of taking a bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap, then going south to Koh Rong, but now youre making me have second thoughts. Improvisation is very easy in Southeast Asia, so you can always just wing it and see where adventure takes you! Dec-Jan has great weather but is normally high season with more crowds at the tourist sites, though after this year I guess that may be less of a factor. Im okay in hot temperatures, but I doubt Ive experienced the level of humidity that Ive ready about over there in March-April. Hi, thanks! I personally dont take malaria prophylaxis and I believe its not needed for basically any area visited by tourists/travellers. So do you know how would the visa work in this case? I have plenty of time, so Im going to take it and see as much of S.E Asia as I can, maybe finishing off with friends in Australia/NZ. No worries, I welcome your different viewpoint! My question is rather than fly into and out of Singapore would you recommend to fly out of Ho Chi Min or Hanoi. We have flights already booked out of Bangkok at the end but still havent booked our flights in (from India). Understand the desire to stay flexible! Its nice to improvise, and this is pretty easy in Southeast Asia. Im headed to Myanmar for work from Feb 11-21 but if you need any tips/advice, feel free to facebook me or email me at sierra.stonebrook@gmail.com. Your original plan sounds ambitious though also not unreasonably so. We are hardy travelers (South America, Europe, Africa) and dont mind a bit of rain or sweat, but we also want to make the most of our trip, weather-wise. timing. We would like to spend around 5 days at each stop and do day trips as well to see some of the surroundings. I am just interested to hear your opinion as it always seems the advice is to go north first rather than straight into Cambodia. Hey Koen! Your best bet is probably to make a visa run. I managed to get a ticket a few days before. As an example, travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok by air can cost you as little as $20 if booked in advance, with the flight taking just over 2 hours. Regards, That said, Ive narrowed it down between the two I first mentioned: Myanmar or Laos. Its very easy to figure things out and to meet people, especially if you stay in backpacker hostels. I am asking for some advice (oh no not another one haha) Good luck! Thanks for creating this awesome site! -Since I will be shacking up pretty tight with a bunch of people in australia I will probably focus on staying in quaint one of a kind lodgings in SE asia. This stuff gets subjective very quickly but intuitively Id say your first plan might feel slightly too rushed and your second plan just slightly too open. I done returns to BKK or Singapore every time Ive gone to SE Asia budget carriers like AirAsia just make it cheap and easy to backtrack. Easiest is probably still to fly in, e.g. We would start from Taiwan. Great question I totally recognize that initial bit of anxiety. Think we can do all 3? For visiting 5 countries, 8 weeks total will give you a lot more flexibility than 6 though. The above map shows the key Southeast Asia backpacking routes. So informative, clear and gives lots of ideas! From either Bali or Thailand you can acclimatize and then make your way to other places. Speaking of jungle excursion, I actually got wounded on my heel trekking through the jungle in Thailand a week ago and the recovery has been slow with a minor bacteria infection. Thanks for that tip! Youll probably find most countries roughly similar to Indonesia though, if not a little cheaper. My boyfriend and I are planning a 6 week trip to the Philippines and Thailand this spring. That can be easier said than done. Take your pick. For more, see site policies. Jump on a flight from Hanoi to Cambodia to do the Angkor Wat complex for 3 days. 2 months is already fairly tight for seeing mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam). A good alternative to Sa Pa is Ha Giang, a completely unspoiled area with limited tourists but one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my 10+ years of travel..and I would disagree about vietnams beaches not being greatplaces like Quan Lan, Lang Co, Quy Nhon, and Con Dao are all islands or beaches with longgggggggggg white beaches that have completely no people on them for fear of getting a tan Vietnam is still a developing country but it is A LOT different than the buddhist countries of Thailand, Cambodia, or Laos, and personally my favorite out of the entire south east asian area, although the Philippines and Indonesia are also very good! Hey Enza. I personally would try to have more of a mix though! Kratie It depends on where you want to go. Is there another route that you could recommend through those 4 countries that would avoid having Vietnam right in the middle? It depends. I was just wondering if you could suggest the best months to travel SEA? The island city offers some of the best street food in Asia as well as opportunities for hill walking, beaching and cultural exploration. We are currently at KL, and trying to plan out our Philippine trip in Mid December, hoping to find some good deal to fly in. Its true that World Nomads arent the cheapest. The difficult bit is the islands storms can undermine your enjoyment there and some ferry services even shut down during this time. I prefer trains over buses whenever trains are an option because theyre more comfortable and more on schedule than buses. Lonely Planet has a combined guide for North Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia its OK but not amazing. Buses are usually your best bet in the other countries. Im probably going to stick to all your suggestions, not just because theyre great but also because Im completely out of my depth and dont know where to begin!
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