Sadly, its been going through many political issues and its an unstable place right now, embroiled in a civil war. Great question. Yep I normally just figure that stuff out when I get there. There is plenty to do in Thailand for a month, but if youre doing a southeast Asian tour there is a fairly standard route you can take. You cant go wrong with a trip through the Visayas or Northern Luzon, other parts of Palawan, and literally countless other islands. Why not go to a smaller place near Bangkok like Kanchanaburi or Lopburi? Then I recommend Heymondo. Stay safe out there! Is this realistic, are there any places on this route where I must absolutely spend more time, and are there places that I skipped that are a must-see? Weather wise, do you think its best to go to Australia first then travel SEA? As I am planning to do the Viang Xai caves, I would ideally be going from Viang Xai to Hanoi. Its also pointless to go just to Laos for a tubing bar crawl or Vietnam just to say youve been there, as it probably wont leave you satisfied. ample time then of course Vietnam, Laos. -Siem Reap This would require me to make my way to Vietnam. Its better to have a bit of USD with you for visas or emergencies as its accepted more widely. Id focus less on seeing everything and instead cherry pick your favorites! What are the best ways to get from Chiang Mai to Hanoi? Ive been diving into all your guides; thank you! and doing an average amount of tourist activities). Main airport: Changi (frequently voted the worlds best). Sounds good dude! Always wanted to go to south east Asia and hopefully in March 2021 my dream will come true! In The Philippines you may wish to be a bit cautious in Cebu and Manilla (and avoid Mindanao entirely), but I think you may also have been spooked too much! Thank you so much for the information! It would be great to hear your thoughts on this. Hey Tammyon the contrary, I would say that tet is an ok time to visit Vietnam, as long as you are avoiding places like Sa Pa or Hoi An where all vietnamese people are booking for their tet. Its tricky cramming it all in, but if youve got 3 or 4 weeks, this is our recommended schedule, based on a return flight to Bangkok. I am travelling from Canadamost likely in June. I am going for 2 months and am having a hard time deciding between Myanmar or Laos. Hi Marek! Do you think our plan is too ambitious? Hey Marek, great post! Theres still plenty of wifi everywhere that lets you keep in touch (in cafes, hostels, etc.) Cutting back and streamlining your itinerary can actually improve your trip. Hey Barry, appreciate your nice words. Theres not a single rainy season its different for each country so check the details for per country. My Girlfriend and I are currently planning our next round of travelling just a month after finishing our first trip, we just cant stay away! I am just interested to hear your opinion as it always seems the advice is to go north first rather than straight into Cambodia. Just know that between the famous sights there are so many smaller things you may enjoy just as much, but might not be as headline-grabbing while youre still in the planning phase at home. Is that route you mention (Bangkok>Koh Chang>Trat>Koh Kong/Koh Rong) easy enough to do? Hmm good question. 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). The only issues would be is paying for a more expensive Vietnamese visa for 90 days (around 90GBP) but will it be worth it? So i have some (probably silly, novice questions for you!) gemma. Can I ask you a maybe silly but important question for me, which can determines the best time for me to depart. Or to Bangkok and from the Philippines? What do you think is the best way from Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia and then to Southern Thailand? So the idea would be to fly into Singapore and work our way up into Thailand. It would take another domestic flight in Vietnam to see things in both the north and south. I am going to go on myself, i am more interested in learning the culture and the traditional food rather than the tourist hotspots. so my question is, how bad is it really? North to South Vietnam and then to Cambodia Bangkok Siem Reap Koh Rong (Sanloem) Ho Chi Minh City. Ride an elephant, splash under waterfalls and paddle canoes along serene rivers and lakes. Hey Koen! The great thing about a month travelling in Asia is that you can cover a lot of ground and experience several different countries and cultures. Im a big fan of Indonesia, which is best known for the crowd-pleasing island of Bali, though there are numerous other islands to consider. Hey Aimee, glad youve found them useful! Loved the blog and advices! There are many other solo travelers in Southeast Asia and hostels are very communal spaces, so put those two things together and inevitably people end up talking to each other. From Bangkok, you could also make an excursion into Cambodia to see the sprawling temples of Angkor Wat, though Thailand also has its own ancient temple ruins at Ayathuya and Sukhothai. Indonesia is huge and youll need more than a month to do it justice. Nice to put SEA first. I am planning on doing the Banana Pancake Trail April 20-June/July. Maybe he likes it and you can then go for some hostels . Hi there! I just found your blog and I love your advice so far. Do the activities you like and youll meet male travelers for sure. Dude, this was an awesome read! hi! You could always earn some money in Australia/NZ, then go back to Southeast Asia for a second round of travel Good luck with the planning. Its best to start in Thailand, then do Philippines. Hi! Hello Marek! In 2012 I quit the daily grind for a life of travel. Luang Prabang Id pick two countries you like most and then plan a trip around that. Thanks for taking the time to reply! Your mileage may vary of course. Near Ho Chi Minh City its worth going to the Mekong Delta and seeing the floating markets there. Chiang Mai Less time spent in transit is more time spent sightseeing or going on activities. Or are you planning a trip but feeling overwhelmed by the whole process? Thanks again for a easy to understand and nicely written site (*excluding the Vietnam visa page ha). Particularly interested in Indonesia & Myanmar this time (we visited Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, then took the train down through Malaysia to Singapore & finally visited Bali & Sri Lanka. Hi great article! I believe theres some boats heading north from Luang Prabang that reach villages further into Laos, which take about a day. Explore forests, waterfalls and colonial architecture. If youre new to Southeast Asia, then Thailand is always a safe bet. https://meanderingsofawanderer.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/south-east-asia-itinerary/. Southeast Asia is amazing for traveling solo! First time for me going to this area so Im spending many hours to figure out routes, destinations, travel periods etc. We should hang when were there. Ill need to tweak my route a bit based on where the most direct bus routes are. I dont have kids and have no personal experience, though I have met plenty of families traveling through SEA. Perhaps a nice middle ground is to find local guesthouses or bungalow type places which have some of the comforts of a hotel but an atmosphere a bit closer to a hostel. You could even do some more holiday-type stuff every now and then (theres a great water park in Nha Trang, Vietnam). Your pages are great and very helpful so keep it up! . Ive personally only done Siem Reap straight to Bangkok by bus. I find its usually Singapore, Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur that have the most / cheapest flights. You can cut journey times with flights check out AirAsia and other budget carriers. My plan was to visit Thailand,Cambodia and Vietnam as the minimum leaving a 35 days for them 3 and possibly squeezing in Laos. You could consider going to Koh Chang to break up the journey a bit if youre going overland. 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. 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. * Were looking for a city to fly out of back to Europe. You might want to avoid the wet season in the Philippines (May-Oct), but dont get too hung up on what guides say the best time is. In the rainy season it doesnt typically rain all day usually, its some intense showers in the morning or late afternoon, but dry in between. Beginning to plan my travels from September-August, so Ive a full year. Phuket (inc. Islands) Indonesia is very spread out so you can lose a lot of time in transit, but focusing on those islands keeps things compact. Philippines 10 Cambodia 7 Thanks for all of the great info. My initial thought was to visit Bali, but I am super open to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodiawherever. Thank you for giving so much of your time to help novice travelers. So what I see might be the deal to catch then.haha * We will be traveling from the beginning of May to the beginning of July. Got me really excited for my trip. This is due to the very humid and hot seasons that take place at that time of year. Some 2-week itineraries out there suggest flying everywhere and spending only two or three days per country, trying to capture as many Big Things as possible, but I think thats a bit of a waste. Hi Marek, From Ho Chi Minh city, I took a boat trip via the Mekong into Cambodia which was very nice. we want to go to the philippines ad heard the best season is january feb, we are leaving on the 17th for bangkok and will stay i SEA for 4 months, following the circular route bangkok, north thailand, laos,vietnam,cambodia, south thailand Since it is our first visit in SEA and we want to see the culture as well as getting some beach time, we came up with the following: Ive done it all with a Farpoint 40 and thought it was just the perfect size (and I think for a lot of people it is). Im now trying to figure out whether to leave out Southern Vietnam. Ive always wanted to do it on our own, but due to lack of time we are leaning more towards doing a tour. We plan on working in Australia. It is my first backpacking trip without a group so we have a lot of questions as we are trying to roughly plan! Intrigued? 2) Thailand/Cambodia : Bangkok, Chang Mai,Siem Reap, Southern Thai island/beach to end. -Ho Chin Minh City Gemma. Its difficult comparing with Indonesia as its so large and there are differences even between Bali and other islands. Currently I have a million ideas and a potentia l travel partner from mid Feb but nothing concrete! Hope that helps! Vietnam 10 As we feature affiliate links sometimes you'll get given lovely tasty cookies which you can dunk in your bargain holiday deal. This summer, I will have five weeks to go travelling. Thailand is more developed and has a lot of entertainment on offer, while Laos is mostly rural, wild, and sparsely populated, with some amazing opportunities for jungle trekking and cultural travel. This dynamic city has a lot going on, so spend a couple of days exploring. The name doesnt make that much sense anymore, but its what stuck! The only info I have found was a few horror stories from people trying to get to Hanoi and getting stranded in rural Vietnam. but just realized that its apparently the worst time in terms of weather. The best way to get around each country? From Kuching youll find options to explore this stunning island and get into the rainforest. That leaves me with 1-2 weeks left. Roughly speaking thats at least 10 places in 21 days. There are certainly other insurers around so if youre on a tight budget, you may wish to go for a different backpacker or nomad insurance. Its pretty easy (usually). Check with your doctor and tell them where youre going. Thank you. Doh! Good luck! Thank you so much Marek!! 1. My original plan was to fly into Singapore and work my way up through Malaysia and then across the others countries and then fly to Indonesia. I have just been reading through your blog, its brilliant! My partner and I are looking to travel S E Asia later this year and your blog is endlessly helpful! Ill be in Chiang Mai for a few weeks and I know that its easier to eat there than in other places. . I love your blog! Even though I know that this is a strike of luck and is not predictable by any means, Im interested in possibly increasing my odds of finding love on my journey (dont laugh, haha). Doing a loop is certainly a good way to do it, in which case it makes sense to start and end in the same city. Your route simply may not be able to capture them all. Great article. Now one of the must visit destinations on the southeast Asian travel trail, Cambodia is almost like Thailand twenty years ago. Its quite a specific type of experience and its not all there is to travelling this part of the world. 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. Ive travelled there in the Jan-Feb months and I was fine with it. Hi Marek, I have a question! Hey Marek, nicely done on helping so many travelers plan their trips better. is there any tours you can recommend? Here we go- This very well might be the silliest question youve ever gotten but Id like your advice or any tips you might have on the matter. Check out my Myanmar page for a bit more info https://www.indietraveller.co/myanmar-travel-guide/. Go shopping on Orchard Road, explore the food courts and markets of Chinatown (including some of the worlds cheapest Michelin Starred meals), wander the futuristic Gardens by the Bay with their Avatar inspired mega trees, and enjoy the view of the city from the Marina Bay. Hi Marek! Both Thailand and Singapore/Bali are great starting points in Southeast Asia, so I probably wouldnt worry too much about this choice. Many thanks! Many visitors head to Bali and that is the extent of their Indonesia experience, but beyond Kuta and the surf paradise of Bali, there is so much more. Hi Solene! BTW, I have a great chapter in my book with more info on what to plan vs. what you can improvise. Visa: Most Western passport holders get 30 days on arrival for free. I prefer trains over buses whenever trains are an option because theyre more comfortable and more on schedule than buses. But if you can spend a week or just under in one place, and another, and top things off on a Thai island, youll be less rushed. Jump on a flight from Hanoi to Cambodia to do the Angkor Wat complex for 3 days. It feels like a detour, you have any other options? Nice article. I think its helpful to do local tours every now and then (e.g. Then back to HCMC for your flight home, And that is our very rough guide to getting the most out of a one month bucket list trip around south east Asia. I dont want a tight schedule, the places i wanna do so far is chiang mai, gibbon excperience, vang vieng and ha long bay. I personally dont take malaria prophylaxis and I believe its not needed for basically any area visited by tourists/travellers. Care to share your opinion? I have approx 3 months. To continue where this article left off, be sure to grab your copy now! Ive travelled Thailand before but Im going back in January for 3 months, with option to extent further, to spend a little time in Thailand, then Laos, Vietnam and hopefully Cambodia, finishing with a month I hope in the Philippines. Sorry for all the questions! Some links may be affiliate links, meaning I may earn commission from products or services I recommend. Hope to hear from you! 2. Keep an eye on current events to know if its a good time to go to Myanmar.
southeast asia travel itinerary 1 month