Southeast Asia is the land of ancient temples, tropical beaches, metropolitan towns, mountain villages, and an countless deliver of cultural reports. This three month Southeast Asia itinerary permits you no longer simplest to peer the highlights of this part of the sector, but to additionally to fully immerse your self within the local way of life.
On this Southeast Asia itinerary, explore the temples of Siem Reap, go island hopping in Krabi, glide down the Mekong River in Laos, visit the big towns of Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City, cruise Ha Long Bay, cycle most of the temples of Bagan, excursion the floating markets in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, and spend numerous days in Luang Prabang, a fantastic French city in Laos. This trip will depart you with memories and tales to inform for the rest of your existence.What is Southeast Asia?
Technically talking, the time period Southeast Asia refers to a subregion of Asia, certain through the Indian Ocean to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. And although it’s a subregion, this area remains large.
There are two wonderful areas of Southeast Asia. The mainland, also known as Indochina, consists of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The maritime vicinity includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
This 3 month Southeast Asia itinerary only includes the mainland nations of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.What is Your Traveling Style?
When planning a large trip like this one, there arefaculties of concept. Do you want to plot matters out in advance or do you want to e-book your first flight and let the rest of the experience fall into region?Do you choose to go together with the glide?
As you do your studies, you will read the advice of fellow tourists to not plan out your full itinerary. By having a unfastened time table, you have got the freedom to change your itinerary, live longer in locations which you fall in love with, or go away a place proper away if you don’t find it irresistible. This additionally offers you the ability to explore new places that you study whilst you’re touring.
There are downfalls of not planning ahead. It may be tough to discover lodges with availability at the remaining minute (if you are visiting during peak season). Also, trains and planes can get booked and you received’t get a seat at the day you want (this took place to us in Thailand). But for some humans, this is well worth it to have the liberty of touring with out a set itinerary.Are you a planner?
Are you the kind of vacationer who likes to have matters deliberate earlier? We fall into this class. Tim and I are Type A planners, it’s simply who we are. We like the concept of getting resorts and transportation booked beforehand of time…it’s one less thing to worry about whilst travelling. We just display up and test into our resort. Trains, planes, and motors are booked so we don’t must figure out a way to get from point A to factor B. Without these “hassles,” we feel like we experience our time spent in every spot just a little bit more.
Of path, there were instances we wished we should have stayed longer in spot (Hoi An, Vietnam falls into this category) but our pre-booked flights or trains locked us into a fixed itinerary.Best of Both Worlds
You can combine both of those travel styles by laying out a primary itinerary, reserving your essential flights or trains earlier, and having your first one or two hotels in each us of a reserved earlier.
Use this itinerary as the primary building block for making plans your travels via Southeast Asia or follow it exactly as it is if you want to have matters planned out.Southeast Asia Itinerary
Before our journey to Asia, I spent a lot of time researching routes thru Southeast Asia and I suppose this plan works thoroughly. Using a number of transportation techniques, you’ll weave your way thru Southeast Asia, hitting the highlights and some off-the-crushed-course destinations along the manner.
This is nearly our exact itinerary via Southeast Asia. I did exchange some things, just to make it easier to get visas or to add time in spots that we really enjoyed.
Time Frame: 12 DaysYangon: five Days
Arrive in Yangon, Myanmar. It may additionally take a day orto modify to the time change, depending on wherein you’re coming from.Top ExperiencesShwedagon PagodaChaukhtatgyi BuddhaThe Sitting Buddha at Ngahtatgyi PayaBogyoke Aung San MarketDay Trip to Kyaikhtiyo (Golden Rock)
Shwedagon Pagoda in YangonBus to Bagan: 1 day
We booked our bus tickets while in Yangon. To get from Yangon to Bagan, you could take an in a single day bus or you could take a sunlight hours bus at once to Bagan. Either manner, the journey takes 9 to 12 hours (in our enjoy, it took 10 hours). Make sure you ebook a VIP bus. On a VIP bus you get air-conditioning, reclining seats, and we even had our own TV display screen with movies.
We used Elite Express ($18 for commercial enterprise elegance seats) and had a excellent revel in (it become our pleasant bus journey at some point of our nine months in Asia) however JJ Express ($21 in keeping with person) additionally receives notable evaluations.Bagan: three Days
For maximum travelers, Bagan is the highlight of a ride to Myanmar. This is the land of lots of temples, and what higher manner to explore them than via bicycle or warm air balloon?Top ExperiencesWatch the sundown from the pinnacle of a templeSunrise warm air balloon rideExplore Bagan by means of bicycle
We booked our bus through our motel. Again, make sure you e-book a VIP bus. It takes about five hours to tour from Bagan to Mandalay.Mandalay: 1 Day
One day in Mandalay is sufficient time to see the principle web sites. Mandalay does no longer have the allure of Bagan or the equal cool vibe of Yangon, however there are some very worthwhile places to visit.Top ExperiencesU-Bein BridgeMahamuni Buddha TempleSee the priests at Mahagandayon MonasteryU Min Thonze Pagoda
U Min Thonze PagodaFly to Bangkok, Thailand: 1 DayThailand
Time body: 26 daysBangkok: 4 days
Bangkok is Thailand’s biggest town. This is wherein cutting-edge malls and skyscrapers collide with old floating markets and golden temples. In Bangkok, discover the temples, go shopping at Chatuchak Market, get your fill of street food, and explore the town through tuk-tuk.Top ExperiencesThe Grand PalaceGo purchasing in Chatuchak MarketKhao San RoadGet a Thai MassageHave dinner in ChinatownJim Thompson HouseSee Wat Arun at sundown
Looking for a slice of tropical paradise? In Thailand, there are masses of suitable beaches and islands to select from.
Ao Nang, in Krabi, is a wonderful location to stay, with clean access to Railay Beach and Phra Nang Cave Beach, and plenty of options to day trip out to the Phi Phi Islands and a handful of tiny Thai islands. If you need to learn how to rock climb, that is one of the pleasant locations within the international to analyze.Top ExperiencesLearn how to rock climbGo sea kayakingSwim with bioluminescent planktonDay journey to the Phi Phi Islands, Bamboo Island, and greaterGo snorkeling
Ten days is lots of time to spend in Krabi, despite the fact that we spent 9 terrific days right here and were happy to have a lot time. If the concept of sitting nonetheless in one spot for so long doesn’t enchantment to you, you may spend numerous nights on Ko Lanta.
Getting to Krabi: The easiest way to get to Krabi from Bangkok is to take a right away flight. Flights last 1 hour 10 minutes and you could get round trip tickets as cheap as $30.Bangkok: 1 Day
Fly back to Bangkok. From here, you will begin a street ride up through Thailand towards Chiang Mai, stopping at several historic cities alongside the way.Ayutthaya: 1 Day
Here’s an interesting fact: Ayutthaya changed into the most important metropolis inside the world in 1700. Merchants sailed right here from Europe, India, Japan, China, and the Middle East. In 1767 it become attacked by means of the Burmese and almost completely destroyed. Now, just a handful of homes and temples remain.
To get right here from Bangkok, you can pressure, hire a driving force, take the bus, take the teach or go to Ayutthaya on a tour.
We spent the night in Ayutthaya and tomorrow we traveled to Sukhothai.Travel to Sukhothai: 1 Day
To travel between Ayutthaya and Sukhothai, take the train, bus, or rent a driver.Sukhothai: 1 Day
Sukhothai won’t have been as massive or as grand as Ayutthaya, however the temples and ruins are loads greater thrilling to go to. Giant Buddha statues stare down at you with half-lidded eyes. The ancient park is flat with extensive, paved roads, ideal for exploring by using bicycle.
Wat Si ChumTravel to Chiang Mai: 1 Day
Travel from Sukhothai to Chiang Mai by bus, train, or private driving force.Chiang Mai: five Days