Hi, I have been looking into alot of videos on SEA travel and have figured out the main websites for hotel/accomodation booking(booking.com, Agoda, Hostel world) but alot of the videos I have seen have mentioned that when they travel, they love to travel in all variaties like trains, bus's, taxi, and scooter taxi but no one is explaining how. What websites and apps did you all find the best to look into each travel type? i ask since google maps is good but is highly depended on how developeed the area is and other issues like that. I know bolt is good as a taxi or uber and off delivery but im completly lost on how buses and trains bookings work. if their is a post outlining everything a SE Asia traveler need in terns of apps and websites please feel free to let me know as I have not been able to find it. Also how did everyone book their adventures/ activities?

Looking at what vaccinations to get for my 3+ month trip - so far the ones I haven't had already that seem worth getting are rabies and Japanese encephalitis. However, both of those cost around £200 each where I am. I've seen people say it's much cheaper to just get them wherever you land, but I'm confused with how this works out because both these vaccines require multiple doses.

Is the vaccine effective from the first dose, or only once you have completed the course?

Thinking of starting in the Philippines or Indonesia, but also saw that Indonesia has shortages on Japanese encephalitis vaccines. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

I want to go to Vietnam for a month next summer but don’t know a lot about I yet. Does anyone of you has good recommendations for locations, routes or anything? Because I have another month on top next summer I want to go to another country in south east Asia near to Vietnam, but in the end everything is very close per flight. But which other places would you recommend?

I’m planning to head to Indonesia for a month in February next year and I’m looking for a quieter spot with a longboard-friendly wave. I’d still like the town to have some vibe and a few tourists for socialising, but mainly I just want to find a cheap little shack to chill, surf, read, and relax. Ideally, it should be an easy walk to the surf break. I’m happy to go anywhere in Indonesia, but I’m keen to avoid places like Canggu or Uluwatu. I’m thinking about spots in Lombok or Java—are there any hidden gems left that aren’t totally overrun by tourists? Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

In June I will be travelling in SEA again (can't wait!) for 3.5 weeks. Roughly I thought this to be my iternary, any tips?

In June:

3 - 7: Pnhom Penh

7 - 13: Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) 13 - 18: Bangkok

18 - 20: Kao sok

20 - 25: Ko Tao

25 - 26: Bangkok (for flight back)

First time in southeast Asia. Where should we visit and what time of year? WE LOVE: quiet places, not touristy or busy. nature and calm beaches Small towns, non resort, less developed Small businesses Historic ruins Outdoor adventures like scuba diving and hiking and caving, hot springs THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Hello all,

Looking to do a trip around SE Asia with a couple friends. We plan on starting around the 10th of January and can’t decide whether to start in Bangkok or Singapore. We are thinking of travelling for 2 or 3 months and want to try and do as much as possible. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, maybe Cambodia and Loas too. Just wondering which place out of Singapore and Bangkok would be best to start at and what route would be best to take.

Appreciate any advice,

Thanks in advance!

Hello, I will arrive in Hanoi on 23rd/24th and flying away from there on the 30th. I want to do a visit (overnight) to Ha Long Bay, and wondering if I have time to go see Sa Pa as well, or if it's too far and I would spend too much time travelling. Any insight is appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I will visit Ha Long Bay this month and I wanted to do a cruise/visit, possibly with overnight stay, but there is so much info that I can't really filter the good offers from the extreme tourist traps. Also, a lot of it seems to be catered to couples and I will be travelling solo. I don't need anything luxury, just decent and clean. Does anyone have a good recommendation of a company, route, etc?

Thank you for the info!

6-8 weeks. flying in and out of bangkok. we don't want to go north to chiang mai, or towards laos due to burning season so where should we go? all the way down to singapore then fly back to bangkok? out towards cambodia/vietnam? or is that also affected by burning?!

honestly, theres too many options lol

Hi guys my northern Thailand itinerary for December is looking like this so far, 11th-13th in chiang mai 13th-16th in Pai 16th-18th in Chiang dao 18th-21st in Chiang rai then back to Chiang mai from 21st-24th as I fly to Vietnam on the 24th. If anybody could give me any pointers on this itinerary to let me know if there’s any changes I should make I’d really appreciate it, thanks.

Hi all,

doew someone of you has, or has a good source for an packing list for around 3 Months Southeastasia?

I will travel from Sri Lanka, to Laos, to Thailand all with carry on luggage.

I have a Osprey Farpoint 40 for that Trip

Greetings Frank

Hi! I’m planning on going to Southeast Asia mid January with my husband for our honeymoon. We are mid 30’s, Asian couple (he’s Chinese I’m Lao). We like good food (necessarily fancy restaurants), nature/scenic places, like to drink but not with a bunch of young people / would like to avoid super touristy places that get crazy because we are not as fun as we used to be haha but still love cool spots. I basically bookmarked all of mark wiens recommendations. I would love some advice on how many days I need in each city. We are planning to stay for 2.5-3 weeks TBD. I have a lot of bookmarks in Bangkok and Vietnam. We will probably fly from country to country. I was thinking of doing the Shompoo cruise from Chiang Mai to Luang Prabang but 2 days on a slow boat might make me anxious…still deciding. Also, TBD on vang vieng. Kind of spooked out. We are planning on doing the 2 day boat cruise at ha long bay. Everything is up in the air! I only bought my flight to Bangkok so far lol I know it’s soon. Any advice is greatly appreciated especially how to divide my days up! Thanks in advance ❤️

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to travel across Southeast Asia soon, but I don’t have a clear itinerary yet—just that I’ll be visiting multiple countries in the region. I want to bring a satellite communication device (Garmin inReach Mini 2) for safety, since I’ll trek and explore remote areas.

However, I recently had a bad experience in Asia. While traveling to Nepal, I learned that in India, satellite communication devices are illegal without special permission, and carrying one could lead to serious fines or other sanctions.

So now, I’m trying to avoid a similar situation. What are the regulations or tolerances for using satellite communication devices in popular Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, etc.?

I’d appreciate any firsthand experiences or advice! Are there specific permits required? Are there countries in the region where these devices are outright banned?

Thanks in advance for helping me stay informed and avoid any trouble during my travels!

I'm planning to head to SEA in mid-January from the US. I will probably have to go from Florida. I'm flexible on days. I've been looking at google flights and skyscanner, but struggling to figure out the best destination to land without the flights being incredibly long and costly. Any suggestions?

Hi I wanted to go to se Asia next summer. Do you have any recommendations for countries or locations? I'm interested in Singapur, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines.

I’m planning to travel solo through Southeast Asia for 6-7 months starting in May 2025. Currently, I’m in Australia and just beginning to organize everything. If anyone can share advice on planning a route, recommend any blogs, YouTube channels, or resources that helped you plan your trip, or suggest itineraries for a similar timeframe, I’d really appreciate it! I want to use the next 5 months to create a solid plan for where to go and in what order.

I’d love any tips, like:

• Apps you found helpful.
• Countries, places, or activities you'd recommend (or suggest avoiding!).
• Airlines or apps for finding good flight deals.
• Advice on accommodation, transportation, or anything else that made your travels easier.
• Mistakes you made that could’ve been avoided!

So far, I’m thinking of visiting: Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, and possibly Sri Lanka. Any insights or advice on these countries would be amazing!

Thanks so much in advance! 🙏🙏

Me and my friend are currently travelling through Laos and hope to visit Nam Et-Phou Louey after the plain of jars. Has anyone had any experience booking tours of the park, particularly night safaris? We have only found a single website that offers it (namet.org), but the information is confusing and slightly out of our budget. Is it something you can book from a hostel in Phonsavan, or is the aforementioned website the only provider?

Hi I'm planning to visit langkawi and phuket and I was checking routes from langkawi to phuket and I'm bit skeptical about ferry as there not much information So if anyone has an idea or has traveled can you please share your experience Which is more a cost effective way to travel between the two Islands flights or ferries? Ps: I'm gonna travel in January

Hi! I’m M 27 going to travel around SEA for the next 6 months (more or less) starting in mid-December. I haven’t planned anything yet apart from countries i’d like to visit. So far, I will be landing in the south of Vietnam and I would like to make my way up to the north. After Vietnam, i’m planning to go to Laos - Thailand - Indonesia. I’ve booked my first 2 nights in the hostel in Ho chi Minh city. That’s about all the planning i’ve done so far. So, I have the following which I would like some guidance on;

• how many weeks should I spend in the countries mentioned (Vietnam - Laos - Thailand - Indonesia)
• any must sees (places, beaches, islands, temples etc)
• anything I should be on the lookout for? (Any scams, people/places to avoid etc)
• Should I stop overthinking and just plan as I go along? haha

-Da Nang, Vietnam -Canggu, Bali -Siargao, Phillipines -Koh Phangan, Thailand -Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I am planning a year long round the world trip. I want to spend 3 months in SEA. These are the 5 places I have had my sights on. Im looking for great beaches, clear water, good people, and lots of outdoor activities.

Hey im in Krabi solo travelling and deciding on going to phuket or to Kuala Lumpur next. Im not sure thats why i have to ask you guys.

Phuket: -cheap Scooter Rental -easy to meet people(what heard)

KL: -scooterrental to expensive so have to use public transport -get to experience a new country and culture -airbnb condos seem to be alot better and cheaper -heared it could be boring for travelling after few days

What did you Guys like more and is KL even good without renting a scooter?

Hey im in Thailand right now and want to see another country. Its a bit overwhelming right now cause there is so much. What i love is some nice nature for biketours etc. and some other cool activities. Has to have a Supermarket and some gyms. What place did you love in around Thailand?

Hi everyone. Im planning a backpacking trip for when I finish highscool in 2025. im looking to go to vietnam, cambodia, thailand and then over to japan. i want to do a month, im not sure if i should do longer. i can do flights out of sydney to vietnam first, then a flight from thailand to japan and then japan back to sydney all for 2.6k, but i reckon i can get it cheaper.

heres my plan:

- I want to go from north to south in vietnam (8 days)
- Through to cambodia from ho chi min (7 days in cambodia)
- Thailand (7 days)
- Japan (8 days)

what cities do I go to for each country? (besides japan, i have been before)

Also, since I am backpacking and doing hostels- my major expense will be flights. for the rest, how much should I aim to save? 3k? 4?

day 1-3: Bangkok

4-7: chang mai

8-11: pai

12-13: chang rai

14-15: slowboat

16-19: Luang Prabang 

20-22: vang vieng

-flight

23-25: Hanoi

26-29: sapa

30-31: ha long bay

32-34: ninh binh

35-36: phong nha

37-39: hoi an

-flight

40-41: Ho Chi Minh 

42-43: Phnom Penh

44-46: siem reap

47: Bangkok 

-vlucht

48-53: Phuket and some other islands

-flight to Bangkok and stay 1 night before going back

what do you guys think about this itinerary? any changes i should make?

Hello, I’m a solo traveler and I’m planning to travel 4 countries in 35days: Malaysia ( only KL), Thailand, Philippines, and Singapour I have my flight back and forth in Kuala lumpur What do u think about this itinerary? And what are ur tips about every city I mentioned and travel tips between these destinations ? I made my itinerary which u can see in the photo Every tip will help, plz feel free to give ur advice

I am travelling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and was wondering what are the laws regarding renting and riding scooters/motorcycles. I have a normal European driving licence, which allows me to ride scooters aswell, but is this recognised there? Also if not, do authorities really check it? What is your overall experience with getting around with scooters in SE Asia. I only plan to rent it for small day trips and getting around, not really to travel between cities.