Southeast Asia - 13 week Itinerary

cson

Hey folks, hoping some of you can help me make this plan more reasonable. I've jammed down everywhere I want to see in SEA but I know already it's unmanageable and outrageously ambitious/unrealistic plus at that pace you won't enjoy it. So what can I cut out?

Days Location
1 KL
4 Langkawi
4 Koh Phi Phi
2 Koh Lanta
2 Railay
4 Koh Tao
2 Bangkok
2 Yangon
2 Lake Inle
2 Bagan
2 Mandalay
4 Chiang Mai
2 Pai
1 Huay Xai
2 Luan Prabang
1 Vientiene
3 Vang Vien
2 4000 Islands
3 Siem Reap
2 Phenom Penh
4 Koh Rong
1 Phu Quoc
5 Hanoi
3 Sapa
1 Hue
2 Hoi An
2 Mui Ne
3 Na Thrang
3 HCMC
3 Seyminak
3 Lombok
3 Ubud
3 Gili T
6 Melbourne
3 Sydney

Couple of things to bear in mind;

- We'll be flying everywhere as much as possible to make the most of the time
- Flying to KL and home from Melbourne isn't negotiable as the flights are already booked!
- As quoted In Bruges; we're looking to strike a balance between culture and fun but probably leaning slightly more towards the fun side of things
- We've already done Full Moon & Half Moon and the only 3 of the middle islands we'd go back to is on the list (Tao)

Thanks in advance

solerina

Can't comment on most of your itenary but I would include Ha Long bay. I would also leave out Hue - dull city and add that day into Hoi An...gorgeous !!

con1982

Flying somewhere for 2 days doesn't really make sense. You lose half a day travelling. Id stay 3 days min in each place. Skip Nha Trang.

Thai islands arent as good as Gili T. LESS IS MORE.

Must do
Chang Mai 4days
Bangkok 4days
Hanoi 3days
Hoi An 3days
Gili T 4 days.
HCM 4days
Ubud 3days

Not sure about Lombok. Maybe pick one Thai island. You are racing around to see beaches. Relax on beaches instead.

cson wrote: »

Hey folks, hoping some of you can help me make this plan more reasonable. I've jammed down everywhere I want to see in SEA but I know already it's unmanageable and outrageously ambitious/unrealistic plus at that pace you won't enjoy it. So what can I cut out?

Days Location
1 KL
4 Langkawi
4 Koh Phi Phi
2 Koh Lanta
2 Railay
4 Koh Tao
2 Bangkok
2 Yangon
2 Lake Inle
2 Bagan
2 Mandalay
4 Chiang Mai
2 Pai
1 Huay Xai
2 Luan Prabang
1 Vientiene
3 Vang Vien
2 4000 Islands
3 Siem Reap
2 Phenom Penh
4 Koh Rong
1 Phu Quoc
5 Hanoi
3 Sapa
1 Hue
2 Hoi An
2 Mui Ne
3 Na Thrang
3 HCMC
3 Seyminak
3 Lombok
3 Ubud
3 Gili T
6 Melbourne
3 Sydney

Couple of things to bear in mind;

- We'll be flying everywhere as much as possible to make the most of the time
- Flying to KL and home from Melbourne isn't negotiable as the flights are already booked!
- As quoted In Bruges; we're looking to strike a balance between culture and fun but probably leaning slightly more towards the fun side of things
- We've already done Full Moon & Half Moon and the only 3 of the middle islands we'd go back to is on the list (Tao)

Thanks in advance

con1982

Almost forgot.

Check out Yoguakarta and Mt Bromo on Java. Great spots. Not so many western tourist.

Jesper

Hi - I spent 9mts travelling SE Asia before flying Kuala Lumpa to Christchurch and spending 8 weeks in NZ. Air Asia have great service and are relatively cheap if booked in advance.

Travelling Asia is slow! Buses/trains etc. arrive 1hr before and they might not leave on time. In some cities they will wait to fill up a bus before departing etc. Sleeper trains are a great option in Vietnam and Thailand. Generally I like to spend longer in one place and actually do things there - Muay thai/cooking/Elephant training/Motor bike trip etc. You won't be long burning our and getting stressed moving around to much - never mind the fact that the tourist things will get repetitive. You have to remember that a lot of the places you might want to stay can't be booked online and are a case of finding them and calling into them - slow. Also if you meet people you like and want to travel/see things with you won't want to be tied down to a strick schedule.

KL - nice for a few days. stay close to China town.
look up the Parentian island or Tioman island - I did scuba here. Amazing and cheap.
The Thailand islands are very much tourist traps. I spent a month on Koh Pa nGang - 10 day meditation course followed by 3 full moon parties (over xmas).
Bangkok is worth the few days.
Chiang Mai is lovely - really enjoyed it. Spent a month but that also included a 10 day Motor bike tour and a few days in Pai.
Then back to Bangkok (overnight train) and fly to Burma. I was in the places you mentioned in Burma. I really enjoyed it. Best to fly in Burma - busses were uncomfortable/slow but still kinda fun. You will stick out like a sore thumb! Lake INle is lovely. Do a 2 night hike.

Luan Prabang - boring enough
Vientiene - very boring but good transit for visa stamps
Vang Vien - spent a month here as well. Best time ever-place is insane but everything you hear about it, good and bad is true.
2 4000 Islands - menat to be nice. hard to get to.
3 Siem Reap- Very nice.
2 Phenom Penh - Seedy and not to much to see.

Your Vietnam itinery is ok. Doesn't really matter its so touristy you'll get around ok. TBH I wouln't even both booking it until closer to the day. Every bus/train/plane you get off will have 50 people offering accommodation at the gate.

If you like outdoors/hiking I'd also suggest Nepal - Annapourna circuit or similar. You will be amazed how quickly you will run out of time. Go for as as you can. I'd seriously consider skipping Oz. My 11 months was to see the world. I barely got out of Asia. But I wouldn't change anything.

cson wrote: »

Hey folks, hoping some of you can help me make this plan more reasonable. I've jammed down everywhere I want to see in SEA but I know already it's unmanageable and outrageously ambitious/unrealistic plus at that pace you won't enjoy it. So what can I cut out?

Days Location
1 KL
4 Langkawi
4 Koh Phi Phi
2 Koh Lanta
2 Railay
4 Koh Tao
2 Bangkok
2 Yangon
2 Lake Inle
2 Bagan
2 Mandalay
4 Chiang Mai
2 Pai
1 Huay Xai
2 Luan Prabang
1 Vientiene
3 Vang Vien
2 4000 Islands
3 Siem Reap
2 Phenom Penh
4 Koh Rong
1 Phu Quoc
5 Hanoi
3 Sapa
1 Hue
2 Hoi An
2 Mui Ne
3 Na Thrang
3 HCMC
3 Seyminak
3 Lombok
3 Ubud
3 Gili T
6 Melbourne
3 Sydney

Couple of things to bear in mind;

- We'll be flying everywhere as much as possible to make the most of the time
- Flying to KL and home from Melbourne isn't negotiable as the flights are already booked!
- As quoted In Bruges; we're looking to strike a balance between culture and fun but probably leaning slightly more towards the fun side of things
- We've already done Full Moon & Half Moon and the only 3 of the middle islands we'd go back to is on the list (Tao)

Thanks in advance

cson

Jesper wrote: »

Hi - I spent 9mts travelling SE Asia before flying Kuala Lumpa to Christchurch and spending 8 weeks in NZ. Air Asia have great service and are relatively cheap if booked in advance.

Travelling Asia is slow! Buses/trains etc. arrive 1hr before and they might not leave on time. In some cities they will wait to fill up a bus before departing etc. Sleeper trains are a great option in Vietnam and Thailand. Generally I like to spend longer in one place and actually do things there - Muay thai/cooking/Elephant training/Motor bike trip etc. You won't be long burning our and getting stressed moving around to much - never mind the fact that the tourist things will get repetitive. You have to remember that a lot of the places you might want to stay can't be booked online and are a case of finding them and calling into them - slow. Also if you meet people you like and want to travel/see things with you won't want to be tied down to a strick schedule.

KL - nice for a few days. stay close to China town.
look up the Parentian island or Tioman island - I did scuba here. Amazing and cheap.
The Thailand islands are very much tourist traps. I spent a month on Koh Pa nGang - 10 day meditation course followed by 3 full moon parties (over xmas).
Bangkok is worth the few days.
Chiang Mai is lovely - really enjoyed it. Spent a month but that also included a 10 day Motor bike tour and a few days in Pai.
Then back to Bangkok (overnight train) and fly to Burma. I was in the places you mentioned in Burma. I really enjoyed it. Best to fly in Burma - busses were uncomfortable/slow but still kinda fun. You will stick out like a sore thumb! Lake INle is lovely. Do a 2 night hike.

Luan Prabang - boring enough
Vientiene - very boring but good transit for visa stamps
Vang Vien - spent a month here as well. Best time ever-place is insane but everything you hear about it, good and bad is true.
2 4000 Islands - menat to be nice. hard to get to.
3 Siem Reap- Very nice.
2 Phenom Penh - Seedy and not to much to see.

Your Vietnam itinery is ok. Doesn't really matter its so touristy you'll get around ok. TBH I wouln't even both booking it until closer to the day. Every bus/train/plane you get off will have 50 people offering accommodation at the gate.

If you like outdoors/hiking I'd also suggest Nepal - Annapourna circuit or similar. You will be amazed how quickly you will run out of time. Go for as as you can. I'd seriously consider skipping Oz. My 11 months was to see the world. I barely got out of Asia. But I wouldn't change anything.

Cheers for that, planning on flying as much as possible to make the most of the time.

Nepal/India are places I'll dedicate time to on another trip; would be a big fan of hiking now.

Oz can't be moved though as flights booked & we have mates over there we're meeting.

cson

Also anyone got a realistic daily budget for each country? Most of the online ones are Americans doing USD$ & hard to gauge from them what the actual cost per day for Food/Drink/Accom would be.